Riddles by the Pool

The pool party at Tyler's house was supposed to be chill, but my heart was doing somersaults. I'd been crushing on Maya since seventh period English started, and here she was, sprawled on a lounge chair in this orange bikini that matched the sunset burning across the sky.

"Truth or dare," Tyler announced, holding up this plastic sphinx statue he'd bought from some museum gift store. "If you choose dare, you have to answer the sphinx's riddle. Fail, and you're doing cannonballs into the water fully dressed."

Groans rippled through the group. This was so Tyler—always turning everything into some spectacle.

Maya sat up, her eyes bright. "I'm in." She grabbed an orange from the snack bowl, started peeling it with these long fingers that made my stomach do flip-flops. "Hit me with your best shot."

Tyler cleared his throat, assuming this dramatic pose. "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?"

"Seriously?" Maya scoffed, tossing an orange slice into her mouth. "That's the classic sphinx riddle from Greek mythology. It's a human—crawling as a baby, walking as an adult, using a cane when old. Next."

Everyone stared at her.

"What?" she wiped orange juice from her chin. "I paid attention in Mr. Harrison's class, unlike you lot who were busy passing notes."

I couldn't help it—I laughed. Maya glanced over, and for the first time all summer, she actually smiled at me. Like, really smiled.

"Your turn," Tyler pointed at me. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," I said, before my brain could talk me out of it.

Maya handed me an orange slice. "Good luck."

I took it, our fingers brushing for like half a second. Electric. "The answer's a shadow," I said, before Tyler could even ask. "Born with you in the morning, longest at noon when the sun's highest, disappears at evening."

Silence. Then Maya's eyes widened. "That's actually... not bad."

"Not the sphinx's riddle, but still smart," she added, nudging my shoulder with hers.

The water rippled behind us as someone jumped in, but all I could focus on was Maya's shoulder against mine, the orange scent in the air, and how sometimes the best moments happen when you stop overthinking everything and just go for it.