Fox in the Water

Maya's stomach did backflips as she stared at her phone screen. Pool party at Jake's house. 3 PM. This was it — her chance to finally make a move, but also potentially the most embarrassing moment of her sixteen years of existence.

She'd been crushing on Jake since September, when he'd let her borrow his pen in AP Bio and their fingers had brushed for approximately 0.3 seconds. Not that she was counting.

"You've got this," said Sophie, flipping through Maya's closet like she was on a mission from God. "Wear the blue one. It makes you look like a total queen."

The backyard was already crowded when they arrived. Jake was in the pool, laughing at something some guy said. He looked ridiculous and perfect, with water dripping from his hair and his smile lighting up everything within a ten-foot radius. Maya felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Hey!" Jake called out, waving at them. "Finally! You made it!"

Then it happened — the papaya incident. Someone's little brother had taken a bite of the fruit and decided the pool was the perfect trash can. The slimy orange mess floated directly toward Maya like it had a personal mission.

"Ew, what is that?" somebody asked.

"Papaya," Jake said, wrinkling his nose. "My mom's on this health kick."

Maya laughed, and for a second, she forgot to be self-conscious. Until she noticed Jake's ex, Madison, in the corner with her squad, whispering and definitely looking in their direction.

"Don't look," Sophie hissed. "But Madison's giving you the death stare. She's like a fox stalking prey."

Great. Now Madison was a predator, and Maya was prey.

The pool scene went from awkward to worse when Jake challenged everyone to a race. Maya hated swimming in front of people — she felt like a dying goldfish, all flopping limbs and zero grace. But then Jake looked at her with those eyes, and suddenly she was sliding into the water before she could talk herself out of it.

"I call Maya for my team!" Jake shouted, and everyone ooooo'd like they were in third grade.

Her face burned. She couldn't tell if she wanted to die or if this was the best moment of her life.

They lost spectacularly. Maya swallowed half the pool and may have accidentally kicked Jake in the shin during her disastrous attempt at a competitive stroke. But when they surfaced, spluttering and laughing, Jake slung an arm around her shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"You're terrible at this," he said, grinning. "We should practice sometime. Like, one-on-one."

Sophie mouthed "OH MY GOD" from across the pool.

Maya's heart was doing something genuinely concerning. "Yeah," she managed. "I'd like that."

Madison and her fox-in-the-hen-house glares could wait. Maya was too busy treading water, wondering if she was actually going to pass out, and thinking that maybe, just maybe, dying goldfish style in front of her crush had been worth it after all.