door。 She knew that Blair and Nate were inside。 They？d
probably made a fort out of the many oversize pillows on the bed； which Blair had dubbed the
Kissing Cave or something cheesy 。 。 。 or totally adorable if you were in love。Which Nate
was。With Blair。
So what was Serena doing declaring her love for him now？ There were so many other； better
times she could have told him in the last year。 Like when they were nearly naked in a Bergdorf？s
dressing room。 Or when they were kissing in the bathtub at Isabel Coates？s Hamptons house。 Or
when she？d decided not to go back to boarding school and came back to the city instead。 But she
hadn？t。 She hadn？t told him any of those times； mostly because she？d been scared。 That he didn？t
love her back； which he didn？t。 He loved Blair。
She backed away from the heavy wooden door that led to her parents？ master bedroom suite and
toward the stairs where Nate had told Blair he loved her just last night。 So why had she suddenly
declaredher love for Nate； now； at the very worst possible time？
？Hey； you？re the birthday girl。？ A guy she？d never seen before looked up at her from the bottom
of the staircase。 His shaggy brown hair was piled on top of his head in a messy bun。 ？Selima；
right？？
？Serena；？ she told him。
？Right； so like； do you think you can give me a ride to the train station？？ He reached under his
sweat…stained and moth