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case； and a white embroidered Viktor & Rolf top。 Only the essentials。
She stared out the window at the grand steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art； the lush trees
of Central Park； the grand apartment buildings on Seventy…second Street； the panoramic vista of
Park Avenue； and then at the unfamiliar； ugly modern towers on Third Avenue。 Ew。
？We？re here； miss；？ the cabdriver announced； grinning at her in the rearview mirror with a
mouthful of gold…capped teeth。 One tooth even had the initialZ stenciled into it。Maybe for Zorroor
Zeus？Serena wondered。
？Oh。？ She pulled out her burgundy Bottega Veneta wallet and thumbed through the cash。 Then
she climbed out of the taxi； balancing her packed…to…the…gills tote bags； and scanned the
putty…colored town houses for the right number。
There was number 171； and there was number 167； but there were some unmarked buildings in
between the two； and she couldn？t figure out which was hers。 She lugged her bags to the nearest
stoop and sat down。 Judging from some of the boxy； low buildings on the street； the place she was
moving into wouldn？t bequite on par with what she was accustomed to。 She dug out a cigarette
and lit it； stepping aside as a stream of foul…smelling gray smoke billowed out of a grate in the
gutter。
Wake up； Dorothy： you？re not on the Golden Mile anymore。
It was funny how everything could change so quickly？ she？d gone from being Serena van der
Woodsen； senior at Constance Billard and sometimes…model； to being Serena the working actress。
It didn？t seem so long ago that her biggest worries had been remembering where the Catherine
Malandrino sample sale would be this month； or bickering with Blair in the VIP room at Marquee；
or hooking up with Nate wherever he wanted？which； for a short while； had been everywhere and
all the time。
It？s a hard…knock life。
？You lost？？
Serena looked up 。 。 。 and up； and up。 Standing above her was a gorgeously tall guy with broad
shoulders； preppily cut dark brown hair； a cleft in his wide chin； and pretty blue eyes。 He was
wearing a plain gray suit and stiff navy tie； but his smile was so charming she was willing to
overlook his dorky office ensemble。
But would she be willing to overlook the dorky plaid box…ers he was probably wearing
underneath？
？I？m just looking for this address；？ Serena sighed； handing the stranger her keys with the number
169 painted on them in red。
Some girls really know how to work the damsel…in…distress thing。
？Well？？he grinned； ？I think I know exactly where this building is。 Because I actually kind of live
there。？ He extended a hand to help Serena to her feet。 ？Hey； I？m Jason Bridges。？
？Serena van der Woodsen；？ she replied； smoothing her Kelly green Lily Pulitzer skirt； smiling
the sort of sly； wide…eyed…ingenue smile that Audrey Hepburn was famous for。
No wonder she got the part。
Just like Holly Golightly； Serena was a master of the
she…can？t…possibly…be…that…beautiful…and…that…innocent…allure that made guys flock to her。
？Well； Serena。？ Jason bent down to pick up her two over…stuffed totes。 ？Let？s head on home。？
He unlocked the door to number 169； a white town house with black trim and ivy climbing up
the side of it。 He shoved the heavy old black door open to allow Serena to step inside first。
A true gentleman！
？So；？ he began as the door slammed behind him。 ？You visiting Therese？？
？No。？ Serena frowned as she inspected the vestibule？s creaky wooden staircase； lit only by a
pretty but dim wrought…iron chandelier。 The whole place smacked of dead old lady； as though it
hadn？t been touched since its original owner died thirty years ago。 Yet it was still charming and
semi…grand； in its own way。 ？I？m moving in； I guess。？
？You guess？？ Jason laughed as he started to climb the wooden steps； which groaned and
squeaked noisily。 ？What does that mean； exactly？？
？Well；？ Serena began； ？I？m in this movie； and this morning I got a note from my director telling
me to pack my bags and e here； and now here I am。 I think it？s to help me get into character or
something。？
？Movie star； huh？？ Jason asked。
？Something like that；？ Serena answered； mildly embarrassed。
？Wow。？ He turned to shoot her a slow； shy smile。 ？This is a nice building； but I？d think most
movie stars would just want to stay somewhere a bit more glamorous； like the Waldorf or
something。？
？We？re doing a retelling ofBreakfast at Tiffany？s ；？ she explained； choosing the exact words Ken
Mogul had used to describe his big…budget debut；Breakfast at Fred？s 。 ？This is where Holly
Golightly lived in the original movie； but I guess you probably knew that already。 It？s supposed to
make me feel just like she does。 It？s my first movie。？
？Oh yeah？？ Jason asked as they reached the landing； where the black…and…white mosaic…tile floor
was missing a few tiles。 ？What？s it about？？
？It？s about a wild city girl？that？s my part？who meets this innocent guy from the country who？s
trying to make it as an actor。？ She conveniently left out that the guy would be played by super…hot
actor Thaddeus Smith。 ？Then； this uptight Upper East Side girl wows him with her money 。 。 。 and
things like lunch at Fred？s； the restaurant at Barneys？？ Serena hoped what she was saying made
some sense。 She had a tendency to ramble and lose track of the plot。
As if any guy she？d ever talked to evencared 。
They turned up another staircase and Serena went on； starting to feel a little winded as she
spoke。 ？The other girl ruins his innocence； which is； like； the one quality that would make him a
success as an actor？and turns him into a jaded New Yorker。 Then it？s up to my character to save
him。？
？So does that means we？ll be neighbors all summer？？ Jason asked； sounding adorably hopeful。
？Actually； just for a couple of weeks；？ she admitted。Breakfast at Fred？s was a big…budget picture；
but Ken Mogul had only twelve days scheduled for the actual filming。
They reached one landing and walked down a narrow hall。 Then he turned and led her up another
flight of steps。
？How far up are we going？？ Serena wondered out loud。 She was slightly out of breath。
Better lay off those hard…core French cigarettes。
They reached another landing； walked down another hall…way； and started up another flight。 Was
it possible that he was just leading her up to some dark； hidden； date…rape lair？ Should she be
scared？ She patted her skirt pocket； checking for her cell phone； just in case。
？I？m at my first job； too；？ he explained。 ？I？m a summer associate at Lowell； Bonderoff； Foster
and Wallace。 The law firm？ I was there until four last night； so that？s why I？m going to work now。
I don？t usually have to work so late； though。？
At last they reached the top floor； where the ceiling was low and the hallway was dark。 Serena
could see the flush on Jason？s cheeks。 She wasn？t sure if it was from all those damn stairs or if he
was blushing because of her。
？Here we are；？ he announced。
She unlocked the door and pushed it open。 Jason followed her inside and dropped her bags on the
ground with a thud that echoed off the walls of the empty apartment。 Two bare bulbs protruded
from the urine…colored ceiling； which was marred with so many water stains； it almost looked like
the orange…and…yellow tie…dye pattern had been painted on。
？It？s nice；？ he observed gamely。
Itis ？
Serena strolled around the apartment？s main room； almost losing her balance on the sloping；
creaky wood floor。 Three windows faced the street； with tattered screens and a view of the solid
brick old people？s home across the street。 Out of the back window off the tiny kitchen； Serena
recognized the fire escape from the originalBreakfast at Tiffany？s ； where Holly Golightly had
strummed her mandolin and sung ？Moon River。？ Blair got teary every time they watched that
scene。 Serena pushed a window open。 The apartment had a stale； claustrophobic； gag…inducing
smell； like sweaty feet and sardines。
？But where？s the furniture？？ she asked； her voice dangerously close to a whine。
？And who？s this？？ Jason added。 A black cat wa