Chapter 15

Oops. Nate stood frozen in the doorway¹, blinking. Blair's clothes were on the floor and her delicate hand with its little ruby² ring was curled around the neck of somebody blond. The blond person turned his head, proving not to be a member of the Dutch Olympic snowboarding team?thankfully?but Erik van der Woodsen, Serena's older brother. Which wasn't much better. ?Sorry,? Nate muttered. ?I just needed some stuff out of the closet.? ?Um, can you come back later? We're kind of busy,? Erik said, without a hint of embarrassment³. Nate just stood there staring at them with his hands in his pockets. He needed some sort of explanation or acknowledgment from the bottom half of the Erik-Blair nooky sandwich before he could turn his back. But Blair just lay there with her eyes closed. Erik had almost talked her body into going on the trip she'd wanted to take in the first place, but at the sound of Nate's voice, she canceled the flight. Finally she heard the sound of the door closing and Nate's footsteps hurrying down the hall. Then she rose up on her elbows and inched her body away from Erik's, pulling the sheet up over her chest to cover herself. ?Actually, this was going to be my first time,? she admitted, blushing with shame for lying about it when he'd asked. ?But I guess I'm not ready.? She looked up at Erik, her blue eyes round, hoping with all her heart he wouldn't be too mad. Erik's adorable lips curled up in a half smile. ?Nah. You're ready. I'm just not the right guy, that's all.? And it's no secret who is.
 gossipgirl.net Disclaimer: All the real names of places, people, and events have been altered or abbreviated⁴ to protect the innocent. Namely, me.  hey people! I know, I know, it's seems like forever since we last talked. Spring break is almost over, and by the sound of it, everyone has been pretty busy not thinking about the college acceptance letters that are due in our mailboxes in only two weeks. Yes, we've been busy, busy,busy . But before I get down towho 's gotten intowhat troublewhere , let me first clarify a few things in no particular order. a) The members of the Dutch Olympic snowboarding team are notall gay or married or boring. I know this because I hooked up with one of them very briefly⁵ when my family was skiing in Banff. His name was Jansen, and he was gorgeous beyond belief. b) If you are still a virgin⁶ when you go off to college, you won't be the only one. I know this ? well, just because I know. c) It is not a federal offense⁷ to drop mail into a river, unless you work for the postal⁸ service. d) Itis a federal offense not to answer a girl's e-mail when all she wants is for you to forgive her and kiss and make up. It is also a federal offense to receive a gift and not say thank you.And it is very definitely a federal offense to run naked down a public road, especially when the police are chasing you?see news below. e) Last but not least, as much as I hate to say it, we all feel better about ourselves when we aren't fighting with our parents. Glad we got that cleared up. Now, the latest news ? Infamous⁹ Connecticut heiress and Upper East Side boy-about-town arrested for indecent exposure She shocked us by selling her favorite show pony¹⁰ for drug money, and he shocked us by appearing, all greased up, in a European aftershave commercial. Now they're at it again.G andC were arrested last night for prancing¹¹ around on a public road,in the buff . It was later discovered that both were under the influence of all manner of substances and that they had also stolen a ski patrol toboggan, which was returned by authorities to ski patrol headquarters. Both parties were released on bail¹² this morning and were flown home to Greenwich and New York, respectively, by private jet. It is rumored¹³ that both the Wood River Police Department and the Sun Valley Ski Patrol have already received substantial ?anonymous¹⁴? donation checks to keep quiet about the matter.G is already back at Breakaway, where she has earned a lifetime membership.C has been grounded, which means he may no longer use his family's suite¹⁵ at the Tribeca Star Hotel or his mother's chauffeur-driven town car. Poor baby. It has also been rumored that a very beautiful model/Upper East Side schoolgirl was involved in the incident, but she managed to avoid the police and escape. Later that evening, a mysterious handsome local boy escorted her back to her hotel. That's our girl!  Sightings Vlooking longingly¹⁶ at the film cameras in the window of49th Street Photo , like a kid at the window of a pet store. Poor thing can't wait till her parents go home.B andE and a bunch ofSun Valley Ski Patrol guys having a beer at a local bar inKetchum, Idaho , with?believe it or not? no apparent sexual tension. I've heard this can happen to girls once they ?you know . They lose their need to flirt¹⁷. J creeping around the Upper East Side again, hiding behind trees. What's her deal, anyway?S and her brother,E , tearing up the slopes on their own inSun Valley .  Your e-mail  Q:Dear GG, I have known a certain boy my whole life and I'm pretty sure I've been in love with him all that time, I just never realized it. He was with my best friend and now he's with another friend of mine, although I'm pretty sure that's close to being over. I need to find out if he feels the same way about me, but I'm not sure what to do.  ?lost A:Dear lost, You know what I do when I'm not sure what to do? Grab him. Just kiss him and everything will fall into place from there. If he feels the same way, you'll know. And if he doesn't, you'll know. Good luck, sweetie.  ?GG Q:Dear Gossip Girl, I love your page. You are a cool girl. I want to find out your name, because I think you may be the same girl I just met skiing. I might never meet you again because I live very far from America, but I will always love you from afar.  ?Jan A:Dear Jan, I have a feeling we did meet, a long time ago. And even if I'm not the girl you're talking about, you have my permission to love me from afar. But let's keep it that way, okay?  ?GG See you back at school next week. It might actually be kind of nice to sleep in our own beds again. You know you love me.  gossip girl

1 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

4 abbreviated   

adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He abbreviated so much that it was hard to understand his article. 他的文章缩写词使用太多，令人费解。
• The United States of America is commonly abbreviated to U.S.A.. 美利坚合众国常被缩略为U.S.A.。

5 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

6 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

7 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

8 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

9 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

10 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

11 prancing   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lead singer was prancing around with the microphone. 首席歌手手执麦克风，神气地走来走去。
• The King lifted Gretel on to his prancing horse and they rode to his palace. 国王把格雷特尔扶上腾跃着的马，他们骑马向天宫走去。 来自辞典例句

12 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

13 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

14 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

15 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

16 longingly   

adv. 渴望地 热望地

参考例句：

• He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。
• Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情，一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。

17 flirt   

v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者

参考例句：

• He used to flirt with every girl he met.过去他总是看到一个姑娘便跟她调情。
• He watched the stranger flirt with his girlfriend and got fighting mad.看着那个陌生人和他女朋友调情，他都要抓狂了。