[jQuery] How to tell if is selected when it always defaults to first value?

[nick]

There appears to be no difference between these two when the page
loads.

<select id="one">
   <option value="1">one</option>
   <option value="2">two</option>
   <option value="3">three</option>
</select>

- or -

<select id="one">
   <option value="1" selected>one</option>
   <option value="2">two</option>
   <option value="3">three</option>
</select>

$('#id').val();

If there is no "selected" then it always defaults to first value. How
can I tell if the page has loaded and no options have been selected?