Poolside Fox and Second Chances

Maya's palms were sweating so bad she could practically fill a **palm**-sized puddle right there on the patio concrete. Stupid nerves. It was just Jordan's pool party, literally everyone from sophomore year was invited, but she still felt like she'd crashed some exclusive club she didn't belong to.

She'd been crushing on Jordan since middle school, back when he wore those ridiculous **fox**-shaped hoodies and sat behind her in pre-algebra. Now he was captain of the swim team and had somehow grown six inches over summer, while Maya was still... well, Maya. Average height, average grades, average everything.

"You good, Maya?" Jordan materialized beside her, holding two red plastic cups. His hair was wet, droplets catching the party lights like tiny stars. He nodded toward the pool. "The **water**'s actually not freezing tonight. Cox didn't even dump ice in it yet."

Cox. The guy's actual name was Connor, but everyone called him Cox because he was a massive—you know. Maya hated how easily Jordan slipped into the casual cruelty that made high school feel like a minefield.

"Yeah, just... taking it all in," Maya managed, her voice cracking. Smooth. So smooth.

Jordan's cat, a scruffy tabby he'd creatively named Tabby, chose that moment to weave through Maya's legs, purring like a tiny motor. The **cat** had been following her all night, like it sensed her barely-contained panic attack.

"She likes you," Jordan said, surprisingly soft. "Tabby doesn't like anyone. She hissed at Lauren earlier."

Lauren. The gorgeous junior Jordan had been supposedly hooking up with. The one who'd slipped Maya a disgusted look when she'd arrived in her one-piece swimsuit while everyone else was in bikinis that barely covered anything.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Jordan lowered his voice, stepping closer. Maya's heart did that embarrassing flutter thing it always did when he was near. "I was gonna invite you earlier, but I was scared you'd say no."

Maya blinked. "What?"

"I've been wanting to hang out with you since forever," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But you always sit with your headphones on at lunch, looking like you're in your own world, and I figured you'd think I was being weird if I just... sat down."

The overhead lights flickered as someone inside probably messed with the breaker, but Maya barely noticed. She was too busy processing the fact that Jordan—popular, gorgeous, confident Jordan—had been just as nervous about talking to her as she was about talking to him.

"Well," she said, a slow smile spreading across her face despite her best efforts to play it cool, "you're being a little weird. But I don't hate it."

Jordan grinned, that same crooked smile she'd been secretly watching since seventh grade. "Wanna get in the pool before Cox finds something else to throw in it?"

"Lead the way," she said, and for the first time all night, her palms were dry.