Salty Palms and Vitamin D

Maya's palms were sweating. Like, actual embarrassing amounts of sweat, enough that if she high-fived anyone, they'd probably slip right out of her grasp.

"You good?" Marcus asked, crunching on something beside her on the sectional.

"Totally. Just... metabolically active," Maya said, wiping her hands on her jeans. Why had she agreed to come to Jessica's house party? She didn't do parties. She did Netflix and carefully curated playlists and overthinking.

Marcus held out a bag. "Goldfish?"

"The cracker or the animal?" she heard herself say, because apparently her mouth had decided to go rogue tonight.

He laughed. Actual laugh, not pity-laugh. "The snack. Although a live goldfish would make this way more interesting. Jess's parents would kill her."

Maya took a handful. "My mom says these are basically cardboard with sodium."

"What does your mom say about breathing?" Marcus popped another goldfish. "Probably that it's risky."

"She'd prefer if I didn't." Maya relaxed. This was okay. This was fine. She could do small talk. "She's big into wellness. Makes me take these mega-dose vitamins every morning. The pills are huge. I feel like I'm swallowing daily."

Marcus snorted. "Choke hazards as a lifestyle. Same energy as my dad's 'cold plunges are good for your circulation' phase."

Their knees touched. Maya's heart did something stupid and fluttery.

"What do you actually want?" he asked, and the question felt heavier than it should.

She thought about it. Her friends were obsessed with college apps and Instagram aesthetics. Her mom wanted her to be... hydrated? Supplemented? Something.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe to figure out who I am without someone telling me what vitamins to take."

Marcus nodded like this was deep philosophy. "Same. I'm supposed to want to play lacrosse and major in business. But I kinda want to... I dunno. Do something that doesn't suck."

"Revolutionary."

"I know, right?" He grinned. Then he held out his hand, palm up. "High five? For having zero life direction."

Maya looked at his hand, then hers. Still sweating, still nervous, but maybe that was okay. Maybe the point wasn't to stop sweating.

She high-fived him. Her palm was damp and his was warm and it was perfect.

"Solid goldfish moment," she said.

"Best one," he agreed. "You wanna get more air? Like, outside?"

"Yeah," said Maya, and for the first time all night, she meant it.