I Like It Like That (15 page)

With Blair out of the apartment, there was no reason not to invite Nate over.

“Hey,” he said when she greeted him at the door. It felt kind of strange seeing Serena back in her old surroundings. But it was also kind of nice.

“Hey.” She kissed his cheek and helped him out of his rain-soaked trench coat, hanging it neatly in the coat closet. His gray Abercrombie T-shirt looked worn and soft, and she couldn't wait to get her hands on it.

“Sorry things got so weird at the party,” she said. Thinking about it now, she didn't know why she hadn't kissed Nate back in Sun Valley, after he'd rescued her from the ditch and she was already naked and everything.

Well, she'd just have to get naked again, wouldn't she?

“That's okay.” Nate seemed to be waiting for something, like an explanation for why she'd summoned him there.

She took a step toward him, her bare feet cold on the hardwood floor. She was wearing only a thin white cotton undershirt and a denim miniskirt, and she shivered, partly from the chill, but mostly out of nervous anticipation. Nate reached out and rubbed her bare arms.

“Nate?” Serena asked, collapsing into him. She could feel his breath on her face. Oh, Natie. “You know how we're always such good buds and we understand each other perfectly and we're always there for each other, even when things get really messed up?”

“Uh-huh,” Nate replied hoarsely, still rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

“Well, why can't we just be together?”

Nate stopped rubbing. It was impossible even to think of saying no to the most gorgeous girl in his entire universe when she was already one of his best friends and was practically throwing herself at him. Maybe if he just gave her a little kiss and told her gently that it wasn't meant to be … He leaned in and kissed her, very tentatively, on the mouth. A nice, sweet, innocent kiss.

But Serena wasn't looking for sweet and innocent, she was looking for true love, and she kissed him back hungrily, like someone who had been waiting for this for a long, long time. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into her bedroom.

“Hey,” Nate said, stopping in the doorway. “Is Blair still staying here?”

“Hey,” Serena said back, dropping his hand. How could it be true love if Nate was in love with someone else? She sighed and fell back on her bed, smiling sadly up at the ceiling. “Blair moved back home.”

“Oh.” Nate went over and sat down on the bed next to her. He touched her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Serena grinned. Even if he wasn't her one true love, Nate was still her sweetie. “Blair and Erik didn't go all the way,” she told him, because she knew he'd want to know.

“How do you know that?” Nate asked suspiciously. He hadn't missed the fact that Serena and Blair were fighting.

Serena rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in her arms like a little girl. “I asked him?” Her voice was muffled. “He is my brother, you know.”

Nate didn't say anything. He was relieved, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

She propped herself up on her elbows. “You know I love you, Natie. But I think we both know who you really wanna be kissing.”

Nate nodded and turned his head to look out the rain-spattered window. A big bird was perched on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He wondered if it was one of those peregrine falcons that were always flying around Central Park, surprising people by not being pigeons. The falcons were elegant and beautiful, and seeing them every now and again was somehow reassuring.

He lay down next to Serena and wrapped his arms around her in a brotherly embrace. “I love you, too,” he whispered in her ear.

Serena smiled and closed her eyes. She could imagine herself and Nate lying like this in her dorm room at college—wherever it was she wound up. They would never be a couple, but every once in a while, they would get together and hug and kiss, just like this. It would always be completely harmless, and Blair would never have to know. And eventually they'd stop doing it, when Serena finally found true love.

If that ever happened.

When Vanessa arrived home, Ruby, Gabriela, and Arlo were huddled around the television, eating raw soybeans and drinking warm sake.

“What's going on? I thought you guys were leaving today.” Vanessa set down her heavy bag of camera equipment and peeled off her jacket. She'd been caught in a sudden downpour and was soaked through.

“They're leaving soon.” Ruby clicked off the TV, and the three of them flashed the fakest smiles Vanessa had ever seen. “How was your day, dear?”

Vanessa untied her Doc Martens and kicked them off. From the corner of the living room, Ruby's parakeet, Tofu, squawked inside his cage, as if to warn her, Something's up! Something's up!

Gabriela stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of the elaborately printed pink-and-purple Japanese kimono she was wearing. Her gray braids were pinned on top of her head, Heidi style.

“What're you guys still doing here, anyway?” Vanessa asked. “I thought you were going home today.”

Her father blew his nose noisily in response. He was wearing a red wool sweater that had very obviously been made for a woman, because the three-quarter-length sleeves pouffed out at the shoulders.

Vanessa walked toward him, squinting. His face was all splotchy and his eyes were red. “Dad, are you sick?”

Arlo Abrams shook his head and blew his nose once more. Fresh tears spilled down his cheeks.

“Hush, sweetheart,” Gabriela whispered, although it wasn't clear to whom.

“It's your films,” Ruby finally burst out. She'd never been able to keep quiet about anything. “I showed them your films.”

Excuse me?

Vanessa glared at her older sister, too furious to say anything. Then Arlo blew his nose again, his chest heaving with sobs. Vanessa was sort of worried he might be having a heart attack or something.

“Dad?”

“We just had no idea you were so … artistic,” Gabriela faltered. “No idea.”

It wasn't exactly a compliment, but Vanessa hadn't exactly been fishing for compliments. Her films were so dark and weird, hardly anyone ever really liked them.

Arlo grabbed the remote and switched the TV on again. They'd been watching the reinterpretation she'd done of a scene from War and Peace, starring none other than Dan. The camera followed a scrap of dirty paper being blown by the wind through Madison Square Park at sunset and then settled on Dan, lying collapsed on a park bench. It zoomed in on his face, and Vanessa's heart dropped into her knees.

“Can we turn that off now?” she pleaded. But no one paid any attention.

“It's not just that you can tell a story,” Arlo gushed, entranced. “But the way you do it, like a painter.” He turned his teary, bloodshot eyes to Vanessa. “You put us all to shame.”

“She got into NYU early, too, cuz she's so freakin' good,” Ruby burbled proudly.

Vanessa's face burned. “Shut up.”

Gabriela wrapped a tentative, kimonoed arm around her shoulder. “We're so proud of you, Eggplant,” she whispered, using the endearing name Vanessa hadn't heard since she was a baby.

Then Arlo came over and hugged the both of them, his face damp with tears. Ruby reached out to rub his back, and soon the four of them were wrapped in a group hug even the hippiest of hippies couldn't top. It was totally un-Vanessa, but it wasn't like anyone was filming it or anything.

“Jordy's going to come stay with us for a while this summer. Is that all right?” Gabriela murmured while they were still hugging.

Ruby snorted. “I don't think she minds what you do with Jordy.”

“Oh, I thought you liked him,” her mother said.

“I do,” Vanessa faltered. And Jordy was nice while he lasted. “I just—”

“She likes that Dan friend of hers from the picture a bit better,” Arlo interrupted, as if reading her mind. “He's really got something.”

Ruby giggled, and Vanessa kicked her in her leather pants.

Yeah, Dan definitely had something, and she was pretty sure she knew what it was.

Her.

gossipgirl.net

Disclaimer: All the real names of places, people, and events have been altered or abbreviated to protect the innocent. Namely, me.

hey people!

Isn't it great to be back? Isn't it great to be back and still not know where we're going to school next year? Isn't it great to be back when it feels like our lives are hanging in the balance and we're all going completely bonkers? Well, here's a little something to look forward to:

Calling all boys

You know you want to meet me, and here's your chance. Tomorrow is our first day back at school, and the weather is supposed to be unseasonably warm and beautiful. As soon as school lets out, you'll find me lying on a red blanket, soaking up the sun on the grass in Sheep Meadow. You are all welcome to join me, and you are also all welcome to bring snacks and beverages. No pretzels or Gatorade, please. Sorry, girls, but this is a boys-only invite. Boys have never been as good at waiting as we are, and you know what they say—the best things come to people who wait.

Your e-mail

Q: Dear GG,

You know that crazy girl N met in rehab? Well, I live down the road from her, and we went to Greenwich Saints together until she got kicked out. Anyway, I heard my parents talking about how she was in jail in Sun Valley for indecent exposure, and it's so crazy because her mom was in South America and had no idea she was even there so that kid C's parents had to bail her out, too, even though they didn't even know her.

—Conngurl

A: Dear Conngurl,

That would explain a lot, I guess. And I have to say, C's parents deserve a medal for their generosity. Personally, I think she might have benefited from a few extra nights in the slammer. But what I really want to know is—what did they give her to wear in her jail cell??

—GG

Q: Dear GossipGurl,

ok, so i'm not a stalking pervert, but i did sort of follow this boy i have a total crush on down to s's building and then sat on the met steps in the rain, waiting for him to come out, which he didn't until way after dark and now i have a really bad cold. i feel so stupid.

—atishoo

A: Dear atishoo,

That's a little sad. Although I know which boy you're talking about, and had I spotted him on the street I probably would've done the same thing. What has S got that we haven't? Don't answer that—we're jealous enough of her as it is. BTW, I have a cold, too!

—GG

Q: Dear GG,

I heard college acceptance letters are coming late this year because the schools can't decide whether to increase class size or just reject people. They're having a secret forum about it this week.

—ino

A: Dear ino,

I don't talk to people who spread stupid rumors about college acceptance letters. We're all paranoid enough as it is.

—GG

Sightings

B in the Wicker Garden buying an adorable yellow cashmere bunny rabbit—probably the first cashmere item ever she didn't a) buy for herself or b) steal. N staring up at B's building on Seventy-second Street like it had all the answers. Don't count on it, sweet pea. J and her gangly girlfriend stalking that poor boy from the Smale School again. What is it with those two? D on the L train to Williamsburg. D not getting off the L train in Williamsburg. V filming new grass growing in Central Park—I'm not kidding, she's that serious about her work.

P.S.

I won't totally spoil it for you, but has anyone seen C lately? He has a new little friend, and I'm dying to know where it came from. It's so exotic!

See you in the park, boys!!

You know you love me.

gossip girl

“I made us tea.” Serena pointed to the white cups and saucers sitting on her orange plastic lunch tray. She sniffed and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her pale green Calypso blouse. “With honey.”

Blair permitted Serena to sit down across from her at the blond wood cafeteria table and accepted the tea. She had a terrible cold. Tea with honey would be just the thing. Besides, she and Serena always sat together at lunchtime, especially when they had peer group, for which they were both leaders.

Plus there was something Blair needed to ask her.

The cafeteria was crowded with girls pouring ketchup over their sweet potato fries and trading gossip about spring break.

“I heard Serena and Nate Archibald got arrested for doing it on a chairlift,” Rain Hoffstetter whispered to Laura Salmon.

“I heard she's moving to Amsterdam after graduation. She met this guy from the Dutch Olympic snowboarding team. They're getting married,” Kati Farkas told them.

“And Blair's dad is trying to get her into Brown now,” Isabel Coates piped up. “Because she and Erik van der Woodsen are totally in love.”

“Nothing happened, you know, between Nate and me,”

Serena declared after she'd sat down. She took a sip of her tea. Actually, something had happened between them, but that was a long time ago. “I mean, after Georgie's party.”

Blair stirred her tea. She and Serena had been ignoring each other ever since the party in Sun Valley, mostly because it was easier and more exciting to let the other girl imagine what had happened than to admit the embarrassing truth.

She pushed her tea aside and rested her elbows on the table, staring at Serena intently. “What was it like?”

Serena put down her tea and blew her nose into a paper napkin. She, too, had a terrible cold. “What?”

“Sex. With Nate.”

Serena crumpled up the napkin and stuck it under her tray so they both wouldn't have to look at it. Was this a trick question? Was Blair just waiting for her to say the wrong thing so she could pounce on her with her claws out and rip Serena's head off with her teeth?

“It was really …” She paused, waiting for Blair's expression to turn ugly, but Blair just sat there looking genuinely interested. She really wants to know, Serena realized.

“It was amazing. We were both kind of scared, but because it was with Nate, it was fun.” She smiled, remembering. “And we weren't embarrassed about it afterward.”

Blair nodded and looked down at the table. That was all well and good, but what about her? How were she and Nate ever going to do it if they weren't—?

Over Serena's shoulder Blair could see the girls from their ninth-grade peer group heading toward the table. It was time to change the subject. “Never mind,” she muttered, grabbing her bag off the floor to get out the materials for peer group.

“Hey, guys, how was your break?” Mary Goldberg, Vicky Reinerson, and Cassie Inwirth asked the two seniors in unison. The three perky freshman girls were all wearing matching black V-neck sweaters. They set their lunch trays on the table and sat down practically on top of one another. “Ours was totally crazy.”

“Good,” Blair said without much enthusiasm. She gave each of them a handout. “If you could just read this before we get started.”

The girls glanced down at the handout and giggled as if to say, Like we're really going to talk about that? “So, Serena, did you have to do any modeling over break? I heard you were in a shoot with the Dutch Olympic snowboarding team, like for some lip balm or something?” Mary Goldberg asked.

Serena flashed them a wry smile. The shit people made up about her was so insane, she almost wished it were true. “Yeah, it was awesome!”

The other two members of the group, Jenny Humphrey and Elise Wells, came over carrying their lunches in brown paper bags. Instead of the tired cafeteria salad bar or hot lunch of fish sticks with sweet potato fries, they were eating egg rolls from the Chinese restaurant over on Lex, which they'd had delivered right to the school doors. It was always surprising to discover how crafty the two girls could be when—except for Jenny's gigantic chest—they were the picture of innocence and goodness.

“Jenny is depressed,” Elise announced as she sat down. She pulled a piece of shrimp out of her egg roll and popped it into her mouth. “She needs advice. Bad.”

Jenny nudged her friend irritably. “I'm fine.” She stared at her egg roll, which was soaking, untouched, in a deep bath of sweet-and-sour sauce. After what she'd done to it, it was basically inedible.

“See, Leo turned out to be totally normal instead of a French duke or something,” Elise explained, as if they all knew exactly who Leo was, or even cared. “And the only reason he knows stuff about fur and dog boots is because he walks Madame T's dog for her, and we all know she wears a ton of fur.”

Blair yawned rudely and dumped a packet of Equal into her tea just for something to do. Hopefully Serena would take care of this one.

Suddenly, Serena grabbed the empty Equal packet out of Blair's hand and wrote something on it. Then she passed it back.

He's still in love with you, Blair read.

The ninth-graders looked back and forth between the two seniors. “What are you guys doing?” Mary Goldberg and Vicky Reinerson whined with annoyance at being left out.

Blair folded up the packet of Equal and dropped it into her bag. “So, who here knows how to knit?”

Jenny wasn't sure what the hell was going on. “I do. I learned at arts camp last summer.”

Blair blew her nose. “Doesn't everyone learn to knit up at boarding school?” she sniffed in Serena's direction.

Serena shrugged. “I never learned, but all the models are doing it. It's all they do backstage at the shows.”

“We've always wanted to learn!” Cassie, Mary, and Vicky piped up.

“Knit?” Elise asked, completely lost.

Blair zipped up her Coach hobo bag and stood up. “Come on,” she told them. “We're going out to buy yarn. And after school, we're all knitting booties at my house.”

Across the cafeteria, that shaved-headed senior weirdo, Vanessa Abrams, was filming their meeting, a crazy pink plastic spaceship whirling and blinking on the table in the foreground.

Serena stood up and gathered her things. “You mean socks,” she countered.

“No. Booties,” Blair corrected with a smile.

At least it was something they could do with their hands besides smoking. And after school would be a great time to start, especially with the boys otherwise occupied.

The ninth-graders trailed Serena and Blair out the school's great blue doors, thrilled by the idea of being on a field trip led by the two coolest girls in the entire school.

After so many cold months, the warmth of the sun was so intense, it was shocking.

“I'm sorry we were fighting,” Serena told Blair as the group of girls walked east toward Third Avenue. “It's not even worth it if we always wind up friends again, anyway.”

“That's okay,” Blair said, blinking her eyes slowly like a cat in the sun. Maybe it was the weather, but all of a sudden, she felt strangely optimistic. Every day babies were born and given cool names like Yale; boys and girls who were broken up got back together; best friends fought and made up; and people got into college—particularly a college called Yale. “It's such a nice day. I think we'd better go to the park after school instead of to my house.”

“I can run home and get a blanket,” Serena offered. “We can meet in the meadow.”

Uh-oh.