or may not determine my entire near future。 Wish me luck！
You know you love me。
gossip girl
romancing the stoner
？We can ask the butler to take his clothes off and play the piano for us；？ Georgie told Nate。 ？He
does whatever I tell him to。？
When group therapy had been over and it was time for the outpatients to go home； the storm had
already been so bad； Nate couldn？t get a car to take him to the station； so Georgie had offered to
give him a ride。 Then when they？d gotten to the station the trains had stopped running； so the
ever…acmodating Georgie had taken Nate home to her house in her bodyguard…driven black
Range Rover。 Now they were sitting on the floor of her enormous； luxurious bedroom； getting
stoned as they watched the snow pile up on the skylight overhead。
The Upper East Side town house Nate had grown up in was four stories high and had its own
elevator and a twenty…four…hour cook。 But Georgie？s Greenwich； Connecticut； mansion had
something his family？s town house didn？t？vast amounts of space inside； and acres of land around
the house。 It was like a city unto itself； and Georgie had her own private borough where she could
do absolutely whatever she pleased while her ancient English nanny was in bed watching BBC
America and the other servants were doing their jobs in the other boroughs。 Georgie？s bathroom
even had a Roman daybed in it for lounging on while she waited for her twelve…foot…wide marble
Jacuzzi to fill up。
？Or we could have crazy loud sex on the stairs；？ Georgie added。 ？That would really drive the
staff nuts。？
Nate leaned his head back against the footboard of Georgie？s four…poster king…sized bed and put
the joint they were sharing to his lips。 ？Let？s just watch the snow fall for a while。？
Georgie rolled over on her back； resting her head on the leg of Nate？s navy blue Culture of
Humanity ripstop trousers。 ？God； you？re mellow。 I？m not used to hanging out with someone so
mellow。？
？What are your friends like？？ Nate asked； sucking hard on the joint。 Pot seemed to taste and feel
better now that he？d gone without it for a while。
？I don？t have any friends anymore；？ Georgie answered。 ？They all kind of gave up on me because
I？m so nuts。？
Nate put his hand on her head and began stroking her hair。 She had incredibly soft； luxurious
hair。 ？I hang out a lot with these three guys in my class at school；？ he said； referring to Jeremy；
Anthony； and Charlie。 ？But I went for a few days without getting high and I didn？t really want to
hang out with them； you know？？
？That？s what Jackie calls a ？negative friendship。？ A ？positive friendship？ is when you do fun；
constructive things with your friends like baking cookies； making collages； and climbing
mountains。？
？I？m your friend；？ Nate offered quietly。
Georgie rubbed the back of her head against his leg。 ？I know。？ She laughed； her not…too…small
chest jiggling up and down inside her tight white T…shirt。 ？Want to bake some cookies？？
Nate bed a lock of her hair up into the air with his fingers and then let it fall； strand by strand；
back into his lap。 Blair had long hair； too； but it wasn？t as straight or as silky as Georgie？s。 It was
funny how girls could all be so different。 ？Can I kiss you？？ he asked； not really having intended to
sound so formal。
？Okay；？ Georgie whispered。
Nate bent over and brushed his lips against the bridge of her nose； her chin； and finally her lips。
She kissed him back hungrily and then pulled away and sat up on her elbows。 ？This is what Jackie
calls ？feeding your craving。？ You？re doing something that feels good temporarily instead
of ？healing the wounds。？
Nate shrugged。 ？Why is it temporary？？ He pointed up at the skylight； which was pletely
smothered in snow。 ？I？m not going anywhere。？
Georgie scooched her feet up under her and stood up。 She disappeared into the bathroom and
Nate could hear a cabinet door open and the sounds of pill bottles rattling and water running。 Then
she came out； brushing her teeth； her light brown eyes all lit up like she？d just had an epiphany； or
at the very least a good idea。 ？There？s an old carriage up in the attic。 We can go up and sit in it；？
she announced with her mouth full of toothpaste。 She went back into the bathroom to spit and then
came out again； holding a pale hand out to Nate。 ？Are you ing？？
Nate stood up and took her hand。 His body was humming from the pot and the intense
smoothness of Georgie？s skin。 All he really wanted to do was to kiss her some more。 ？Can I ？feed
my craving？ when we get up there？？ he asked； feeling very stoned indeed。
Georgie cocked a thin dark eyebrow at him and licked her dark red lips。 ？I might even let
you ？heal my wounds。？？
Nate grinned his lopsided stoner grin。 Who？d known rehab psychobabble could be such a
turn…on！
our bodies； ourselves
？My hand is getting tired；？ Jenny plained to Elise after she？d painted Elise？s head and
neck。 ？I？ll do the rest tomorrow。？
？Let？s see；？ Elise said； sitting up。 Her chest was so small Jenny couldn？t help but stare at it。 Her
breasts were like the little new potatoes her dad had grown when they？d rented a house in
Pennsylvania one summer。 Small； hard； and beigey pink。 ？It looks good；？ Elise said； squinting at
the canvas。 ？But how e you made my face green？？
Jenny hated when people asked her questions about her art。 She didn？t know why she did what
she did； she just did it。 And her dad always said； ？The artist doesn？t have to answer to anyone but
himself。？ Orher self； in her case。 ？Because I was in a green mood；？ she answered； annoyed。
？Well； green is my favorite color；？ Elise responded happily。 She pulled on her turtleneck and
underwear but left her jeans and bra on the floor。 ？Oh my God。 I have that book； too！？ she
squealed； pointing at a thick； heavy paperback on the bookshelf behind the TV。 She walked over to
the shelf and pulled the book out。 ？But yours is so new。 Don？t you ever read it？？
Jenny bit off the top of an Oreo and read the title on the spine of book。The New This Is My Body
for Women。 ？My dad bought me that last year。 I think he probably thought that if I read it； he
wouldn？t have to explain anything to me about sex？I could just look up the embarrassing stuff。？
？But have you ever actually looked at it？ Some of it is reallygraphic 。？
Jenny had no idea。 She？d immediately shelved the book behind the TV along with the other
random books her father had given her that she never intended to read； likeBreathing Room： A
Buddhist？s Guide to Living Creatively； Mao？s Secret Seven： The Women Behind Chairman Mao；
andFinding the Dragon Within：What Is Your Art？
？Like； graphic in what way？？ Jenny asked； intrigued。
Elise carried the book over to the worn leather sofa and sat down； crossing her long bare legs
dramatically。 ？I？ll show you。？ She opened the book and Jenny sat down next to her and leaned in
close to see。
The first thing Elise turned to was a detailed diagram of a woman on her hands and knees bent
over a man lying on his back。 The book had been written in the nineteen…seventies and the text had
since been updated； but the diagrams hadn？t。 The man had hair down to his shoulders； a full beard；
and was wearing beads。 His penis was sticking straight up and it appeared to be in the woman？s
mouth。 The two girls erupted into giggles。
Ew！
？I told you；？ said Elise； pleased with herself for opening right up to such a gem。
？I can？t believe I never saw any of this；？ Jenny exclaimed。 She grabbed the book away from
Elise and rifled through the pages。 ？Oh my God！？ she gasped when she saw a diagram of the same
couple in another position。 The woman still had the long…haired guy？s penis in her mouth； except
this time she was lying alongside him with her feet up around his head and her legs splayed so that
he could do the same thing toher 。 Jenny didn？t even know the name forthat 。 ？I thought this was
just a boring book about getting your period and all that stuff。 But this is； like； a realsex book
forwomen 。？
？I think there？s a teen one； too； that？s totally boring； but my mom got me this one by mistake。 I
couldn？t believe it when I started reading it！？
The two girls pored over the pages until they stumbled upon a section called Same…Sex
Relationships。
？Like Ms。 Crumb；？ Jenny observed； reading。 The introduction was long and started with the
line； ？Your feelings are genuine and not to be ignored。 。 。 。？ Outside she could hear the grating
sound of a snowplow driving by。 She looked up to watch the snow falling steadily through the
grimy living room window。
？Hey。 You want to try it？？ Elise asked。
Jenny turned back to the book。 ？What？？
？Kissing；？ Elise answered in barely a whisper。
Your feelings are genuine and not to be ignored。
Yes； but Jenny didn？t really have any feelings for Elise。 She liked her and everything but she
wasn？tattracted to her。 Still； kissing a girl sounded exciting。 It was something she？d never done
before； and if it felt unfortable； she could always pretend to be kissing that tall blond boy
she？d spotted in Bendel？s。
She closed the book and folded her hands in her lap。 Her face was only inches away from
Elise？s。 ？Okay； let？s do it。？ It was just an experiment； something new to try on a boring； snowy
night。
Elise leaned forward and put her hand on Jenny？s arm。 Then she closed her eyes and Jenny
closed hers； too。 Elise pressed her lips against Jenny？s tightly clenched mouth。 It wasn？t a kiss
exactly？it was toodry 。 It felt more like a nudge or something。
Elise pulled her head back and both girls opened their eyes。 ？It says in the book to relax and
enjoy yourself； especially when it？s your first time。？
What； had she； like； memorized the book？
Jenny pulled her curly brown hair up on top of her head and blew a big breath out through her
nose。 She didn？t know what she was so nervous about； but she would have preferred it if Elise had
still been wearing her pants。 ？Do you mind putting your jeans back on？？ she asked。 ？I think I
could； you know； relax more if you were like； dressed。？
Elise hopped up and scooted into her jeans。 ？There； is that better？？ she asked； leaving them
unbuttoned as she sat down on the sofa again。
？Okay。 Let？s try it again；？ Jenny replied； revving herself up。 She closed her eyes and slid her
hands under Elise？s hair and around her neck； trying to be less of a prude about the whole thing。
After all； she was an artist； and artists did all sorts of crazy things。
the next keats meets his next muse
After the Better Than Naked fashion show； the candles lining the runway were removed and red
and blue strobe lights began to zoom against the black velvet walls。 DJ Sassy broke out the phat
French house beats； and the Harrison Street Club was transformed into a seventies European disco
full of half…naked ninety…pound models drinking Cristal champagne straight out of the bottle。
Dan stood alone by the bar； sipping his Red Bull？and…who…knew…what…else cocktail。 It tasted
exactly like baby aspirin and he was only drinking it because the bartender had promised him it