Palm Readings & Orange Soda

The bass from Maya's basement speakers thrummed against my ribs. House parties weren't really my thing—I was more of a 'cozy game night with three friends maximum' person—but Julia had dragged me here, claiming I needed to "get out of my comfort zone" before senior year swallowed us whole.

"You look like you're mentally calculating escape routes," Maya's cousin Leo said, appearing beside me with two Solo cups. He had this annoyingly perfect hair that somehow looked good even in a basement's fluorescent lighting. "Orange soda?"

"I'm more of a water person, but sure." I took the cup, our fingers brushing. Lightning practically crackled between us, which was objectively pathetic because I'd been crushing on him since middle school and he'd never once looked at me twice until tonight.

The party had that weird energy where everyone was trying desperately to look like they weren't trying. Someone had spilled something on the carpet earlier. The air smelled like cheap body spray and teenage desperation.

"My cousin thinks she's a psychic now," Leo said, nodding toward Maya, who was dramatically holding someone's hand. "She's doing palm readings. Want me to save you from that trauma?"

"Actually, I've been dying to know my future," I said, and then immediately wanted to die because that sounded so flirtatious and not at all like my usual awkward self. But Leo just laughed—that genuine, crinkly-eyed laugh—and followed me over.

Maya grabbed my hand, studying my palm like it contained the secrets of the universe. "Hmm. Short life line. That's concerning. Oh wait, maybe that's just a crease from holding your phone too much."

"Maya," Leo said. "Please don't predict her death."

"Fine, fine." She traced a line on my palm. "You're going to meet someone. Someone who's been around forever but you never really noticed them until—"

"Okay, that's enough palm reading," Leo interrupted, and I swore he was blushing but the basement lighting was terrible so I couldn't tell for sure. "Want to get some air?"

We ended up on the back porch, watching an actual lightning storm flicker across the sky. I took a sip of the orange soda—too sweet, honestly—and Leo leaned against the railing, looking at me like I was something worth noticing.

"You know," he said, "Julia told me you take, like, every vitamin supplement known to man because you're terrified of getting sick before finals."

"She told you THAT?" I groaned. "I'm going to murder her."

"It's kind of adorable, though," Leo said, and then the space between us didn't feel so awkward anymore. "She also said you're secretly really funny once you stop overthinking everything."

The storm rumbled in the distance, and I realized maybe comfort zones were overrated. Some things were worth the risk.