First Date at the Courts

Maya smoothed down her crop top for the twentieth time, checking her reflection in the darkened window of the community center. Padel lessons with Tyler—that's what she'd told her mom. Technically not a total lie. Tyler was definitely going to be there, and he definitely played padel.

The outdoor courts buzzed with Friday night energy, clusters of high schoolers gathered around the fenced enclosures. Maya spotted him immediately—leaning against the chain-link, backward cap, effortless in that way that made her stomach do those little flip things.

"Hey!" Tyler grinned, pushing off the fence. "You actually came."

"Why wouldn't I?" Maya shrugged, playing it cool even though her palms were sweating. "Where's your dog? You said you'd bring Buster."

"Oh yeah, he's around here somewhere." Tyler gestured vaguely toward the parking lot. "My sister's watching him. She's probably on her phone ignoring him completely."

A screech interrupted them—Maya's nemesis since seventh grade, Chloe, emerged from the ladies' room with her squad. Chloe's cat-eye eyeliner was sharp enough to kill.

"Maya?" Chloe's voice dripped with fake surprise. "I didn't know you were into padel. Last I heard, you were all about baseball."

The comment landed exactly where Chloe intended it to. Maya had tried out for the softball team freshman year and hadn't made it. The wound was still fresh.

"People can like multiple sports, Chloe," Maya shot back, but her voice wavered.

Before Chloe could respond, the sky cracked open. Lightning split the darkness like something out of a movie, followed immediately by thunder that rattled the chain-link fences.

"Everyone inside!" A court attendant shouted over the ensuing downpour.

They squeezed into the covered area, shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the stranded crowd. Tyler's arm brushed against Maya's, sending electricity through her that had nothing to do with the storm outside.

"Your eyeliner's running," Tyler said, his voice low enough that only she could hear.

Maya's face burned. She reached for her face but Tyler caught her hand.

"I was kidding. You look good. Like, actually really good." His eyes crinkled. "Better than Chloe."

A wet dog shook himself vigorously at their feet, spraying water everywhere. Buster had found them.

"Buster!" Tyler laughed, wiping dog water from his jeans. "Dude, terrible timing."

Maya laughed too, the tension from the Chloe encounter dissolving.Outside, the rain fell in sheets, lightning flickering like a strobe light. Inside, pressed shoulder-to-shoulder with a wet dog and a boy who thought she looked good even with smeared eyeliner, Maya decided this was actually way better than padel would've been anyway.