Sphinxes Don't Swim

Maya stood at the edge of the pool party from hell, clutching her towel like a security blanket. Everyone else was already swimming—laughing, splashing, being annoyingly confident in their bikini bodies. Meanwhile, Maya was stuck overthinking whether her one-piece said "vintage chic" or "grandma at the beach."

"Yo Maya, you coming in or what?" Tyler called. Of course Tyler noticed her standing there. Tyler, with his stupid perfect hair and his stupid golden retriever energy. Speaking of—

Buster, Tyler's massive dog, chose that exact moment to shake himself off directly next to Maya. She was now dripping. Great. This was fine. Everything was fine.

"Buster! Bro, my bad," Tyler laughed, jogging over. "You good?"

"Yeah, totally," Maya lied, wiping dog water from her arm. "Just, you know, contemplating my existence."

Tyler laughed, and okay, maybe it was kind of cute. "Deep. But seriously, you've been standing there like a sphinx for twenty minutes. What's the deal?"

Maya's face burned. Sphinx. He'd noticed her staring at the party like she was solving some ancient riddle instead of just—what was she doing? Being weird? Overthinking?

"I don't have my suit," she blurted. Then wanted to die. "I mean, I do, obviously, I'm wearing it, but I—"

"Ohhhh," Tyler said, like he actually got it. "You're not feeling it. Same, honestly. I only came because Chloe said there'd be food."

"Is there?"

"Some fruit platter situation." He wrinkled his nose. "They have papaya. Who even likes papaya? It tastes like... I don't know, melon that gave up."

Maya snorted before she could stop herself. "That's the most accurate description of papaya I've ever heard."

"Right?" Tyler's eyes lit up. "Hey, you wanna raid the snacks instead? We can make fun of people from a safe distance."

"Safe distance is my brand," Maya said, and followed him toward the house. Behind her, the pool sparkled with swimming bodies and filtered light. She'd get in eventually. Maybe. But right now, papaya-roasting with Tyler felt like exactly enough.