Novels by Cecily von Ziegesar: Gossip Girl You Know You ... - Weebly

eaded straps. She pulled out the price tag. Six hundred bucks.
“Jesus Christ!” Dan said, looking at the price over her shoulder. “No
way.”
“I’m just trying it on for fun,” Jenny insisted. “I won’t buy it.” She
held the dress up to herself. The bodice would barely cover her
nipples. Jenny sighed and put the dress back on the rack. “Would
you please ask that lady if she’ll help me?” she repeated.
“Why can’t you ask?” Dan said. He shoved his hands in his
corduroys and leaned against a wooden hat rack.
“Please?” Jenny said.
“Fine.”
Dan strode over to a haggard looking woman with frosted blond
hair. She looked like she’d been working in department stores her
entire life, only taking one vacation a year in Atlantic City, New
Jersey. Dan imagined her chain-smoking Virginia Slims down on the
boardwalk, worrying about how the girls back at the store were
managing without her.
“Can I help you, young man?” the woman asked him. Her name tag
said “Maureen.”
Dan smiled. “Hello. Do you think you could help my sister find a
nice dress? She’s over there.” He pointed at Jenny, who was
studying the price tag of a red silk wraparound with ruffles on the
sleeves. Jenny had taken off her jacket and was wearing a white Tshirt.
Dan could not deny it. Her boobs were really huge.
“Yes, of course,” Maureen said, striding purposefully toward Jenny.
Dan stayed where he was, glancing around the room and feeling
completely out of place. Behind him, he heard a familiar voice.
“I look like a nun, Mom, I swear. It’s just completely wrong.”
“Oh, Serena,” another voice said. “I think it’s darling. What if you
just unbutton the collar a bit. There. See? It’s very Jackie O.”
Dan spun around. A tall, middle-aged woman with Serena’s coloring
was standing half in, half out of a curtained dressing room. The
curtain was slightly parted, and Dan could just see a bit of Serena’s
hair, her collarbone, her bare feet, the toenails painted dark red. His
cheeks burned, and he bolted for the elevator.
“Hey Dan, where’re you going?” Jenny called over to him. Her arms
were already piled high with dresses, and Maureen was flicking
efficiently through the racks, while giving her all sorts of good
advice about support bras and the latest figure-enhancing
underwear. Jenny had never been happier.
“Gonna check out the men’s stuff,” Dan mumbled, glancing
nervously toward the side of the room where he’d spotted Serena.
“Okay,” Jenny said gaily. “I’ll meet you down there in forty-five
minutes. And if I need your help, I’ll call you on your cell.”