Lightning at the Pool Edge

Maya wiped chlorine from her eyes, wishing her teammates would stop calling her 'spy' just because she kept glancing at the clock during swimming practice. Okay, maybe she *was* watching the door more than her laps, but could anyone blame her? Jason from varsity track had started showing up at the pool deck every Tuesday, standing there all tall and effortless in his running shorts while she flopped through butterfly like a distressed trout.

"You're staring again," whispered Lena, her best friend since sixth grade, doing a terrible job of suppressing a laugh. "It's giving obsessed. It's giving 'I memorized his schedule' energy."

"I am NOT obsessed," Maya splashed water at her. "I'm simply... observant. There's a difference."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, bestie."

That day, as Maya dragged herself out of the pool, practice-hazy and half-drowning in her own nerves, Jason was actually waiting by the benches. *Actually waiting.* Like, on purpose.

"Hey," he said, rubbing the back of his neck—why was that so cute? Get it together, Maya. "I was wondering if you'd want to—"

*CRACK.*

Lightning shattered the sky, so bright it turned everything white-blue for a second. The rain came down like someone upended a bathtub on the whole world.

They ended up squished under the tiny overhang by the pool entrance, shoulders pressed together, him shivering in his soaked running gear, her in nothing but a swimsuit and a towel that was doing absolutely nothing to block the sideways rain.

"So," Jason said, and in the weird half-darkness, his eyes were doing something to her heart rate that had nothing to do with the storm. "You doing anything Friday? Like, not swimming? Not running? Just... existing somewhere with food?"

Maya's phone buzzed in her bag—probably Lena demanding updates with the patience of a detective who'd been waiting three years for a break in the case. Jason's phone lit up too, screen glowing: *group chat blowing up* from his team, probably.

"I'd like that," Maya said, and something settled in her chest, warm and certain and entirely new. "Like, a lot."

The rain kept coming down in sheets, and neither of them moved to leave. Let the group chats explode. Let Lena wait for details. Some moments were worth getting soaked for.