Into the Deep End

Maya's stomach did backflips as she stood at the edge of the pool, clutching her towel like a lifeline. This was it—the first party of the summer, and her chance to finally talk to Jake, who'd been in her biology class all year but had never really noticed her.

"You coming in or what?" her best friend Chen called from the water, splashing water in Maya's direction.

Maya hesitated. She'd made the mistake of grabbing a spinach wrap for lunch, and she could still feel a piece wedged in her teeth. Her phone buzzed in her bag—a text from her mom asking if she'd remembered to charge her tablet before the cable guy came tomorrow. Typical.

She spotted Jake sitting on the pool deck with his friends, looking stupidly attractive in his swim trunks. His older brother Ryan was there too, the one everyone called "Bear" because he'd grown a full beard over winter break and now looked like he could bench press the entire football team.

Maya took a deep breath and started toward the pool ladder. She could do this. She'd been waiting for this moment since freshman year.

Then her toe caught on something—a stray cable from the speakers blasting Doja Cat. She went flying.

Time slowed down. She watched Jake turn, saw his eyes widen, felt herself pitching forward...

Splash.

The water swallowed her whole. For a second, she just stayed under, letting the cool silence envelop her. This was it. Her social life, officially over.

Strong hands grabbed her waist and hauled her up. She broke the surface, sputtering water everywhere, to find Jake grinning down at her.

"You okay?" he asked. "That was actually pretty epic."

Maya wiped her face, her heart pounding. "Epic? I just face-planted in front of everyone."

Jake laughed, and it was the best sound she'd ever heard. "No, seriously. Most people would've tried to catch themselves. You committed."

He reached out and brushed something from her hair. "Also, you had a little..." He gestured to his own teeth.

Maya's face burned. The spinach. Of course.

"It's fine," Jake said, still smiling. "Hey, you want to play chicken? My brother Bear and Chen are going against me and... well, whoever wants to team up."

Maya looked at Jake, really looked at him, and realized he wasn't waiting for an answer. He was already waiting for her to say yes.

"Yeah," she said, finally letting her towel drop. "Yeah, I do."

Maybe falling in wasn't so bad. Sometimes you had to hit the water to find out you could swim.