Upper east siders party sun valley style ?Okay, I'm ready,? Serena said after smearing a little moisturizer on her face and running a brush through her still-damp hair once or twice. Of course she looked beautiful?she couldn't help it?but she could have given the locals a real treat and at least worn a little lip gloss. ?Well, I'm not.? Blair leaned over the bathroom sink to apply some mascara. A white towel was wrapped around her head and her freshly polished nails were barely dry. ?Aren't you even going to blow-dry your hair?? ?Nope.? Serena looked at her watch. Erik was waiting for them in the lobby, and she'd barely gotten a chance to talk to him alone since they'd arrived. ?I'll meet you downstairs, okay?? ?Fine,? Blair answered distractedly. She didn't know why Serena had to be in such a hurry. This was their first Sun Valley party, and she for one wanted to look good. Erik had been so attentive and was always so completely adorable that tonight might just be the night she said, Yes, oh yes! ?What's the rush, anyway?? Serena blew out her breath. ?What's the point of making an effort? It's not like I'm going to be flirting with somebody's brother all night!? Blair screwed the top back on her mascara and glared at her friend's reflection in the bathroom mirror. ?So you're mad at me because of Erik?? She dug around in her cosmetics bag for her bronzing powder. Serena kicked the door frame with her fuzzy sheepskin boot. ?I'm not mad. I'm just ??
 Jealous? She sighed noisily and turned around to yank her powder blue parka from the hook by the door. ?I'll see you downstairs,? she mumbled, as she hurled herself out the door. ?Don't worry,? Blair called after her. ?I'm moving back home when we get back!? ?Aren't you cold?? Nate took off his well-worn, navy blue Brown sweatshirt and offered it to Georgie. He slept in the sweatshirt for luck sometimes. As if the Brown admissions office was going to overlook the fact that he'd been busted by the cops for buying weed just because he liked to sleep in their sweatshirt. Georgie was walking around in her orange sorbet La Perla panty-and-bra set while Chuck Bass, Josef, Sven, Ulrich, and Gan played mah-jongg on Xbox.Maybe they areall gay , Nate thought hopefully. Even so, he didn't like it when Georgie walked around in her underwear. She was too ? too ?naked , and her nakedness was supposed to be reserved for herself andhim , After all, she was his girlfriend. Well ? wasn't she? ?Why don't we go upstairs?? he whispered suggestively in her ear. He'd imagined that he and Georgie would spend the majority of their time in Sun Valley in bed having lots of sex. But he'd never even taken his pants off in her presence. Not once. And it wasn't that Georgie was actually a serious prude under all that flaunting and nakedness. She was just too busy being crazy and guzzling mood enhancers to lie still for a second and let him kiss her. ?What's upstairs?? Georgie asked, lighting a cigarette. Her long silky brown hair was pulled over one pale shoulder and her long pale legs were crossed,twice . Only seriously skinny girls can do that. Nate shrugged. ?I just thought we could ? you know ? hang out.? Any normal girl would have looked into his emerald green eyes and gone all prickly and faint at such an invitation. But Georgie was too screwed up even to notice how cute and irresistible he was. In other words, she was an idiot. She cocked a suspicious eyebrow at Nate. ?You didn't smuggle in weed without telling me, did you?? she asked hopefully. ?Nah.? He reached out and touched her hair, smoothing it over her bony shoulder. ?I just thought we could use the privacy,? he said, his cheeks turning adorably pink at the suggestion in his voice. Georgie swung her legs over the arm of the wooden chair she was sitting on. It had been carved by Shoshone Indians out of birch trees and then painted orange. Butt-ugly, but probably worth a fortune. There was a honk outside. Georgie swung her feet to the floor and swiped Nate's sweatshirt out of his hand. ?Guess I should put something on,? she mumbled, yanking the thing over her head as she headed for the front door. Her white butt cheeks peeked out from under the navy blue sweatshirt, somehow making her look even more naked than before. ?Thank God you're here,? she told the bemused delivery guy. She pulled a bottle of Stoli out of the crate on his dolly and cracked it open. Then she grabbed the remote control for the ten-disc CD player and clicked it on. An old Blondie song came on??The Tide Is High.? ?You can set up the coolers out by the hot tub.? Georgie pointed at Nate with the bottle of Stoli. ?He'll show you where it is.? Down in the lobby of the Sun Valley Lodge, Erik was talking to a bunch of ski patrol guys about the day's big rescue. Some dude had been showing his girlfriend how to ski backward and had skied right into a tree. A branch had impaled him right in the ass. ?It was pretty gnarly,? Serena heard one of the ski patrol guys say. ?What was?? she asked, climbing into Erik's lap. He draped his long arms around her, and she burrowed her cheek into his chest, hungry for attention. ?Mmm. You smell nice and clean.? The ski patrol dudes sipped their beers and looked on enviously. If only they each had their own model-gorgeous blond sister to snuggle with. ?Hey, where's your friend? The one with the cute little ? haircut?? one of them asked. Serena sat up and perched on Erik's knee, her baby-blue-Ugg-bedecked feet just grazing the carpet. She tugged on the legs of her Habitual jeans. Usually people were too busy looking ather to ask about Blair. But Blair did put a hell of a lot more effort into her appearance than Serena did, so maybe Blair deserved the attention. ?She's upstairs, getting ready.? She elbowed Erik in the belly. ?You want to go up and check on her?? Erik kind of liked that the ski patrol guys had noticed Blair, since he and Blair were so clearly going to be getting it on very soon. He elbowed Serena back.  ?Ow!? The two siblings exchanged fierce glances. ?I didn't say anything bad,? Serena insisted sulkily. Erik's fierce look turned into an amused grin. ?What?? ?I think someone's here to see you,? he whispered. Serena looked up to find Jan, future dentist and blond Dutch Olympic snowboarder, gazing at her soulfully. ?I was hoping to escort you to the party.? The ski patrol guys stepped back to make room for him. Serena slid off her brother's knee. This wasn't exactly the kind of attention she'd been hoping for. ?Um, we're waiting for Blair.? Erik gave her a little push from behind. ?Why don't you two run along?? He gestured to the ski patrol guys. ?I invited these guys to the party. Blair and I can get a lift with them.? Just then the elevator doorsbinged and slid open. Ladies and gentlemen ? Queen of the Mountain! Blair had fastened a little gold heart barrette in her hair and was wearing the jade chandelier earrings Les Best had given Serena after she'd modeled in his runway show. She was also wearing Serena's light blue cashmere pullover, which was fine because Serena had been planning on giving it to her, anyway. It was a little tight in the chest, which was also fine. Blair liked it like that. So did the Sun Valley Ski Patrol. They nudged one another and shifted their feet and mumbled noisily, like animals in a barnyard. ?Hey. You look fantastic,? Erik said, liking the way the other guys were ogling her. He held out his hand possessively. ?Ready to go?? Blair was glad she had taken her time getting ready. She was even wearing the plain white cotton H............