Papaya Sunset

The papaya sunset painted the sky in brilliant coral and gold as I sat on the beach towel, my heart racing for reasons I didn't want to admit. Leo was finally coming to the end-of-summer bonfire. I'd spent weeks catching glimpses of him between classes, his laugh cutting through the cafeteria noise like my favorite song.

"You came!" he said, dropping his towel beside mine and handing me a cup from the refreshment table. "I made you one."

It was a papaya-mango smoothie — how did he know that was my absolute favorite? I took a sip, trying to look cool and failing.

"It's perfect," I said. "My mom keeps buying papayas and pretending she's going to cook with them, but we both know she's terrible at anything that isn't takeout."

Leo laughed, and that's when I noticed it — a tiny piece of spinach from the veggie tray wedged between his front teeth. I froze. This was it: the moment. I could tell him and maybe save him from embarrassment, or say nothing and watch him walk around all night like that. My palms were sweating, and not just from the bonfire heat.

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, someone called his name from down the beach. "Hold that thought," he said, squeezing my hand before jogging off.

I sat there, his phone still sitting on our towels where he'd left it. It buzzed with a notification from someone named Sarah with a heart emoji, and suddenly I felt sick. What was I even doing? This was Leo, who probably had girls sliding into his DMs 24/7. I was just the girl who liked papaya smoothies and had spinach stuck in my braces half the time.

But then he was back, breathing hard, dropping to his knees beside me. "I forgot something," he said, and the way he was looking at me made my stomach flip. "I've been trying to find the right time all summer. Maya, do you want to go to homecoming together? Like, together-together?"

The spinach was still there. It really, really was. But somehow that didn't matter anymore.

"Yes," I said, grinning like an idiot. "But you have spinach in your teeth."

He groaned, burying his face in my shoulder while I laughed, and somehow this perfect, ridiculous moment was better than anything I could have planned.