hen he could drink for two？and downed
one immediately。 Burping quietly； he dropped the empty glass on the table and wound his way
through the thick crowd； one hand clutching Bree？s； the other his chilled champagne。 They pushed
through the crowd and stepped into the foyer。 Bree bounded through the foyer and up the stairs
ahead of him。 Maybe she was getting into the idea of this party？
？This is great exercise；？ she observed。
？Yeah； great；？ Dan agreed； panting along behind her。
As they climbed higher； the din of squealing girls and thumping bass grew louder。 The crumbly
walls of the town house were surprisingly solid； but even they couldn？t contain the racket。 When
they reached the fourth…floor landing； they ran into the overspill from the apartment above： leering
at them from the next floor； the final landing； was the disturbingly groomed Chuck Bass； pet snow
monkey perched on his shoulder wearing a pink tutu and brandishing a glistening silver magic
wand。
？Romeo！？ Chuck called down to Dan in a girly falsetto。
Dan nodded at Chuck hospitably。 He loathed that asshole and his freaky vintage eighties mint
green Prada zipper suit。 He took Bree？s hand and pulled her up the steps behind him： it would take
some maneuvering to get her safely past Chuck。
？Who？s that？？ Bree wanted to know。
？No one；？ Dan told her firmly。 They hurried up to the top landing； dodging bodies and bulldozing
past Chuck Bass； until they nearly collided with Vanessa。 Again。
Theyhad to stop meeting like this。
Vanessa was acpanied by the same little boys she？d had in tow in Central Park a couple of
days before； only instead of being smeared with ice cream； th