Poolside Panic Attack

Maya's fingers hovered over her iPhone screen, heart doing that stupid fluttery thing whenever *his* name popped up. Lucas had invited her to Jake's pool party. Actually, he'd invited the whole group chat, but she was fixating on the details like a completely normal person.

"You're staring at your phone like it holds the secrets of the universe," her best friend Riya said, appearing behind her in the bathroom mirror. "You've been getting ready for two hours. Maya, you look fire. Let's GO."

The party was already in full swing when they arrived. Jake's backyard was basically a tropical resort with an enormous pool, string lights, and about fifty people Maya either knew or knew of. She spotted Lucas immediately, laughing with his friends near the deep end.

Her phone buzzed. Everyone from their padel team was in the group chat, tagging each other in stories. Lucas played padel competitively. Maya had started playing just last month, mostly because Riya said it would be "a whole thing" if she didn't. Now she was obsessed, even if she still missed easy shots.

"Maya!" Lucas waved, dripping wet. "You made it!"

"Yeah!" she called back, voice cracking. Smooth.

Someone pushed her from behind. "Get in the pool!"

Maya tumbled forward, fully clothed, phone clenched in her fist. The water was shockingly cold. When she surfaced, spluttering, everyone was laughing—including Lucas. He held up a waterproof pouch. "I put my phone in one of these. Learned that lesson the hard way."

Their fingers brushed when he helped her out. Her heart did that fluttery thing again, stronger this time.

"You wanna play padel sometime?" Lucas asked, handing her a towel. "Like, actually play? You're on the team now, right?"

"Yeah," Maya managed, grinning like an idiot. "I'd love that."

Running home later, phone safely in a waterproof pouch Riya produced from somewhere, Maya didn't even care that her sneakers were squishy. Lucas had asked HER to hang out. One-on-one. Padel date.

Her phone buzzed. A notification from Lucas: *Today was chaos lol. Get home safe?*

Maya replied with way too many emojis, feeling absolutely legendary.