Saltwater Signals

Maya's iPhone sat on the lounge chair, screen lighting up every thirty seconds with texts from the group chat she was definitely ignoring. The annual Palm Springs pool party. Every summer since freshman year, and every summer she spent three hours psyching herself up to actually get in the water.

"You coming in or what?" Ryan called from the deep end, grinning like he knew exactly what she was overthinking.

Maya's stomach did that thing it always did when Ryan looked at her — like she'd swallowed too much ocean water. "Maybe!" she yelled back, way too loud.

Her orange bikini felt practically neon against everyone else's aesthetic neutrals. She'd bought it on impulse, tired of blending into the background at every social function, tired of being the friend who took the photos but never appeared in them. Be bold for once, her summer therapist had said. Okay, cool.

She grabbed her phone, just in case, and practically power-walked to the pool's edge. The water sparkled like someone had dumped actual glitter into it. Everyone was laughing, playing some chaotic game of water volleyball that had zero actual rules.

Ryan swam over, slicking his hair back like a lifeguard from a teen drama. "Finally joining us, Reynolds?"

"Shut up, Ryan."

"Your phone's gonna fry if you're not careful." He gestured to where she was clutching it like a lifeline.

"Right. Duh." She started to set it on the deck but someone splashed and — *

*instinct took over. She jumped back, phone still in hand, lost her balance completely, and went under.

*Underwater, everything muffled and blue and weightless, and she was definitely going to die of embarrassment before she ever actually died of drowning. Strong hands grabbed her waist, hauled her up, and she broke the surface sputtering while everyone cheered and Ryan's face was way too close.

"Nice entrance," he said, and she realized his palm was still warm against her side.

Her iPhone bobbed toward the deep end, screen blinking once, twice, then gone dark.

"Well," Maya said, wiping water from her eyes as everyone lost their minds laughing, including her. "At least I finally got in the pool."

Ryan's smile was genuine. "Yeah. You did."

Later, when she fished out her phone and tried the rice trick her aunt swore by, she'd find forty-seven new notifications from the group chat. But in that moment, treading water in her bright orange bikini while Ryan picked up the volleyball game like nothing life-changing had just happened, Maya realized some signals were worth drowning for.