Rachel Hawthorne Quotes

Do you need anything?"
"I would say just you but that sounds way too corny.

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I started falling for you as soon as you bumped into me. I knew I could be a goner so easily."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah. And when I pictured you in shoulder pads and a helmet--"
I shoved his shoulder. "You did not!"
"Oh, yeah, I did. And I thought, of all the girls in this town, she is the one that I absolutely can't find fascinating.

Sides, i don't like the posed pics.They're not the real person.They're a reflection of what the person wants the world to think of her-not what she really is.

Breathe deep."
"Deeply," I forced out through my tingling mouth.
"What?"
"Deeply. Adverbs follow verbs."
"Seriously? You're giving me a grammar lesson in the middle of your barfing?

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Hey, sleepyhead," Mom said brightly when I walked into the kitchen.
I grunted. Tara handed me my coffee mug. I filled it quickly, added my milk and sugar, and took my first sip.
"Watching Ash drink coffee is kinda like watching a werewolf movie," Tara said. "You can see the transformation from man into beast."
"Except for me, it's beast into girl, I know," I said sourly and took another sip.
"Want some pancakes?" Mom asked.
"No, thanks." I leaned against the counter.
"They're really good," Josh said. He was watching me like he was hoping to see the transformation that Tara was talking about.

If you knew how hard I found it to stay on my side of the hall last night after we finished watching the movie…" He shook his head. "Your parents absolutely wouldn't approve of the direction that my thoughts are going.

Do I have clueless tattooed across my forehead?"
Narrowing my eyes,I leaned toward him. "Yeah,I think maybe you do.

A very naked Lucas was crouched near Ethan. I couldn't process that. He was a werewolf? Dr. Keane and Mason were right? No, no, no. There was another explanation. There had to be. My world tilted and I had an urge to scream hysterically.
I stared at his bare back while he tugged off Ethan's cargo pants. He had absolutely no tan lines. He was like a perfect bronzed god. I might have fallen in lust right then and there if I didn't know that he came with issues in the form of a furry body and canine incisors.

Hey," I said, wondering why I was either short on words or babbling when I spoke to him. I touched his hat. "Didn't help. I still lost."
The game, anyway. I'd won a date.
"Mac's pretty good at pool," he said.
"You're no slouch, either."
"It didn't look like you were paying attention."
In the beginning, until Mac had shown up, I'd been riveted.
"When I was looking at the program last night, I noticed you and Mac play for the same university," I said, doing our usual change-the-subject thing. "You must know each other pretty well."
"Pretty well."
"He seems really nice."
"He's a pretty good guy."
Not exactly a resounding endorsement. But then guys probably didn't spend a lot of time complimenting other guys.
He's the best. He's the greatest. If I were a girl, I'd definitely go out with him.

I'm trying to figure out how much I need to deposit into the Kate-have-a-good-time fund," he said.
"It's pretty empty.You might have to make a substanial deposit." I couldn't believe how breathless I sounded,like I'd been running beside a snowmobile instead of riding on it.
His grin grew."I'm still strapped for cash."
"You're torturing me,you know thst? Did you take lessons from Sam?"
"I'm torturing you?Geez,you've been torturing me since the day we got here.

I wasn't usually one to toot my own horn, which could also explain the no-boyfriend-status of my life. If bright plumage was the key, I was closer to being a brown wren.

Jason struck out the first, second, and third batters.
"Do not go talk to him," Bird said.
"No problem."
"Don't even look at him," she said.
"Now, that I can't do. He's so cute.

Big surprise. Mom had instituted a curfew. Like there was something we'd do after midnight that we wouldn't do before.

She'd tried to arrange it so we were sitting together, but fifteen thirsty and hungry guys jostling for chairs didn't exactly lend itself to a calm seating arrangement. Chase and I both dropped into the same chair at the same time, and we both popped back up way too fast, like a kid's jack-in-the-box.
Across from us, Ethan, the center fielder, noticed and laughed so loudly I was afraid everyone would know about the awkward moment. He said something to Tyler, the second baseman, that made him grin. Chase yelled for everyone to move down, because we needed room at our end of the table, only there was no place for anyone to move.
Alan offered me his lap.
I must have turned beet red, because my face felt really hot.

Between trying to forget him and trying to impress Mac, my nerves were definitely on edge. Add Tiffany to the mix, and I could see only disaster on the horizon. I just wasn't certain how many of her silly comments I'd have patience for tonight.
I glanced over at Mac and really wished I hadn't, because his gaze was focused on Tiffany, or as much of her as he could see, considering he was sitting right behind her. Tiffany with her hair all flowing around her, her makeup all perfect, and her shoulders bare because she was wearing a halter top.
My tolerance for silly comments was going to be zero.

Obviously, he didn't think I understood the whole ritual scene, and in truth, I didn't.
I mean, sure, when I played softball, I always chewed cinnamon-flavored gum during the game, and I never started chewing until after the national anthem. But that was different. If I didn't do that, I missed way more balls than I caught.
But home runs? There was nothing that guaranteed home runs.

Is there room for me to sit with y'all?"
Not really, but she was, after all, Miss Teen Ragland. And my sister.
"Sure," I said. "We'll make room."
I scrunched up next to Bird.
"It's a good thing I like you," she whispered.

How does she do that?" Bird asked.
I didn't have to ask who the she was. I knew it was Tiffany. Nor did I have to ask what Bird was referring to. Jason and Mac were leaning toward Tiffany, listening to whatever it was she was saying, like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Does she wear, like, turn-'em-stupid perfume or something?" Bird asked.

He was more of a cut-a-wisebrack-and-run-for-cover kind of guy.

I didn't mean play with you exactly," I said. "I meant…you know, keep you company so you don't feel awkward…you know, like I exercised with you."
"I'll be okay alone in the backyard." He stepped off the treadmill. "I'm going to go shower."
He waited a heartbeat, like he expected me to say I'd be happy to keep him company in the shower, too.
Fortunately, my brain finally kicked in, and I kept my mouth shut.

Under the pretense of wanting to record the history of my brother's year at college, I'd asked to take a picture of Sam with his roommate. Unfortunately, the zoom on my digital camera had somehow been pressed - by a renegade finger, I assumed - and I'd only been able to get a really good close-up shot of Brad. No evidence of Sam in sight. Gosh, darn. What a shame!
The photo was now the background wallpaper on my computer desktop.

So, you're a pitcher," I said inanely as we started up the stairs.
The team manager had sent Dad an information sheet with everything he needed to know about Jason--emergency numbers, health information, but nothing that was really important. I mean, it didn't provide vital stats like eye color, hair color, or girlfriend status.
"Yeah. Didn't play that much this year because I'm a freshman. I'm hoping that spending time on a collegiate team, playing through the summer, will improve my arm."
I almost said something really corny, like I didn't think his arm needed improving, based on the way the sleeves of his burnt-orange T-shirt were hugging his biceps. But I refrained, since we'd just met and he might not know I was joking. Besides, it wouldn't have really been a joke because he was way buff.

Hey, you have a soft spot for the mortal ones. A fascination with all the charming things they do while listening to the tick, tick, tick of their own looming lives. That's fine, that's good, everyone needs a hobby.

you mourn, you hurt and you start to heal.

Have you found it different having girls in the house?"
He cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah."
"Would you care to elaborate?"
"Nope."
I looked up from my writing. "If you don't elaborate, it's going to be a very short article."
"Look, I've already gotten into it once tonight--"
"Are you implying I'm hard to live with? Is that why you won't comment further? Because you think I'll be offended? I won't be."
"No further comment."
I sighed, tempted to toss the recorder at him.
"Okay, then, we'll move on. What's been the most difficult aspect of living with us?"
There was silence, but it was the kind where you can sense someone wants to speak but doesn't. Jason was so incredibly still, as though he was weighing consequences.
"Not kissing you," he finally said, quietly.
My heart did this little stutter. I just stared at him as the recorder continued to run, searching for sound. My hand was shaking when I reached over and turned it off.
"But you did kiss me, and you said it was a mistake."
"Because getting involved with you is a bad idea, on so many levels."
"Care to share one of those levels?"
"I'm living in your house. Your parents are giving me a roof over my head. Your mom brings home extra takeout. I'm here only for the summer. Then I'm back at school." He reached up, removed the ice pack from around his shoulder, and set it on the table. "And Mac? After we went to Dave and Bubba's, he comes out to the

My brother," I said with emphasis, in case the snow had blinded her and she hadn't realized exactly who she'd been standing there with.

Wishing I had a towel, I used my fingers to wipe the raindrops off my face. My wet face that had been partially protected by the brim of his cap. Which would have worked if the rain fell straight down. This had been slashing across.
"Oh, no."
"What?" Jason said.
"Turn on the light."
He did. I lowered the sun visor, looked at my reflection in the mirror, groaned, and slapped the visor back into place. "Turn the light off."
"What's wrong?"
I didn't look at him, didn't want him to see. "The makeup ran."
Not as badly as I'd expected, but I had dark smudges beneath my eyes and my bruising was more visible.
"So what?"
I leaned my head back. "I look worse than I did the night you met me."
"I thought you looked fine."
I rolled my head to the side, so I could see him. Hoping the shadows made it so he couldn't see me. "What are you talking about? I looked like a Cirque de Soleil performer."
"What are you talking about?"
"The black dots around my eyes?"
He shook his head. "I'm lost."
"You were staring--"
"Oh, yeah." He gazed through the windshield. "Sorry about that. I've just never seen eyes as green as yours. I was trying to figure out if you wore contacts."
"You were looking at my eyes?"
"Yeah."
"Not the makeup."
He turned his attention back to me. "I didn't realize you were wearing any. That night, anyway. Tonight it's pretty obvious."
"Oh." Didn't I feel silly? "I thought--" I

The team always sold programs for a buck at the games. Inside were the stats on each Rattler. There was also a roster of the visiting team, but they didn't include their stats. I guess the general consensus was: Who cares? They're not our guys. Ragland was pretty loyal to its team.

Deception may give us what we want for the present, but it will always take it away in the end.

Hey, ya'll,can we go?" Leah asked. "The cute guys are gonna be taken by the time we get there."
"No,they won't be," Sam said,"Because you'll be ariving with them.

Bird honked again. She has her own car. I share one with Tiffany, but she'd already called it for the day. Actually, she'd called it pretty much for the entire summer, and since she had "obligations," I was used to her getting what she wanted. Especially guys. I basically carry a mop to clean up their drool whenever she's around.

During the seventh inning stretch, we stood up and sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Jason and I swayed together. I couldn't have been happier.
The Rangers won.
"See how it makes a difference when rituals are honored?" Jason said, his arm around my waist keeping me anchored against his side.
"I'm too happy to argue," I said.
We stopped off in the gift shop, and he bought me a Texas Rangers cap.
"Maybe you can start decorating a wall with caps from the games we go to," he said.
I grinned broadly, because I knew what he was really saying: Tonight was just the beginning for us.

The team is showing its appreciation to the host families by taking them to a water park on Sunday. I know Mac is going out of town, but I thought you might still want to go. I mean, not as a date or anything. I'm going to invite the whole family."
"You don't have to work Sunday?"
"I got scheduled off."
"Sounds like fun. We could pack a picnic lunch--"
"I'll take care of that. As my thank you. All you have to do is bring yourself."
"And a bathing suit."
He grinned. "Yeah, and a bathing suit."
"And a towel. And suntan lotion…"
"Maybe it'd be simpler if I just said I'll take care of the tickets and eats."
"Okay, but I'll go ahead and warn you not to take it personally that Mom and Dad aren't really into water parks. It's that whole not-using-the-exercise-equipment-as-intended thing Dad has going."
His grin grew. "I won't take it personally."
"Okay, then, Sunday."
As though suddenly realized how intimate it seemed to be in my bedroom, he cleared his throat and took a step back.
He gave my room one more look and took another step back. "It's amazing what a room can reveal."
Then he walked down the hallway and knocked on Tiffany's door.
I wondered what he'd discover looking into her room.

It's just that,well,I'm gonna pull a Brad on you."
"You're going to start totally ignoring me?

Tap Life on the shoulders and fall a little more in love.

No surprise. I was the only one at Dave and Bubba's not wearing a Ragland Rattlers cap. Talk about feeling disloyal. And uncomfortable.
My discomfort must have shown, because while we were waiting in line to get our food, Jason took off his cap, folded it, and stuck it in his back jeans pocket.
"You don't have to do that on my account," I said.
He shrugged. "I was taught not to wear a hat indoors."
I wasn't sure I'd ever met anyone who did things with so little fanfare. I thought about telling him to put his hat back on, but the truth was, it made me feel less self-conscious not to be the only one.

We were each other's rock. But did it make us each other's destiny?

I'm sorry. I know how much players have to focus, and I know not to be a distraction. I just got caught up in the moment, in the great game, in your terrific pitching."

But I felt a need to explain more.

"Look, Jason, I love baseball. I love the crack of the bat hitting the ball. I love the seventh-inning stretch and singing 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game.' I love eating hot dogs and standing for the singing of the national anthem. I love doing the wave. I love Kiss Cam. I love that the game isn't over until it's over.

"I love the thrill of a home run and the disappointment of an out at first. I love the way a batter stands at the plate and the catcher readies himself to receive the pitch. I love watching the pitcher windup. I love sitting in the stands and feeling like I'm part of the game.

"And tonight, watching you pitch, I forgot that I'm only a small part - the spectator. Watching you, I felt like I was in the game, out on that field with you. You're out there on the mound, living a dream that so few people ever experience.

"I'm sorry, sorry that tonight I ruined the moment for you."

He was staring at me intently. I'd just bared my soul. Why didn't he speak? What could he possibly be thinking?

My nerves stretched taut.

"Say something," I demanded.

"There's nothing else to say," he said in that quiet way he had.

Then he lowered his head and kissed me.

I mean, if the choice was playing on a field with girls or watching a field of guys, Bird and I were going to choose the guys every time.

I've loved him forever, but he can never be mine.

Good game," someone said, patting my shoulder.
"Thanks," I said, laughing.
Then I felt arms come around me and pull me close.
"Hey," Jason said, kissing my neck before parking his chin on my shoulder.
Smiling brightly, I turned around in his arms. "Great game."
"Thanks."
"You hit a home run," I said, like maybe he hadn't realized it.
"I know it seems odd, considering how long I've played baseball, but I've never hit one before," he said. "But I knew, I knew as soon as I felt the bat make contact with the ball, that it was going to go out of the park. I don't know if it sounded different or felt different, but I just knew."
"You did look stunned out there."
"I was. Like I said, I'd never done that before. I mean, hitting has never been my strength."
"It was tonight." I reached up and kissed his chin.
"I need to figure out what it was I did that made me hit the home run."
"You connected the bat to the ball."
"No, it was more than that. Something I did before the game, maybe--"
"No, no, no," I said, lifting myself up onto my toes so I could look directly into his eyes. "There was no thing you did other than keeping your eye on the ball and hitting at the precise moment when the impact would send the ball over the fence."
"I'm not so sure."
"Okay, you want to know what it was? It was having me for a girlfriend--"
He put his hand behind my head and kissed me to shut me up. Obviously, he didn't thi

Do you and Zach have trouble living together?'
'No. Must be a chick thing.'
'And you're sexist.'
'I'm sexy.

By the time I got down there, Bird was standing to the left of the backstop, near the warm-up area, smiling at Brandon. It was obvious he was trying not to get caught smiling at her, that he was supposed to focus on the game.
I scooted over until I was standing behind the dugout. Jason was still messing with his gloves. I was surprised the Velcro still worked, that it hadn't worn down until all the tiny sticky teeth were gone.
"Hey, Jason," I said. "Awesome no-hitter."
I was vaguely aware of someone gasping and someone else moaning, as Jason came up off the bench fast, spun around, and stared at me like I'd morphed into something from The X-Files.
The guy who'd gasped, Chase, put one knee on the bench, so he could talk to me in a low voice and still be heard. "You'd better go."
"Why? What did I do?"
"You never talk to the pitcher when…" He shook his head. "You just never talk to the pitcher when--"
"I just wanted to congratulate him on a good game--"
"It's not over 'til it's over," Chase said.
"You jinxed me," Jason said, crouching down in the corner, pressing his palms against his forehead, like he'd been struck with a migraine headache.

Can I ask you a question?" I asked after a few minutes.
"Sure."
"I've always wondered…what exactly do a catcher and pitcher discuss at the mound?"
He studied me for a second, before finally saying, "Last night we talked about you.

What are you doing?" Tiffany sked.
Holding the cap, I faced her. "I have to wear the cap to get a discounted price on the barbecue."
She snatched the cap from between my fingers. "You're not ruining my creation with a baseball hat. Pay full price. Beauty isn't cheap.

This look Jason gives me…tell me a little more about that."
She shrugged. "He looks like he adores you, like crossing the hallway and knocking on your door crosses his mind sometimes.

I found him in the kitchen, at the table in the bay window, already eating his cereal.
"I was going to fix you breakfast," I said.
He grinned. "I wouldn't want you to put yourself out."
"No one can pour cereal like I can. That's true."
I crossed the kitchen. He scooted his chair back, and I sat on his lap and put my arms on his shoulders.
"Good morning," I said, right before I kissed him.
Oh, yes, this was definitely the way to start the day.
"We're in the house," he said when we stopped kissing. "Thought we had a rule about not kissing in the house."
"Yeah, we also had a house rule--no falling for the player living with us. You see how good I am at following rules."
He grinned. "Lucky for me. Why don't you come to Ruby Tuesday for lunch?"
"Okay."
"Then practice."
"Definitely."
"Maybe we could do something afterward."
"Absolutely."
He kissed me again. He tasted like bran flakes and raisins and bananas.
Me, I tasted like chocolate chip cookie dough.
It was an odd combination but it somehow worked.

I was surprised to see you at practice."
"Are you kidding? I'm all about baseball."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah. Bird and I haven't missed a Rattler practice or game since the town got the team."
"I've never known a girl who was that into baseball."
"Well, now you do."
Tell your friends. Step right up. Meet the most amazing girl you've ever known.

I don't know," Mom said. "A boy in the house…" Her voice trailed off as though her thoughts were traveling into R-rated territory.
"It's not like we're going to date him, Mom. Worse than seeing Tiff without her clothes, he may see her without her makeup."
"No way!" Tiffany screeched. "I don't leave my room without makeup."
"Exactly. It would be kinda icky dating a guy who was living with us, who wouldn't always see us at our best. So, getting involved with him isn't even an issue." Getting involved with one of his teammates, yes, but him, no.

Sure you don't want any?"
He shrugged and leaned toward me. "Okay, I'll take some."
Which I'd so not expected, and which had me wondering what I was supposed to do now. Stick my spoon in his mouth?
I felt a cold drip on the hand holding the carton and realized my spoon was suspended and the ice cream was starting to melt. I extended it toward him, watched as his mouth closed around my spoon. Now what? I was so not used to feeding guys.
He wrapped his hand around my wrist and guided my hand back. I watched appreciation glide over his face like hot fudge over a banana split.
"It tastes like you," he said.
The heat rushed into my face. "Uh, yeah, my lip balm…same flavor."
"I think it just became my favorite ice cream."
Ookaay. So was that an endorsement of my kiss?

Great.My brother was an entertainer and I was a sleeping pill.

Jason pulled me into the driveway, turned off the car, and kissed me.
Then it got kinda weird. It was like: Where should our last kiss be?
In the car? At the door? Inside the foyer? Outside my bedroom?

I'd thought I'd be perceived as cool if I acted like I was up for anything. Instead I discovered that some things just aren't worth it.

He kicked me out,okay?"
"How can a guy who only has one good leg to stand on kick you out?"
"He doesn't want me around."
"I find that hard to believe, Katie."
"Yeah,well,he threw snow at me and told me to leave."
She looked astounded.As well she should be.
"Where did he get snow?" she asked.
Okay,I'd obviously misread the reason for her astonishment.It wasn't that he'd thrown snow at me,but that he'd had snow to throw.

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You know, they call third base the 'hot corner.' I think our third baseman might be the reason.

Even if the cables hold,your heart might not.

The Kiss Cam seemed to trigger the real start of our date…or maybe it just served as an ice breaker where kissing was concerned. Because after the entire stadium had seen us kiss, Jason wasn't quite so shy about kissing me anymore. Not long, slow kisses, not the kind of kisses that you didn't want broadcast on national TV, but kisses just the same.
Whenever the pitcher struck out someone…kiss.
When the Rangers got a hit…kiss.
When they got a run…longer kiss.
He held my hand, smiled at me, and just seemed really glad that I was there. I was glad I was there, too.

I finally got it.Allie and Sam..heavy duty secret handshake going on.

Tell me there's more to it than just adding water," he said.
I gave him a pointed look. "Nope. that's all there is to it."
he looked over his shoulder at the doorway that led to the living room, then back at me. "Matchmaking?"
I grimaced and nodded.
"You don't look thrilled."
"It's my love life, and everyone treats it like it's a community project.

I really didn't know why I was so nervous. Maybe it was the way he kept looking at me, like he was trying to figure something out. Could he see through me? Did he know I wanted to impress him, use him to get close to his teammates?
I went into the bathroom across the hall, the one between Tiffany's bedroom and mine. Putting my hands on the edge of the sink, I leaned toward the mirror. "Could you be any more boring?"
Then I realized what he'd been staring at. It wasn't my eyes. It was a little ring of black dots where my mascara--while it was still wet--had touched above and below my eyes. I looked like some sort of Cirque du Soleil performer.
"Great! Just great!" I muttered.
You get only one chance to make a first impression. This wasn't exactly the impression I'd planned to make.

I can't believe you'd rather hold handle bars than a girl."
He angled his head thoughtfully."I hadn't considered that."
"Maybe you should."
He hopped over,gingerly swinging his bad leg over to the other side and settled down behind me on the seat.
"You got rules on how I can hold you?"
"Nothing distracting while I'm driving," I tossed over my shoulder, meeting his gaze."We don't need another accident."
"And when you're not driving?"
"The Kate-have-a-good-time fund is getting low.Maybe you should think about making a deposit.

He finally cleared his throat. "Well, huh."
"Yeah," I said. "What now?"
"Well" - he cleared his throat again - "I guess you and I go. I mean, unless you really don't want to."
Why put it on me to bail out?
"Do you want to?" I asked.
"Yeah. I really do. I had to talk Dad into giving me the afternoon off. And since I don't usually go to a lot of trouble to fix lunch, it seems a shame to waste the effort. Besides, there's the thing I want you to see."
He said all of this while staring at the door like he was talking to it. I almost expected it to respond.

Lindsey: Why would you choose me?
Rafe: Because you're the one I want.

You said you thought the first guy you fell for would be the one.That's what you've been searching for.Like you think you'll meet him and a whole chorus of angels will sing and you'lle know he's it! But it doesn't always work like that.Actually, i don't think it ever works like that.Usually you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you stop getting warts.

This was insane!
Yes, he was hot, but so was Nick. Yes, he was nice, but so was Nick. Yes, he sent shivers of anticipation through me. But so did Nick. Okay, so they weren't this strong. But they were
there.
Parker terrified me. Nick didn't.
Nick was safe, like a carousel.
Parker was the tallest, fastest, scariest thrill ride imaginable.

With the wind blowing through the windows, we all had to remove our caps. My hair was whipping around my face. I heard a screech from the front of the bus. Tiffany, learning to deal with flying hair.

Supposedly, dreams reflect our hidden fears and secret desires, all clamoring for attention.

Switch places," Sam ordered me.
"What are we doing, playing musical partners here?"
"I didn't know we were playing with Foosball sharks here.We're starting over.

Mick: What do you remember from when you were four?
Josef: Well it was 1603 Mick, it's reasonable to be a little hazy.

I heard a shower go on, a distant shower, not in the bathroom next to my room, but in the one across the hall, which meant it was Jason.
He'd taken at least one shower, usually two a day in that bathroom. So why was I suddenly freaked out by the thought of him in the shower? Naked?
Oh, gosh, this was insane. What if he opened the door to my bedroom? What if he came inside? What if he wanted to give me a good-morning kiss?
Okay, that was so not going to happen. Hadn't we said no kissing in the house?
Not that the rule had stopped us from kissing in the game room last night after we'd finished our ice cream.
"I'm still craving the flavor of chocolate chip cookie dough," he'd said.
So of course, I'd let him sample.

Since you like baseball, I guess you know what a closer is?"
"Of course."
"Tiffany doesn't."
"Tiffany is so not into sports." She thought a baseball diamond was a type of gemstone. Seriously. Don't even ask how that revelation came up.

What about the backyard stuff?" he asked.
"What about it?"
"Is it okay if I use it, too?"
"Oh, sure. The equipment is in a metal shed in the back. Just help yourself. It's not locked or anything. And if you want company, just let me know. I'd be happy to play with you."
Did I just say that? I did not just say that. Like we were six years old and heading for a sandbox.
He was grinning again, like he thought it was funny or stupid or I was having a Tiffany moment.
"I didn't mean play with you exactly," I said. "I meant…you know, keep you company so you don't feel awkward…you know, like I exercised with you."
"I'll be okay alone in the backyard." He stepped off the treadmill. "I'm going to go shower."
He waited a heartbeat, like he expected me to say I'd be happy to keep him company in the shower, too.
Fortunately, my brain finally kicked in, and I kept my mouth shut.
I watched him walk out of the room. I thought I'd known everything that would be involved in having a baseball player living with us for the summer.
I was discovering that I didn't have a clue.

You've been avoiding me," he said, talking to the sandwich.
I laughed. He looked over at me. "Sorry. I just realized that you talk to a lot of inanimate objects.

It was scary to think of happily ever after. It was scary to think about trusting someone enough to give him your heart now, hoping he wouldn't break it later.

If one of his teammates asked about me, I didn't want his recommendation to be, "She has a great arm.

I couldn't help but think she'd gotten her chest plus mine. But that was okay, because I liked to think I'd gotten her brains plus mine.

Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine. I'm totally up for going to Bird's party."
"I don't think so. Not this late. How could you not see a baseball coming at you?"
"It happened so fast."
"Are you hungry? I could fix something--"
She had to really be worried if she was offering to cook.

After all,how long could it take to fix a garbage disposal? He could have built her a freaking new one by now. With his teeth.

I leaned my head back. "I look worse than I did the night you met me."
"I thought you looked fine."
I rolled my head to the side, so I could see him. Hoping the shadows made it so he couldn't see me. "What are you talking about? I looked like a Cirque du Soleil performer."
"What are you talking about?"
"The black dots around my eyes?"
He shook his head. "I'm lost."
"You were staring--"
"Oh, yeah." He gazed through the windshield. "Sorry about that. I've just never seen eyes as green as yours. I was trying to figure out if you wore contacts."
"You were looking at my eyes?"
"Yeah."
"Not the makeup?"
He turned his attention back to me. "I didn't realize you were wearing any. That night, anyway. Tonight it's pretty obvious."
"Oh." Didn't I feel silly? "I thought--" I shook my head. "Never mind." On second thought...
"You don't like all the makeup?"
"I just don't think you need it. I mean, you look pretty without it."
Oh, really? That was totally unexpected.

I looked in the mirror again. I wasn't even sure I could get the cap on over the fluff. "Maybe we went a little overboard."
"Trust me. We didn't."
I wasn't so sure, though, when we walked into the kitchen where Dad was giving Jason pointers on driving in the rain, as though Raglan offered challenges he might never have encountered before.

I'm going to miss all the takeout," Jason said later, after dinner, when I walked him out to his car. "Coach said his wife cooks their meals every night."
"That's really why you're leaving, isn't it?" I asked. "For real home-cooked meals?

It's even autographed," Jason said, the awe evident in his voice.
"It's not personalized." Which was a silly thing to say, since he could obviously see it wasn't.
"Still," he said.
"Yeah, still." I could hear him saying, "Hey, guys, let me introduce you to my conversationally challenged host sister.

I'm impressed, Tiff. That's a great idea."
Her having a great idea was a sobering thought, because if she had in fact gotten brains, too…well, I'd been shortchanged.

Why…why do you think you need to do that?" I asked.
Dad touched his glasses. "These work you know."
"Only for close up."
Shaking his head, he gave me an indulgent grin. "Dani, your mom and I were young once. We see the way you and Jason look at each other."
I glanced over at Mom. She was leaning against the counter, her arms crossed.
"I know I promised--" I began.
"Sweetie, no girl is going to keep that kind of promise when she starts falling for a guy. But you could have said something."
"Like what?"
"Like…'we have problem.'"
"In all honesty, we didn't realize we had a problem until last night," Jason said from the doorway.

I suppose we could make it work with a young man living in the house. But there would have to be rules--"
"Whatever they are, we'll follow them."
"There can be no hanky-panky--"
"Puh-lease!" Who said hanky-panky these days? "He won't be the one--"
"The one?" Mom asked, her eyes narrowing.
Why don't I just blow it here and now?
"We're just giving him a room, Mom. I promise. I wouldn't be interested in him if he turned out to be Johnny Depp." I gave an exaggerated eye roll. "Well, okay, if he was Johnny Depp, I'd be interested. But seriously, what are the odds?"
Mom's mouth quirked at that, because she had a thing for Johnny Depp, too.
"All right, then," she said, "you can have your ballplayer for the summer."
Yes! Deep inside I was doing a happy dance, but on the outside I did nothing more than smile. If my parents figured out the real plan was to get a boyfriend, they absolutely wouldn't go for it.

Are you driving?" I asked Sam.
"Nope. I plan to do some drinking," Sam said.
"You're not old enough," I reminded him.
"Never stopped me before."
"Sam!"
He halted and glared at me. "What? You gonna tattle to Mom and Dad?"
Was I? No. But he didn't know that. Besides, as irritating as my brother was, he was good for one thing: blackmail. And it was payback time for the snowball he'd hit me with yesterday.
"Not if you make a contribution to the Kate-have-a-good-time fund."
"Ah, Kate, come on. I'm not hurting anyone. I'm a responsible drinker."
"How can you be responsible if you're breaking the law?"
"I don't drive when I drink. No one gets hurt except me, if I happen to fall flat on my face."
"You get that drunk?"
"I've got better things to do than discuss my life with you." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"
"Twenty should do it."
"Five."
"Ten."
He held out the bill that had one of my favorite presidents on it. "You know, Kate, no one likes a snitch."
I snatched it from his fingers, folded it up, and shoved it into the front pocket of my jeans. "Payback's a bitch, Brother."
"What?"
"I wouldn't have tattled. But I didn't like getting hit with a snowball yesterday, either. So now we're even."
He snapped his fingers. "Give it back."
"Nope. Possession is nine-tenths of the law."
"You don't even know what that means."
"And I suppose y

For the briefest of seconds, it was like he looked back into the stands, like maybe he spotted me, shaking my rattle, giving him all the encouragement I could. I could have sworn I saw a corner of his mouth curl up. Then he did the whole Velcro batting glove thing and stepped up to the plate.
The pitch came.
He swung.
Crack!
He hit it! He hit it! I jumped up and started shouting.
I had a second to see the stunned look on his face, like maybe he'd never hit the ball before, but that couldn't be…
And then I realized what it was. As he started running, he turned his head, his gaze following the ball…
The ball that went out of the ballpark!
Right over the Backyard Mania billboard!
Home run!
My boyfriend had hit a home run!
I jumped around, pointing at the number on my jersey, hugging Bird, hugging Tiffany, watching Jason slapping his coach's hand as he rounded third. I watched him cross home plate, wearing the biggest grin on his face.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Bird said.
"That we're ahead two to nothing?"
"It means he'll insist you sit in this exact spot for every game. He'll think this is the good luck spot."
"No way."
"Either that, or he'll ask you not to wash your underwear."
"Ew! That's so not happening. Maybe I can convince him it was wearing the jersey."
Yeah, I thought. That's the ticket.

He'd asked if I felt the pull. I could'nt deny that I did. And that it terrified me.
It wasn't like a crush. It wasn't like seeing a guy and thinking I'd like him to take me to the prom. It was soul-deep, as though he was everything, the one, forever. I had to remind myself that I barely knew the guy. But still I couldn't shake the feeling of being meant for each other - as corny as that sounded.

Mom told me you got hit by a ball last night, but I didn't think it would be that nasty looking. Does it hurt?"
"It's tender," I admitted.
"I have some makeup that will cover it right up. No one will know."
"Maybe I want people to know. Maybe I see it as a badge of honor."
"Please. It looks like the first stage of turning into a zombie.

Hey, college-bound?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you always kick guys in the nuts when they try to kiss you?"
"Maybe you should try it sometime and find out.

"Yeah?"
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"Yeah?"
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Hadn't we said no kissing in the house?
Not that the rule had stopped us from kissing in the game room last night after we'd finished our ice cream.
"I'm still craving the flavor of chocolate chip cookie dough," he'd said.
So of course, I'd let him sample.
But it had been . . . stressful.
Because every time the house creaked, we were looking at the French doors expecting to see Dad standing there with a baseball bat in hand.

I loved my parents and wanted to make them proud of me - but no longer at the cost of my own happiness.

Don't wait for life to tap you on the shoulder.Go out and tap it.

I looked over at Jason. "Want some?"
He grinned. "Sure."
I pulled some off, held it out to him. He opened his mouth slightly, a challenge in his eyes. I don't know why I'd thought he'd take it from me.
Finally, he said, "I don't want to get my fingers sticky."
Oh, right. I got really warm, but I pushed the cotton candy into his mouth--and couldn't help thinking about a bride shoving the cake into the groom's mouth.
Jason's lips barely touched my fingers as his mouth closed, and I pulled back, but I got that much hotter, had felt his breath skim across my knuckles. It was so intimate, so personal, like something you'd do with someone you had a serious crush on. Much more intimate than spooning him ice cream. With ice cream, there was the distance of the spoon, not to mention that it was cold.
"I haven't had cotton candy in forever," he said. "I'd forgotten how…sugary it is."
"It's pure sugar."
"I wonder who invented it."
"I think it was a dentist."
He laughed, a laugh that revealed his perfect smile, his perfect teeth. "I'll bet you're right.

In all cases love was a strong emotion, not easily contained once it was unleashed. I realized now that love was like a blossoming flower that continually added more and more petals. But there was no end point. There was no full bloom. It went on forever. Growing, strengthening.

The weather,I finally thought.The weather was always a good topic of conversation. "That was some blizzard we had last week,wasn't it?" I asked, since he'd been at Cynthia's instead of with us.We could talk about the blackouts,the shrieking winds-
He perked up, looked around. "There's a Dairy Queen in town?I didn't know that.Where is it?"
I heard Allie snicker.
Sam took up for his friend. "It's an understandable mistake.

Somehow Jason and I ended up on the very last seat. Maybe everyone else was just too tired to walk that far.
Jason put his arm around me and drew me up against his side. Once the coach called the roster and everyone was accounted for, we headed home. It was really dark on the bus. It didn't seem as windy. Maybe because Jason was holding me close.
Then he kissed me. A really long, slow, deep kiss. A kiss that made me see fireworks.
When he pulled back, I could see him grinning, even in the darkness. "I love the flavor of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream."
"You know where you can always get a taste," I said.
He kissed me again.

Crack!
I covered my head, ducked down. Bird didn't laugh. She likened me to a survivor of some traumatic event who is always spooked by certain noises.
She just touched my shoulder and said, "It went the other way."
I straightened up. "But it was a foul ball."
"Yeah."
I hated that I kept flinching. I wondered how long it was going to take before I could totally relax at a game.

At that moment, I knew we could last past the end of summer. That with Parker, I could make a long-distance relationship work.That relationships were a lot like roller coasters. filled with highs and lows, terrifying split seconds, and awesome moments when you simply enjoy the ride.

Watch Brandon run across the field," Bird said.
He made a beeline for the pitcher's mound, did a little leap over it, and ran to the dugout.
"He does that every time," Bird said.
"Why?"
"Says it brings him luck. He is so superstitious. He won't wash his game socks as long as the team is winning."
"Ew! And he didn't want to work in a fertilizer plant?"
"I know. Go figure.