Beneath the Palm, Beside You

The beanie was pulled down to my eyebrows — my social armor, really. Parties weren't exactly my vibe, but Maya had practically dragged me here, promising this bonfire at Tyler's beach house would be "low-key and chill." Spoiler: it was not low-key. At least fifty people swarmed the deck, music thumping like my heart whenever Jake's name popped up on my phone.

I spotted him immediately, of course. Jake Morrison, leaning against a palm tree like he was posing for a candid Instagram photo that everyone would screenshot and obsess over. His backward baseball cap — the same one he'd worn every day since freshman year — sat perfectly on his head, while mine was practically fused to my skull in nervous desperation.

"You're hovering again," Maya whispered, shoving a Solo cup into my hand. "Go talk to him. Literally just say hey."

"Hard pass," I muttered, but then Jake's eyes met mine across the deck and he actually smiled. That crooked, devastating smile that had fueled approximately 47% of my spiral thoughts this semester alone. He pushed off the palm tree and started walking toward me, and I swear my palms got so sweaty I could water a small garden.

"Hey," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I like your hat. It's... different."

"Thanks?" I managed, my voice cracking spectacularly. Smooth. Real smooth.

From somewhere behind us, someone started tossing orange slices into the air like they were confetti. Jake laughed, dodging one as it sailed past his shoulder. "My little brother's obsessed with these," he explained. "Mom brought, like, three bags. Want one?"

He held out an orange wedge, and something about the randomness of it all — the sunset painting everything gold, the palm tree swaying behind him, him offering me fruit like some kind of bizarre peace offering — made the anxiety crack open just enough for something else to slip through.

"Sure," I said, and when our fingers brushed, neither of us pulled away.

"Cool hat," he said again, softer this time.

"Yeah," I echoed, finally letting myself breathe. "Yours too."