Goldfish in the Deep End

The water in Miller's pool glittered like someone had dumped actual glitter in it, which honestly wouldn't have surprised me. This was the kind of party where people didn't just show up—they *arrived*, and I was definitely not arriving. I was awkwardly existing by the snack table, clutching a cup of fruit punch like it contained my entire personality.

"You gonna stand there all night or actually get in?" Maya appeared beside me, grinning like she knew something I didn't. Her orange bikini matched the sunset hitting the water behind her, and I felt my face heat up in a way that had nothing to do with the summer air.

"I'm good," I mumbled. "Still need to... process the snacks."

She laughed. "The papaya's not gonna run away, Jordan. But I heard Tyler's daring people to swim to the deep end and back."

My stomach did that thing it always did when Tyler was mentioned—like a goldfish doing laps in my gut, frantic and pointless. Tyler, with his lightning-quick grin and the way he made everything feel like an adventure I hadn't been invited to yet.

"You should do it," Maya said, reading me like an open book I'd forgotten to close. "Before someone else does first."

Before I could chicken out, thunder rumbled overhead. Someone gasped. The sky had turned that bruised purple color, and suddenly the pool lights flickered on, casting everything in electric blue.

"Last one to the deep end is a—" Tyler yelled, splashing into the water.

I didn't think. I just moved.

The water hit me like shock, cold and waking. I surfaced sputtering while everyone laughed, but for the first time all night, I was part of it. I was here. I was doing this.

When lightning finally cracked the sky, sending everyone scrambling for towels, I caught Maya's eye. She winked.

"Told you," she mouthed.

And okay, maybe I hadn't swum to the deep end. But I'd jumped in. That had to count for something.