ir　laughed　and　opened　the　door　wider。　Nate　was　nervous；　even

more　nervous　than　she　was。　He　was　so　sweet。

“Just　hurry　up　and　take　your　clothes　off；”　she　said。　She　took　his

hand。　“It’s　okay。　e　on。”

Nate　followed　her　into　her　bedroom；　not　doing　any　of　the　things　a

boy　should　normally　have　done　under　the　circumstances。　Like　check

out　Blair’s　bare　ass；　or　worry　about　condoms；　or　bad　breath；　or　try

to　say　the　right　thing。　He　was　barely　thinking　at　all。

Blair’s　room　was　a　blaze　of　candles。　A　bottle　of　red　wine　was　open

on　the　floor；　with　two　glasses　beside　it。　Blair　knelt　down　and　poured

each　of　them　a　glass　like　a　little　geisha。　She　felt　more　fortable

naked　in　the　darkness　of　her　room。

“What　kind　of　music　do　you　want　to　listen　to？”　she　asked　Nate；

handing　him　a　glass。

Nate　gulped　the　wine；　swallowing　noisily。　“Music？　Anything　you

want。　Whatever；”　he　said。

Of　course；　Blair　had　her　CD　mix　all　cued　up。　The　first　song　was

Coldplay；　because　she　knew　Nate　liked　them。

Slow　and　sexy；　rocker　boy。

Blair　had　made　and　remade　the　movie　of　this　moment　in　her　head

so　many　times　she　felt　like　an　actress　who　was　finally　getting　her

big　break；　playing　the　role　of　her　career。

She　reached　up　and　put　her　hands　on　Nate’s　shoulders。　He　tried　not

to　look　at　her；　but　he　couldn’t　help　it。　She　was　naked；　and　she　was

beautiful。　She　was　a　girl　a