e　dad

mutes　to　the　city　every　day　and　then　es　back　to　his　cozy　home？not　to　mention　his　horny

wife？at　night。　He　would　walk　in　the　door；　loosening　his　tie　as　he　made　his　way　toward　the　kitchen；

and　she？d　be　waiting　for　him　in　nothing　but　a　red…and…white　polka…dot　apron　and　bright　red　toenail

polish。　Then　they？d　stay　blissfully　in　each　other？s　arms　all　night；　kissing　nonstop　until　dawn　broke

in　the　morning　and　Nate　had　to　leave　again？already　pining　for　her　as　he　waited　for　the　morning

train。

Okay；　so　it　wouldn？t　be　the　most　glamorous　thing　in　the　world　to　tell　her　new　Yale　friends　that

her　boyfriend　was　still　in　high　school；　but　she　could　easily　tell　them　he　had　a　great　banking　job

and　was　going　to　work　for　a　year　before　starting　college。　Or　maybe　he　was　just　so　smart　he　didn？t

need　a　college　degree　at　all；　he　was　one　of　those　stock　market　prodigies　she？d　seen　in　the　news。

The　Prodigal　Stoner？

Nate　frowned。　？Take　the　train　every　day？　But　doesn？t　it　take　like　an　hour　and　a　half　each　way？

Why　don？t　I　just　stay　here　in　the　city　during　the　week　and　visit　you　on　weekends？？　？And　leave

you　here　all　by　yourself；　with　those　slutty　L？？cole　girls？　I　don？t　think　so；？　Blair　responded　tersely。

Nate　shifted　his　eyes　to　the　floor　beneath　her　icy　blue　stare。　？You　can　trust　me；？　he　mumbled。

Besides；　he　wouldn？t　be　with　any　L？？cole　girls。　He？d　be　with　Serena。　Not　that　he　could　actually

say　that　out　loud。

？You　can　do　yourhomework　on　the　train；？　she　added　decisively。　Seriously；　he　was　lucky　she　was

even　talking　to　him。　Yale　had　been　her　dream　her　whole　life；　and　for　years　now　Nate　had　been　a

part　of　that　dream；　too。　He？d　pretty　much　shat　all　over　her　plans