okay？”　she　said。

Chuck　laughed　and　stood　up；　holding　out　his　hand　to　her。　“Of　course

it’s　okay。　e　on。”

Even　though　it　was　raining　out　and　he　was　freezing　his　ass　off；　Nate

was　in　no　hurry　to　get　to　Blair’s　house。　It　was　pretty　ironic；　really。

Here　he　was；　a　seventeen…year…old　guy；　about　to　have　sex　with　his

girlfriend　for　the　first　time　（hers；　anyway）。　He　should　have　been

running。

She　must　know　by　now；　he　kept　telling　himself；　over　and　over　and

over。　How　could　she　not？　The　whole　city　had　to　know　by　now　that

he　had　had　sex　with　Serena。　But　if　Blair　knew；　then　why　hadn’t　she

said　anything？

Thinking　about　it　was　driving　Nate　insane。

He　ducked　into　a　liquor　store　on　Madison　Avenue　and　bought　a　half

pint　of　Jack　Daniels。　He’d　already　smoked　a　little　joint　at　home；　but

he’d　need　a　shot　of　courage　before　he　saw　Blair。　He　had　no　idea

what　he　was　in　for。

Nate　walked　the　rest　of　the　way　as　slowly　as　he　could；　taking

surreptitious　sips　from　the　bottle。　Just　before　turning　down　Seventy…

second　Street　to　her　apartment；　he　bought　Blair　a　rose。

Chuck　ordered　another　round　of　drinks　from　the　bar；　and　Serena

followed　him　into　the　elevator　and　up　to　the　Basses’　ninth…floor

suite。　It　looked　exactly　the　same　as　it　always　had：　living　room　with

entertainment　center　and　bar；　huge　bedroom　with　king…sized　bed

and　another　entertainm