Summer Sphinx

Marcus's palms were sweating so bad he could practically fill a water bottle. Standing across the bonfire from Chloe—the absolute fox who'd been haunting his dreams since freshman year—he felt like he was trapped in some ancient sphinx riddle he couldn't solve. Speak or don't speak? That was the question destroying his soul right now.

"Yo, you gonna stare at her all night or actually make a move?" JJ whispered, elbowing him hard. JJ was his ride-or-dog, loyal to a fault but zero chill.

Marcus shoved his hands in his pockets, still feeling the dampness on his jeans. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who almost crashed into her dad's truck last week like a total idiot while playing baseball arm through the window."

"True. But watching you simp from afar is painful, bro." JJ cracked open a soda. "She's literally looking over here right now. This is your sign."

Chloe WAS looking. And smiling. That specific smile that made his stomach do backflips. She nudged her friend, both of them giggling. Probably at him. Definitely at him. He needed to escape before this became a complete disaster.

Then his phone buzzed. Unknown number. The message read: The sphinx asks: What speaks without mouth and hears without ears? Look behind you.

Marcus spun around. Nothing but woods and shadow. When he turned back, Chloe was walking toward him, phone in hand, that same mysterious smile playing on her lips. She stopped way too close, and his palms started sweating again.

"Hey," she said. "So I heard you like baseball?"

Marcus's brain short-circuited. "Uh, yeah?"

"Cool." She tucked hair behind her ear, suddenly nervous too. "Because I pitch, and my team needs someone who can actually hit. Maybe you could... I don't know, show me your swing sometime?"

The sphinx riddle had solved itself. The universe didn't speak in cryptic messages—it spoke in bold moves and sweaty palms and girls who were just as terrified as you were.

"Yeah," Marcus found himself saying, confidence surging. "I could definitely do that."