lunch with her jagged； unpainted pinky nail。 ？Yeah； but would you really want to send a boarding
school a whole bunch of paintings of some boy you don？t even talk to anymore？？ she asked
reasonably。
Well； at least they？d know I was capable ofhavinga boyfriend ； Jenny retorted silently； suddenly
irked by the prep…piness of Elise？s shell pink Peter Pan…collared blouse and the way her breath
always smelled like yesterday？s egg rolls。
Besides； Waverly sounded like the kind of school that was always evolving； not a party school
per se； but a school that wasn？t afraid to try something new or take a risk on someone。
Likeher； for instance？
Elise stopped picking her teeth and reached for Jenny？s makeup bag； opening it without asking
permission and unscrewing a tube of shimmering lilac…colored Stila lip gloss。 She puckered her
wide mouth and began generously smearing lip gloss all over it。
When Jenny really thought about it； she had taken a risk on Elise。 First she had been friendless；
and now she had a friend； whether she liked it or not。
？You？re right；？ she mused； retrieving her makeup bag and spilling it into one of the small； low
sinks。 ？I should send Waverly something new anyway。 Something I haven？t tried before。？ She
sorted through the assortment of eyeliners； shadows； and glosses； looking for her favorite Clinique
four…shades…of…gray eye shadow palette in its mint green plastic case。 ？Would you mind if I
painted your portrait with this？？ she asked her friend； holding up the palette and feeling suddenly
inspired。 She？d do Elise in eye shadow； her dad in red wine； and Dan in ？ instant coffee。 It was
innovative and meaningful； and way better than sending Waverly a tear sheet of her jog bra
modeling debut or her first appearance on Page Six。
Not that Jenny wasn？t still a party girl looking for a party school； but Serena van der Woodsen
had taught her a very important lesson： Party girls are deeper and smarter than they first appear。
Be still her cheating heart
Vanessa was sitting on the floor in her living room wearing only the black
SUGARDADDYDIDHUNGARYT…shirt her sister； Ruby； had sent her from Budapest； a recent
stop on her band？s tour； and a pair of somebody？s gray…and…white striped boxers？it was getting
hard to keep them straight。 She was trying to smoothly splice together Chuck Bass？s horrifying
and amusing interview； plete with pet snow monkey； with Kati and Isabel talking about how
they？d decided to go to Rollins College in Florida together even though Isabel had gotten into
Princeton。 Chuck was wearing a tight white wifebeater T…shirt and was rubbing his beefy；
unnaturally tan arms with Bain de Soleil dark tanning oil as he explained how he stayed golden
brown all year。 His monkey remained curled in his lap； blinking stupidly at the camera with its
creepy light blue eyes。
？Normally I lie in the beds like once； maybe twice a week； or I use this amazing Est？e Lauder
bronzing stuff to keep it nice and even all year round。 I wonder； though？do you happen to know if
there？s a good tanning salon near Fort Lee？？
Isabel and Kati were lying on their backs with their heads pressed together？Isabel？s sleek and
dark and Kati？s frizzy and strawberry blond？smiling up at the camera like sisters who looked
nothing alike。
？It？s like； how am I going to concentrate in； like； Intro to Law at Princeton； if my best friend in
the whole world is down in Florida all by herself？？ Isabel demanded gaily； her lips so thoroughly
glossed； they were practically dripping。
？Besides； we？re both going to lose ten pounds this summer on the South Beach Diet so we can
look awesome in our matching Shoshanna black…and…red paisley bikinis； which we get to wear
every single day！？ Kati shrieked excitedly； kicking her bare legs so hard； her light…blue…and…white
seersucker uniform flipped up； revealing her sensible white cotton Gap underwear。
The crazy thing was that the more Vanessa replayed the interviews； the more she realized she was
actually going to miss these people； freak shows that they were； and she wondered for their sake if
there was any way to make them sound more intelligent and less insane。
Probably not。 And what would be the fun of that anyway？
As she worked； she couldn？t help feeling distracted by the knowledge that just over the
Williamsburg Bridge； the indie film director Ken Mogul was casting his first moneymaking
blockbuster venture；Breakfast at Fred？s； which would be filmed at Fred？s restaurant in Barneys
department store on Sixtieth and Madison。 Months before； Ken Mogul had spotted a piece of
Vanessa？s film footage that had accidentally been leaked on the Internet and tried to hire her to
work with him。 He？d wanted her to quit school and postpone college。 Of course； Vanessa had said
no。 But now Ken Mogul was in New York； making a movie right under her nose。 She was
supposed to be driving around the country with Aaron this summer anyway； but？
It？s kind of tempting； huh？
Someone knocked on the front door。 ？Yeah？？ Vanessa called out before getting up to see who it
was。 Aaron was supposed to e over after band practice and had promised to bring Thai food
for dinner and help her study for her math exam。 He was due any minute； but he had a key。 She
got up and peered through the little glass peephole in the door。 There was no one there。
Hearing faint footsteps echoing on the stairs； she shifted her gaze and squinted； just making out
Dan？s skinny； navy…blue…board…shorts…clad ass as it disappeared up the grubby black steps on his
way to the roof。 She？d forgotten he still had a key； too。
Already Vanessa could feel the adrenaline rush she？d felt the last time Dan had e over。 Was it
being with him that made her feel this way； or was it the notion that Aaron could walk through the
door at any moment and catch them？ Did it even matter？
Hell no。
She scribbled a hasty note to Aaron？Went to get laundry？even though she？d already picked up
her laundry at the Wash ？n？ Fold that morning before school。 Then she threw open the front door
and dashed upstairs。
Dan was lying on his back on the futon underneath the water tower； wearing only his black
cotton boxer briefs； leafing through a glossy…pink…covered collection of Pablo Neruda love poems。
Beside him on a tinfoil tray were four bluepoint oysters from Zabar？s and an open bottle of red
Merlot with two Styrofoam cups。 When he saw Vanessa； he immediately sat up and began to read
aloud。
Don？t go far off； not even for a day； because？
Because？I don？t know how to say it： a day is long。
？Do you think maybe you could call first before you e over？？ Vanessa demanded； pretending
to be furious； because she knew it turned Dan on to see her mad。 ？Aaron？s ing over； like； right
now。？
？That？s from a poem called ？I Crave Your Mouth； Your Voice； Your Hair；？？ Dan explained；
gazing at her sweetly。 He poured a little wine into a cup and held it out。 ？Want some？？
Vanessa rolled her eyes and went over to the futon。 ？I think I know what you crave。？ She sat
down and took off her shirt； the adrenaline pumping eve