that her father was。 Her father worked out with a personal trainer every day； wore designer clothes；
and had great hair。 But he wasgay 。 Second of all； Owen Wells had said he？d be wearing his Yale
tie； and this guy wasn？t wearing a tie at all； just a crisp white dress shirt； unbuttoned so she could
see the top of the clean white undershirt he was wearing over his muscular chest； which was
probably just as tan as the rest of him。
Not that she was thinking aboutthe rest of him 。
Third of all； she hadn？t expected Owen Wells to behot 。 He looked so much like Cary Grant inAn
Affair to Remember that she wanted to throw herself into his arms and tell him to forget about
Yale； she was his；all his 。
Blair came to her senses in time to realize that she was still grasping Owen？s hand。 She shook it
as firmly and confidently as she could； alarmed by her mind？s total inability to focus on the task at
hand。 She was meeting with Owen for one reason only： to impress him so she could get into
Yale。 ？Thank you for taking the trouble to meet with me；？ she added hastily。
？I？ve been looking forward to it；？ he replied in his thrilling； manly voice。 ？I just remembered I
told you I？d be wearing my Yale tie。 Sorry。 It pletely slipped my mind。 I even saw you e
in； but I didn？t think it could be you。 I wasn？t expecting you to be early。？
Immediately Blair wondered if he？d noticed that she？d spent twenty minutes in the bathroom
after she？d arrived； or that she？d kept wiping her nose on her cocktail napkin and studying her
face in her Stila pact mirror to check for any unsightly blemishes； like a stray eye goober
or？God forbid？ a pimple。
？I？m usually early；？ she answered。 ？I？m never late。？ She took a nervous sip of Coke。 Was this a
good time to tell him how impressed she was with his work on theHome Depot vs。The Learning
Channel case？ Should she pliment his suit？ She took a deep breath and tried to focus。 ？I like it
here；？ she declared and immediately regretted it。 It was a nice bar； but she made it sound like she
wanted to move in or something。
Owen pulled back the chair opposite hers and gestured for her to sit down。 ？So； should we get
started？？
Blair was grateful for his relaxed but businesslike manner。 She sat down on the edge of the
cushioned chair and crossed her legs primly。 ？Yes！？ She beamed at him
enthusiastically。 ？Whenever you？re ready。？
The cocktail waiter appeared to offer Owen another drink。 He ordered a Maker？s Mark and
cocked a dark eyebrow at Blair。 ？Can I get you something besides a Coke？ I promise I won？t tell
Yale or your dad。？
Blair scrunched up her toes inside her black Ferragamos。 If she said yes； she？d be admitting that
she really did want a drink； and if she said no； she might seem like a prude。 ？I？ll have a glass of
chardonnay；？ she told him； figuring white wine was the safest； most ladylike option。
？So。 Tell me why Yale should admit you；？ Owen asked after he？d ordered the wine。 He leaned
across the table and lowered his voice。 ？Are you really as bright as your dad claims？？
Blair sat up even straighter； twirling her little ruby ring around and around on her ring finger
beneath the tablecloth。 ？I think I？m smart enough to go to Yale；？ she replied evenly； remembering
her speech。 ？I？m in all the APs at school。 I？m at the top of the class。 I？m the chair of the social
services board and the French club。 I？m a peer group leader。 I？m nationally ranked in tennis。 And I
ran the organizing mittee for five charity events this past year。？
Their drinks arrived and Owen raised his glass。 ？And why Yale？？ He took a sip。 ？What can Yale
do for you？？
It seemed odd that Owen wasn？t taking notes or anything； but maybe he was testing her； trying to
get her to let down her guard and admit that she really was just a flake who？d been born with a
silver spoon up her well…bred ass and only wanted to go to Yale to party with frat boys。
？As you know； Yale has an excellent prelaw program；？ she stated； determined to give intelligent；
straight…to…the…point answers。 ？I？m thinking of going into entertainment law。？
？Excellent。？ Owen nodded approvingly。 He scooted his chair forward and winked at her。 ？Look；
Blair。 You？re an intelligent； ambitious girl。 I already know you？re perfect for Yale and I promise
I？ll do everything I can to convince them to let you in。？
He looked so handsomely earnest while he was saying this that Blair felt her cheeks heat up。 She
took a sip of wine to cool herself off。 ？Thank you；？ she responded gratefully。 She took another sip
of wine and let out an enormous sigh of gratitude and relief。 ？Thank you。 Thank you； thank you；
thank you。？
Just then a pair of cool hands covered her eyes and she smelled the distinctive
patchouli…and…sandalwood scent of a certain someone？s favorite essential oil mixture。
？Guess who！？ Serena whispered in Blair？s ear； then pulled her hands away from Blair？s eyes； her
long blond hair brushing Blair？s shoulder as she kissed her cheek。 ？What？s going on？？
Behind her； Aaron stood grinning goofily； wearing a maroon Harvard sweatshirt like the
annoying asshole he was。
Blair blinked。 Could they not see she was in the middle of the most important meeting of her
life？
？I？m Serena。？ Serena held out her hand for Owen to shake。
Owen stood up and took her hand。 ？Charmed。？ He bowed his dark head； looking more like Cary
Grant than ever。
？So you？re ing to see me in the Les Best show tomorrow； right？？ Serena asked Blair。
？Youhave to e；？ Aaron chimed in。 ？I ain？t going to no fashion show by myself； girlfrien？。？
He？d agreed to go； but he wasn？t exactly looking forward to it。 Fashion meant fur and animal
testing。 It was against everything he stood for。
？Your name is on the list；？ Serena added。
Owen looked pletely bemused by the whole conversation。 Blair let out an exasperated breath
and stood up； turning away from Owen so he couldn？t hear what she said。 ？Do you guys mind
leaving us alone？？ she hissed in a low whisper。 ？We？re talking about Yale； and it？s pretty
fuckingimportant 。？
Aaron put his arm around Serena？s slim waist； pulling her away。 ？Excuse us；？ he responded in a
patronizing whisper； still looking smug in his retarded Harvard sweatshirt。 ？We？re headed down to
that new club on Harrison； in case you want to catch us later。？ They waltzed out of the bar； his
dreadlocks bouncing and her pale gold hair fanned out over her shoulders； both looking so
carefree and careless； it was infuriating。
？Sorry；？ Blair apologized； crossing her ankles daintily as she sat down again。 ？My friends can be
pretty self…absorbed sometimes。？
？That？s all right。？ Owen stared down into his bourbon； looking pensive as he stirred the ice
cubes around in his glass。 He looked up again。 ？Do you mind my asking what you did in your first
Yale interview that was so awful you think they？re not going to let you in？？
Blair took another sip of her wine； and then another。 As soon as she explained what had
happened； Owen was going to change his mind about her for sure。 ？I was having a bad day；？ she
confessed； the words tumbling out of her mouth as she frantically spun her ruby ring around and
around on her finger。 She didn？t want to go into the gory details of her botched interview； but if
Owen was going to help her； he？d best know the truth。 ？I hadn？t gotten enough sleep。 I was tired
and nervous and I had to pee really badly。 The interviewer said； ？Tell me about yourself；？ and
before I could really think about what I was saying； I told him all about how my dad was gay and
my mom was going to marry this gross； fat； red…faced guy with an annoying teenage son with
dreadlocks who you just had the pleasure of meeting。 I told him my boyfriend； Nate； was ignoring
me。 Then he asked me what books I？d been reading lately and I couldn？t think of the title of a
single book。 I started to cry； and then； at the end of the interview； I kissed him。？ Blair sighed
dramatically； snatched her cocktail napkin off the table； and began to shred it in her lap。 ？It was
only on the cheek； but it was still totally inappropriate。 I just wan