AN: I own nothing except the story line and the characters not seen in the show!

Thanks for all of the reviews, they really meant a lot to me!!


Chapter 8

She didn't know why she did it. As she allowed herself to be led to the dance floor by Nate, she winked at Chuck. Winked at Chuck. That was something she would do in high school, if she were trying to make him jealous.

But here she was, 24 years old, he was engaged and she was winking at him. And not one of those friendly, hey, how you doing winks. No, it was a don't-you-wish-you-were-with-me-right-now wink.

She had no business to do that. Even if she forgot the fact that he was engaged and his fiancée was sitting right next to him, she was the one who told him that they couldn't be together. And lest she forget whose arm she was attached to at that very moment.

Ugh, she just had to forget about Chuck, pretend the infamous wink never happened, and focus on enjoying her night with Nate. After all, he was looking ridiculously hot tonight in a charcoal Hugo Boss suit and white collared shirt, and it would be a shame to waste it.


Chuck stared after Blair's retreating figure, clad in a strapless cerulean dress that hugged her curves in just the right places, trying to understand what had just taken place. He had been pretending to listen to Joanna talk about the wedding for the ninth fucking time that day, all the while eavesdropping in on Blair and Nate's little whisper-fest.

Joanna had been complaining that something was too long and Nate had whispered to Blair "That's what she said." Blair hadn't been able to contain herself and had burst into a fit of laughter.

Chuck silently cursed himself for turning Nate on to 'that's what she said jokes.' If he hadn't told Nate a similar joke only hours before, Nate wouldn't have been able to use it to cheer Blair up and coerce her onto the dance floor.

And then, just as Blair was walking away with Nate, she winked at Chuck. What the fuck was that all about? He tried to rack his brain for some secret signal they had created years before but came up short. The wink had meant nothing except watch me have fun with your best friend and see what you're missing out on. Either that or she had a facial tick, he wasn't sure.

Chuck tried to shake it off. It had probably been nothing, his mind's imagination playing tricks on him. He turned his head back to the table and pretended to be interested in the bride's maid's dresses.


As Nate led Blair onto the dance floor, a fast song was blaring through the DJ's speakers. He was unsure of what to do. It wasn't that he had never danced with Blair to fast-paced songs before, but that was when they had been together, so grinding on each other hadn't seemed too weird.

She sensed his insecurities and decided to put her own aside and try to let lose. She pulled him flush against her body and proceeded to grind her hips into his. He responded with enthusiasm, glad that she had taken out all the guess work.

She pushed and pulled, spinned and twirled, while he just moved slowly, working around her movements. After several faster songs passed in this fashion, a slow song came on. Everyone quieted a little as all the couples merged together and held each other.

Nate held tight to Blair's waist as she clung to his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. She was still softly grinding her hips with his, which could prove slightly problematic in the near future if Nate didn't gain some control over himself.

She looked up at him with those large doe-eyes and he smiled his goofy smile at her, his blue eyes filled with lust. He ground his hips into hers, giving her a slight shock and causing her to let out a quiet gasp of pleasure simultaneously. He chuckled and so did she.

"Nate." She admonished, but only halfheartedly.

"Sorry." He said in a voice that sounded anything but sorry.

"Thank God you're pretty." She murmured. He just chuckled again.


"Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they're watching soft core porn? Not that I know what soft core porn looks like." Dan quickly added at the look his wife gave him.

"What are you talking about?" Chuck asked, ears perking up at the mention of one of his favorite types of entertainment.

"I'm talking about Nate and Blair having sex over there." Dan said and pointed to the two familiar figures on the dance floor.

"Dan!" Serena bellowed.

"What Serena?" Dan asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the couple.

Chuck too was fixated on the two bodies that appeared to have been melded together into one.

"Well don't watch!" Serena said in an exasperated voice, realizing that her husband's words were not too far from the truth.

Blair and Nate were dancing in a way that would be deemed unsuitable for children under the age of 17 to watch. Even as the slow song changed to a fast song, Nate held Blair tighter still to his body and she seemed in no hurry to let go of him either.

"What is she doing?" Serena asked to no one in particular.

"It seems pretty obvious to me." Dan retorted with a smirk.

"Doesn't it make her a slut to sleep with one guy one day and go after a new guy the next?" Joanna asked in a fake sweet voice rivaling Blair herself.

Serena, Dan, and Chuck each glared at her. Serena looked away in disgust muttering things under her breath about digging for gold. Chuck mouthed "what was that?" to Joanna and Dan returned to looking at the happy couple on the dance floor.


After a while Nate leaned into Blair's ear and whispered something that made Blair's whole body turn rigid. Her face froze and her eyes were glued to his. This happened for only a second before she was coughing loudly and quite violently.

Nate strode over to the bar and Blair ran back to the table, out of breath and looking extremely pale.

"Nate just said he loved me." She shouted to Serena, forgetting who was sitting at the table.

"What?" Serena asked in total confusion.

"Nate told me he loved me. He said 'Blair, I love you.' Just now." Blair rushed out.

"What did you say?" Dan asked the obvious question.

"Nothing. I faked a cough and hauled ass out of there." Blair said as she sat next to Serena, finally remembering that Chuck was at the table.

"Where did Nate go?" Chuck asked in forced composure. Inside he was on fire, jealousy overtaking his every thought.

"He went to the bar to get me a drink." Blair explained, glancing at Chuck for only a moment.

"He probably meant it in the friend way though, right?" Blair pleaded for someone to reassure her.

"No, I don't think so." Dan said.

"What do you mean you don't think so?" Blair demanded angrily.

"I mean I don't think he meant it in the friend way. I think he meant it in the not-friend way." Dan clarified.

"Dan, you aren't helping." Blair said.

"Would you rather I lie to you?" Dan asked sarcastically. Blair ignored him.

"Okay, here's the plan. Number one, we all pretend this conversation never happened, alright? And number two, I pretend that I didn't hear what he said." Blair said.

Serena looked at her like she was insane.

"That is your plan?" Serena questioned.

"Yeah. I know Nate; he'll be too embarrassed to say it to me again if I don't bring it up first." Blair explained.

"That's great Blair. You're going to embarrass Nate so he won't tell you he loves you." Serena retorted.

"What else can I do?" Blair asked, failing to see how her idea was faulty.

"Call me crazy, but why don't you just tell him how you feel?" Dan asked.

"Because…I don't know how I feel. I mean one day we're in a fight, the next day he loves me. Why is he doing this to me?" Blair sighed.

"You're right, he's so selfish. How dare he love you?" Dan asked in mock horror.

"I mean, I just got out of an engagement for crying out loud. I'm home for a week and he's professing his love for me. Where was he seven years ago?" Blair asked, ignoring Dan's comments. No one said anything.

"Oh shit, he's coming over. Okay, everyone act natural. And Dan, let's not have a repeat of the other day." Blair said glaring at Dan.

"Who told you?" Dan asked, not the least bit ashamed, referring to his telling Nate about his late night chat with Blair.

"I'm Blair Waldorf; I know all." She said with a slight smirk.

Nate jogged back to the table with a bottle of water in tow and a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked in genuine concern and handed Blair the water bottle.

She nodded, making a show of taking a drink.

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks." She said.

"No problem." Nate answered and an awkward silence ensued.

Nobody knew what to say or if they should even say anything at all.

Finally, Blair saw a passing waiter and called him over.

"Two shots of the strongest shit you have." She said quickly.

"Blair!" Serena scolded her.

"Good call, S. Better make it three." Blair said and the waiter was gone.

"So." Dan said, the silence finally getting to him.

"So." Serena repeated, looking at Blair. Blair pretended she didn't see her.

"Blair. I just meant it as a friend. I love you as a friend. You don't need to freak out." Nate said softly.

"What are you talking about?" Blair asked, feigning confusion.

"I heard you across the bar. You're very loud when you're anxious, did you know?" He said with a sly grin. Blair blushed.

"Well thank God!" Blair said, a little too enthusiastically.

Nate's face turned pink and his eyes lost their luster. A small frown worked its way onto his lips. He felt as if someone had driven a knife into his heart.

"No. I…I didn't mean it like that. It's just, it's you and I…and I love you as a friend too and it's all very strange for me too and…" She trailed off, trying to find the right words to comfort him.

As if on cue, the waiter walked over with her shots. Blair downed them all within ten seconds. She shook her head, wincing as the whiskey burned the back of her throat, but in a good way.

"Delicious." She commented and everyone laughed.

"S…" Blair began after a minute or two of thinking.

"B…" Serena responded, sensing that Blair had something up her sleeve.

"Do you remember the routine?" Blair asked innocently.

Serena looked at her in awe, shocked that Blair still remembered it. But then again, this was Blair. Serena grinned and Blair had an evil glint in her eye.

"Nate?" Blair asked in a devilishly-sweet voice.

"No." He said simply.

"What do you mean no?" Blair asked coyly, edging closer to him, her hand resting lightly on his leg.

"I mean there's no fucking way that you two will get me to do it." Nate said sternly, refusing to look either girl in the eye.

"Oh really?" Serena asked incredulously.

"Really." He deadpanned.

"What if we made it worth your while?" Blair said, winking at Serena.

"Yeah Natie, what if we made it worth your while?" Serena said, leaning towards Nate.

"Uh, Serena, Blair can do whatever she wants but you're married." Dan said in mild concern.

"Relax Daniel. Nate, we're not asking you. We know you remember it and we know you want to do it, so suck it up and be a man." Blair said trying a new tactic as the old one seemed to have no apparent affect on Nate.

"Blair, you are no longer my girlfriend so you don't get to tell me what to do." Nate said.

Everyone at the table was stunned by his words. Blair was frozen in her seat.

And then, without warning Blair fiercely grabbed Nate's face, kissing him deeply and with such vigor that his chair was pushed back. She pulled her head back, stood up and nodded at Serena.

"Move your ass, Archibald. I'm not telling you again." Blair said harshly.

Serena walked over to the DJ's booth and requested a song. Nate grudgingly got up and followed Blair to the dance floor, where Serena was already clearing a large spot for them.

"What just happened here?" Dan asked.

Chuck shrugged, anger racing through his veins. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he thought he might scream. It was a kiss. Nothing more. Nothing romantic about it. But still, she should be kissing him, not Nate.

And then he felt Joanna loop her arm through his and he felt a mixture of guilt and disgust. He felt guilty for cheating on his fiancée but he was disgusted by her at the same time. He wanted so desperately for it to be Blair stroking his arm right now. But he knew it could never be and reminded himself that he shouldn't think that way about the supposed love of his life.

"I have no fucking clue." He muttered, glancing at Joanna and looking away just as quickly.

Ah, push it
Ah, push it

Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby
Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby

"God, this is going to be good." Dan said as he heard the introduction of one of the more well-known older rap songs.

Again Chuck said nothing. He just looked at the dance floor.

Blair and Serena were moon walking in front of Nate who, despite his previous protests looked like he was enjoying himself. His arms jerked in stiff movements as he did his own version of the robot.

Get up on this!

Ow! Baby!
Salt and Pepa's here!

Serena and Blair lined up behind Nate, who was now leading a mini-train. All three were wiggling their hips in a way that made the girls look sexy and Nate look ridiculous.

Now wait a minute, y'all
This dance ain't for everybody
Only the sexy people
So all you fly mothers, get on out there and dance
Dance, I said!

Nate abruptly stopped, each girl took one of his arms and they formed a chain. They all took several steps forward, arms still linked before they quickly jumped apart.

Salt and Pepa's here, and we're in effect
Want you to push it, babe
Coolin' by day then at night working up a sweat
C'mon girls, let's go show the guys that we know
How to become number one in a hot party show
Now push it

Blair and Serena shimmied forward, leaving Nate in the foreground to attempt to Crip walk, to no avail.

With her hips swaying in her tight dress, Blair had Chuck mesmerized. He couldn't look away if he tried. She was gorgeous and he would be lying if he said he didn't want to be Nate right now. But what else was new?

Ah, push it - push it good
Ah, push it - push it real good
Ah, push it - push it good
Ah, push it - p-push it real good

Blair and Serena each took turns pretending to slap Nate across the face. At each would-be hit, he turned his check to the other side, where the other girl would then pretend to slap him. It was quite amusing to watch.

Hey! Ow!
Push it good!

Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby
Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby

Nate took Blair in his arms first; twirling her around before lifting her off the ground dramatically while Serena did her own little dance. Then Nate lifted Serena up, repeating the same steps he had just done with Blair.

Joanna watched in disdain at the events taking place on the dance floor and turned to make a snide comment to Chuck when she noticed how entranced he was. She was not too pleased.

Chuck was hers, she had claimed him for herself and there was no way she was giving him up to Blair Waldorf, no matter what Blair or even Chuck himself thought.

Yo, yo, yo, yo, baby-pop
Yeah, you come here, gimme a kiss
Better make it fast or else I'm gonna get pissed
Can't you hear the music's pumpin' hard like I wish you would?
Now push it

Blair and Serena each kissed one of Nate's cheeks on beat with the lyrics. They then each grabbed an arm, essentially playing tug-of-war with Nate and then suddenly releasing his arms just as quickly.

They once again stepped in front of Nate and pushed their own hand together, spinning in circle's until the music faded into another song.

All three collapsed in laughter on the dance floor, trying to catch their breaths. Finally, Nate stood up and gave each girl a hand. They walked over to the table and resumed their seats.

"So?" Serena said looking to Dan, her face filled with glee.

"So, apparently Mr. Archibald has some moves." Dan said with a smirk.

Nate blushed but smiled at Blair and Serena all the same. Serena rolled her eyes as she slapped Dan's arm and Blair ordered a round of shots for everyone.

Joanna and Chuck seemed to be the only ones not enjoying themselves. Joanna gave Chuck a death glare before turning her attention back to the rest of the group.

"So, S, what time should I pick you up tomorrow?" She asked, glaring at Blair all the while.


Some quotes in the story above were borrowed from other works, so I've cited them here for anyone who's interested.

"Thank God you're pretty." – Friends (TV Show)

"Haul ass." – Clueless (Movie)

Song: "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa