Poolside Shark

The chlorine stung my eyes, but not as much as Jade's laugh from across the pool. She was draped over Tyler's shoulder like she belonged there, while I sat on the edge with my legs in the water, playing my assigned role: the awkward best friend who definitely wasn't secretly in love with her.

"You coming in or what?" Tyler called out, that smirk that made everyone hate him except Jade.

"Working up to it," I mumbled, though the truth was I couldn't swim. Not really. Just enough not to drown, which technically counted but felt like cheating when everyone else had been doing laps since kindergarten.

The pool lights flickered on as dusk settled, transforming the backyard into something almost magical. Almost. If you ignored the way Tyler's hand kept "accidentally" brushing Jade's waist, or how my stomach twisted itself into knots every time she looked his way.

"That's such bull," Jade said suddenly, pulling away from him. "You didn't even ask her."

"Ask who what?" I perked up despite myself.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Nobody. Whatever."

"He's talking about asking Chloe to homecoming," Jade explained, swimming over to where I sat. "But he's being a baby about it because he thinks she'll say no."

The water lapped against my legs as Jade tread water beside me, close enough that I could see the droplets clinging to her eyelashes. "You know what you need?" she said. "A bull-headed determination. Just go for it. What's the worst that happens?"

Easy for her to say. She was Jade – beautiful, confident, Jade who could have anyone. Meanwhile I was still working on the whole 'human interaction' thing without making it weird.

"I'm not talking about Chloe," I blurted before I could stop myself.

Jade's expression shifted, something flickering behind her eyes that I hadn't seen before. Understanding? Or was I reading too much into it again?

The moment stretched between us, heavy and electric, until Tyler splashed water in my face. "Earth to Alex. Stop spacing out."

But something had changed. In the way Jade looked at me, really looked at me, like I was someone worth seeing. Not Tyler's shadow. Not the awkward friend. Just me.

"Hey," she said softly, while Tyler bitched about the temperature. "Want to get out of here? There's somewhere I want to go."

My heart did something complicated. "Yeah," I said, finally pushing off into the deep end. "Yeah, I do."