Chapter Two:
It was three o'clock on Saturday afternoon and Nate Archibald was sipping from a flask of Coke spiked with vodka, courtesy of his friend Anthony Avuldsen, who constantly carried some form of alcohol in his Jansport backpack because it just made him feel cool. They were hanging out with their other friends, Jeremy Tompkinson and Charlie Dern, at Central Park, sitting beneath the shade of a large tree and watching the teenage girls who were coming and going in different variations of bikinis, T-shirts, and skirts, laying down on brightly-coloured towels to soak up some Vitamin D before going to hit the shops.
And also, of course, to subtly check out the four cute boys through their dark sunglasses.
"So Nate, how's Blair?" Jeremy asked. He was a skinny kid with curly hair and looked the youngest of the group.
Nate grinned and passed the flask to Anthony. "She's Blair," he said matter-of-factly.
Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Duh. I mean, y'know. How's the situation?"
"I knew what you meant," Nate laughed. "It's all good. We made out yesterday night." He paused, the other guys looking at him rapt with attention. "On her bed."
"Shit." Anthony nodded approvingly and raised the flask in Nate's direction.
"When are you going to do it?" Charlie asked, momentarily looking away from them to flash a small smile at the brunette who was obviously looking at him from her towel at the opposite tree, then looking back at Nate.
"Uh. Soon?" Nate guessed, running a hand through his hair. Truth be told, he was always a tad eager to go further with Blair when they were making out, but she insisted on waiting for 'the right time'. He didn't completely understand what she meant by that but just agreed with her to keep her happy. He decided that 'the right time' would come soon enough. Blair was probably just playing hard to get, scared that he'd lose interest in her if she was too easy. But Nate knew he'd never lose interest in Blair. He loved her too much.
"Hey, look, it's Serena." Jeremy pointed at the blonde figure walking through the grass of the park, eating a large pretzel from a brown paper bag.
Nate brightened at the sight of her and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Hey, S!" he called. He watched in amusement as she spun around in surprise, before squinting in his direction and seeing him waving at her. At this, her face broke into a sunny smile and she hurried over, her step light on the warm ground.
"Hey, Natie," she cried, dropping to her knees and flinging her long, golden arms around him, dropping the pretzel in the process. "Oops!" When she let go, she sat down on the grass and smiled at the other guys. "Heyyy!"
They all tried to look cool and uttered typical boy Sup's in response, but inside all of them were jumping with excitement at being in the presence of one of the two Upper East Side goddesses.
"What're you guys drinking?" Serena asked, reaching for the flask. Her top slid down a little with the movement and none of the guys made any motion to tell her. She took a big gulp from the flask and grinned wickedly. "Drinking in broad daylight. Don't any of you know that cops frequent this place?"
"We get away with it," Charlie said, obviously trying to impress her.
Serena giggled and put the flask down, the hugged her legs to her chest. "I was just with Blair. We booked a room for our party."
"Oh, yeah, the party." Anthony looked practically exuberant. "When do we get our invitations?"
"Who said you were invited?" Serena teased. Anthony mock-pouted and Serena reached over and messed up his hair. "Kidding. You get them on Monday."
"Sweet." Anthony and Jeremy slapped hands.
"Where're you having it?" Nate asked, liking the way Serena's hair shone in the sunlight.
"The Vine Club," Serena answered excitedly. "The room we booked is huge, I swear. It's going to look amazing when we're done with it."
"I can come help decorate," Nate volunteered.
"Sure," Serena chirped. "That would be fun."
"So where's Blair now?" Jeremy spoke up, changing position so he was lying on his stomach instead of sitting cross-legged.
"She went to get a pedicure." Serena shrugged her tan, thin shoulders. "She said that she'd call you later." She pointed at Nate.
"How about you, Serena? When are you gonna call me?" Charlie asked Serena flirtatiously.
Serena laughed and surveyed Charlie, who was wearing a faded grey Billabong tee and an obviously expensive label of jeans. He was always flirting with her and she never complained, because he was cute in that all-American-boy way, with scruffy sun-lightened hair, olive skin, and a wide mouth. "Maybe one day," she said coyly. Jeremy and Anthony looked beyond impressed.
Serena suddenly hopped up and tucked her hair behind her ears. "I'm gonna go do a Barney's run. I'll see you guys on Monday, okay?"
"I'll come with." Nate stood up too. "I need a new shirt."
"Cool, I'll help you choose one," Serena said perkily. She waved at the remaining three guys. "Bye!"
"See ya, Serena," they chorused. They reached up to slap hands with Nate instead of just simply saying goodbye then watched the two walk away.
Nate and Serena stepped out of the park and onto the sidewalk to make their way over to the closest Barney's, which was about three blocks away. "So. Blair couldn't stop talking about you today," she said lightly.
Nate chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh yeah? What'd she say?"
"Oh, just recounting every last detail of your hot-and-heavy kissing session last night," Serena teased. She pitched her voice to sound like Blair's and said, "'Oh, and he was so sweet! He kept pushing my hair behind my ear and he kept making sure the pillow was behind my head at all times. I swear, he is such a gentleman-"
"Oh, man." Nate laughed at her dead-on impression. "You definitely have to tell me every single thing she said about me. Do you think she really thinks I'm a gentleman?"
"What about me?" Serena stopped walking and turned to face him.
"What about you?" Nate asked, confused.
"Don't you want to know if I think you're a gentleman?"
Nate still looked puzzled but nodded. "Yeah, okay."
Serena tipped her head to the side, as if considering his gentlemanly qualities. "Well. It all comes down to if you steal the Barney's doorman's cap off his head, put it on yours, then hold the door open for me to walk in," she giggled giddily.
"You underestimate me, Serena." Nate started walking again, smiling.
"Race you there," she challenged. "Last one to the door buys the other a pair of La Perlas!" And she took off in her dirty white flip flops, her long hair flying out behind her like a golden flag.
"Cheater!" Nate yelled, running after her as she laughed manically. "I'm gonna get there first!"
But of course he'd let her win.