Because I'm Worth it by Cecily von Ziegesar Read Free Book Online Page A

printed Diane von Furstenberg tops into the sales clerk’s arms. “I changed my mind. I’m looking for simple suits in navy blue and black. And plain white shirts with collars.” She wanted to look sexy in a chic Parisian-woman-wearing-a-simple-black-dress-while-riding-a-bicycle-and-carrying-a-baguette-under-her-arm sort of way. Nate had always had a thing about French girls. He would go out of his way to walk by L’École Française just to gape at the girls in their short gray skirts, high heels, and tight black V-neck sweaters. Those tramps.
    Soon Blair had found the first item in her new wardrobe and the perfect thing to wear for her interview Thursday night: a navy blue knit shirtdress by Les Best with a beaded belt and a cute little white lace collar at the neck. It was prim yet intriguing—just what Blair was looking for. She paid for the dress and then headed downstairs to cosmetics to outfit herself with navy blue mascara and a subtle shade of lip gloss that wasn’t as girly or come-hither as her usual shade of light pink or dark red.
    “Look who’s here,” Jenny whispered to Elise in front of the Stila counter. “Hi, Blair.”
    “Great haircut!” added Elise perkily.
    Blair turned around to find two of the freshmen from her peer group: she-really-
should
-have-a-breast-reduction Ginny, and in-desperate-need-of-a-makeover Eliza, or whatever their names were, staring at her admiringly. She was horrified to see that they were trying on some of the same eye shadows and lip glosses that she wore all the time. Couldn’t they just stick with Maybelline from Rite Aid or something?
    Elise frowned down at the vial of glittery black eye dust in her hand. “Is this stuff any good?”
    Yes, it’s good. But you’re really not ready for it yet.
    Blair couldn’t help but give them a little big-sisterly advice. She slung her brown-and-white-striped Bendel’s shopping bag over her wrist and got to work. “With your coloring, I’d go for something lighter.” She reached for a sample tube of pale silvery green gel shadow. “This would really bring out the aqua tones in your eyes,” she instructed, marveling at how
nice
she sounded.
    Elise took the tube and dabbed a little on her eyelids. It was barely visible, but it caught the light and miraculously made her small, close-together blue eyes look brighter and prettier. “Wow,” she trilled, mesmerized.
    Jenny reached for the tube. “Can I try?”
    Blair snatched it away. “Absolutely not. You need something in beige or peach.” Blair couldn’t believe herself. The weird thing was, she was enjoying it. “Here.” She handed Jenny a fat, rust-colored eye pencil. “It goes on softer than it looks.”
    Jenny drew a careful line along the edge of one eyelid and blinked at the result. She looked instantly older, and the color gave her big brown eyes a nice amber glow. She leaned forward to do the left one but something in the mirror’s reflection caught her eye.
    Or some
one
, to be precise.
    The store was bustling with shoppers stocking up on winter sale items, but Bendel’s only caters to women, so all of the shoppers were female. All but one.
    He looked about sixteen, tall and thin, with shaggy blond hair and wearing a chocolate brown corduroy jacket and jeans that hung loose from his gaunt body. Sort of like the guy in the Calvin Klein Eternity for Men ad, except less hunky.
    “Wow,” Jenny said softly.
    “Isn’t it great?” Blair chimed in. “Smudge it in a little with your finger. You should use brown mascara, too. It will make your eyes look even bigger.”
    “No, I mean wow, look at
him
,” Jenny clarified. “Behind me.”
    Blair glanced over her shoulder to see a geeky, too-young-for-her blond boy perusing the Bendel’s signature cosmetics bags. She turned back to Jenny. “What? You think he’s cute?”
    Elise giggled. “He’s kind of goofy looking.”
    Blair’s little Help the Hopeless campaign was starting to wear thin. “If he’s