Sunset at the Deep End

The pool party was exactly the kind of thing I usually avoided. Too many people, too much skin, way too many opportunities to say something awkward. But Chloe had begged me to come, and I was trying to be better about saying yes to things. So there I was, sitting on the edge of the infinity pool, gripping my iPhone like a lifeline, watching the water ripple in that hypnotizing way that makes everything feel like a dream.

That's when I saw him.

He was standing by the snack bar, wearing this ridiculous orange Hawaiian shirt that should've looked terrible but somehow made him look like he'd just stepped out of a coming-of-age movie. He was laughing at something his friend said, and I felt that weird flutter in my chest that I'd only read about in books.

I brought up my camera, needing to capture this moment before I lost my nerve. My thumb hovered over the shutter, and then—

Someone bumped into me from behind.

My iPhone flew from my hands, landing in the water with a soft splash. I stared at it sinking toward the bottom, my life flashing before my eyes.

Without thinking, I dove in.

The water was colder than I expected, shocking my system. I opened my eyes underwater, reaching for my phone, but something made me pause. Through the distorted lens of the pool, I saw legs everywhere, tangled and pale, moving in slow motion. And then I saw orange—bright and vivid—cutting through the blue like a flame.

He'd jumped in after me.

I surfaced, gasping, my phone already forgotten. He broke the surface next to me, pushing wet hair out of his eyes, grinning like he'd just won the lottery.

"Your phone," he said, gesturing downward. "I saw what happened."

We both dove together, fingers brushing underwater as we searched for it in the shifting light. The sun was setting now, turning everything gold and hazy. When we finally found it, wedged in the drain, we surfaced laughing, breathless and chlorine-scented.

"I'm Aiden," he said, holding out a hand.

"Maya," I managed, my phone dripping water between us like some weird offering.

Later, I'd discover my iPhone was totally dead. But as I sat with Aiden on the pool's edge, watching the last orange light fade from the sky while he made me laugh so hard my sides hurt, I didn't care at all.

Some things are worth more than a thousand Instagram posts.