Eric Is Back (A Gossip Girl Novel)

13. 2009

"You look fine," Jonathan said, picking a piece of lint off my shoulder. "Like a million dollars!"

I forced a smile. Jonathan thought I was nervous because it was Grandma's birthday party. The truth was, I was nervous because I'd be seeing Dan again. I just knew that I needed to look fire tonight. I wanted Dan's jaw to drop when our eyes locked. I wanted his mind to flash back to all of the times we'd kissed and have him fall back in love with me.

"Okay," I said, blowing out a breath. "Let's do this."

*

"Eric!" Grandma squealed when I entered the living room. "Oh, come over here and give your grandma a hug!"

"Hey, Grandma..."

Grandma wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly. Breaking away, she turned to Jonathan and asked, "And who is this handsome man?"

"Oh, this is Jonathan," I said, gesturing to him. "Jonathan – this is my Grandma."

He smiled. "Nice to meet you – and happy birthday!"

Grandma's face lit up. "Why thank you, Jonathan! It's no good getting old like this. Make sure you boys stay young forever!"

I laughed. "We will, Grandma."

At that moment, the door opened and Grandma turned around to see who had arrived. Just then, Dan appeared, holding a huge bouquet of flowers in his hands. My face twisted in confusion when I saw one of Serena's friends walking beside him. 'Nate Archibald' – I think his name was. I guessed that they'd made their way up here together or something.

"Oh, Daniel!" Grandma said excitedly.

"Happy birthday, CeCe," he said, handing her the flowers.

"Oh, would you look at these! Why, thank you Daniel!" Turning to Nate, she asked, "And who are you, young man?"

"This is Nate..." Dan said, squeezing the young man's arm. And then, fixing his gaze on me, he went on to explain, "He's my boyfriend."

*

Boyfriend... Boyfriend... Boyfriend...

Ever since Dan had kissed me on that drunken night I'd wanted to be his 'boyfriend'.

And now here he was...

Calling someone else his 'boyfriend'...

I must have gasped or something because, at that moment, everyone turned to gawk at me. Blinking back, I forced a smile on my mouth and tried to pretend like nothing had happened in the first place.

"How wonderful!" Grandma said, interrupting the silence. Fanning herself, she joked, "Would you look at me – eighty years old and surrounded by all of these handsome men! I think I might need to sit down. Lily, dear – would you fix me a drink?"

Just then, Mom swooped in and grabbed Grandma's arm. "Yes, of course, Mother."

As Mom steered Grandma away from us, her eyes flickered between Dan and I, flashing red with anger. So, figuring it was best to keep away from Dan, I grabbed Jonathan's arm and said, "Let's go and get a drink."

*

Dan was trying to make me jealous. I just knew it. Never in a million years would I have put someone like Daniel Humphrey and Nate Archibald together! I mean, Dan was so... bookish. And Nate was so... preppy.

Dan was laughing loudly across the room. He kept squeezing Nate's arms... fixing his collar... pinching his cheeks... But whenever he did those things, his eyes would flash to me, trying to gage my reaction.