Saltwater and Second Chances

Maya's fingers traced the lines in her palm—supposedly her lifeline, though at sixteen it felt more like a maze. The beach bonfire party raged twenty yards away, but she'd parked herself on this driftwood log, safely out of the spotlight.

"You're not gonna cry, are you?"

Maya jumped. A boy with messy black hair and a backwards cap sat down beside her. Lucas, the one she'd been lowkey stalking on Instagram since freshman orientation.

"No," she said, too fast. "Just... thinking."

"About what?" His knee bumped hers, and her stomach did that terrifying flip thing.

Before she could answer, a scrawny cat burst from the dunes, darting between them with what looked like someone's lost hat in its mouth—a faded pink beanie with a ridiculously giant pom-pom.

"That's Jasmine's," Lucas said, already standing. "She's been looking for it all night."

He took off after the cat, and Maya's brain short-circuited. Follow him? Stay put? Her feet decided for her, sprinting across sand that burned beneath her converse.

The cat led them on a chase toward the shoreline, where the crash of waves drowned out the party music. It dropped the hat near the water's edge, then turned and—hissing—spat at Lucas's approaching shadow.

"It's okay," Lucas soothed, holding out his hand. The cat hissed again and bolted toward Maya, who knelt down slowly, palm extended like she'd seen in videos.

"Hey little guy," she murmured. "You're just hungry, aren't you?"

The cat sniffed her hand, then rubbed its cheek against her palm. A tiny, perfect moment.

Lucas grinned. "You're like a cat whisperer or something."

Maya's face burned. "I just... animals like me, I guess."

He splashed into the shallow water, retrieved the soggy hat, and wrung it out. "Well, cat whisperer, you wanna help me explain to Jasmine why her favorite hat smells like ocean now?"

They walked back together, knees brushing occasionally. Maya's palm still tingled where the cat had touched it.

"Hey," Lucas said softly. "You okay? You looked like you were having a panic attack earlier."

Maya hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I'm good now."

"Cool." He adjusted his backwards cap. "You should sit by me at the bonfire. I saved you a spot."

Her heart did that flip thing again. But this time, she didn't look away.