Chaos by the Pool

I stood paralyzed by the edge of the pool, my stomach in knots. This was it - the moment I'd been stressing about all week. My mismatched bikini felt like a giant neon sign pointing at my insecurities, while Sierra, my best friend since forever, looked effortless in her coordinated set. She was already halfway across the pool deck, talking to Jake, who I'd been crushing on since seventh grade.

"You good?" Leo's voice made me jump. I hadn't realized he was standing right there.

"Yeah, just... you know." I gestured vaguely at nothing.

"The cable guy finally came," Leo said, apropos of nothing. "Fixed my internet."

"Cool?"

"Right. Sorry. I'm not great at this." He ran a hand through his hair. "Your cat - the sphinx one -"

"Chaos?"

"Yeah. She keeps staring at me through your window when I'm in my backyard."

"That's because she's weird. Also, can you see into my room?"

"NO. I mean, not on purpose. Just when the cat's in the window."

"Okay, that's not creepy at all."

I was saved by disaster - Chaos, who apparently had followed me, chose that exact moment to leap from the lounge chair she'd claimed directly into the pool.

"Chaos!" I screamed as she created a splash like a bull hitting the water.

The entire party stopped. Jake looked over. Sierra looked over. Everyone looked over as my sphinx cat paddled furiously toward the shallow end, looking betrayed by the water that betrayed her hairless expectations.

Leo didn't hesitate. He jumped in, clothes and all, and fished her out. She shook herself off, soaking him completely, and then began purring like nothing had happened.

"Your cat's insane," he said, pushing wet hair out of his eyes.

"That's why we named her Chaos," I said, but I was smiling now. The panic had dissolved into laughter. Even Jake was grinning.

Leo looked at me, really looked at me, dripping wet with a purring sphinx cat in his arms. "I still think your cat's been stalking me. But I also think I maybe don't mind."

The panic came back, different this time. Warmer.

"You want to get smoothies after this?" he asked. "Unless you need to go home and dry off your cat."

"Chaos can wait," I said. "I'm in."

Sierra caught my eye from across the pool and gave me a thumbs up. Sometimes the most embarrassing moments became the best ones. And sometimes you had to let a little chaos in to find what you were looking for.