Chapter 50
Lux's Point of View
The strawberry covered waffles with cool whip for breakfast was exactly what I needed after dealing with Chuck trying to poach Caleb away from me this morning for whatever reason. He's Chuck Bass he doesn't need a reason I guess, other than to torture me that is. I mean I leave Caleb unattended for less than ten minutes and here comes Chuck like the vulture he is. He doesn't even like people, so why would he want to become friends with Caleb? Ugh, I have a migraine now. In the short amount of time I've actually gotten to spend getting to know Caleb I realized he's the complete opposite of Chuck and I love that about him.
He's polite and doesn't say whatever vulgar or demeaning thing that pops into his head. He's also an excellent tipper. I noticed that when he paid for our breakfast. I'd apologized profusely for Chuck's intrusion early, but he didn't mind it so it seemed. He even offered to walk with me to meet Serena at the Jitney. Blair was taking the limo back to the city with Marcus and all our belongings. I could have road back with Nate, but he was with the devils spawn so I opted out of that. All I had to do was board a bus and sit back and relax until we reached the city.
"Thank you for breakfast, again." I smiled as we walked down the sidewalk window shopping. Caleb waved it off and smiled a toothy smile that I had to admit was quite adorable.
"No problem! We should do it again once we are both back in the city, only maybe over dinner this time?" He propositioned me cocking his head to the side. His tan skin glistened in the bright blistering summer sun as I mulled the idea over in my head. "As friends of course." He added after a moment.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. I mean someone has to help you relearn your way around the city." I teased laughing at him. His family had been living in Japan for two years, so he admitted he was worried he forgot where all the popular places were.
"Yeah, yeah I hear you." He smirked as I spotted Serena up ahead sitting on a bench. I waved to her to let her know I was here and she glanced over her shoulder motioning for me to look at who was lurking behind her. That's when I noticed Humphrey with his nose in a book waiting for the bus to arrive behind her. What the hell is he even doing here? I'm missing something…
"Well I suppose this is where I leave you." Caleb said gaining my attention again. I laughed and brushed some hair behind my ear as he stood there awkwardly looking at the ground. I honestly felt so nervous around new people. Apparently, he did too.
"I'll see you back in the city! Text me and we'll get together." I smiled leaning in without thinking and kissing him lightly on the cheek. I was so used to doing that to Chuck it was like a second nature. It had become a habit I needed to break. I froze in place afterwards while he stood there smiling.
"I'll be seeing you." He said in my ear as he walked past me to cut across the street. I through my head back and shook it as Serena made her way over towards me. She smiled warmly and pulled me into a hug knowing I felt like I just made an ass out of myself. It was just a kiss on the cheek, people do it in other countries all the time, but I felt so stupid.
"What's with Humphrey?" I asked as she glanced at him over her shoulder as I leaned my head against her shoulder feeling our sweaty skin touching.
"He showed up at the white party last night, looking for me. We both were miserable without each other over the summer. We uh, went to talk on the beach last night and well…we… you know." Serena explained looking at me coyly as the bus came roaring down the street and to a stop.
"Seriously, you slept with him? What about all your issues and stuff? There's a reason you guys broke up? I guess sex wasn't one of those reasons." I whispered as a line of tourists formed getting ready to get on the bus. The heat and humidity was through the roof today. I needed air condition now.
"No, it wasn't." Serena giggled looking at me. "Well, then." I laughed back.
"While things may or may not have escalated last night, we both agreed that we do need to have a serious conversation if we are going to try to work things out between us. It's not like we are going to make out with each other. We can control ourselves." Serena stated as Dan looked up from his book and walked over towards the entrance to the bus. We all three arrived at the door at the same time and stopped to look at each other.
"Oh hey, Lux. I didn't realize you were even in the Hamptons." Dan stuttered while I glared at Serena out of the corner of my eye. Dan was okay in my book, I guess. I mean I hated his sister. Not him.
"I didn't realize you were either. This should be interesting." I mumbled under my breath smiling and trying to hold back a laugh as I stepped up onto the bus. Serena followed behind me and sat down in a seat next to me while Dan found one on the other side of the bus.
These two put each other through hell last year with all of the secrets and lies. Were they really going to go for round two? I just hoped Dan didn't turn out to a blood sucking leech like his little sister. I rifled through my bag until I found my iPod and headphones and placed them snugly in my ears while I scrolled through my playlists. Serena read the stack of magazines she'd brought with her. I never wanna be your ex-man. I'll never make you feel ignored. You can go and find your next man. But I know what you're waiting for. Rixton flitted through the tiny speakers in my ears as I spaced looking at the blurring browns and greens of trees as we road down the highway.
I rested my head against the glass and tucked my knees up under my chin knocking one of my headphones out. "Dan." Serena whispered looking over at him in the seat behind us. She reached over and yanked his headphones out startling him, he looked at her confused and oblivious to the magazine she was trying to hand him.
"I'm finished reading my magazine. I know you like to read the music reviews." She smiled as he took the magazine. She smirked as she settled back in her seat and caught me staring at her with arched eyebrows.
"I love to read music reviews too you know?" I dared her as she turned my face away from her playfully. I shook my head knowing exactly where this was heading. She was flirting and he was doing his best to not take the bait. The tension between them was unreal.
After about an hour of listening to music and talking to Serena I pulled out the box of chocolate covered strawberries I'd bought when Caleb walked me to the bus earlier today. As I gorged myself with chocolate covered fruit Serena joined in as well. "I have too pee." She whispered, while I laughed. We literally tell each other everything. I remember one time we even sent Snapchat's to each other while we were in the changing rooms at Bergdorf's. I felt my phone buzzing in my bag and pulled it out to see a new text from Blair.
S.O.S. Party to plan! – B
Oh joy, a party…I thought just as Serena got to her feet and started to head down the aisle towards the back of the bus we hit a huge pot hole in the road that jolted everything and everyone around in the bus. I heard Serena yelp and turned my head to see that she had conveniently fallen right into Dan's lap. He looked at her the way Chuck used to look at me and knew she was gone. She smiled at me biting her lip and shrugging her shoulders as she inconspicuously drug Dan back towards the bathroom with her. I wanted to tell Serena to sit her ass back down and not give into him, but who am I to tell her what to do. If that were Chuck I probably would've done the same thing if things were normal between us… I rolled my eyes at the thought of him and glared out the window once again.
Chuck's Point of View
Despite the hangover from hades my morning had gone surprisingly well. I'd gotten under Lux's skin one more time before leaving her with the Abercrombie model. My mission was complete for the day. I really didn't see Caleb as much of a threat at first. One call to my private investigator was all it took to find out all I needed about this little douche. His family owned and ran the business end of a Mercedes car manufacturing plant. They spent two years opening up a new corporation in Japan. In that time the little prick was a perfect little angel. He volunteered at children's hospitals and animal shelters. He owns his own summer time business here in the Hamptons landscaping and already has an early acceptance into Princeton. Of all the entire god damn schools. Princeton.
He literally was Mr. Perfect. I scrolled through his Myspace page on my phone and rolled my eyes at all the pictures of him and his family. He was the all American boy. I needed to destroy him, before Lux starts falling for this bullshit. No one is perfect. I just have to find his weakness and exploit it.
"Don't you think you're a little outmatched?" Nate questioned me as I shoved my phone back into my pocket.
"At squash? Hell no, I've been playing my father since the eighth grade." I informed him assuming he was referring to the match I have against Lux's special friend. He shook his head and handed me a bottle of water out of the mini fridge in the limo. We were on our way back to the city as we spoke. I needed a plan of attack by the time we arrived home. I wasn't about to let some other guy come in and take something that was rightfully mine. Not a chance in hell. She might hate me, but I know she still has feelings for me. I could tell at the white party.
"No, I mean as a guy. According to this file, Caleb is an all-around pretty decent guy. I mean his future is set. He's everything Lux would want. For the record the fact that I know what her type is highly disturbs me. Your greatest achievement is owning half of a burlesque club." Nate pointed out handing me the file my PI had faxed me this morning.
"Which is why I need to get to know him. No one is that perfect. Once I get him out of the way I'll have a clear shot a Lux." I said twisting the cap off my bottle of water and taking a drink.
"Well, you know it's love when you start talking like an assassin." Nate joked causing me to partially choke on the water I had swallowed while I held back a laugh. Shit. I had admitted to him that I was in love with Lux at the beginning of the summer… If I told him why can't I tell her?
"I think you're just jealous of my new best friend." I teased feeling my phone vibrating in my pocket. I fished it out of my jeans to see a number I really didn't want to right now.
"I have been hoping someone would tag in for awhile now." Nate countered as I smirked and answered the phone.
"Charles, is now a good time to talk?" Mrs. Archibald a light motherly voice flitted through the phone. I glanced out of the window and ignored Nate staring at me from across the window.
"I can't talk right now. I'll have to call you later." I said quickly hanging up the phone and jamming back into my pocket. Nate looked at me awkwardly as I ran my hand down the side of my face.
"Look if you need to work out the plans of your takedown, don't let me stop you." Nate teased putting his hands up in mock surrender. If he knew what I was doing with his mother he'd be pissed for sure. That's why it was better to just keep it to myself.
"You know me well, but it's nothing." I brushed it off looking out the window.
Mrs. Archibald had come to me a few weeks ago wondering how Nate was doing without the Captain being around. In a moment of weakness she let her guard down and informed me that since the Captain fled the country the district attorney working his case took that as an emission of guilt and in return froze all of their assets. I didn't expect her to tell me that and felt bad. Nate is my brother and I would do anything for him.
I had the power to help them so that's what I intended to do. I wasn't going to stand back and watch my best friends life go down in flames. That's when I offered to give Mrs. Archibald a small loan to help keep them on their feet until the attorneys got off their asses and did their jobs and unfroze their accounts. Obviously that's why she was calling.
