Summer Strings Attached

The padel court was my stage, but I was playing to an audience of one. Maya leaned against the chain-link fence, laughing at something Zack said, while I served directly into the net. Again.

"Bro, you're thinking about it too much," Zack called, absolutely destroying his third slice of papaya from the clubhouse. "Just hit the thing."

Easy for him to say. Zack's parents owned half the resort. My parents worked here.

"One more," I said, wiping sweat on my shirt. The humidity was killer, mid-July in the Palm Springs heat.

Afterward, we hit the pool. The water felt amazing after two hours on the court. I floated near the edge, watching Maya dive again and again, her movement so effortless it made my chest hurt.

Then her phone buzzed on the lounge chair. She swam over, dripping wet, and grabbed it. "Cable's out again. Ugh."

"The WiFi too," Zack groaned. "Storm last night messed everything up."

Maya looked at me. Really looked at me. "Hey, didn't your uncle work at the resort? Before he... you know."

"Yeah. Maintenance." Why was she asking?

"Think you could fix it?" She smiled, and I felt my whole face heat up. "My show's tonight. I've been waiting all week for this episode."

So there I was, crawling behind the TV console while Maya sat cross-legged on the carpet, watching me work. Not exactly how I'd pictured hanging out with her, but I'd take it.

"Your uncle taught you this stuff?" she asked.

"Yeah." I tightened the coaxial connection. "He said cables are like relationships. Loose connections break everything."

She laughed, and it sounded different than when she laughed at Zack's jokes. "That's... actually kind of deep."

The TV flickered to life. She squealed and high-fived me, her hand lingering on mine for a second too long.

"You're amazing," she said. "Seriously."

Later, back at the pool under the stars, she sat beside me instead of Zack.

"Thanks again," she said quietly. "For fixing it."

"Anytime."

"Hey," she said, looking at the water. "Tomorrow? Padel? You and me?"

My heart did something genuinely gymnastic. "Yeah. Tomorrow."