tearing off through the snow to join the others。
The guy chased after her； grabbing her legs and knocking her down just as they reached the
volleyball net。 The game was halted as the crowd of gorgeous revelers began to hurl snowballs at
the frolicking pair； stopping now and then to light cigarettes or reapply their lip gloss before
joining in again。 Serena howled with laughter as snow went down the back of her jeans。 That was
the great thing about being so beautiful and so carefree。 It didn？t matter who you were with or
what silly thing you were doing？you always had a fabulous time。 In fact； you didn？t even have to
be in love with just one person when the world was already so in love with you。
experimentation may be overrated
Jenny and Elise were still kissing when Rufus called。
Ring； ring！
？Shit！？ Jenny threw Elise off of her； leaped off the couch； and sprinted into the kitchen。 It wasn？t
like anyone could see them； but she still felt like she？d been caught doing something incredibly
embarrassing。
？Everything okay？？ Rufus growled cheerfully into the phone。 ？I？m stuck down here with Max
and Lyle and the rest of these losers。 The snow？s a bitch。？ Rufus spent most Friday nights down in
the East Village at an old bar with his munist writer friends。 He sounded jolly； the way he
always sounded when he？d had two or three glasses of red wine。 ？You girls staying out of
trouble？？
Jenny blushed。 ？Uh…huh。？
？Well； tell that friend of yours to stay put。 No one in their right mind should try to get anywhere
tonight。？
Jenny nodded。 ？Okay。？ She？d been kind of hoping Elise would go home so she could take a hot
bath and collect her thoughts； but she couldn？t very well ask her to leave when there were four
feet of snow on the ground and it was still ing down。 ？I？ll see you later； Daddy；？ she said；
almost wishing she could tell him how confused she was about what had just happened。 She might
have been a budding artist but that didn？t mean she had to experimentall the time。
Jenny hung up the phone。 ？So what should we do now？？ Elise asked； wandering into the kitchen
with her jeans still unbuttoned。 She separated an Oreo and licked the cream out of the inside。
Elise seemed to be hinting that she was ready to move on to the next chapter inThis Is My Body
for Women ； but noway was Jenny going to find out what that entailed。 She faked a yawn。 ？Dad
says he？s ing home soon；？ she lied。 ？I？m kind of tired anyway。？ She glanced out the kitchen
window。 Everything was white and the snow was still falling。 It looked like the end of the world。
？e on。？ She led the way to her bedroom。 ？Dad wants you to stay over。？ All she had was a
single bed that she was definitely not sharing with Elise。 Not when Elise was so 。 。 。horny and
unpredictable。 ？You can sleep on my bed and I？ll sleep on the sofa。？
？Okay；？ Elise replied dubiously。 ？I better call my mom。 You？re not mad at me are you？？
？Mad？？ Jenny repeated casually。 ？Why would I be mad？？ She pulled open her dresser drawer
and handed Elise an oversized T…shirt and a pair of sweatpants。 ？Sleep in these；？ she directed。
Otherwise Elise might decide to sleep in the nude； which would be very uncool； especially if
Rufus came home later that night and barged into Jenny？s room to give a senseless sermon on the
meaning of life； as he was sometimes known to do when he？d drunk too much wine。 She pulled
out some pajamas for herself and closed the drawer。 ？I？m going to take a shower。 You can use my
cell phone if you want to call your mom。？
Elise took the clothes and gazed up at the paintings on Jenny？s wall。 Over the bed was one of the
Humphreys？ cat； Marx； dozing on the stove； painted in thick oils。 Marx was a deep turquoise color；
and the stove was red。 Near the window was a self…portrait of Jenny？s feet； with her toenails
painted orange and the bones in her feet painted blue。
？You？re really good。？ Elise slipped her jeans down over her knees。 ？Don？t you want to finish my
portrait？？
Jenny grabbed her pink terrycloth bathrobe from the hook on the back of her door。 ？Not tonight；？
she responded； quickly heading down the hall to the bathroom。 She？d take a long； hot shower； and
hopefully by the time she came out Elise would be asleep。 Tomorrow they would eat their Eggos
and go sledding in the park and goof around like normal girls。 No more experimentation。 As far as
Jenny was concerned； experimentation was pletely overrated。
nfacilitates recovery of messed…up orphan heiress
？Hold the reins in one hand and the whip in the other；？ Georgie instructed Nate。 They were up in
Georgie？s attic； but instead of hanging out inside the gorgeous antique carriage and smoking dope
and kissing and being mellow； Georgie was acting all hyperactive and making Natedrive the
carriage。
The attic itself was incredible。 It was full of beautiful old things from days gone by； but kept in
perfect order as if at any time someone was going to carry them downstairs and put them to use
again。 The carriage was painted gold and lined with purple velvet； and under the seat inside； in a
little leather chest； were fur rugs and muffs to keep your hands warm while you went out for a ride。
Best of all； eight white carousel horses with white feather plumes affixed to real leather harnesses
were pulling the carriage。
？e on； faster；faster ； giddyap；giddyap ！？ Georgie shouted at the carousel horses； cracking her
long leather whip and bouncing up and down in the red leather coachman？s seat。
Whoa。
Nate sat back on the seat beside her and tried to light another joint； but Georgie was bouncing
around so much； it fell right out of his hand。 ？Fuck！？ he cried； exasperated。 He leaned over the
side of the carriage to see where the joint had fallen on the white…painted wood floor； but the attic
was lit only by a single dim bulb and he couldn？t see the joint anywhere。
？That？s okay。？ Georgie jumped down from the carriage。 ？e on； there？s something I want to
show you。？
Reluctantly Nate left the joint where it had fallen and followed her to the other side of the attic；
where a bunch of antique wooden trunks were stacked。 ？This is where all my old horse stuff is
kept；？ Georgie explained。 She opened the top trunk and pulled out a handful of ribbons she？d won
at horse shows。 ？I was a really good rider。？ She offered the ribbons to Nate。
All of them were blue； with the name of the petition
stamped on them in gold。HAMPTONCLASSICJUNIORHUNTER
GRANDCHAMPION； Nate read。 ？Cool；？ he said handing back the ribbons。 He wished he？d
found that joint。
？Check this out。？ Georgie pulled a large white plastic canister out of the trunk and placed it in
Nate？s hands。
The canister rattled as Nate turned it over。 The name of an equine veterinary practice was printed
on one side。Connecticut Equine Health。 He looked up at Georgie questioningly。
？They？re horse tranquilizers。 I？ve taken them before。 Half a pill is enough to send you to another
planet； I swear。？
Nate noticed that there were tiny beads of sweat on her upper lip； which was strange； because the
attic was unheated and he was freezing his ass off。 He shrugged and handed the canister back；
uninterested。
Georgie unscrewed the top and shook the giant white pills into her sweaty palm。 ？e on。 This
time I？m taking a whole one。 Or maybe we should each take two and see what happens。？ Her dark
hair fell into her eyes and she shook it away impatiently as she counted out the pills。
Nate stared at her； feeling frightened all of a sudden。 He was pretty sure Georgie had taken some
kind of pill when she？d disappeared into her bathroom before； and she had already been baked
before that； so adding a horse tranquilizer to the mix sounded like the worst idea he？d ever heard。
What was he going to do with a totally fucked…up ODed girl in the attic of a huge mansion in
Greenwich； Connecticut； in the middle of the worst snowstorm in New England history？
？I think I？ll pass。？ He pointed to a little metal device in the trunk； thinking that maybe if he
diverted her attention； Georgie would forget all about the pills。