still sleeping； but when she wakes up she？ll say hi too。？ Blair rolled her eyes。 Ping and Pong？
Isn？t it technically called table tennis？
？Daddy；？ she snapped。？I need to talk to you！？
What happened to treading lightly？
？There？s no need to getsnippy about it；？ her father replied； rather snippily himself。 ？Just let me
put the baby down。？ Good。 Maybe now he could pay some attention to his firstborn。
？You know how Nate and I were going to Yale together？？ Blair plowed ahead； not waiting for
her father to respond。 She could hear the sound of him whispering in French to someone in the
background。 ？Well； Nate didn？t get his diploma from St。 Jude？s； and now it looks like he can？t go
to Yale in the fall？they want him to repeat senior year instead。？ ？Oh； honey。？ Her father？s voice
was sympathetic now。 ？I？m so sorry。You must be devastated。？ ？Well； Iwas。 ？ Blair picked up her
Mason…Pearson hairbrush and whipped it through her smooth； chestnut…and…gold locks。 ？Until I
remembered that you？re on the board of trustees。 Isn？t there something you can do about it？
Maybe talk to the dean of admissions and put in a good word for Nate or something？ Everyone
respects youso much； Daddy；？ she said； back to her original plan of kissing ass。 Her father sighed；
and then there was more rustling。
？It？s not so easy； Blair…Bear。 。 。 。 I can？t just make a diploma magically appear。？ He whispered
something in French to Giles； and Blair momentarily wished she？d actually learned the language
in her AP French class。 ？I？d really like to help； but I can？t just snap my fingers and make Nate？s
problems go away。 Besides； with the new twins and all； this isn？t the best？？ ？Daddy； youowe me。？
Blair cut him off midsentence with an exasperated sigh。 ？First you move to France during
myformative years； and now you？ve replaced me with these twins。？ She took a deep breath and
tried to stop herself from pletely losing it。 Had everyone gone totally insane？ First her mother
had announced the family was moving to Los Angeles； next Serena and Nate had told her they
were staying in New York； and now her dad was going to bail on her when she needed him most？
Blair heard footsteps in the hall； and suddenly the door swung open to reveal her stepbrother；
Aaron； wearing electric yellow Quicksilver board shorts and a burgundy Harvard T…shirt； followed
by his disgusting boxer； Mookie？who immediately bounded up to Blair and began covering her
crotch in dog drool。
？Get off me！？ she yelled； rubbing the wet； goopy places on her legs where Mookie had licked her。
The dog trotted over to the corner where Blair had tossed her dirty laundry； picked out one of her
pink Cosabella thongs； and lay down； the lace hanging from his jowls。
Well； at leastsomeone？s interested in getting in her pants these days。
Blair rolled her eyes to the ceiling and threw a pillow at Aaron。 He sat down on the floor next to
the boxer and lit one of his foul herbal cigarettes； chuckling as Mookie ripped Blair？s expensive
underwear to shreds。 His normally pale face was tan； and his dark； short dreadlocks were streaked
with copper； like he？d been living on a beach all summer。 Aaron was annoying； but at least he
didn？t look anything like his dad； Cyrus； who was the most revolting human specimen of a
stepfather Blair had ever encountered。
？Daddy； are you still there？？
？I？m here； Blair…Bear？and I？ll try。 But no promises； okay？ I want you to be realistic about the
situation。 If it？s meant to be； it？s meant to be。？ The babies started wailing again； and her dad
offered a quick ？Love you； see you in a few days！？ before signing off。
Oh； it was meant to be； all right；Blair thought as she tossed her phone down on the bed。 You
couldn？t stop destiny？and she and Nate weredestined to be together forever。
？Thanks for the friendly wele； Sis。？ Aaron grinned and leaned up against Mookie； throwing
his arm around the dog？s neck in a half nelson。 Good。 Maybe he？d strangle the thing by accident。
Mookie offered him a wet lick across his face。
？Oh； right。 Wele back；？ she said irritably。 ？And I told you to stop calling me that。 Just
because my mom married your dad doesn？t mean I？m your sister。？ ？Uh； no offense； Sis； but that？s
exactly what it means。？ Aaron smoothed down Mookie？s gross； slobbery fur with one hand and
chuckled。
？Whatever。？ Blair inspected her French manicure； which was now chipped。 As if she needed one
more fucked up thing in her life。
Poor baby！
？So； you getting psyched for Yale？？ Aaron asked； lying back on the floor。 Mookie promptly got
up and sat on his chest； obscuring his face so that all Blair could see was his dreadlocks； and
Mookie？s grinning； drooling muzzle。 It was like they？d bee one giant dog…dreadlock monster。
Before Blair could answer； Aaron？s muffled voice continued。 ？Remember when I drove you up for
your interview； and we stayed at that gross motel？？ ？Oh God？how could I forget？？ Blair laughed
bitterly。 At the time； she？d thought her luck couldn？t get any worse。 After a night of drinking too
much beer and eating too much junk food from their motel vending machine； she？d overslept for
her Yale interview； which had wound up being a total disaster。 Now that she was into Yale； she
could look back and laugh。 If she hadn？t gotten in； Aaron wouldn？t be alive now to remind her of
the story。 ？Anyway； how was your road trip？ Pick up any interesting； homicidal hitchhikers？？ He
laughed。 ？No hitchhikers。 It was good？I pretty much didn？t want to e back。 But I guess I
should probably pack up a few things before I leave for Harvard。？ ？Yeah； before the movers e
and we bee homeless；？ Blair added angrily。 She kicked the trunk at the foot of her bed for
emphasis。
？Well； I guess that tells me how you？re feeling about the move。？ Aaron inched a little farther
away； as if afraid she was going to kick him next。 ？What； are you worried you？ll miss all the good
sales at Barneys？？ ？Yeah； actually。？ Blair crossed her arms over her chest。
He nodded his dreadlocked head sympathetically and took another puff from his herbal cigarette；
which smelled like boiled broccoli and Lysol。 ？So； how？s everybody been while I was gone？？ His
voice was muffled by Mookie； who was practically sitting on his face at this point。 ？How？s
Vanessa？？ ？Can you move that disgusting mutt so I can see you？？ Blair pulled her newly long hair
back into a ponytail。 Aaron shoved Mookie off of his chest。 The dog whimpered and slid
reluctantly onto the floor。
？So； how？s Vanessa？？ He asked again； sitting up and crossing his legs Indian style。 ？Is she
ing to the Met party？？ ？I think so。？ Blair picked up a nail file from the floor and began
furiously filing away at her ring finger。 ？But she？ll be ing from her sister？s wedding in
Brooklyn； so she？ll probably get there late。Why do you care anyway？？ ？Who said I care？？ Aaron
raised one eyebrow and grinned mischievously。 ？Maybe I？m just curious。？ True love never lies；
part deux？
summertime； and the living？s easy 。 。 。
？Your lemonade； Miss van der Woodsen。？
A crisp； British…accented voice woke Serena from her light slumber。 She looked up to see a
handsome waiter leaning over her； a gleaming silver tray with a tall； frosted glass of lemonade
balanced perfectly on one hand。 The turquoise water of the SoHo House pool sparkled behind him；
casting a tint of blue on his entirely white uniform。
Serena sat up in her deck chair； tying up the straps of her white； barely there Marni bikini so that
she wouldn？t flash him by accident。
That？s one way to tip！
？Thank you。？ She smiled； pushing her white Chanel sunglasses to the top of her head。 This was
the life。
？Please let me know if you desire anything else；？ the waiter offered with a polite little bow
before leaving。
Serena smiled to herself as she leaned back on her pristine white deck chair； taking in the scene
around her。 The entire poolside area was furnished in white； with white lounge chairs； oversize
white umbrellas； and white monogrammed SoHo
House towels。 The stylish guests had taken it upon themselves to match the scenery； clad entirely
in white bikinis； wraps； and linen pants。 The pool was strikingly turquoise against the bright white；
and the tops of Manhattan？s Financial District skyscrapers glittered in the distance。
She sighed； feeling the hot August sun warm every inch of her smooth skin。 This really was the
life。 After their press conference at the Soho House on Tuesday； Ken Mogul had handed Serena
and Thad the jet…black key cards to the penthouse and let them know the room was rented for a
week。 Since Thad had his own apartment in the city； he？d told her she could stay in the room the
whole time if she wanted to。 Serena preferred to stay in her own room at home？her parents were
hardly ever home； though they wouldn？t exactly approve of her living in a hotel room on her
own？but access to the exclusive； Meatpacking District； members…only rooftop pool came with the
card； and she certainly wasn？t going to say no to that。 The only thing missing was someone
special to enjoy it with。
She picked up her cell and dialed