Pool Party Confidential

Maya felt like a straight-up zombie as she leaned against the patio fence, operating on two hours of sleep and three iced coffees. Jayden's pool party was supposed to be The Event of the summer, and she'd spent yesterday's horror movie marathon overthinking her outfit instead of, you know, actually sleeping.

Now she was in full spy mode, casually pretending to text while strategically positioning herself for maximum Liam visibility. He was by the pool, looking unfairly good in swim trunks, laughing at something Brianna said. Brianna, who'd apparently decided today was the day to discover her inner thirst trap.

"You're being weird," Kayla whispered, appearing beside her with two sodas. "Again."

"I'm observing," Maya said, accepting the drink. "Gathering intel. It's called strategy."

"It's called stalking, and it's giving major creep energy." Kayla popped the tab. "Just go swimming already. He's literally checking you out when you're not looking."

Maya snorted. "Right. And my dad's secretly a bear." She gestured to where Liam was now demonstrating some stupidly impressive dive for an appreciative audience. "That boy is so far out of my league, he's in a different tax bracket."

"You're literally being so dramatic right now." Kayla shoved her lightly. "I bet you twenty bucks he talks to you first if you just—"

*CRASH.*

Every head snapped toward the deep end. Jayden's six-year-old brother, who'd been hovering ominously near the lounge chairs all afternoon, had finally done it. He'd hurled his sister's prized giant teddy bear—she called it "Mr. Cuddlesworth," Maya would never let her live it down—straight into the pool.

The bear hit the water with an ungraceful *thwack* and immediately began to sink, polyester fur turning tragic and heavy.

"Oh my GOD," Jayden shrieked, dropping her phone. "That was LIMITED EDITION!"

Liam didn't hesitate. He dove in, slicing through the water with way too much grace for a high school junior, and surfaced seconds later, bear in hand, shaking water from his hair like something out of a movie. And he was looking directly at Maya.

"You coming in or what?" He called, grinning. Or maybe that was just her wishful interpretation.

"Go!" Kayla hissed, practically pushing her toward the pool.

Maya's brain short-circuited, but her body was already moving, sandals kicked off, phone handed to Kayla, and then she was running, diving in, the shock of cool water washing away the zombie fog, the anxiety, the overthinking, everything except the electric feeling of Liam treading water beside her, Mr. Cuddlesworth floating between them like the world's most awkward third wheel.

"Nice form," he said, and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled made her forget her own name.

"I've been known to execute a solid dive," she managed, which was approximately 400% cooler than anything she'd actually said all day.

Later, wrapped in a towel and sharing stolen chips from the party platter, Maya decided that sometimes, zombie状态 and all, you just had to jump in. Kayla was right about some things. But mostly? She was definitely collecting that twenty bucks.