Chips　with　the　rope。　？I　just　wanted　to　make　you　sweat　a　little。？　His　phone　rang　again　in　his　pocket

and　he　pulled　it　out？even　though　he　knew　who　was　calling。　He　silenced　the　ringer。

Chips　arched　an　eyebrow。　？Which　one　is　it？　Does　she　know　where　you？ve　gone？？　？She　doesn？t。

Neither　of　them　knows；　actually。　They　both　think　I？m　meeting　them　at　Grand　Central　right　now。？

Nate　thought　about　Blair　and　Serena　standing　in　the　train　station；　wondering　where　he　was；　and

felt　bad？but　only　for　a　minute。　He　closed　his　eyes　as　he　pictured　Blair？s　excited；　happy　face　and

Serena？s　wide；　gorgeous　smile。　It　really　was　better　this　way？for　everyone？whether　they　realized　it

or　not。　Serena　and　Blair　would　be　friends　again？without　him　getting　in　the　way　all　the　time。

？You　didn？t　even　tell　them？？　Chips　coiled　a　length　of　rope　around　one　arm；　his　brow

furrowed。　？Did　nothing　of　my　using…your…balls　speech　make　its　way　through　that　thick　hair　of

yours　and　into　your　head？？　Nate　looked　out　to　sea。　The　sky　above　him　was　flooded　with　bright

morning　light　that　bounced　off　the　calm　surface　of　the　water。　？No　。　。　。？　he　began。　？I　got　it。　It？s

just　。　。　。　better　this　way。　If　I？d　told　them；　they　would　have　tried　to　stop　me　from　leaving。？　His

phone　started　beeping　wildly；　breaking　the　perfect　silence　of　the　calm　morning。　Nate　pulled　it　out

of　his　pocket　and　silenced　it　again。　？And　I　might　have　let　them。？　He　glanced　at　the　phone　in　his

hand　and　its　screen　flashing　18　MISSED　CALLS。　He　flipped　it　open　and　punched　at　the　keypad；

knowing　exactly　what　he　needed　to　say　in　his　text。　He　pressed　SEND　and　then　SEND　again。　And

then　he　brought　his　throwing　arm　back　and　tossed　the　phone　out　to　sea。　It　mad