might as well take advantage of the one good thing about Chuck Bass： he could always be counted
on for the scoop； however inaccurate。
？I heard about her but I？ve never actually met her；？ Chuck explained proudly。 He took a swig
from a freshly opened bottle of Dom Perignon。 ？Oh！ Don？t look now；？ he whispered loudly；
clearly enjoying the moment； ？but I think we？re about to meet and greet。？
Nate led Tawny through the thicket on the dance floor toward the cluster of familiar faces in the
kitchen。
？Hey；？ Nate shouted over the din。 ？Serena。 Blair。？ They looked even more gorgeous than he
remembered。 Like they？d been sprinkled with fairy dust。
？Nate！？ Serena lunged forward to give her old friend a warm hug； trying to prevent the moment
from being too unbearably awkward。
Too late。
？Hello；？ Blair seethed； crossing her legs and brandishing her ically long cigarette holder like
a weapon。 ？Can I please have a light； someone？？
Thaddeus Smith produced his silver monogrammed Zippo and lit Blair？s cigarette for her。 The
song faded into Madonna？s ？Papa Don？t Preach；？ and some of the ultra…hyper extras jumped into
the middle of the dance floor； pretending to sing with imaginary microphones。
？A real gentleman at last。？ Blair sighed dramatically。 ？Has anyone seen my date？？ Just wait until
Nate saw her French…kissing with Jason。 Hah！
？Blair；？ Nate stuttered。 ？You look great。 Wele back。？ He didn？t know what else to say。 He
felt like an asshole。
Blair hopped down from her perch on the countertop； wobbling drunkenly in her pointy black
Jimmy Choos as she landed on the cracked tiles of the kitchen floor with a thud。 ？Yes； thanks。？
She