ng his money； presumably to pay his way through Yale in the fall。 He felt
a stab of guilt。 He hadn？t exactly been honest with her。
Old habits die hard。 ？Same old story every year；？ Tony continued。 ？Why don？t they find
someplace else to go； like France or some shit？？ ？They？re not so bad；？ Nate ventured。 ？I mean；
I？m kind of from the city？？ ？Youare ？？ Tawny demanded； lifting her head。 She narrowed her
normally wide blue eyes。 ？You never said anything。？
？You never asked；？ Nate pointed out。 There were murmurs from the other guys。 Vince spat into
the sand。 Out on the water； a fishing boat flashed its lights。
？I knew it；？ Tony said； spitting on the ground。 ？I could just smell it on you。？
？But I mean； it？s no big deal。？ Nate shook his head。 ？I mean 。 。 。 I？m not like a lot of those kids。？
？Well； I guess 。 。 。？ Tawny sank back into him； rubbing the side of her face against his
work…strong chest。 ？Maybe you？ll take me back to the city some time？？
？Sure； sure。？ Nate wrapped his tanned arm around her waist。 ？That？d be fun。？
As long as he keeps her away from Blair Not…so…good…with…jealousy Waldorf。
e up and see me sometime
The evening after their study session and another disheart…ening day of rehearsal； Serena sat in
the backseat of a taxi on her way back to the Chelsea Hotel。 But this time； she had something to
look forward to。 She checked the text messages on her phone again； mostly because she wanted to
reread the note from Thaddeus。
e down and see me。 I miss you。 xx
Serena had been starting to doubt herself after all the insults from Ken Mogul； but here it was：
incontrovertible； digital proof that she； Serena van der Woodsen； still