Crush Courts

Maya stood at the edge of the padel court, wearing her older sister's oversized orange hoodie that swallowed her frame. The vibrant color screamed look at me, exactly what she was trying to avoid.

"You gonna play or what?" Tyler called from across the net. His tennis racquet tapped rhythmically against his leg—a nervous habit Maya had started cataloging weeks ago.

"Yeah, just... stretching." She bent down to tie her already-laced Converse, buying time. Her palms were sweating. This was supposed to be casual hangout time, not crush-evaluation time.

Then came chaos.

Buster, Mrs. Henderson's elderly golden retriever, somehow escaped his backyard again. The dog galloped onto the padel court like a fluffy missile, orange tennis ball clamped triumphantly in his jaws. The color coordination with Maya's hoodie felt like cosmic betrayal.

"Buster! No!" Maya lunged for the dog, tripping over her own feet. The world tilted—she was going down, hard and spectacular.

Tyler caught her arm. "Whoa, you okay?"

Their faces were inches apart. She could see the tiny freckle on his nose, the way his brown eyes had lighter flecks near the pupil. The moment stretched, suspended and electric.

Then Buster shook his head furiously, spraying dog slobber and bright orange fuzz everywhere like confetti.

Tyler laughed. Not mean laughter, but real laughter. "Dude, your hoodie is basically part of his escape plan now."

Maya looked down. Orange fluff covered her chest like she'd been rolling in a highlighter factory. "I'm a mess."

"You're not a mess." Tyler still hadn't let go of her arm. "You're... memorable."

"That's one word for it."

He stepped closer. "I like memorable."

Buster chose that moment to deposit the slobbery tennis ball at Maya's feet, wagging his tail like he'd orchestrated the whole thing. The old dog's strategy was suspiciously brilliant.

"We should probably, like, play?" Maya said, though she didn't move.

"Yeah." Tyler didn't move either. "But first—" He plucked an orange fuzz ball from her hoodie, his fingers brushing her shoulder. "—I'm glad you wore that color."

Maya's heart did something illegal against gravity. "Me too."