that he doesn？t deserve you。？ He cracked a smile。 Nate hated it when his
father tried to be charming？especially when it was at his expense。
？That？s true。？ Blair？s blue eyes sparkled with mischief。 ？But he knows that。？ She slipped her
arm through Nate？s and rested her head on his shoulder。 It occurred to Nate that she？d e to
rescue him from his father。 He reallydidn？t deserve her。
？This calls for a toast；？ Captain Archibald announced jovially； picking up two champagne flutes
filled with golden liquid from the bar and handing one each to Nate and Blair before raising his
own glass。 ？You？re Yalies now。？ The
Captain motioned in their direction with his full glass。 ？Here？s to the navy blue！？ Nate opened
his mouth to say something； anything； but nothing came out。 A Yalie？ He certainly didn？t feel like
one。 ？You know； Dad；？ he began； choosing his words carefully； ？I wanted to thank you for
introducing me to Chips？er； Captain Chips。？ He paused to swallow a gulp of champagne。 ？He
really taught me a lot about being a man 。 。 。 and uh 。 。 。 thinking with your 。 。 。 you know。？ Blair
nodded distractedly； and Nate followed her gaze？she was staring at Chuck Bass； of all people。
Nate was about to be jealous when he noticed that Chuck was standing with a nerdy blond
spectacled kid in a too…small tux； his orange…and…blue monkey…patterned socks exposed above his
scuffed loafers。 Chuck was holding his chattering； screeching monkey up to an enormous； ancient
mirror so the monkey could admire his tuxedo and hot pink bow tie identical to Chuck？s。 Wow。
And Nate thoughthe had problems。
Nate turned away and searched his father？s face for some kind of recognition or