Riddles by the Poolside

The pool shimmered like liquid turquoise under the July sun, but Leo's stomach felt like he'd swallowed a basketball whole. Country club pool parties were basically social minefields dressed up as fun.

"You coming in or what?" Marcus called, already doing cannonballs off the diving board.

"Yeah, just warming up," Leo lied, adjusting his swim trunks for the fiftieth time.

Then he saw her. Chloe, aka The Sphinx, sitting on the padded lounge chair like she owned the entire concrete jungle. She'd earned the nickname last year after she'd decimated three guys in debate club without cracking a smile. Riddles wrapped in mystery wrapped in absolutely devastating jawline.

Chloe wasn't swimming. She was reading. Who reads at a pool party?

"She's been doing padel with her dad every morning," Maya whispered, appearing beside him with a knowing grin. "Saw them at the courts. Her backhand is actually sick."

Leo's brain short-circuited. Padel. That racquet sport his parents kept trying to get him into. If Chloe played...

"I, uh, I've been wanting to try that," he said, suddenly very interested in his own toes.

"Bull," Maya said. "You told me it's for people who think pickleball is too mainstream."

"People change, Maya!"

Chloe looked up, her oversized sunglasses sliding down her nose. Their eyes met across the blue water, and Leo's heart did this weird fluttery thing that had nothing to do with the chlorinated air.

"Hey," she said. "You're Leo, right? From algebra?"

"Yeah, that's me. The guy who somehow got a B despite never knowing what was happening."

Her laugh was unexpected—bright and real, not Sphinx-like at all. "Mr. Harrison's class is basically just vibes anyway. You going in?"

Leo looked at the pool, then back at her. The water was calling, but honestly? So was she.

"Actually," he said, summoning courage he didn't know he had, "I was wondering if you'd want to play padel sometime. My parents are always bugging me to find a partner, and..."

Chloe's smile grew. "Only if you're ready to lose, algebra boy."

"Challenge accepted, Sphinx girl."

Marcus splashed them both from behind. "Are you two flirting or just standing there looking aesthetic?"