You Know You Love Me (12 page)

Blair pulled another cigarette out of the pack and stuck it in her mouth. She reached for
a match, pausing before she struck it to see if the bartender would leap across the room
with a lighter. He didnt. Blair lit the cigarette herself and blew a big cloud of smoke
directly into Serenas face.

So Serena knew about the party. She had an invitation. Well, she was bound to find out
anyway. The calligrapher, Blair said, smiling sweetly. Shes good, isnt she?

Yeah, she did a great job, Serena said. And it was really nice of her to notice that mine
had the wrong address on it. She said the address you gave her was my dorm room at
Hanover. Blair tucked her hair behind her ears and shrugged her shoulders. Oops, she said,
feigning cluelessness. Sorry about that.

So tell me about the party, Serena said. Whats it for again? Blair couldnt talk about the
cause without smiling self-consciously because it sounded so lame and unsexy. Thats why
shed named the party Kiss on the Lips. To give it some allure. Its for those two peregrine
falcons that live in Central Park. Theyre an endangered species, and everyones worried
that theyre going to die or starve or the squirrels will raid their nests or whatever. So
they set up a foundation for them, she explained. Dont laugh. I know its kind of stupid.
Serena blew out a puff of smoke and giggled. Well, its not like there arent people that
need saving. I mean, what about the homeless? Well, its as good a cause as any. We wanted
something that wasnt too heavy to start the season off, Blair huffed, annoyed. It was fine
for her to laugh at the cause shed chosen for the party, but Serena had no right. Serena
steered the conversation back on course. So is the party like, just for us, or is it for
parents, too? she asked. Blair hesitated. Just . . . us, she said finally. She downed the
rest of her drink and looked at her watch. Um, I kind of have to take off, she said. She
slid her bag over her arm and picked her pack of cigarettes up off the table. Serena
frowned. She had taken her time getting dressed, psyching herself up for a wild night out
with her friends. Shed expected a big groupBlair and the other girls, Nate and his gang,
Chuck and his boysall the people they always used to hang out with. But I thought we would
stay here for a while. Wait for everyone else, Serena said. Where are you going, anyway? I
have a practice SAT tomorrow morning, Blair said, feeling extremely superior, even though
she was lying her ass off. I need

to prepare for it, and I want to go to bed early. Oh, Serena said. She crossed her arms
and sat back on her stool. I was hoping wed all wind up partying in the Basses suite
upstairs. They still have it, dont they? Back in tenth grade, Serena and Blair and her
friends had spent many a night in Chuck Basss suite, drinking and dancing, watching movies
and ordering room service, taking hot tubs. Together, theyd pass out on the king-sized bed
and stay there until they were sober enough to make their way home. Once, during a very
drunken night at the end of tenth grade, Serena and Blair were soaking in the hot tub, and
Blair had kissed Serena full on the lips. Serena hadnt seemed to remember it the next
morning, but Blair never forgot it. Even though it was just an impulse move that didnt
mean anything, thinking about that kiss always made her feel hot and itchy and
uncomfortable. That was another reason why it had been such a relief when Serena went
away. The Basses still have the suite, Blair said, standing up. But they really dont
appreciate people using it. This isnt tenth grade anymore, she added coldly. Okay, Serena
said. She couldnt say anything right, could she? At least, not to Blair. Well, have a good
weekend, Blair said with a stiff smile, as if theyd only just met. As if they hadnt known
each other all their lives. She dropped twenty dollars on the table for their drinks.
Excuse me, she told the three tall boys who were blocking her path. Can I get by? Serena
twirled her drink straw around in her glass and sipped the dregs of her Cosmopolitan,
watching Blair leave. The drink tasted salty now, because she was about to cry again. Hey
Blair Serena called out after her friend. Maybe if she just blurted it all out, asked
Blair why she was really mad, even confessed to sleeping with Nate that one time, they
could go on being friends. They could start over. Serena might even start taking an SAT
prep course, so they could take practice SATs together, or whatever. But Blair kept on
pushing her way through the crowd and out the door to the street. She walked over to Sixth
Avenue to catch a cab back uptown. It was starting to rain and her hair was frizzing. A
bus roared by with Serenas picture on the side of it. Was it her belly button? It looked
like the dark pit at the center of a peach. Blair turned her back on it and waved her hand
in the air to flag down the next taxi. She couldnt get away fast enough. But the first
taxi that stopped for her

had the same poster in the lighted advertising box on its roof. Blair got in and slammed
the door angrily. She could never get completely awaySerena was fucking everywhere.

Serena reached for another cigarette and stuck it in her mouth with trembling fingers.
Suddenly a pinky-ringed hand proffered a Zippo and lit the cigarette for her. The lighter
was gold, with the monogram C.B. So was the ring.

Hey Serena. You look seriously hot, Chuck Bass said. What are you doing sitting here all
by yourself? Serena inhaled deeply, quelling her tears, and smiled. Hey Chuck. Im glad
youre here. Blair ditched me and now Im all alone. Is anyone else coming?

Chuck clicked his lighter shut and put it in his pocket. He glanced around the room. Who
knows? he said casually. They could come, or they could not come. He sat down in the
armchair where Blair had been sitting. You really do look hot, he said again, staring at
Serenas legs like he wanted to eat them.

Thanks, Serena said and laughed. It was kind of a relief to see that Chuck was still
exactly the same, even if everyone else was acting like freaks. She had to love him for
that. Another round, Chuck called over to Missy. And put everything on my tab. He handed
Serena the twenty Blair had left on the table. You can keep that, he said.

But its Blairs, Serena said, taking the bill and looking at it. Give it back to her, then,
Chuck said. Serena nodded and stuffed the bill into her red velvet handbag. There you go,
Chuck said, when Missy put the drinks down. Bottoms up! He clinked glasses with Serena and
poured scotch down his throat.

Oops, she said, as her Cosmo sloshed onto her dress. Damn. Chuck grabbed his cocktail
napkin and dabbed at the stain, which happened to be on her hip. There, you cant even see
it, he said, letting his hand linger near her crotch.

Serena grabbed Chucks hand and put it back in his lap. Thanks, Chuck, she said. I think Im
okay. Chuck wasnt even a tad embarrassed. He was unembarrassable. Hey, lets get one more
drink and take it up to my suite, okay? he offered. Ill tell the bar staff to tell anyone
who comes to meet us up there. They know who my friends are.

Serena hesitated, thinking about what Blair had said about the Basses not liking people in
their suite anymore. Are you sure its okay? she said. Chuck laughed and stood up, holding
out his hand to her. Of course

its okay. Come on.

Even though it was raining out and he was freezing his ass off, Nate was in no hurry to
get to Blairs 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 hadnt 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. Hed already smoked a little joint at home, but hed
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 entertainment center, as if they needed two; huge marble bathroom with hot tub and
two fluffy white bathrobes. That was other great thing Serena loved about hotelsthe
bathrobes. Doesnt everyone?

On the coffee table in the living room was a pile of photographs. Serena recognized Nates
face in the top one and she picked them up and shuffled through them. Chuck glanced at the
pictures over her shoulder. Last year, he said, shaking his head. We were pretty crazy.

Blair, Nate, Chuck, Isabel, Kati, everyone was in them, naked in the hot tub, dancing in
their underwear, drinking champagne in bed. They were all party shots from last yearthe
date was in the corner of each oneand they were all taken in the suite.

So Blair had lied. Everyone did still party in the Basses suite, same as always. And Blair
wasnt the little goody-goody she pretended to be either with her mock SAT and her prim
black cardigan. In one picture Blair was wearing only her underwear, jumping up and down
on the bed with a magnum of champagne in her hand.

Serena gulped her drink and sat down on one end of the couch. Chuck sat down at the other
end and pulled her feet into his lap.

Chuck, Serena warned. What? Im taking your boots off for you, Chuck said innocently. Dont
you want to take them off? Serena sighed. She felt tired all of a sudden, really tired.
Yeah, sure, she said. She reached for the remote and clicked on the television while Chuck
removed her boots. Dirty Dancing was on TBS. Perfect. Chuck began to massage her feet. It
felt good. He bit her big toe and kissed her ankle. Chuck, Serena giggled, falling back on
the couch and closing her eyes. The room tilted a bit. She never could hold her liquor.
Chuck worked his hands up her legs. Within seconds his fingers were plying the insides of
her thighs. Chuck, Serena said, opening her eyes again and sitting up. Do you mind if we
just sit here? We dont have to do anything, okay? Lets just hang out on the couch and
watch Dirty Dancing. You know, like girls. Chuck crawled towards Serena on his hands and
knees until he was looming over her and she was pinned beneath him. But Im not a girl, he
said. He lowered his face to hers, and began to kiss her. His mouth tasted like peanuts.

Shit! Blair shrieked when she heard the doorman buzz from downstairs. She was still
wearing her clothes, and she had just spilled red candle-wax all over her rug. Blair
switched off her bedroom light and ran to answer the buzzer in the kitchen.

Yes, send him up, she told the doorman. She unbuttoned her jeans and flew back to her
room, wriggling out of them. Then she pulled the rest of her clothes off and tossed them
into the closet. Naked, she spritzed herself with her favorite perfume, even spritzing
once between her legs.

Oooh, bad girl. Blair checked out her naked body in the mirror. Her legs were too short
for the rest of her body, and her boobs were small and not as pay attention to me as she
would have liked them. Her jeans had left an angry red mark on her waist, but it was
barely noticeable in the dim candlelight. Her skin was still nice and tan from the summer,
but her face seemed young and scared, not nearly as sexy as it was supposed to look. And
her hair was sticking up in a halo of frizz from the rain. Blair dashed into the bathroom
and applied a coat of the lip gloss Serena had left on her sink to her lips and ran her
hairbrush through her long brown hair until it cascaded onto her shoulders in the sexiest
way possible. There, instant irresistibility.

The doorbell rang. Blair dropped her hairbrush, and it clattered into the sink. Hold on!
she called out. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to say a little prayer,
although she wasnt exactly the praying type.

I hope it goes well. It was the best she could do.

Serena let Chuck kiss her for a while because he was heavy and she couldnt get him off
her. As he explored the inside of her mouth with his tongue, she watched Jennifer Grey
splash around in a lake with Patrick Swayze. Finally, Serena turned her head away and
closed her eyes.

Chuck, I really dont feel so well, she said, pretending she was about to be sick. Do you
mind if I just lie here for a little while? Chuck sat up and wiped his mouth with the back
of his hand. Sure, thats cool, he said. He stood up. Ill go get you some water. Chuck went
over to the wet bar and filled up a glass with ice, pouring in a bottle of Poland Spring
water.

When he turned to take the water back to Serena, she was already asleep. Her head had
fallen back against the cushions, and her long legs twitched. Chuck sank onto the couch
beside her, grabbed the clicker, and changed the channel.

Hi, Blair said, opening the door a crack and poking her face through it. Hi, Nate said,
holding the rose. His hair was wet and his cheeks were pink.

Im naked, Blair told him. Really? Nate said, barely absorbing the information. Can I come
in? Sure, Blair said, opening the door wide. Nate stared at her, frozen in the doorway.
Blair blushed, hugging her arms around herself. I told you I was naked. She reached her
hand out to take the flower. Nate pressed it into her hand. I got that for you, he said
gruffly. Then he cleared his throat and looked at the floor. Should I take off my shoes?
Blair 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. Its
okay. Come 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 Blairs bare ass, or
worry about condoms, or bad breath, or try