shed

young　starlet　was　hanging　out　with　a　loser　still　stuck　in　high　school。　Not　that　he　cared　what　other

people　thought；　but　still。　It　would　be　。　。　。　weird。　He　ran　his　fingers　through　his　hair；　wishing　he　had

a　joint　with　him；　and　then　remembered　that　he　did？in　the　pocket　of　his　now…soaking　shorts。　Oops。

He　picked　up　his　towel　and　started　to　dry　off。　Then　he　heard　his　phone？s　muffled　ring　and　found

it　underneath　his　T…shirt。　He　flipped　it　open；　grateful　for　something　to　do　besides　watching　Serena

and　feeling　dumb　and　useless。　？Hello？？　？Long　time　no　see。　What　are　you　up　to　right　now？？

Blair？s　voice　surprised　him。　She　sounded　downright　chipper；　and　not　angry　at　all。

？Hey　。　。　。　；？　he　mumbled；　wandering　to　the　very　edge　of　the　roof。　The　city　was　sprawled　out

beneath　him；　the　low　town　houses　of　the　Meatpacking　District　giving　way　to　new　Chelsea　condos

and　the　midtown　high…rises　beyond。

Serena　noticed　him　wander　away　and　hoped　he　was　talking　to　Blair；　perhaps　calmly　explaining

that　he　and　Serena　would　both　be　staying　in　the　city　this　year　。　。　。together　。　Of　course　she　felt

slightly　guilty　stealing　Nate　away；　but　once　Blair　was　happily　ensconced　at　Yale？her　dream

school？she？d　forget　all　about　them。

？Thank　you　soo　much。？　The　Spanish　woman？s　voice　broke　into　her　thoughts。　She　proudly　waved

her　autographed　ItalianVogue　。　？Binky　and　I　are　such　fans。　Aren？t　we；　Binky？？　She　swept　up　the

tiny　dog　with　one　arm。　Binky　strained　in　her　arms；　reaching　for　Cristobal？s　wiggling　and

whimpering　form　at　his　owner？s　feet。

？Of　course。？　Serena　nodded。　？My　pleasure。？　Bailey　grabbed　her　arm　and　began　to　whisper　in　her

ear。　？You　must　be　my　only　muse。　I？ll　dress