Green Thumbs & Static Hearts

Maya's palms were sweating. Again. She wiped them on her jeans — her favorite ripped ones, the ones Tasha said made her look like she was trying too hard. Whatever. Tasha wasn't here.

"You gonna eat that **spinach** wrap or hold it all day?"

Maya jumped. Dev. Standing there, all 5'11" of lanky skateboard energy, his curly hair falling over one eye like he'd just rolled out of bed looking effortlessly good. It was infuriating, honestly.

"It's... complicated," Maya mumbled. The wrap was falling apart. Spinach leaves were escaping everywhere, like her dignity at this community garden volunteer thing her mom had signed her up for. "Why are you even here? I thought you had skate practice."

"Coach canceled. Something about his kid's birthday." Dev leaned against the garden fence, the sun hitting his cheekbones just right. Stop staring, Maya told herself. Immediately. "You need help with that?"

"With what?" The spinach wrap had fully disintegrated. She was basically holding a salad in a tortilla at this point.

"The garden. Your mom mentioned you were doing this solo thing today." He gestured at the mess of tomato plants and overgrown mint. "I've got nothing better to do. My **cable**'s out anyway, so no gaming marathon."

"Cable's out?" Maya blinked. "Who even has cable anymore?"

"Old house, old wiring. My dad refuses to cut the cord." Dev shrugged, and somehow that motion was endearing. Help. "So. Garden? Yes?"

They worked for three hours. Maya's hands were covered in dirt. Dev's too. They didn't talk much, but the silence wasn't awkward like it usually was with people at school. It was... comfortable. Which was weird, because Dev was literally the guy whose Instagram stories she sometimes watched three times.

When the sun started going down, they sat on the garden wall, shoulders barely touching. Maya's palms were sweating again. But maybe that was just the heat.

"Hey, Maya?"

"Yeah?"

He held out his hand, palm up. Dirt under his fingernails, a tiny scratch on his wrist. "High five for not killing any plants?"

Maya looked at his hand, then at him. His eyes were softer than she expected.

She high-fived him. His palm was warm. Her stomach did that stupid flip thing it did in romance books she pretended not to read.

"Same time next week?" Dev asked, not pulling his hand away immediately.

"Yeah," Maya said, trying to play it cool. "If your cable's still out."

He laughed. "Even if it's not."

Walking home, Maya realized she still had dirt under her nails. She thought about washing it off, then decided not to. Some things were worth keeping a little messy.