Sweating Palms

Maya's palms were literally sweating against her iPhone case as she hovered over the send button. The post had taken forty-five minutes to curate—perfect lighting, just the right angle of her vintage band tee, caption that read "vibes r immaculate" even though she was actually just procrastinating on her history paper.

"You gonna post that or just stare at it all night?" Kelsey flopped onto Maya's bed, scrolling through her own feed with practiced detachment.

"I'm overthinking it," Maya admitted, finally hitting share. "What if everyone thinks it's trying too hard?"

Kelsey shrugged. "It's just Instagram, not your college application." Then she sat up suddenly. "Oh my god, did you see what Jason posted?"

Maya's stomach did that familiar flip thing it always did when Jason's name came up. Jason, with his hoodies that fit perfectly and his hair that always looked intentionally messy. Jason, who'd sat next to her in bio last semester and made stupid jokes that made her laugh despite herself.

"No?" Maya reached for her phone again, but Kelsey grabbed it first.

"He's at Tyler's party. You should come."

Maya's palms started sweating again. Parties weren't really her thing—all that noise and people trying so hard to look like they weren't trying. But Jason would be there. Jason, who'd once asked if she wanted to study together and actually meant studying.

"I don't know..."

"Come on. Live a little." Kelsey was already pulling Maya toward her closet. "And wear that crop top you bought last month and never wore because you said you 'weren't ready.'"

Maya laughed despite herself. "Okay, first of all, that was a valid concern about crop tops and second of all—"

"Nope, I'm hearing none of it." Kelsey tossed the top at her. "We're going. And you're going to talk to Jason instead of just staring at his stories from a distance like a weirdo."

The party was exactly what Maya expected—too loud, too warm, full of people she vaguely knew from classes. But then she saw Jason across the room, laughing at something Tyler had said, and her palms started sweating again.

He caught her eye and smiled. And suddenly it wasn't about the perfect Instagram post or the right outfit or any of the **bull** they all performed to look cool. It was just Jason, walking toward her, saying "Hey, I was hoping you'd come."

Maya wiped her palms on her jeans and smiled back. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He stepped closer. "Wanna get some air?"

And for the first time all night, Maya's hands were steady.