第7部分(第1/7 頁)

they　see　you　in　maga…zines。？

But　they　don？t　get　to　enjoy　intimate　dinners　with　him；　poor　babies。

？I　mean；　my　name？s　not　even　Thaddeus；　for　Christ？s　sake。？

？What　do　you　mean？？　she　asked；　confused。

？It？s　Tim。　My　agent　thought　it　should　be　something　catchier。？

？I　guess　it　worked。？　Serena　nodded；　wondering　suddenly　if　she　shouldn？t　changeher　name。　It

might　be　good　for　her　career。

Yeah；　Serena　van　der　Woodsen　isn？t　catchy　at　all。

He　dug　into　his　pocket　and　pulled　out　a　soft　pack　of　Parliament　Lights。　？At　least　it？s　quiet　here；？

he　said；　lighting　up。

That？s　right。　You？re　safe；　right　here；　with　me。？No　photographers　here；？　Serena　giggled。　？Just　the

two　of　us。？

？Working　on　our　chemistry；？　Thaddeus　laughed。　？Our　homework。　Chemistry　homework；　get　it？？

Better　stick　to　the　script；　dude。

It　was　easily　the　best　homework　assignment　Serena　had　ever　been　given；　and　she　was　sure　she

was　acing　it。　The　question　was　how　to　nuzzle　up　to　him　but　make　it　clear　she　wasn？t　rehearsing。

She　wanted　to　make　sure　he　saw　her　as　Serena　and　not　Holly；　and　that　he　could　distinguish　the

fake　kisses　from　the　real　thing。

？Hello；　again；？　came　a　voice　from　above　them。　It　was　Jason；　her　downstairs　neighbor；　wearing　a

navy　pinstripe　suit。　His　blue…and…yellow…striped　tie　was　loose　around　his　neck　and　the　collar　of　his

white　oxford　shirt　was　unbuttoned。　She　hadn？t　seen　him　since　he？d　e　to　her　rescue　her　first

day　in　the　apartment；　and　she？d　actually　sort　of　forgotten　about　him。

？Hi；　Jason。？　Serena　wanted　to　be　polite　but　she　honestly　hoped　he？d　just　disappear。　He　was

friendly　and　cute　but　she　and　Thaddeus　had　homework　to　do。

？What？s　up？？　Thaddeu