left.
Serena looked at Blair. Or at least, she tried to. Blair was making a big deal of pulling up her black stockings, working them inch by inch from her bony ankles up to her bony knees, and up around her tennis-muscled thighs. So Serena gave up and kissed Kati, then Isabel, before she made her way to Blair.
There was only a limited amount of time Blair could spend pulling up her tights before it got ridiculous. When Serena was only inches away from her, she looked up and pretended to be surprised.
“Hey Blair,” Serena said excitedly. She put her hands on the shorter girl’s shoulders and bent down to kiss both of her cheeks. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call you before I came back. I wanted to. But things have been
so
crazy. I have so much to tell you!”
Chuck, Kati, and Isabel all nudged each other and stared at Blair. It was pretty obvious she had lied. She didn’t know anything about Serena coming back.
Blair’s face heated up.
Busted
.
Esther had just put a sizzling pot of cod cheek fondue on the side table. Sharp, long-handled fondue forks ringed the pot. Blair could grab one, stab Serena through her annoyingly swanlike neck until the fork came out the other side, grab Nate, and whisk him away to the Pierre Hotel, where they could finally have sex without interruption.
Nate noticed the tension, but he thought it was for an entirely different reason. Had Chuck told Blair already? Was
he
busted? Nate couldn’t tell. Blair wasn’t even looking at him.
It was a chilly moment. Not the kind of moment you’d expect to have with your oldest, closest friends. It was more like the grisly face-off before a women’s wrestling match, minus the tiny bathing suits, fake tans, and inflated boobs.
Serena’s eyes darted from one face to another. Clearly she had said something wrong, and she quickly guessed what it was.
I’m so clueless
, she scolded herself.
“I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t call you
last night
. I literally just got back from Ridgefield. My parents have been hiding me there until they figured out what to do with me. And I have been
so bored
.”
Nice save.
She waited for Blair to smile gratefully for covering for her, but all Blair did was glance at Kati and Isabel to see if they’d noticed the slip. Blair was acting strange, and Serena fought down a rising panic. Maybe Nate was wrong, maybe Blair really was mad at her. She’d missed out on so much. The divorce, for instance. Poor Blair. But the sooner Nate died, the sooner she could make it up to her. Serena would have to start dropping hints to Nate about how much better this party would be if they were both very stoned. Then, hopefully, Nate would run home to get his pot and wouldn’t be able to resist doing a quick bong hit on his own. And then… bye-bye Natie.
“It must really stink without your dad around,” Serena told Blair sympathetically. “But your mom looks so good, and Cyrus is kind of sweet, once you get used to him.” She giggled.
But Blair still wasn’t smiling. “Maybe,” she said, staring out the window at the hot dog stand. She imagined stuffing about fifty of them, complete with buns and sauerkraut and ketchup and relish, down Serena’s lovely throat. “But I don’t think I want to get used to him.”
All six of them were silent for a long, tense moment. What they needed was one more good stiff drink. And a pair of oars or a couple of baseball bats to bash each other’s heads in.
Nate rattled the ice cubes in his glass. “Who wants another?” he offered. “I’ll make them.”
Serena held out her glass. “Thanks, Nate,” she said. “I’m so fucking thirsty. They locked the damned booze cabinet up in Ridgefield. And took away all the knives and belts and scarves and shoelaces. Can you believe it?”
Blair remained silent but shrugged her shoulders as if to say, “When you’re around, Serena, everyone has to prepare for the worst.”
“If I have another drink, I’ll be hungover at school
Anna Hackett, Anna Lowe, Leigh James, Ember Casey, Zoe York, Ruby Lionsdrake, Zara Keane, Sadie Haller, Lyn Brittan, Lydia Rowan