gestured to the ski patrol guys. ?I invited these guys to the party. Blair and I can get a lift with them.? Just then the elevator doorsbinged and slid open. Ladies and gentlemen ? Queen of the Mountain! Blair had fastened a little gold heart barrette in her hair and was wearing the jade chandelier earrings Les Best had given Serena after she'd modeled in his runway show. She was also wearing Serena's light blue cashmere pullover, which was fine because Serena had been planning on giving it to her, anyway. It was a little tight in the chest, which was also fine. Blair liked it like that. So did the Sun Valley Ski Patrol. They nudged one another and shifted their feet and mumbled noisily, like animals in a barnyard. ?Hey. You look fantastic,? Erik said, liking the way the other guys were ogling her. He held out his hand possessively. ?Ready to go?? Blair was glad she had taken her time getting ready. She was even wearing the plain white cotton Hanro underwear that Serena always made fun of, calling them her ?grannypants.? But the truth was, Blair was always more comfortable in her granny undies than in all the fussy, lacy panties and thongs she owned. And she looked better in them, too. They were what she imagined herself wearing when she was being undressed. And someone was definitely going to be undressing her tonight. Still life with toothbrushes Jenny was so confused by what had happened with Leo earlier that evening that she stayed up late, painting a still life and sorting out her thoughts. As usual, there were no fruit or vegetables in the fridge except for a thousand-year-old moldy orange, so she painted toothbrushes and a bar of Dove soap instead. It seemed entirely possible that Leo did not own a dog and did not live in that stunning apartment on Park Avenue. Maybe he's just a normal, everyday person, she thought to herself as she carefully touched up the blue bristles on Dan's toothbrush.Just like me . Actually, she still didn't know what he was. Why didn't he just make it clear instead of playing games? She glared down at her canvas. ?This is dumb,? she grumbled, and tossed it into the trash can under her desk. Everything was dumb. All of a sudden she just felt so ?dumb . And dumb people need company. ?Oh, so now you have time to talk to me?? Elise said when she picked up the phone. ?I'm sorry,? Jenny allowed. ?I've been acting stupid.? ?That's okay.? Elise's voice softened. ?Anyway, I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this. I mean, if he was so rich and his mom was this crazy person who dressed up her dog, he probably wouldn't be such a good boyfriend to have. Right?? Jenny thought about this. ?How would you know?? she asked suspiciously. ?How many boyfriends have you had?? Elise didn't answer right away. Jenny had touched on a sore subject. ?Actually, I thought your brother was going to be my first boyfriend, but I guess not.? Jenny snorted. ?Like that would ever work. You don't smoke, and you don't even like coffee.? She could feel Elise smiling on the other end, and it felt good that she'd made her friend smile. ?Anyway, I think you should stop thinking of Leo as something he's not and just see if you like who he actually is.? Jenny crouched down and pulled the smudged, wet still life out of her wastepaper basket. Maybe if she didn't think of the toothbrush painting as a still life but as a painting with toothbrushes in it, it would work better. She might even add something not so still to it, like Marx the cat. She lay down on her stomach and pulled up the corner of her pink bedspread, looking for him. ?So ?? Elise said. ?Are you going to call him or what?? Marx wasn't there. Jenny stood up and went over to her computer. ?No. He likes e-mail better.? She sat down, an idea forming in her head. She was going to invite herself over to Leo's house?at least, she was pretty sure that basement apartment on East Eighty-first Street was his house. This e-mail was her warning signal. She was going to find out once and for all who he was and what he was all about?whether he liked it or not. The phone still pressed to her ear, she went online and started to type. ?So you really don't think Dan and I could have worked?? Elise persisted. ?He was writing a poem about me, I think.? Jenny could have told her all about how Dan was still in love with Vanessa and how all the poems he wrote were really about Vanessa and him, even when he pretended they were about someone else. Also, she'd bet anything Elise would get bored with his ?I'm a tortured, miserable soul? bullshit after about ten minutes. ?No way,? she answered distractedly. ?Sorry, let me just finish this.? ?That's okay. I think I'm going to e-mail your brother right now and tell him what a jerk he is.? ?Good idea,? Jenny agreed. Now both girls were typing away at their keyboards as they breathed ferociously into their phones. When you have a tough message to get across, it's always good to have backup. E-mailing boys is so much easier than talking to them face to face Dear Leo, I know this seems like a strange thing to say, but I really feel like you've been hiding something from me and I don't know.

gestured to the ski patrol guys. ?I invited these guys to the party. Blair and I can get a lift with them.? Just then the elevator doorsbinged and slid open. Ladies and gentlemen ? Queen of the Mountain! Blair had fastened a little gold heart barrette in her hair and was wearing the jade chandelier earrings Les Best had given Serena after she'd modeled in his runway show. She was also wearing Serena's light blue cashmere pullover, which was fine because Serena had been planning on giving it to her, anyway. It was a little tight in the chest, which was also fine. Blair liked it like that. So did the Sun Valley Ski Patrol. They nudged one another and shifted their feet and mumbled noisily, like animals in a barnyard. ?Hey. You look fantastic,? Erik said, liking the way the other guys were ogling her. He held out his hand possessively. ?Ready to go?? Blair was glad she had taken her time getting ready. She was even wearing the plain white cotton Hanro underwear that Serena always made fun of, calling them her ?grannypants.? But the truth was, Blair was always more comfortable in her granny undies than in all the fussy, lacy panties and thongs she owned. And she looked better in them, too. They were what she imagined herself wearing when she was being undressed. And someone was definitely going to be undressing her tonight. Still life with toothbrushes Jenny was so confused by what had happened with Leo earlier that evening that she stayed up late, painting a still life and sorting out her thoughts. As usual, there were no fruit or vegetables in the fridge except for a thousand-year-old moldy orange, so she painted toothbrushes and a bar of Dove soap instead. It seemed entirely possible that Leo did not own a dog and did not live in that stunning apartment on Park Avenue. Maybe he's just a normal, everyday person, she thought to herself as she carefully touched up the blue bristles on Dan's toothbrush.Just like me . Actually, she still didn't know what he was. Why didn't he just make it clear instead of playing games? She glared down at her canvas. ?This is dumb,? she grumbled, and tossed it into the trash can under her desk. Everything was dumb. All of a sudden she just felt so ?dumb . And dumb people need company. ?Oh, so now you have time to talk to me?? Elise said when she picked up the phone. ?I'm sorry,? Jenny allowed. ?I've been acting stupid.? ?That's okay.? Elise's voice softened. ?Anyway, I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this. I mean, if he was so rich and his mom was this crazy person who dressed up her dog, he probably wouldn't be such a good boyfriend to have. Right?? Jenny thought about this. ?How would you know?? she asked suspiciously. ?How many boyfriends have you had?? Elise didn't answer right away. Jenny had touched on a sore subject. ?Actually, I thought your brother was going to be my first boyfriend, but I guess not.? Jenny snorted. ?Like that would ever work. You don't smoke, and you don't even like coffee.? She could feel Elise smiling on the other end, and it felt good that she'd made her friend smile. ?Anyway, I think you should stop thinking of Leo as something he's not and just see if you like who he actually is.? Jenny crouched down and pulled the smudged, wet still life out of her wastepaper basket. Maybe if she didn't think of the toothbrush painting as a still life but as a painting with toothbrushes in it, it would work better. She might even add something not so still to it, like Marx the cat. She lay down on her stomach and pulled up the corner of her pink bedspread, looking for him. ?So ?? Elise said. ?Are you going to call him or what?? Marx wasn't there. Jenny stood up and went over to her computer. ?No. He likes e-mail better.? She sat down, an idea forming in her head. She was going to invite herself over to Leo's house?at least, she was pretty sure that basement apartment on East Eighty-first Street was his house. This e-mail was her warning signal. She was going to find out once and for all who he was and what he was all about?whether he liked it or not. The phone still pressed to her ear, she went online and started to type. ?So you really don't think Dan and I could have worked?? Elise persisted. ?He was writing a poem about me, I think.? Jenny could have told her all about how Dan was still in love with Vanessa and how all the poems he wrote were really about Vanessa and him, even when he pretended they were about someone else. Also, she'd bet anything Elise would get bored with his ?I'm a tortured, miserable soul? bullshit after about ten minutes. ?No way,? she answered distractedly. ?Sorry, let me just finish this.? ?That's okay. I think I'm going to e-mail your brother right now and tell him what a jerk he is.? ?Good idea,? Jenny agreed. Now both girls were typing away at their keyboards as they breathed ferociously into their phones. When you have a tough message to get across, it's always good to have backup. E-mailing boys is so much easier than talking to them face to face Dear Leo, I know this seems like a strange thing to say, but I really feel like you've been hiding something from me and I don't know.

gestured to the ski patrol guys. ?I invited these guys to the party. Blair and I can get a lift with them.? Just then the elevator doorsbinged and slid open. Ladies and gentlemen ? Queen of the Mountain! Blair had fastened a little gold heart barrette in her hair and was wearing the jade chandelier earrings Les Best had given Serena after she'd modeled in his runway show. She was also wearing Serena's light blue cashmere pullover, which was fine because Serena had been planning on giving it to her, anyway. It was a little tight in the chest, which was also fine. Blair liked it like that. So did the Sun Valley Ski Patrol. They nudged one another and shifted their feet and mumbled noisily, like animals in a barnyard. ?Hey. You look fantastic,? Erik said, liking the way the other guys were ogling her. He held out his hand possessively. ?Ready to go?? Blair was glad she had taken her time getting ready. She was even wearing the plain white cotton Hanro underwear that Serena always made fun of, calling them her ?grannypants.? But the truth was, Blair was always more comfortable in her granny undies than in all the fussy, lacy panties and thongs she owned. And she looked better in them, too. They were what she imagined herself wearing when she was being undressed. And someone was definitely going to be undressing her tonight. Still life with toothbrushes Jenny was so confused by what had happened with Leo earlier that evening that she stayed up late, painting a still life and sorting out her thoughts. As usual, there were no fruit or vegetables in the fridge except for a thousand-year-old moldy orange, so she painted toothbrushes and a bar of Dove soap instead. It seemed entirely possible that Leo did not own a dog and did not live in that stunning apartment on Park Avenue. Maybe he's just a normal, everyday person, she thought to herself as she carefully touched up the blue bristles on Dan's toothbrush.Just like me . Actually, she still didn't know what he was. Why didn't he just make it clear instead of playing games? She glared down at her canvas. ?This is dumb,? she grumbled, and tossed it into the trash can under her desk. Everything was dumb. All of a sudden she just felt so ?dumb . And dumb people need company. ?Oh, so now you have time to talk to me?? Elise said when she picked up the phone. ?I'm sorry,? Jenny allowed. ?I've been acting stupid.? ?That's okay.? Elise's voice softened. ?Anyway, I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this. I mean, if he was so rich and his mom was this crazy person who dressed up her dog, he probably wouldn't be such a good boyfriend to have. Right?? Jenny thought about this. ?How would you know?? she asked suspiciously. ?How many boyfriends have you had?? Elise didn't answer right away. Jenny had touched on a sore subject. ?Actually, I thought your brother was going to be my first boyfriend, but I guess not.? Jenny snorted. ?Like that would ever work. You don't smoke, and you don't even like coffee.? She could feel Elise smiling on the other end, and it felt good that she'd made her friend smile. ?Anyway, I think you should stop thinking of Leo as something he's not and just see if you like who he actually is.? Jenny crouched down and pulled the smudged, wet still life out of her wastepaper basket. Maybe if she didn't think of the toothbrush painting as a still life but as a painting with toothbrushes in it, it would work better. She might even add something not so still to it, like Marx the cat. She lay down on her stomach and pulled up the corner of her pink bedspread, looking for him. ?So ?? Elise said. ?Are you going to call him or what?? Marx wasn't there. Jenny stood up and went over to her computer. ?No. He likes e-mail better.? She sat down, an idea forming in her head. She was going to invite herself over to Leo's house?at least, she was pretty sure that basement apartment on East Eighty-first Street was his house. This e-mail was her warning signal. She was going to find out once and for all who he was and what he was all about?whether he liked it or not. The phone still pressed to her ear, she went online and started to type. ?So you really don't think Dan and I could have worked?? Elise persisted. ?He was writing a poem about me, I think.? Jenny could have told her all about how Dan was still in love with Vanessa and how all the poems he wrote were really about Vanessa and him, even when he pretended they were about someone else. Also, she'd bet anything Elise would get bored with his ?I'm a tortured, miserable soul? bullshit after about ten minutes. ?No way,? she answered distractedly. ?Sorry, let me just finish this.? ?That's okay. I think I'm going to e-mail your brother right now and tell him what a jerk he is.? ?Good idea,? Jenny agreed. Now both girls were typing away at their keyboards as they breathed ferociously into their phones. When you have a tough message to get across, it's always good to have backup. E-mailing boys is so much easier than talking to them face to face Dear Leo, I know this seems like a strange thing to say, but I really feel like you've been hiding something from me and I don't know.