Author's Note: Sorry for the delay

Chapter 15: The launch part 1

Blair stood rigidly, her hands clamped to her sides as she waited for the elevator to arrive. She stole a glance at Carter and rolled her eyes. Carter snaked a hand around her waist and she abruptly slapped it away. "Don't touch me"

"That's not what you were saying a few hours ago," Carter said with a smirk. Blair glared at him and crossed arms across her chest. Blair crossed her arms across her chest and looked straight at the elevator which seemed to take forever to come. Carter scooted closer to her and traced the curve her back with his index finger. She sucked in her breath and tried to ignore the smell of his cologne, and the softness of his caress.

"We're getting an annulment, "she said to herself. Blair refused to listen to the part of her brain that said that she should give this a shot; give him a shot. The elevator door opened and she rushed inside and stood at one end and hoped he'd get the message and stay on the other end, but Carter was stubborn. He stood next to her and whispered into her ear. "You know you want me. Stop denying it."

"it doesn't matter. Anyways its pure lust. Lust does not make a marriage work."

"It's a start."

"What about love?"

"In time."

"That's not good enough for me Carter. I need to be in love."

"Love is over-rated,"he muttered.

"So is sex,"she said as she pressed the button to the 24th floor harder. Carter glared at her and pressed the stop button.

"What the hell are you doing?"Blair asked.

"Something I've been dying to do since I woke up this morning, "he said before grabbing her and kissing her firmly on the mouth. Despite her muted protests, Blair found herself kissing him back passionately as he pulled up her skirt and removed her panties. Carter looked up at her, his eyes asking if she should continue. Blair simply nodded her head in approval and found herself getting lost in a sea of hazel. He pinned her up against the elevator door, as he pushed her skirt so it bunched up around her tiny waist.

"You drive me crazy. My temptress."

Blair pulled her skirt down and said, "I belong to no one," and moved to the opposite end of the elevator. She hated herself for letting him do this to her again. There was just something about him that drove her to do crazy things. Carter was a bad influence and marrying him was by far one of the dumbest things she had ever done.

Rita was listening to her voicemail as she drove over the bridge as she headed towards Dan's loft. Her jaw dropped and heart plummeted when she listened to what he had to say. They had sort of lost touch in the past few months. She noticed that he seemed caught up in this new girl he was dating, but she assumed like all the rest she'd eventually drop off the radar. Dan's relationships didn't tend to last beyond the three month mark. She could hardly believe that they were still together, but worse of all dan admitting that he was in love. He mumbled something about it being a long story. Rita had waited patiently for him to get over whatever it was he was going through. She had ran out on him in college because the memory of his ex was so strong and constantly overpowered their relationship. It had just gotten to be too much. It felt like she was standing in the room every time they were together, so she had ended it. It had taken them two years to speak again, but eventually they'd managed to forge a friendship. Rita had hoped that he'd eventually see how great they could be together once he got some of his issues out of his system. But, now in a single phone call, all her hopes came crashing down. Dan Humphrey would never be hers. She finally made it to his street. She parked her Saab and got out and made her way up the elevator. She rung the doorbell and was greated by a blonde bombshell who seemed eerily familiar.

"Hi?"

"Hi, I'm Rita. Dan's friend. Is he home?"

"He is out with a friend of his. Come in,"Serena said as she welcomed Rita inside. Rita was shocked by the changes to the loft. She could feel the feminine touches that had been added in the last few months. The windows were no longer bare. Instead they were covered with sleek curtains in a metallic color. The coffee table was adorned with a vase full of fresh flowers. Actually the whole apartment seemed to carry the scent of flowers. The flash of color was something Dan rarely would bother with.

"So, you must be Dan's new girlfriend."

"I guess you could say that. He's mentioned you a few times. You went to college together right?"

"Yeah, we used to go out, but it didn't work out,"Rita mumbled. She was trying to place the blonde. She got up and walked around as she went to get her something to drink. It was then she noticed the picture in the frame. It was her, the ex that had haunted her relationship with Dan.

Serena noticed Rita gaping at the picture of her and dan at the cotillion. Something bout this girl rubbed her the wrong way, but she wasn't going to make a big deal about it.

"I hope ice tea is okay."

Serena handed the glass to the girl and it was then that Rita noticed the shiny diamond ring on her left finger. They were getting married. Married.

"You're engaged. Congratulations."

"Thank you. It's taken us a long time to get to where we are and we're both determined to stop letting life get in the way, "Serena said as she stared at the girl intensly. She wanted her to get the message. Dan was hers and that her attentions were unwelcome. Rita could feel the steam emanating from the other girl and her fight reflex kicked in.

"Well sometimes its hard to make up for years and distance."

"Sometimes time means nothing when the heart isn't whole."

"sometimes the pain just isn't worth the hassle."

"Well in this case it is."

Rita took a sip of her ice tea and looked back at Serena with fire in her eyes. "Please leave. This is my home and I will not have you walking here acting like you can disparage my relationship with Dan. I get that you have a history with him, but my history with him outweighs whatever the two of you shared and it couldn't have been all that important if he hadn't told you about our engagement considering he has told all of his other friends. So, please leave. I'll let Dan know you came by,"Serena said coldly as she waited for the other girl to leave.

Rita simply smiled and said, "no need to be so testy, "before exiting the apartment. Serena watched the girl leave the loft and all her anger seemed to bubble to the surface in that moment. She picked up the vase on the coffee table and threw it across the room in frustration. She couldn't believe the gall of that girl. Who was she to comment on her relationship with Dan? She didn't know her and it was obvious she didn't know Dan as well as she'd like to think she did. She just hated that Dan wasn't here to deal with the horrid bitch, but above all she was pissed that she had no warning about her whatsoever. All she knew was that she was an old friend. The fact that he had lied to her made her even angrier.

Nate and Jenny were walking in the park when they decided to take a break and sit down on one of the benches. Jenny pushed a stray hair from her face and smiled up at him. Nate still had this way of making her heart skip a beat, but she was determined to stop thinking of him in that way.

"so, how are things with Casey? When am I going to meet him?"

"He's going to be at the launch tonight."

"I am glad you are so happy. You seem at peace," Jenny said as she played with a wisp of hair. Nate locked eyes with Jenny and tried to ignore the small spark that he felt. There had always been something between Jenny and himself, but he spent more time ignoring it then anything else because their relationship was just too complicated. He pushed a strand of her hair from her face and said, "that's better."

Jenny didn't know what to say. There was not mistaking what he had just done, but she wanted to know why. What was up with him? I mean he was dating a guy, not that she judged that sort of thing. But, she really liked to have a clear understanding of things. Gay, straight. Interested in me or not, but with Nate the lines were always blurred. He was taken, but free; but straight, her friend, but more. She needed definition. It was just the way her mind operated. She didn't live in the land of in between.

"What are you doing nate?"

"Huh, I don't understand."

"OF course you don't. Ugh, I should go,"Jenny said as she made her way swiftly across the park. She could hear his footsteps behind her. It didn't take him long to catch up to her.

"Jenny what's wrong?"

"Nate I have to go."

Jenny attempted to walk faster which was hard considering she was wearing 2 inch heels. She found herself marching up fifth avenue when Nate grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "Talk to me."

"I can't do this anymore nate. I can't live like this. I can't keep hoping that you'll look at me like you once did. So, stop. Just stop."

"What if I don't want to."

"You have a boyfriend. Not girlfriend, but a boyfriend."

"Are you suddenly homophobic, I though you were better than that?"

"I'm not homophobic. Its just hard enough competing with the rest of the female population now I have to compete for guys attention too. Its too much,"Jenny said.

"I, I don't know what to say."

Jenny wanted to walk away to leave him standing there, but she couldn't move. She was trapped by his gaze. This whole conversation was awkward, she wanted to be free of whatever spell was binding her to nate. "Just let me go. Once and for all Nate,just let me go."

"What if I can't?"he asked before grabbing her and kissing her. Jenny's breath caught in her throat as he pulled her closer and kissed her with such a fervent passion that nearly knocked her off her feet. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. The last thing she should be doing is kissing Nate Archibald in the middle of the street, but she couldn't help herself. They were both so caught up in the other that they didn't hear the two familiar voices that said, "What the hell is going on here?"

They turned to see Dan and Casey facing them. Casey turned and walked away leaving Dan to deal with the caught lovers in the middle of a busy street.

"You two have lot of 'splaining to do."

Dan rolled his eyes and decided to save his anger and flailing for a more opportune time. The last thing he wanted to be doing is dealing with this drama out in the open. "Come on, lets grab some coffee and I want to know what exactly the two of you are thinking and hwy I shouldn't beat the crap out of you right now for touching my sister. Again."

Serena spent the rest of the day dealing with the caterer, the wait staff and the florist –who was running over an hour late with the deliveries. She wanted everything to go off without a hitch, but things didn't seem to be running smoothly. It took nearly all day, but the florist finally arrived as did the glassware and other equipment that she'd been waiting on. Normally, these small delays wouldn't bother her. She really should be leaving it up to the PR department, but she wanted to handle this launch herself. This book was special to her. Dan was her first writer as an editor and she wanted to prove to everyone that she could separate her emotions from her work and do what it took to get the job done.

Serena found herself rearranging the flower arrangements on one of the end tables when Dan finally arrived. The sight of him nearly took her breath away. He was dressed in his finest suit and she watched him as he adjusted his tie. Dan always seemed to clean up so well. She loved the way he looked in a suit. His best features were extenuated by the expensive jacket and slacks. She loved that he decided to wear a tie she had bought for him recently. It made the anger she felt towards him dissipate for a split second. They had lots to discuss, but she was determined not to do it here.

"hey,"he said as he kissed her cheek.

"hi,"she said as she patted his shoulders. "You look nice."

"You look pretty hot tonight,"Dan said as he attempted to kiss her, but she turned and started adjusting another floral arrangement. Dan wondered what he had done to cause her to turn from him so abruptly.

"Hey, Serena. What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"Let's not talk about it here."

Dan grabbed her hand and led her through to the other side of the room. "Okay spill. What's going on with you?"

"Why didn't you tell me about Rita?"

"Tell you what exactly?"

Serena crossed her arms and frowned at him. "Oh lets see. How she's your ex-girlfriend and the fact that she's in love with you."

"What are you talking about? She's not in love with me. Yes, we dated but it was short lived. She's been nothing more than a friend for years."

"You lied."

"I didn't lie."

"It was a lie of omission."

"So, you want me to list all the girls I've dated since we last broke up. Is that it? I though we'd been through this. I am not proud of my behavior, but none of them were you. God, what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to be honest with me Dan. I want you to not put me in the line of fire cause some girl has an unrequited crush on you."

Dan's temper subsided as what she was trying to tell him sunk in. He wanted to make her feel better, but he wasn't expecting whatever it was that happened between Rita and her

"Tell me what happened? What did she say to you?"

"She basically said we were doomed cause too much time had passed"

Dan clenched his jaw and said, "she had no right to say that to you. Rita can be opinionated, but she'd been there for me during a very rough time that's why I let her get away with half the crap that I did. But, what she said to you was out of line and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you we dated, but really it wasn't important. I didn't think it was worth mentioning."

"Dan I really need to get back to work. We'll talk about this later. I just I need to know I can trust you and how can I trust you if you don't talk to me."

TBC