Fox in the Deep End

The pool party invitation sat on my phone screen like a dare. Maya's house. Saturday. 7 PM. I'd been crushing on Fox—that nickname everyone gave Maya's older brother with the rust-red hair and grin like he knew secrets about you—since seventh grade health class.

"You going?" Best friend Jazz asked over facetime, popping papaya seeds into her mouth like they were chips. Her family went all-in on tropical fruits this summer. "Heard it's gonna be lit."

"Maybe," I lied, staring at my swimsuit. The stomach-curling anxiety hit before I even RSVPed.

Saturday came anyway. I stood by the **water**, watching everyone else cannonball into the deep end like they'd been born in chlorine. Fox lounged on a pool chair, scrolling his phone, that red hair catching sunlight like amber. My heart did that stupid flutter thing.

Then it happened. I'd forced myself to eat **spinach** earlier because Mom was on her 'body is a temple' kick and I didn't want to hear it. Somewhere between chatting with Maya and accidentally making eye contact with Fox, a leaf got stuck in my teeth.

I spent twenty minutes hiding my smile.

"You're weirdly quiet," Fox said, sliding into the chair beside me. Up close, his eyes were this startling hazel, freckles scattered across his nose like someone flicked paint at him.

"Just... thinking about **swimming**," I managed, still doing the half-smile cover-up.

He laughed. "You mean overthinking? Yeah, I saw you hovering by the edge for twenty minutes. Come on." He stood up, held out a hand. "I won't let you drown. Promise."

We jumped in together. The **water** swallowed us, cool and shocking, and for a second everything was just bubbles and motion. Then we surfaced, gasping, and Fox was grinning at me like I'd just told a joke he actually liked.

"See? Not so bad," he said, treading water beside me.

Later that night, floating on my back looking up at the sky while everyone else got pizza, I realized I'd spent the whole evening worried about a stupid piece of **spinach** when I could've just been here. Alive. Being seen.

Fox splashed **water** at me from across the pool. "Race you to the other side?"

I grinned back, finally. "You're on."