Goldfish and Bruised Knees

The carnival lights blurred until everything looked like neon cotton candy. Maya clutched her prize—a plastic bag containing one very confused goldfish she'd named Toast—while her palm sweat through her denim shorts. Jake was approaching the mechanical bull, his stupidly perfect hair catching the summer breeze.

"You're actually gonna ride that thing?" she called out, trying to sound casual instead of like her heart was doing gymnastics.

Jake flashed that grin that made her knees forget how to work. "What's the matter, Maya? scared I'll last longer than eight seconds?"

"Please," she scoffed, though Toast chose that moment to bubble at her. "I'm not scared. I just don't want to have to carry you home when you wreck yourself."

The truth was she'd been a zombie all week, staying up until 3 AM every night either overthinking their almost-kiss at Lucas's party or watching zombie apocalypse movies to distract herself from overthinking their almost-kiss at Lucas's party. The cycle was exhausting.

The bull operator—a guy with more tattoos than teeth—cranked the machine. Jake mounted that fake beast like he'd been born in a saddle, flashing that cocky smile that made everyone's stomach flip.

The crowd counted along. One second. Three seconds. Six. Jake was actually killing it, waving one arm like he'd done this a thousand times before.

Then the bull decided it had enough.

Jake went flying—really, truly spectacularly airborne—and landed in a heap that made everyone wince. Maya's stomach dropped, but then Jake popped up, covered in dirt but grinning like he'd won the lottery.

"Eight and a half seconds," he declared, dusting off his jeans. "Beat that."

Maya looked at Toast swimming in his bag, then back at Jake—disheveled, ridiculous, perfect. She'd been so busy playing it cool, so scared of messing up their friendship, that she'd forgotten sometimes you just had to ride the bull even when you knew you'd probably fall off.

"Nah," she said, handing him the goldfish. "I'm good. But you can hold Toast while I find us funnel cake."

Jake took the bag like she'd just handed him a trophy. "Deal. But next time? Next time you're riding."

Maya's palm stopped sweating. Zombies could wait. Tonight, she was staying awake for something better than movies.