“Yeah,” I managed to say. It wasn’t just the air now that was making me dizzy. This was definitely the closest I’d ever been to a guy — without being onstage battling the great Dust Bowl, that is.

“You think you’re ready to give it a go?”

“Yeah, sure,” I swallowed. “I’m just a little slow.”

“Fine by me. I’ve got all day,” he said. His hands were still on top of mine. I could hear him breathing behind me.

“But maybe all you really need is a push!” And with that Drew grabbed my waist and shoved me forward.

The ground started sliding out from under me.

“Aaaaahgh!” I was shrieking.

“Don’t forget to bend your knees!” I heard him call. But everything was moving too fast. It was just a rush of snow and trees and the sky swirling past. The wind was whipping my face and I was tipping forward and then back.

I heard someone shouting, “Slow down, Sam! Slow down!” and I looked out and it was Liz coming toward me faster and faster. And I was trying to move my feet together to make that T with my skis but they kept on moving forward, forward, and now I was trying to pull them together, I needed them to meet in the middle, but they were still racing straight ahead, no matter what I did.

“T-stop! T-stop!” Liz was yelling. At this point, that was about as helpful as yelling at me that the sky was blue. Which it was, and it was coming down toward me now, or else I was going up. And then my feet were in the air and so were my poles and I knew this wasn’t right but I wasn’t sure how to fix it and I was headed for a big pile of snow. Leeeeeevyyyyyyy!

It wasn’t that bad. It could’ve been much worse. I was on my back. My skis were both sticking out of the ground. My poles were somewhere around here. Nothing really hurt, except for my butt a little. And my pride.

“Wow,” said Liz, standing over me.

Heidi and Dina were right behind her, peering anxiously at me. The striped hats were keeping their distance. Molly’s dad lifted her onto his shoulders so she could get a better view.

“Whoa, looks like somebody likes to fly,” said Drew. He came to a stop next to me, the snow spraying my legs. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I was the one who pushed you. Do you hate me?” He pulled up his goggles and his blue eyes twinkled.

“No,” I said.

“Good. Because we’re gonna get back up there and try that again. You and me.” He gave a little nod, then grabbed my wrist and lifted me up with one hand.

“Okay, circle up, folks,” said Drew.

Everyone came into a huddle at the bottom of the Junior Slope.

“A few notes. Erica and Andrew, nice form.” The striped hats nodded. “Liz — you could bend your knees more. Especially when you’re making some of those weight shifts. Remember, folks, this is going to give you more stability when you want to do things in the future like go through trees, or try moguls.”

What are moguls?

“Got it,” said Liz confidently.

Drew continued. “Dina, nice work, I like your plow stop. Heidi, you can loosen up your grip on the poles a little.” Neither of them looked up. “And Molly, you are the all-time champion! Did you guys see this? You’re like the fastest one here! That’s what I’m talking about!”

He took off his glove and gave her tiny pink mitten a high five. She was smiling so wide I thought she would split in half.

“And that leaves us with just … you.”

His finger was long and pointed straight at me. But there was a smile sneaking up his face.

“We’re going to have to do a little tutorial. One-on-one,” he said.

We headed back to the chairlift, and Drew went up first. Erica and Andrew sat in the next one.

“Come on, Sam. The next one is ours,” said Liz. We slid into the seats and raised our feet in front of us. The car started floating up. Okay, take it slow, Levy. 1, 2, inhale. 1, 2, exhale.

“Wow, pretty awesome!” said Liz.

“Yeah, it feels like the air is cleaner up here. Lighter,” I said.

“Yeah, whatever,” Liz laughed. “I wasn’t talking about the air. I was talking about you and Super G having a private lesson.” She nudged me in the ribs.

“Super G?”

“That’s what Heidi and Dina and I call him. Did you see Heidi when he told you about your one-on-one time?” She giggled again. “I thought she was gonna melt into a puddle!”

“Uh, well. I mean, she can join us, if she wants. It’s just ’cause I can’t walk up the stairs without tripping.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so, Sam. Aren’t you excited?”

I shrugged.

“Sam, he is a total hottie! And he’s been to the Olympics!”

“What is the Super G, anyway?” I asked.

“Who cares?! The point is, he’s super dreamy and he obviously wants to get to know you. Are you seeing someone or something?”

Now it was my turn to laugh. Should I mention Leo and The Grapes of Wrath?

“No but —I don’t know. He’s not really my type.”

“What do you mean?” Liz asked, clearly confused.

“I don’t know. I guess I like guys who are … who are …” What? I thought of that cute guy Aaron from lunch. Incommunicative? Leo. Unavailable?

“Well, all I can say is that I know plenty of girls who would die to be in your position. He looks like an awesome kisser, too. Can you imagine looking into those eyes? You should’ve seen Heidi and Dina this morning during class.”

“Well, if they like him —”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Heidi gets a new crush every other day. And Dina has been seeing the same guy for, like, five months. It’s really serious. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got married.”

“Well, what about you?”

“I won’t lie. I was pretty smitten, too. That is, until lunch.” Her voice got softer now and I froze. Oh, no. Did she think Aaron was cute, too? I heard her take in a breath. “So, is your brother seeing anyone?”

Ew! It took all my energy not to squirm. Or yell, “Run! Run for the hills!” Instead I said, “Hmmm, I don’t think so.”

“Really,” Liz murmured.

There was so much swimming in my head all at once now. Leo and Aaron and Jeremy and Drew. Drew?! Could he really be interested in me? I tried to imagine myself strolling into Dave Murphy’s basement with Drew, his Olympic medal swinging around his neck. I wondered if he knew how to play Murder.

“Sam! Get ready!” Liz was saying. And there was Molly and her dad waving at us wildly. And behind them Drew was giving us the thumbs-up. All right, Levy, get it together this time.

“Now!” Liz commanded.

We flew off and landed. I wobbled my way to a stop.

“Yeah! Nice!” I heard. Drew came over and patted me on the back. Liz smiled and then bugged out her eyes at me.

Drew gathered us together up at the top of Junior Slope again and then instructed everyone to take it slow, watch their center of gravity, and most of all, have fun.

Once the rest of the group had taken off, he led me to another little area, just past some trees. Then he turned to face me.

“Now, let’s get down to business.”

He started to unzip his jacket. What?! Was this really happening? Agh! What do I do?! Think fast, Levy. Think fast! I looked at the ground quickly.

“I swear I go through like three of these a week,” I heard him say.

Huh?

He had a cherry-flavored ChapStick in his hand, and he was smearing it onto his lips. He was also zipping up a pocket inside his jacket.

I let out a breath. Levy, you’re such a nut job. Yeah, like he was going to strip down to his boxers and try to bed you here on the Junior Slope summit. I started to laugh a little. I couldn’t help it.