Poolside Secrets

The chlorine smell hit me before I even saw the water. Friday night at the Reynolds' pool party—cue the social anxiety.

I'm not exactly what you'd call "popular." I'm more of a background character in everyone else's movie. But tonight, I had a mission. A reason to be here that wasn't just awkwardly hovering by the snack table.

I'd been crushing on Maya since seventh grade, and tonight felt like the moment. The moment where the background character gets their scene. Their chance.

The pool area was already packed—people in various states of wet, bluetooth speakers bumping that same Drake song that played at every single party since forever. I spotted Maya immediately, of course. She was by the deep end, laughing at something Jake was saying.

Jake. Of course Jake.

I found a spot on one of the pool chairs and tried to look casual. Not like I was strategically positioned for optimal Maya-viewing. Not like I was basically functioning as my own private investigator at this point, documenting every interaction like some kind of self-appointed teenage spy.

Which is when Rufus showed up.

Rufus was Mr. Reynolds' golden retriever, and honestly? The best being at this party. He bounded over to me, tail going absolutely feral, like I was his long-lost best friend.

"Hey buddy," I said, scratching behind his ears. "You having a better time than me?"

Rufus licked my hand with that uncanny canine ability to sense when someone needs exactly that kind of gross, slobbery affection.

Then Rufus did something unexpected. He grabbed the pool towel I'd been clutching like a safety blanket and took off running.

"No! Rufus, wait!" I scrambled after him.

The dog made a beeline straight for Maya and Jake. Rufus dropped my towel at Maya's feet, then plopped down like he'd just delivered something incredibly important.

Maya laughed. Not the fake kind she'd been doing with Jake—the real one. "Did he just bring you to me?"

My face was approximately the temperature of the sun. "He's... really smart?"

"I've been trying to get away from Jake for like twenty minutes," she said, dropping her voice. "I was literally hoping someone would rescue me."

I blinked. "Wait, really?"

"Really." She grinned at me. "Wanna get out of here? There's this frozen yogurt place that's still open."

Rufus wagged his tail like the mastermind he clearly was.

"Yeah," I said, feeling something shift in my chest. "Yeah, absolutely."

Sometimes the best spy operations aren't the ones you plan. Sometimes they're the ones your dog orchestrates for you.