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'Run your hand over the gentle curve of her stomach and around to the small of her back. She moans and arches her back, pushing her body closer to you. Tighten your grip and hold her firmly there while you kiss her roughly until her body softens in your hands'

It was a good thing this was second nature to Chuck Bass, because his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't have told you the name of the girl he was with or the brand of the expensive scotch he had been drinking to get himself into this state. He could have told you what day of the week it was, but only after a few moments consideration to think it through (The wedding had been on a Sunday. It had been exactly a week after that that he was meant to catch a plane to Tuscany. It had been 23 days since the Monday Blair had found out that he wasn't coming and had left angry voice mail messages for him. 23 days since he had last heard anything from her. Which made today... a Wednsday? Yes, that sounded right...). He could only concentrate on one thing at the moment, the very thing that was distracting him from the distractions that he was currently using to distract himself from what it was that was distracting him from his distractions. Just thinking about it made his head spin, and he couldn't think of anything else, so he tried very hard not to think at all.

It came to Chuck's attention that the girl that was still pinned beneath him was now reaching for his shirt, using her long, skilled fingers to un-hook his buttons. He didn't fell triumph at his latest conquest, or aroused by her near-naked body sprawled out beneath him. He didn't even feel guilty, not anymore. He didn't feel anything really. He had the alcohol to thank for that. And because he had gotten rid of those feelings he could finally get back to doing what he did best...

He moved in closer, trapping her hands against his chest, and kissed her with dangerous ferocity. He felt her gasp with pleasure, but it was accompanied by none of the satisfaction he usually experienced when he had a girl at his mercy like this. She finished with his buttons and slid his shirt off, pausing only to shoot him a sultry smile. He was close, so close; to letting go completely of everything that was holding him back... And yet he couldn't help but feel relived when their progress was interrupted by a loud beeping sound to his left, which startled her enough to make her sit up and push him off her.

The sound of his mobile phone going off had a sobering effect on him, jerking him out of his dreamlike state and back into reality. The thoughts and feelings he had been trying so hard to ignore came rushing back and he quickly untangled his limbs from hers. Suddenly he didn't want any part of his body to be touching her anymore. He used his phone, still vibrating, as an excuse to move to the other side of a bed, putting more distance between them.

"You can go" he nodded curtly to the girl. Rather than looking hurt, she simply rolled her eyes as she pulled her t-shirt back over her head and marched out of the room, no doubt heading for the nearest bar where she could continue what she and Chuck had started with the next available guy. He wasn't entirely surprised to realise that, even though she had just walked out the door, he couldn't remember what her face looked like. Not particularly caring, he turned his attention back to his phone to find a message from Gossip Girl which was ironically about the only girl he'd slept with whose face he remembered every detail off.

Warning: The B is back... Queen B, Blair Waldorf that is. She was spotted making her triumphant return to New York, arm in arm with her bff S and looking as though she didn't have a care in the world. You can't fool Gossip Girl B; we all know what happened between you and C before you left. If Chuck Bass weren't already M.I.A, I'd warn him to go into hiding. No one crosses the queen B without getting stung... Little J is proof enough of that. And remember last year, when the Ivy reps were in town and word got out about Serena's 'alcohol problems'? Although I recommend you stay well out of the cross fire, I can't wait to see 

what B has up her sleeve this time. You know you love me.
Xoxo, Gossip GirlChuck re-read the message three times, his eyes lingering sub-consciously on her name. So Blair was back in town. And even though he was the one who had messed her around, it seemed like she was handling it far better than he was. Not that it would be difficult... Even Chuck had to admit that cutting off contact from all family and friends, booking a suite in one of his fathers hotels under a fake name and drinking copious amounts of alcohol whilst attempting to revert to his womanizing ways of the past was not the best way to go about convincing himself that he hadn't made a huge mistake in abandoning Blair.

Just as he was trying to gather his thoughts together enough to formulate some kind of plan, his phone began to ring. As usual, he couldn't help the feeling that flared through him at the thought it could be her. It was somewhere between hope that she still wanted him, and fear that she had found a way to reach through the phone and strangle him. It wasn't her, of course. She hadn't called him since that first Monday when she had realised he wasn't coming. It was Erik.

Erik was the only person Chuck had spoken to during his self imposed exile. In fact, Chuck had called him on his third day alone, knowing he needed to talk to someone, also knowing that, because of what he had done, he had very limited options of who he could speak to. He had waited until late at night so Erik would be alone, he didn't want anyone in the family overhearing. Erik's initial response had been less than ideal.

"Chuck? What the hell?"

"Shush! Could you please not say my name so loud?"

"I repeat what the hell? You ditched Blair in Tuscany and then you disappear off the face of the earth? Serena is furious, Nate is planning on beating the crap out of you next time he sees you, my Mum is worried sick about you disappearing and your Dad... Well, actually your Dad seems to be handling it well. He's used to the situation, I suppose. He's disappointed though."

"Thanks for the rundown" Chuck muttered sarcastically, noting that Erik had failed to mention anything about how Blair was taking his desertion of her. I won't ask about her, I will not ask how Blair is doing; I'm not that desperate... "How's Blair?"

Chuck could picture his step brother's expression, a mixture of pity and frustration. "Blair's... I dont know. I think she's doing ok. She's in France, with her Dad. She's gonna kill you, you realise that, don't you? I always wanted a brother, and now that I have one he has to go get himself murdered"

Chuck had smiled at the joke, even though he didn't find the situation particularly funny. He wondered vaguely if Blair would beat him to death with her favourite pair of high heeled wedge shoes, or if she would simply hire someone to do it for her.

And then Erik had asked Chuck what he was going to do now, and since Chuck had less than no idea what the answer to that question was, he had quickly made up an excuse and hung up the phone. And now, Erik's name was still flashing on caller-id, and Chuck knew he was going to ask the same question, and he still didn't have an answer. Even in his drunken haze he could see quite clearly that he had screwed up everything. What the hell was he going to do?



"Erik?" Chuck answered the phone sharply.

"I'm guessing from the tone of your voice that you know that she's back in town"

"I did hear a rumour"

"Consider it confirmed. She and my sister just came by here. They're getting ready to go away together, to the Hampton's, for the rest of the summer. I've got to go, but I thought you might be interested in knowing where she was" Erik said pointedly before hanging up.

The Hampton's. Blair was going to be in the Hampton's for the rest of the holidays. On one hand, that would make her much easier to avoid. On the other hand, now he knew where she was... There was something buzzing through his veins, the first real sensation that wasn't drug induced that he had felt since he had left Blair standing alone at the airport. He knew he had screwed up, but he had a chance to do something about it now, and this time he wasn't going to let it pass him by. Chuck Bass was going to win back Blair Waldorf. For a moment, he pictured her delicate face, twisted in rage, as it would no doubt be when he next saw her, and he couldn't hold back his trademark smirk. Yes, Chuck was going to win back Blair... And he was going to have fun doing it.