Chapter 21

Like check out Blair's bare ass¹, or worry about condoms, or bad breath, or try to say the right thing. He was barely thinking at all. Blair's room was a blaze of candles. A bottle of red wine was open on the floor, with two glasses beside it. Blair knelt down and poured each of them a glass like a little geisha. She felt more comfortable naked in the darkness of her room. “What kind of music do you want to listen to?” she asked Nate, handing him a glass. Nate gulped² the wine, swallowing noisily. “Music? Anything you want. Whatever,” he said. Of course, Blair had her CD mix all cued up. The first song was Coldplay, because she knew Nate liked them. Slow and sexy, rocker boy. Blair had made and remade the movie of this moment in her head so many times she felt like an actress who was finally getting her big break, playing the role of her career.She reached up and put her hands on Nate's shoulders. He tried not to look at her, but he couldn't help it. She was naked, and she was beautiful. She was a girl and he was a boy. There have been plenty of songs written about this. “Take off your clothes, Nate,” Blair whispered. Maybe after we do it, I'll tell her, Nate thought. That didn't seem completely fair, but still, he kissed her. And once he started, he couldn't stop. When Serena woke up a little while later, Chuck had changed the channel to MTV2 and was singing along loudly to Jay-Z. Serena's Pucci dress had ridden up above her waist, and her lacy blue underwear was showing.Serena propped³ herself up on her elbows and wiped the lip-gloss⁴ scum out of the corners of her mouth. She pulled down her dress. “What time is it?” she said. Chuck glanced at her. “Time for us to take off our clothes and get in bed,” he said impatiently. He'd been waiting long enough. Serena's head felt thick, and she was dying for a glass of water. “I feel awful,” she said, sitting up and rubbing her forehead. “I want to go home.” “Come on,” Chuck said, flicking⁵ off the TV. “We could take a hot tub first. That'll make you feel better.” “No,” Serena insisted. “Fine,” Chuck said angrily. He stood up. “There's water on the table. Put your boots on, I'll help you get a cab.” Serena pulled on her boots and stared at the cold rain falling outside the hotel room window. “It's raining,” she said, taking a sip⁶ of the water. Chuck handed her a scarf, his trademark⁷ blue cashmere, monogrammed with the letters C.B. “Wrap it around your head,” he said. “Come on, let's go.” Serena took the scarf and followed Chuck out to the elevator. They rode down in silence. Serena knew Chuck was disappointed that she was leaving, but she didn't care. She couldn't wait to get out into the fresh air and into her own bed.A cab pulled up, the Remi brothers' poster in the box on the cab's roof. Serena thought it looked like a close-up photograph of lips puckered⁸ into a kiss. “What's that? Mars?” Chuck joked, pointing to it. He glanced at Serena without a trace of humor in his eyes. “No, it's your anus!” Serena blinked at him. She couldn't tell if Chuck trying to be funny or if that's what he actually thought the picture was. Chuck held the cab door open for her, and she slid into the back seat. “Thanks, Chuck,” she said sweetly, “I'll see you soon, okay?” “Whatever,” Chuck said. He leaned into the cab and pressed Serena against the seat. “What's your problem anyway?” he hissed⁹. “You've been fucking Nate Archibald since tenth grade, and I'm sure you did just about every guy at boarding school, and in France, too. What, are you like, too good to give me some?” Serena stared directly into Chuck's eyes, seeing him as he really was for the first time. He'd always been hard to like, but she'd never actually hated him before. “That's okay, I wouldn't want to do it with you anyway,” Chuck sneered¹⁰. “I hear you have diseases.” “Get away from me,” Serena hissed, putting her hands on his chest and shoving him away. She slammed the cab door shut in his face, and gave the driver her address. As the cab pulled away, Serena hugged herself, staring straight ahead through the rain-spattered windshield. When the taxi stopped at a light on the corner of Broadway and Spring, she opened the door, leaned out, and threw up into the gutter¹¹. That will teach her not to drink on an empty stomach. Chuck's scarf swung from her neck and dangled¹² in the puddle¹³ of pink vomit¹⁴ on the pavement. Serena pulled the scarf off, wiped her mouth on it, and stuffed it into her bag. “Gross,” she said, slamming the cab door closed again. “Tissue, miss?” the cab driver offered, passing a box of Kleenex back to her. Serena pulled one from the box and wiped her mouth with it. “Thanks,” she said. Then she sat back in the seat and closed her eyes, grateful, as always, for the kindness of strangers. “What about a condom or something?” Blair murmured, gaping¹⁵ at Nate's hard-on. It looked like it was going to take over the world. She had managed to get all of his clothes off, and now they were lying down on her bed on top of the covers. They'd been fooling around for almost an hour. On the stereo, the Jennifer Lopez song “Love Don't Cost a Thing” was playing, and Blair was getting hotter and hotter. She reached for Nate's hand and licked his fingers, sucking greedily on the tip of each one. She had a feeling sex was going to be even better than food. Nate rolled onto his back while Blair sucked his fingers. He had been so uptight¹⁶ about seeing Blair that he hadn't eaten dinner, and now he was feeling hungry. Maybe when he went home he'd pick up a burrito from the Mexican place on Lexington Avenue. That's what he wanted, a chicken and black bean burrito with extra guacamole. Blair bit down hard on his pinky. “Ow,” Nate said, his hard-on deflating as if it had been pricked¹⁷ with a pin. He sat up and ran his hands through his hair. “I can't do this,” he muttered under his breath. “What?” Blair said, sitting up too. “What's wrong?” Her heart fell. This wasn't in the script. Nate was ruining a perfect moment. Clumsily, Nate took Blair's hand and looked into her eyes for the first time all night. “I have to tell you something,” he said. “I can't do this without you knowing. I feel like an asshole.” Blair could tell by the look in Nate's eyes that the moment wasn't just ruined, it was killed. “What?” she said softly. Nate reached down and gathered up the edges of the quilt. He draped one end around Blair's shoulders and wrapped the other end around his waist. It didn't seem right to talk about this when they were both so naked. He took Blair's hand again. “Remember the summer before last when you were away in Scotland, at your aunt's wedding?” Nate began. Blair nodded. “It was so friggin' hot that summer. I was in the city with my Dad, just hanging out while he went to some meetings and stuff. I got bored, so I called Serena in Ridgefield, and she came down.” Nate noticed Blair's back stiffen¹⁸ when he mentioned Serena's name. She removed her hand from his and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes suddenly distrustful. “We had some drinks and sat out in the garden. It was so hot, Serena started splashing around in the fountain, and then she started splashing me. And I guess I got kind of carried away. I mean–” Nate fumbled¹⁹. He remembered what Cyrus had told him about girls liking²⁰ surprises. Well, Blair was about to be very surprised, and he didn't think she was going to like it one bit. “And what?” Blair demanded. “What happened?” “We kissed,” Nate said. He took a deep breath and held it. He couldn't just leave it at that. He blew the breath out. “And then we had sex.” Blair threw the quilt off her shoulders and stood up. “I knew it!” she shouted. “Who hasn't had sex with Serena? That nasty, slutty bitch!” “I'm sorry, Blair. But it wasn't like, planned or anything,” Nate said. “It just happened. And it was only that one time, promise. I just didn't want you to think this was my first time, when it wasn't. I had to tell you.” Blair stomped²¹ into her bathroom and snatched her pink satin bathrobe off its hook. She put it on, cinching the belt tight. “Get the fuck out of here, Nate,” she said, angry tears sluicing²² her cheeks. “I can't even look at you. You're pathetic.” “Blair–” Nate pleaded. For a split second he tried to think of something charming to say. He could usually think of something, but nothing came. Blair slammed the bathroom door shut in his face. Nate stood up and pulled on his boxers²³. Kitty Minky poked²⁴ her head out from under the bed and stared at him accusingly, her golden cat eyes glowing eerily²⁵ in the dark. Nate grabbed his jeans, shirt, and shoes and headed for the front door. He could hardly wait for that burrito. The front door closed with a hollow bang, but Blair remained locked in the bathroom, standing²⁶ in front of the mirror glaring at her tear-stained reflection. The tube of Serena's lip gloss was still lying on the sink where she had left it. Blair picked it up with trembling fingers. Gash²⁷, it was called. What an ugly name. Of course Serena could wear lip gloss with ugly names, and tights with holes in them, and dirty old shoes, and never cut her hair, and still get the boy. Blair grunted²⁹ at the irony³⁰ of it all and opened her bathroom window, tossing the lip gloss out into the night and waiting to hear it land on the pavement below. But she couldn't hear a thing. Her head was too full of the new movie she was working on. The movie in which the fabulous³¹ Serena van der Woodsen was run over by a bus with her stupid picture plastered to the side of it and was horribly maimed. Her old friend Blair would take time out from her busy life with her doting³² husband, Nate, to feed Elephant Girl Serena mashed³³ pears and tell her all about the parties she and Nate had been to. Serena would grunt²⁸ and fart in response, but charitable Blair wouldn't mind. It was the least she could do. Everyone would call her Saint Blair, and she would win awards for her golden heart. will s & n hook up again? Just before midnight, the taxi pulled up at 994 Fifth Avenue. Across the street, the steps of the Metropolitan³⁴ Museum of Art were deserted³⁵, glowing eerily white in the light of the streetlamps. Serena stepped out of the cab and waved to Roland, the old night doorman, who was dozing³⁶ just inside the lobby. The door to the apartment building opened, but it wasn't Roland who opened it. It was Nate. “Nate!” Serena squealed³⁷, genuinely surprised. “Hey, could you loan me five bucks³⁸? I haven't got enough cash.

1 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

2 gulped   

v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住

参考例句：

• He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。
• She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下，似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

4 gloss   

n.光泽，光滑；虚饰；注释；vt.加光泽于；掩饰

参考例句：

• John tried in vain to gloss over his faults.约翰极力想掩饰自己的缺点，但是没有用。
• She rubbed up the silver plates to a high gloss.她把银盘擦得很亮。

5 flicking   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马，之后挥动了缰绳。
• There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。

6 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

7 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

8 puckered   

v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱，像要哭了。
• His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸，眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

10 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

11 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

12 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。

13 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

14 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

15 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 uptight   

adj.焦虑不安的，紧张的

参考例句：

• He's feeling a bit uptight about his exam tomorrow.他因明天的考试而感到有点紧张。
• Try to laugh at it instead of getting uptight.试着一笑了之，不要紧张。

17 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

18 stiffen   

v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬

参考例句：

• The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。
• I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

19 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

20 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

21 stomped   

v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She stomped angrily out of the office. 她怒气冲冲，重步走出办公室。
• She slammed the door and stomped (off) out of the house. 她砰的一声关上了门，暮暮地走出了屋了。 来自辞典例句

22 sluicing   

v.冲洗( sluice的现在分词 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸

参考例句：

• The ship's crew was sluicing down the deck. 船员们正在冲洗甲板。
• An attendant was sluicing out the changing rooms. 一位服务员正在冲洗更衣室。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句

26 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

27 gash   

v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝

参考例句：

• The deep gash in his arm would take weeks to heal over.他胳膊上的割伤很深，需要几个星期的时间才能痊愈。
• After the collision,the body of the ship had a big gash.船被撞后，船身裂开了一个大口子。

28 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

29 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

30 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

31 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

32 doting   

adj.溺爱的，宠爱的

参考例句：

• His doting parents bought him his first racing bike at 13.宠爱他的父母在他13岁时就给他买了第一辆竞速自行车。
• The doting husband catered to his wife's every wish.这位宠爱妻子的丈夫总是高度满足太太的各项要求。

33 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

34 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

35 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

36 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

37 squealed   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》