Chasing Sunsets at Palm Point

The moment I spotted Jayden by the refreshments, my palms went full slip-n-slide mode. Not cute. Not at all.

"You good, Maya?" Lena stage-whispered from beside me. "You look like you're about to hurl."

"I'm fine," I lied, smoothing down my bikini top for the fiftieth time. "Just low on vitamin D or something."

Lena snorted so hard watermelon juice shot out her nose. "Girl, we're literally at the beach. The sun is RIGHT THERE."

Fair point.

Jayden Anderson. The one person who made my brain voluntarily turn itself into scrambled eggs. They were standing by the coolers, all effortless confidence and wind-tousled hair, surrounded by their usual squad of unfairly attractive friends. Meanwhile, I was hiding behind a palm tree like it was my emotional support plant.

"You know what my mom says," Lena continued, mercifully distracted. "She says Jayden's crazy sharp. Like, fox-level smart. Academic weapon type stuff."

"Your mom also thinks TikTok is a form of witchcraft."

"Still."

Jayden laughed at something their friend said, and that sound somehow traveled across the entire beach and straight into my chest. This was pathetic. I was sixteen, not six. Time to adult.

I grabbed two cups of fruit punch from the cooler—naturally spillage-free, thank you very much—and marched over there. My sandals slapped against the warm sand. People were splashing in the water, some girl was blasting terrible music from a portable speaker, and somewhere a volleyball game was getting WAY too competitive. Normal teenage stuff.

"Hey," I said, holding out a cup to Jayden. Because apparently I'd lost the ability to form complete sentences.

Jayden's eyes brightened. "Maya, right? From Mr. Harrison's class?"

My stomach did something that was definitely not normal.

"Yeah. That's me. Maya. From class. Where we are. Both of us." Stop. Talking. "You want this?"

"Thanks." Their fingers brushed mine when they took the cup, and I PROMISE YOU my heart rate spiked to concerning levels.

"So," Jayden said, leaning back against the tree, "I heard you're running for student council prez."

"Wh—you heard about that?" I blinked. "I mean, yeah. Maybe. It's just a draft. A potential thing. A concept."

"You'd be good at it." They smiled, and I swear the sun literally got brighter. "You seem like you actually give a crap, which is more than I can say for half the people running."

The compliment hit me like a physical thing. "Thanks. That's... actually really nice to hear."

"Plus," Jayden added, "you totally roasted Peterson yesterday for saying climate change is a hoax. That was iconic."

I couldn't help it—I laughed. "He had it coming."

"Totally." Jayden shifted, looking suddenly thoughtful. "Hey, if you win, you need a campaign manager? I'm pretty good at strategy. Ask anyone."

My palms weren't sweating anymore. They were tingling.

"Are you... asking to work with me? Or asking me out?" The words left my mouth before my brain could veto them.

Jayden's grin turned sly. "Why not both?"

And just like that, the scary, overwhelming crush thing shifted into something real. Something that might actually happen.

"Both," I said, my voice steady. "I think I could work with both."

Lena found me five minutes later, somehow floating in an inflatable donut. "So?"

"So what?"

"So EVERYTHING." She paddled closer. "Don't make me drag it out of you like last time with—"

"We're getting coffee tomorrow," I said, cutting her off.

"COFFEE." Lena's eyes bugged out. "Like, a DATE-date?"

"We'll see."

"MAYA."

But I just smiled, watching the sun sink lower, painting everything pink and gold. Sometimes the scary moments—the moments where your hands shake and your brain glitches and you're sure you're about to make a fool of yourself—those are exactly the moments that change everything.

And hey, if nothing else, I'd definitely gotten my daily dose of excitement. Vitamin who?