Goldfish in the Deep End

The invitation sat on my desk like a dare. Tyler's pool party. The Tyler. The one whose smile could make my stomach do actual backflips.

Problem one: I couldn't swim. Like, at all.

Problem two: my cat, Luna, had decided my favorite bikini top was her new mortal enemy. The claw marks were still visible when I held it up to the light.

"You're going, right?" Maya asked FaceTiming me. She was already planning her outfit. "Everyone's gonna be there."

"Yeah," I lied. "Totally."

Friday arrived in a swirl of humidity and self-doubt. I showed up with my towel wrapped around me like armor, prepared to spend three hours fake-sipping a soda and watching everyone else have the time of their lives.

Then I saw Tyler. He was in the shallow end, laughing at something Jordan had said, water dripping from his hair. And then—

"Ey yo, who wants to get goldfished?" someone shouted.

Before I could process what was happening, hands grabbed me. My towel disappeared. I was airborne for approximately one point three seconds before—

SPLASH.

I came up sputtering, my carefully applied waterproof mascara suddenly questionable, while everyone laughed. I'd literally been goldfished. Thrown in without consent.

But then Tyler was there, extending a hand. "You okay? Jordan's an idiot."

"I don't know how to swim," I blurted. "I'm literally drowning right now."

He laughed. Not mean laughing. Real laughing. His hand was warm when he pulled me toward the shallow end. "I'll teach you. It's easy, I promise."

So there I was, swimming lessons in front of half the sophomore class, my hair a disaster, my dignity questionable. But Tyler's hands were steady on my arms as I learned to float. Everyone else was still doing their own thing, not even watching. Turns out, nobody cared as much as I thought they would.

"You're doing great," he said, and I believed him.

Later, wrapped back in my towel, Luna waiting for me at home, my phone buzzed. Tyler had posted a picture. Us in the pool, me mid-laugh as he explained something about kicking. The caption: Swimming lessons with the coolest person I know.

My face heated up. Goldfish or not, I'd never felt more seen.