Only in Your Dreams (Gossip Girl #9)(50)

He sat up, took a swig from the chilly bottle of orangeade and reached for the black Bang & Olufsen telephone on his bedside table. He hesitated for a second before dialing those familiar digits.

“It’s Blair.” She answered after a couple of rings. She sounded curt, professional, like she hadn’t recognized the number.

“Hey.” Nate turned over onto his stomach and fiddled nervously with the sheets.

“Nate?” she yawned, sounding bored already. “God, I’m sorry. I’m so tired.”

“Yeah, it’s me,” he replied sheepishly. He suddenly couldn’t remember why he had thought calling Blair would be a good idea.

“I’m working,” Blair explained. “It’s been a crazy week.”

“That’s cool.” Blair had a job? Wow, things really had changed.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Bailey Winter has really been busting my ass.”

Nate had no idea what she was talking about but decided he should try to be sympathetic. “That’s too bad.”

“It’s just life in fashion. Where are you, anyway?”

“East Hampton. My parents’ place. I’m doing some work for my coach down here, helping him with his house.”

“I wish I could get away,” Blair replied dreamily. “Just for a minute. But you know what it’s like....”

“Yeah,” Nate agreed. “If you’re working, that’s how it goes.”

“Did I mention I’m doing wardrobe on that new movie— Breakfast at Fred’s?”

“Cool,” Nate intoned. Why hadn’t she said anything about her engagement? “So, you’re back from London, I guess.”

“Oh, yes.” Blair sighed deeply, “I had to get back to New York. I decided this was the best way to build up my résumé before we start Yale, you know, get some real, professional experience under my belt.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Nate agreed, suddenly wishing he’d rolled a joint before making the call. “Especially now that you’re, you know, making plans for the future.”

“Aren’t you?” asked Blair. “You’ve got to think about what lies ahead, you know that, Nate, right?”

“Right,” Nate agreed, even though he rarely thought farther ahead than whether to get a burrito or pizza for dinner. “So, anyway, I guess I was just calling to say congratulations, you know.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little summer job with one of the best designers in America.”

“I was talking about the engagement. I heard everything.”

“Engagement?” Blair echoed. “Who have you been talking to?”

“Chuck told me,” Nate admitted, pulling a pillow over his head.

“Chuck told you I was engaged?” Blair barked. “As usual, he’s got the story all wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Nate pulled the pillow off and sat up.

“Well, I’m back,” Blair pointed out. “It just wasn’t working out in London. I couldn’t marry him. I need to think about my future.”

Like someone had actually proposed? As if.

“So you’re not getting married? I should set Chuck straight.”

Good luck with that.

“He’s an idiot,” Blair declared. “Who cares what he thinks? Why would you ever listen to him?”

Nate shrugged, even though Blair couldn’t see him over the telephone. “I just didn’t know, you know, I hadn’t heard from you or anything. But I’m glad you’re back. I know it was always your dream to be Katharine Hepburn, but it’s cool that at least you get to be close to the action.”

“It’s Audrey Hepburn,” Blair corrected him. “And I’m not close to the action, I’m an integral part of the action. In a major motion picture like this, wardrobe is critical.”

“Remember that time we watched that movie and you kept pausing it and making me practice the lines with you?” Nate reminisced wistfully. It had been a snow day and school was canceled, so they spent the afternoon cuddling in her bed and watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s, only Blair kept pausing it to recite the lines and trying to convince Nate to go along with it. He’d tried, because it was easier to just keep her happy. Now he was in the Hamptons and Blair was in New York and their relationship was over—even the bedroom was gone, turned into Blair’s baby sister’s luxurious pastel-colored nursery.

“I’ve decided that as a long-term career goal, working in fashion, behind the scenes, makes a lot more sense,” Blair explained.

“Yeah,” Nate agreed. “Serena’s the one who’s really cut out to be a movie star anyway.”

Ouch.

Blair paused for a moment. “I should really get going, Nate. I’ve got to run some samples uptown to the set.”

“Okay.” Nate was disappointed. “That sounds important.”

“It is important. Have fun at the beach.” Blair hung up.

Nate pressed end and dropped the receiver onto the floor, then turned over and stared at the ceiling. Have fun? Suddenly, the Hamptons didn’t seem fun at all. His whole summer stretched before him and he felt lonely and isolated. He missed the city, he missed his friends, he missed Blair.