Palm Readings and Pinky Promises

The boardwalk palm reader's booth smelled like patchouli and secrets. Exactly where I didn't want to be when Jordan—my crush since seventh grade—dragged me inside.

"Your palms are sweaty," she whispered, grinning. "Nervous?"

"No," I lied, wiping my hands on my jeans. "It's, like, a billion degrees out."

The palm reader, an older woman with too many bracelets, grabbed my hand. Her eyes widened.

"Interesting," she said. "You're bearing the weight of something you haven't told anyone."

My stomach dropped. She could somehow tell about my parents' divorce that I'd kept from everyone for weeks.

"Also," the woman continued, "there's someone watching you from the water."

Jordan and I exchanged glances. Outside, the ocean stretched dark and glittering beneath the pier. Nobody was out there.

"That's so weird," Jordan said, but her voice wobbled.

We bolted from the booth, cracking up once we hit fresh air. "What was that about?" I asked, still laughing. "Bearing the weight? Someone watching from the water?"

Jordan stopped walking. Her expression shifted suddenly—serious, uncertain.

"Actually," she said quietly, "I've been spying on you for weeks."

I froze. "What?"

"Not like, creepy spying. I just... notice everything about you." She looked down at her feet. "How you tap your pen during math tests. How you always save the last bite of your sandwich. How your face scrunches up when you're thinking."

My heart was hammering so hard I could feel it in my palms.

"I was gonna tell you at the beach bonfire last week," she continued, "but I chickened out. So I just watched you laugh with your friends instead."

The silence stretched between us, electric and terrifying.

"I noticed you too," I admitted, my voice barely audible. "I thought you'd never think about me like that."

Jordan smiled, relieved. She held out her pinky. "Pinky promise you'll let me take you to homecoming?"

I hooked my pinky around hers. "Pinky promise."

Behind us, the palm reader's sign creaked in the breeze. Maybe she was full of crap. Maybe not. Either way, I'd take the win.