The first bell rang, summoning the girls into school. ?Hey,? Serena and Blair called over as they passed the group of girls on their way inside. ?Cool shoes!? Rain, Laura, Isabel, and Kati sang back in reply, even though only Blair was wearing new shoes. Serena was wearing the same old scuffed brown suede lace-up boots she'd been wearing since October. Blair always had the best shoes and the best clothes, and Serena always looked gorgeous, anyway, even in her frayed, cigarette-burned boarding school clothes. Which was yet another reason to hate the pair, or to love them, depending on who you were and what mood you were in. That prelaw geek is looking pretty hot ?You know he must really like you if he came all the way out here on a night like this,? Ruby whispered in Vanessa's ear just before her regular Monday night gig with her band, SugarDaddy, was about to begin. ?He's just here for the music,? Vanessa replied sarcastically. Jordy Rosenfeld was standing in the doorway of the dark, crowded club, unzipping his green Columbia ski parka. His weirdly long nose was red and dripping from the cold, and his bright yellow turtleneck and khaki pants stood out like strobe lights amongst the black-clad native Williamsburgers.. Normally the sight of a guy like him might have made her cringe, but at this point Vanessa didn't care how yellow his turtleneck was. And his nose was actually kind of sexy and distinguished, if you looked at it from a certain angle. She stood up and waved him over. ?Hello, Mrs. Abrams,? Jordy greeted Gabriela. ?How are you, Mr. Abrams?? Vanessa's parents were wearing matching Greenpeace T-shirts, tight black leggings, and Birkenstocks with white tube socks. They could have been a piece in one of their art shows. Still-life of hippie freaks. Gabriela shot her daughter a look of confused surprise. ?Hello, Jordy. Vanessa didn't tell usyou were coming tonight.? ?That's because I wanted to keep it a secret.? Vanessa flashed Jordy her version of a come-hither smile, which was actually just a normal-looking smile, since Vanessa didn't smile much. Jordy unzipped his jacket and sat down next to her. ?I got my paper done.? ?Then you deserve a drink,? Vanessa told him. She motioned to the bartender, tapping on her nose and pulling her ears in a series of pretend signals. SugarDaddy played so regularly at the Five and Dime, it was practically their second home. Vanessa had even had a fling with the old bartender, who now guided Whitewater rafting trips in New Zealand. The bartender came over to see what Vanessa's new friend wanted. ?Do you have Baileys Irish Cream?? Jordy asked. Arlo was watching the band as they went through their sound check. SugarDaddy was made up of four Irish guys with pale faces and far-away looking eyes, and Ruby, who yelled and shook her ass a lot, even though she wasn't the lead singer. ?Eating goober peas,? Ruby said quietly into her mike, testing the sound. Arlo grinned, looking extremely proud. Gabriela got up to go the bathroom. ?I hope they start soon. Arlo and I promised these nice people we met on the subway we'd do a chanting session with them at midnight.? The bartender brought over the glass of milky beige stuff on ice, and Jordy took a sip. ?I like it,? he said simply. Gabriela came back from the bathroom, her long gray hair rebraided and pinned Heidi-style on top of her head. She'd put on ChapStick?her version of makeup?and taken off her tube socks. The lights dimmed, and Ruby began to growl into the microphone and slap her bass. Then the band broke into one of their signature tunes, ?Canada Is the Future.? Jordy glanced around the crowded bar, his huge narrow nostrils flaring. Vanessa noticed the tag was sticking out of the neck of his yellow turtleneck.Made in China, it said. Gabriela pointed at it. ?Did you know that most of the textiles made in China are produced by prisoners from Thailand who are tortured and starved?? Jordy stared at her. ?Your shirt was made by victims of mass trade,? Gabriela lectured. Vanessa was sure there was some validity to what her mother was saying, but Jordy's shirt was already ugly enough?they didn't have to talk about where it was made. SugarDaddy broke into one of their famously long drum riffs. Ruby yelled along with the drummer's noise, something about assholes in minivans. ?You don't know how disappointed I was to hear your mother say she doesn't recycle,? Gabriela droned on. ?I was thinking you and your parents should maybe come up to Vermont for a little retreat. It's very pure up there. It might help remind them what's sacred.? Jordy smiled politely. ?I'll mention it to them. But really, the only reason my parents don't recycle is because their apartment building has an incinerator, and it's just easier to chuck everything down the chute. I basically live on shrimp-flavored ramen noodles and coffee, so I don't have anything to recycle, anyway.? Gabriela stared at him in frightened alarm. Vanessa grinned. Yes, Jordy was the Antichrist, and he was getting cuter and cuter by the second. She inched her chair a little closer to his as SugarDaddy struck up one of their weird, bouncy dance tunes. Vanessa leaned over and whispered in Jordy's ear, ?Any second now I'm going to kiss you.? The corners of his lips turned up, and he took another sip of Baileys. Gabriela nudged Arlo's leg with her bare toe. ?Come on and dance, darling. I need to blown off some steam.? But Arlo was so transfixed by the musicians, drool was collecting in the corners of his mouth. Vanessa thought he looked like a baby watching the circus for the first time. She inched even closer to Jordy and held up her face, angling it a little to avoid running into his nose. ?I'm going to kiss younow ,? she whispered before her mother could drag Arlo out of his seat. Then she pressed her lips against his, tasting the Baileys and the difference between kissing him and kissing Dan. And it was kind of ? yummy. Sex is better apr?s-ski ?Are you sure you're not cold?? Serena asked Blair for the fourth time. Blair was wearing only her pink Eres bikini top underneath a white cashmere cable-knit cardigan, and black Miss Sixty stretch cords. Not exactly high-performance mountain gear?but that depends on your definition of performance. Blair leaned against Erik's shoulder as she made another attempt to jam her ski-boot heel down into her bindings. ?Darn, it won't go in.? She grinned sheepishly as Erik knelt at her feet to help. He was wearing a fuzzy Patagonia fleece jacket over an adorable hand-knit Aran sweater and tight black ski racing pants that showed off the definition of his long, sexy thighs. No, she wasn't remotely cold, but thanks for asking. Serena batted at the snow with her ski pole, eager to get out on the slopes and away from whatever was going on between her big brother and her best friend. It was kind of cute watching Erik pretend he didn't know Blair was flirting with him. But then again, it kind of wasn't. Serena zipped her sensible-but-sexy lavender one-piece Ellesse ski suit up to her chin and pulled her gray cashmere flap hat down over her ears. If Nate didn't get there soon, she was going to hit the chairlift alone. There was a whole mountain full of cute boys just waiting to fall in love with the way she cut her turns. She just had to get out there. ?Good.? Erik stood up and pulled on his heavy-duty black leather ski gloves. ?How does mat feel?? Blair leaned on her poles and bounced her knees up and down like a go-go dancer. ?Okay,? she ventured timidly. ?But what if I fall?? Erik shoved his mirrored Scott sunglasses up on his nose. He looked as if he'd been skiing there all season, even though he'd only just arrived. ?I won't let you fall,? he promised, with a grin that implied he'd be holding her hand all the way down the mountain. Serena rolled her eyes and pulled her Smith goggles down, ready to ditch them both and leave a note for Nate with the chairlift attendant, but then she saw Nate's golden head bob up the snowy path from the road, his pot-leaf snowboard and Georgie's skis propped effortlessly on his strong, boatbuilder's shoulders. Georgie was at his side, her waist-length almost-black hair fanning out behind her like a cape. She was wearing a mink-lined dark denim jumpsuit that looked like it had been made especially for her by Tom Ford. Even her hat and her brown leather ski boots were trimmed with mink. ?She's prettier than I remember,? Serena said quietly, but Blair was too busy pretending her stomach hadn't done a funny little dip at the sight of Nate and his new girlfriend even to hear her. When they were still a few hundred yards away, Nate heaved the skis off his shoulder, and he and Georgie stepped into them effortlessly. Then they skied over, gliding gracefully across the snow like figure skaters. ?Hey. Good to see you.? Nate had been up half the night watching Georgie do naked J?germeis............