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ball. The vibration from the wood stung her hands. The ball flew high and far, and Jamey scrambled after it. “That’s the first decent ball I’ve ever hit!” Jordan beamed.
    “All right. Now try it on your own. Remember what I told you.”
    She missed his first two pitches, but hit the third one hard down the third base line. Jamey chased it as Jordan flashed Ryan a pleased smile. He offered a thumbs-up signal, and she leaned back on the bat, feeling satisfied with herself.
    She studied him and remembered the feel of his arms around her when he was showing her how to bat. His arms had felt big and warm.
Where are the bells and whistles?
Jordan asked herself. There weren’t any. Jordan couldn’t understand why. Ryan Elliot was good-looking, shy, but friendly, and very, very nice. But there was no quivery feeling in the pit of her stomach when she was with him.
    Jordan knew that those crazy sensations didn’t automatically mean a person was in love, but they did mean that the person you were with was special, different from all others. She thought about it for a minute. She should be head-over-heels crazy for Ryan. She should be doing everything in her power to make him like her as a girlfriend before school started back up. Why wasn’t she?
    “Let me go to the outfield and let Jamey bat,” she called to Ryan. Jordan dropped the bat and headed for the outfield. Maybe she could figure out her feelings out there.
    Jamey tossed her his glove as he galloped past. She reached the outfield and studied Ryan on the pitcher’s mound. He was big, blond, and good-looking.
What’s wrong with me?
she wondered.

Nine

    “Y ou look different,” Laurie said in the hall on Monday.
    “How so?” Jordan asked.
    “I’m not sure . . .” Laurie looked carefully at her friend for a long moment. “Sort of healthy.”
    Her evaluation surprised Jordan. “I don’t know why. I ate like a pig over the holidays. And I don’t think the jogging would have an effect already.”
    “You’ve been jogging?” Laurie raised a skeptical eyebrow.
    “Ryan’s been jogging. I’ve just been tagging along.”
    “How romantic!” Laurie bubbled.
    “There’s nothing romantic about sweating.”
    Laurie craned her neck, glancing over students talking in the halls and waiting for the bell to ring. “Where’s is Ryan anyway? I can’t wait to meet him. And I’ll bet Jennifer’s about to pop her buttons over seeing him.”
    At the mention of Jennifer, Jordan felt tense. Why was everyone so interested in her business anyway? “He’s in the office with his mother getting his schedule taken care of.”
    “Maybe you’ll get lucky and have the same lunch period like me and Wade. Then you can eat together.”
    “We already eat together at breakfast and dinner. I think I can make it through lunch without his company.”
    “But isn’t it wonderful living under the same roof with your boyfriend? I mean, it seems so romantic to think that the first person you see every day is the person who means the most to you. What’s it like, anyway?”
    “It’s like having to share an already overcrowded bathroom with another boy. And never having any privacy.”
    Laurie’s eyes had grown wide. “Gee, I never dreamed it could be that way.”
    “Well, it can be.”
    “But—but he’s your
boyfriend
,” Laurie wailed. “It should be wonderful having him around all the time. You get to talk to him whenever you want. Wade and I talk on the phone so much that my mother sets the kitchen timer whenever he calls. We only can talk ten minutes or so,” she complained.
    Jordan decided she’d laid it on too thick. “Well, it is fun most of the time,” Jordan admitted. She thought about how much fun Ryan could be when they went to the park or played a board game. “Forget I complained,” she added. “But constant togetherness can get old. Just remember what I told you if you ever get tired of Wade.”
    “I’ve got an idea!” Laurie’s voice sounded