Palm Sweat Season

Maya's palms were sweating. Again. She wiped them on her shorts—third time in five minutes—and tried to look chill at Tyler's pool party. Everyone was in the water, laughing and splashing like they didn't have a care in the world. Meanwhile, Maya was stuck on the patio chair, clutching her solo cup like it was a lifeline.

"Hey, you coming in?" Tyler said, dripping pool water as he climbed out. He smiled, and Maya's brain short-circuited.

"Yeah, totally," she said, even though her heart was hammering like crazy. "Just finishing my... papaya."

She gestured to the fruit skewer in her hand. Why had she said that like it was a normal thing to eat at a pool party? The exotic fruit had been her mom's idea—something about expanding her palate. Now it was her social suicide weapon.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Papaya? Nice. Never tried it."

"It's... interesting," Maya managed. "Like, if a melon and a mango had a baby, but also kind of musky?" She wanted to dissolve into the patio concrete.

"Let me try it." He leaned closer, and Maya's palms went into overdrive. She extended the skewer, and their fingers brushed. The contact sent electricity through her entire arm.

Tyler took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. Maya watched his face, terrified he'd hate it and she'd be weird AND have bad taste.

"Dude," he said finally. "This hits different. Where'd you get it?"

"My mom bought it," she said, surprised. "Thought it was gonna be a disaster."

"Nah, it's actually pretty solid." He wiped juice from his chin. "Wanna go swimming? The water's perfect."

Maya looked at her hands, then at him, then back at her hands. "My palms are kind of sweaty," she admitted, figuring she might as well lean into the embarrassment.

Tyler laughed. "Same. It's like ninety degrees out, and I'm nervous for some reason."

Maya's heart did a little flip. "Nervous?"

"Yeah," he said, looking away. "There's this girl I've been trying to talk to all day. She's really cute, but she keeps eating papaya by herself."

Maya felt her face heat up. "Oh. Oh!"

"So?" He extended his hand. "Wanna go in the water? Together?"

Maya looked at his outstretched hand, then at the pool where their friends were still laughing, totally oblivious to the moment happening on the patio. She took a breath, wiped her palms one last time, and grabbed his hand.

"Yeah," she said, finally letting herself smile. "Let's go."