Market Crash at the Pool Party

Maya's thumb hovered over her iPhone screen,.Refresh. Refresh. Still no reply from Kai.

The pool party raged around her—laughter splashing against the concrete, someone blasting Doja Cat, and Chase, this senior who thought he was crypto god, shouting about being "bullish on Bitcoin." Maya rolled her eyes so hard they practically rolled out of her head.

"The market's gonna bear itself out," Chase declared, arms wide like he was presenting a TED Talk instead of standing in swim trunks. "You guys just don't get it."

Her best friend Sam materialized beside her, looking like a zombie after last night's gaming marathon. Dark circles. Slumped shoulders. The whole deal.

"Dude's been talking about cryptocurrency for twenty minutes," Sam muttered, stealing Maya's phone. "Stop refreshing. Kai's probably just... busy. Or whatever."

Maya's chest did that stupid flutter thing. Busy doing what? Busy with who? The question looped in her head like a cursed TikTok audio.

Then Kai walked in.

And okay—maybe she'd been swimming upstream against reality, pretending she didn't care. But seeing him in that faded swim shirt with the chlorine smell already clinging to it? Her stomach dropped like a failed trade.

He caught her eye across the pool and grinned. That grin.

Maya's phone buzzed in Sam's hand.

Sam's eyebrows shot up. "Well, well." She turned the screen toward Maya.

*Sorry I'm late! Can't wait to see you. :)*

"Bear this," Chase shouted from the diving board, executing a cannonball that sprayed half the party.

Kai crossed the deck toward her, dripping wet, smiling like she was the only person who mattered. The zombie haze lifted. Chase's finance rant faded to background noise. Maya's thumb finally stopped hovering.

She'd market crash later. Right now, she was busy being bullish on this moment.