Pool Party Confessions

The pool party at Jessica's house was supposed to be chill, but my stomach was doing full rotations. I perched on the edge of the diving board, watching Jordan—okay, let's be real, totally spying on Jordan—as they laughed with their friends by the snack table. Someone had stacked the soda cans into this wobbly pyramid that kept threatening to collapse, just like my nerve to actually talk to them.

"You gonna jump or what?" My best friend Sam called from the water. "Don't be a wuss."

"Shut up, I'm mentally preparing," I shot back, though we both knew I was overthinking it. I'd been crushing on Jordan since baseball season started, when we'd ended up at the same batting cage and they'd given me that look that made my brain short-circuit. But every time I tried to talk to them at school, I choked. Hard.

"That's such bull," Sam said, swimming over. "You're literally the funniest person I know. Just go over there."

"I can't just—what would I even say? 'Hey, remember that time at the batting cages? Cool, cool, cool.'"

"You're spiraling." Sam hoisted themselves out of the pool. "Look, Jordan keeps looking over here. Like, a suspicious amount. Maybe they're waiting for you to make a move."

I glanced over. Jordan WAS looking. And then—because the universe loved to embarrass me—they waved.

My body moved before my brain could protest. I slid into the pool, surfaced somewhere between the diving board and where Jordan stood, and pretended like I'd meant to swim over the entire time.

"Hey," Jordan said, their smile brighter than the July sun reflecting off the water. "I was hoping you'd come over. You never wrote back to my DM about the baseball tournament next weekend."

Wait. WHAT?

"I—your DM?" I sputtered. "I never got a DM."

Jordan's eyes went wide. "Oh my god, did I send it to the wrong account? I'm literally so bad at social media. I meant to DM you about going together, but I think I messaged that random Jake account instead of yours."

I started laughing. I couldn't help it. "You sent it to Jake? The guy who posts nothing but mirror selfies?"

"Don't roast me right now, I'm dying inside." Jordan covered their face with their hands. "This is so humiliating."

"No, it's perfect," I said, and I meant it. "Because now I can ask you properly. Want to go to the tournament together? Like, together-together?"

Jordan peeked through their fingers. "For real? I thought you'd never ask."

Behind me, Sam shouted "FINALLY" loud enough that the entire party turned to look. I didn't even care.