wasn？t going to go and blow it just because he？d had one drink too many。
One？
？We were going to start today with the reading from the book that I liked that I found that day at
the Strand。 That？s where I work。 Where？s that book？ Greg； do you know where I left that book？？
？Hey； hey。？ Greg laughed。 ？Why don？t we put off the reading for now and maybe just go around
the circle or some…thing？ We can all introduce ourselves。 Dan and I have been reading your
e…mails； but we？re looking forward to a chance to getting to know you guys in real life。？ Greg
helped ease Dan back into his seat on the couch。 ？Why don？t you go first？？ He nodded at a girl
sitting cross…legged on the floor near the coffee table。 Her head was half…shaven and she was
sporting a tattoo of a cockroach on her skull。 She seemed to have a very toned body； but her face
looked weirdly misshapen。
The misshapen…faced girl nodded back。 ？Yo； what？s going on； my name？s Penny；？ she
barked。 ？Favorite book； totally got to beSexing the Cherry； you know how it goes。 I just finished
school； heading out to Smith in the fall； but I？m so psyched to be here right now； meeting some
cool book…lovers； you know？？ She turned to glance at the strawberry redhead to her left； who was
hugging her knees and sipping shyly at a cup of cheap white wine。
？H…h…hey；？ strawberry…head whispered。 ？I？m Susanna。 My favorite book isThe Awakening。 I？m
from the East Village； I？m thinking of going to Bennington when I finish school next year； and I
love Tori Amos。？
？You totally look like her；？ interjected Penny。
Susanna blushed； looking down at the ground。
？I guess I？ll go next；？ blurted out a gaunt guy who looked about fourteen； dressed in a gray suit
plete with bright maroon bow tie and sitting in a rocking chair across from Dan。
？Yes； please do；？ replied Greg； slipping Dan a bottle of water。
Mister Considerate！
？I？m Peter； I？m about to start my sophomore year at NYU； and my favorite writer is definitely J。
D。 Salinger。 In fact； as my honors thesis； I？m thinking of memorizingRaise High the Roofbeam；
Carpenters in its entirety。？
Dan sipped the bottle of tepid water。 That sounded vaguely familiar？he sort of remembered
having read an e…mail from a devoted Salinger fan； but for some reason he was having trouble
remembering things。
Like his own name？
？Anyway；？ Peter continued； ？I？m glad I made the cut。 Word on the blogs is that this group is
pretty exclusive。？
？I heard that too！？ exclaimed the girl sitting next to him； a prim brunette whose milk…white face
was framed by perfect brown ringlets。 ？And I？m so lucky that you were willing to include two
Salinger enthusiasts。 My name is Franny； and yes； I？m named after the Salinger book； and yes； it？s
obviously my favorite book in the world。 I？ll be starting at Vassar next year and； um； well； I guess
I hope I make some new friends today。？
Maybe she？ll meet her Zooey？
？Vanessa；？ Dan murmured； running his hands over the soft…prickly stubble on the back of her
head as she kissed him ever so tenderly。 ？You came back to me。？
？Er； Dan？ It？s me； Greg。 Are you okay？？
Greg？s voice snapped Dan back to reality。 He sat up and rubbed his eyes。 ？Oh； sorry； I think I
was nodding off there。？
？It？s okay。You？ve been sleeping for about an hour。？
？I have？？ He stood up and then sat down again quickly。 Whoa。 ？I was just listening to that girl
talk about liking Salinger and that？s the last thing I remember。。。。？
？That girl？？ asked Greg； pointing out the curly…haired Franny； who was sprawled on the floor
across the room while Peter； her fellow Salinger fan； tickled her neck with his tongue。 ？She； uh；
connected with a fellow book lover； as you can see。？
？What？s going on？？ Dan looked around the room； which had grown considerably darker。 It
seemed like all twenty…two salon…goers were hunkered on the floor in pairs； or in small groups。 No
one seemed to be doing much talking； and if they were； it certainly wasn？t about books。 On the
room？s other big couch； Dan counted seven legs and eight arms。 The half…bald punk girl； Penny；
was getting her multiply pierced ears worked over lovingly by that redhead Susanna？s tongue
right in front of him。 Dan frowned。 His elite literary gathering was turning into anorgy。 And he
could have sworn someone had been kissing him right before he woke up。 But who？ There
weren？t any girls there with pletely shaved heads。
？Don？t worry； Dan；？ murmured Greg； slipping an arm around his shoulders。 ？We？re all just
having a good time getting to know one another。You know； it？s like we wanted； right？？
Dan nodded。 Itwas？
Greg reached out and cupped Dan？s chin gently with his hand。 ？We？re all passionate people；
passionate about books； passionate about life。？ Squeezing Dan？s chin playfully； Greg pulled
Dan？s face close to his and kissed him； softly； on the lips。
Dan yanked his face away。 Excuse me？What the fuck？
Greg smiled and kissed Dan again； this time letting his warm tongue slip over Dan？s lips。 Dan
was about to pull away again； but his hand involuntarily ran up the back of Greg？s neck and into
his short； prickly hair。 There was some…thing so totally familiar and forting about kissing
some…one with short； spiky hair。
Hello？ Even if that someone is a dude？
Feeling totally confused and extremely nauseated all of a sudden； Dan mustered enough energy
to push Greg away and mumbled something about needing to puke as he stumbled for the
bathroom。 It was the absinthe that was to blame； he assured himself as he settled onto the
white…tiled floor in front of the toilet。
For the kissing…someone…with…face…stubble part； or the puking part？
？
Air Mail … Par Avion … July 11
Hi Dan！
How e you haven？t been replying to my postcards？ Are you okay？ Has Vanessa painted my
room black yet？ Write me baaaaack！
Love （but not for long if you don？t write me soon）；
Jenny
s and b？s sweet revenge
？Are you ready yet？？ Serena banged on the thick； bleached wood pocket door to the guest
house？s only bath…room； straining her voice to be heard over the persistent beat of techno playing
outside； and of the noise of partygoers laughing and yelling to one another across the wide；
emerald green lawn。
？Almost。？ Blair dabbed a bit of her current favorite perfume？a lilac concoction from Viktor &
Rolf？behind her earlobes； on her wrists； and； just in case； on the soft space between her breasts
that was just visible in her low…cut； tissue…weight pale yellow cotton Alberta Ferretti dress。 She
glanced at herself in the mirror； imagining what she might look like if someone like； say； Nate； just
happened to wander next door to check out the party。 With her tousled； beachy hair and her long
nearly white dress； she looked like a bride about to get married on a sailboat。 A sailboat like
theCharlotte； the boat Nate had built that very first summer they were together。
Which was the only sailboat she？d ever really sailed on。
She？d been thinking about Nate a lot ever since they ran into him three days ago； hoping he？d
e visit again。 She？d already heard from a million people that his hot romance or
whateverthefuck he had with that townie girl was long over； and with some proper groveling； she
could forgive him for his romantic retardation。 Yes； he was a total fuckup and yes； he？d broken her
heart a million times； but something about the way he？d watched her run off； taking in her familiar
naked form like it was a painting or something； had left her wanting to see him again and again。
Spinning around on the heels of her white alligator Bailey Winter gladiator sandals； Blair slid the
rolling bath…room door open dramatically and stepped into the bedroom； where Serena was
pretending to smoke the fourth cigarette she？d lit since Blair first disappeared into the bathroom。
Boredom can turn any nice girl into a pyromaniac。
？Nice choice。？ Serena nodded approvingly； studying Blair？s outfit。 ？But we？ve got to make our
grand entrance soon； and there？s no way I？m doing it without you。？
？You…know…who already outside？？ Blair asked。
Serena hopped off the bed and walked over to peer out the window at the action poolside。 Blair
joined her； taking in the dozens of silhouettes and the bright blue pool lit up behind them。 She
spied Ibiza and Svetlana in the distance。 ？DJ booth。？ Serena pointed。 ？Nice shorts；？ she added；
pretending to admire Ibiza？s trashy； butt…cheek…revealing hot pants。
Blair snorted； stepping back inside the bathroom to dab a bit of her Aesop nail cream onto her
cuticles？they seemed a little dry lately。
Must be all that manual labor。
？Shit； Blair； e on； what are you doing back in the bathroom？？
？I？m ing； I？m ing。？ Blair wiped the excess cream off her nails with one quick swipe。
She dropped the tissue in the trash and froze。 What。 The。 Fuck。 What was that in the trash！？ She
bent over and picked up the mother…of…pearl…encrusted basket and placed it on the rose…marble
counter…top。 ？Get in here。？
？You lookfine。 ？ Serena leaned into the bathroom to grab Blair？s forearm。 ？Let？s just go。 I？m
dying f