Pool Party Recon

The humidity hit me like a wall. Palm fronds draped over Maya's backyard fence, casting these lazy shadows across the deck like they were mocking my nerves. I'd been psyching myself up for this party for three days.

"You good?" Kai asked, nudging my shoulder. He was already shirtless, chlorine from yesterday's swim still clinging to his skin. That boy lived in the water like a fish.

"Yeah. Just... working up to it." My palms were literally sweating. Like, actual embarrassing levels.

The pool sparkled with that artificial blue glow, kids cannonballing off the deck while someone blasted Spotify through a portable speaker. My crush, Jordan, was by the snack table, laughing at something I couldn't hear. Three weeks I'd been sitting behind them in English, and zero words spoken.

Kai grinned. "Dude, you're overthinking. Just go say hey. It's not that deep."

"Easy for you to say." I adjusted my swim trunks for the fiftieth time. "You're not the one who's been bearing this crush since spring break."

"Okay, first of all, 'bearing' isn't the word. Second, you're literally about to swim in your feelings if you don't make a move." He nodded toward Jordan. "Now's your shot."

I took a breath, walked over, and the most random thing happened—Jordan caught my eye and actually smiled. Not a polite smile. A real one.

"Hey!" they called. "You're in my English class, right? Behind me?"

My brain short-circuited. "Yeah! I mean, yeah, that's me. I'm Alex."

"Alex." They tested my name like they were trying it on. "Cool. Want to play pool volleyball? We need one more."

I looked back at Kai. He did a little fist pump behind his back like the absolute fox he was.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I'd love that."

Jordan's grin widened. "Sick. Let's go."

Sometimes the scariest moments aren't moments at all. They're just people asking if you want to play volleyball.