Sweaty Palms and Second Serves

Maya's palms were sweating. Like, actually sweating through her grip on the padel racket. This was it — her first time playing with the cool kids from sophomore year, and naturally, she'd agreed to wear the ridiculous neon green hat her little sister had picked out as a "lucky charm."

"You ready, Maya?" Jake called from across the court. Jake, who had that effortlessly messy hair and always smelled like expensive cologne and confidence.

"Yeah, totally," Maya lied. Her voice cracked. Cool. So cool.

The game started. Maya actually wasn't terrible — she'd been practicing with her dad since summer — but something about Jake watching made her forget how to human. She missed an easy return. The ball sailed into the fence.

"My bad," she muttered, feeling her face heat up. Someone giggled. She couldn't tell if it was Jake or one of his friends.

Then came the water break. Maya reached for her bottle, hands shaking slightly, and somehow managed to splash water down her entire front. Just fantastic. Now she looked like she'd been swimming in her clothes.

"At least it's hot out, right?" Jake said, flashing that smile that made half the school swoon. Maya's stomach did this weird flip thing that she refused to analyze.

After the game, everyone decided to get smoothies. Maya's scalp was already sweating under the neon hat, but taking it off would mean revealing the hat hair situation happening underneath. She kept it on.

"Can I get the Green Machine?" Jake ordered. "With extra spinach."

Spinach. In a smoothie. Maya almost laughed. "Since when do you drink spinach?" she heard herself say before she could filter it.

Jake shrugged. "Trying to be healthier. My coach says—" He stopped. "Wait, why are you laughing?"

"I'm not!" Maya protested, but she was smiling now. "Just didn't picture you as a spinach guy."

He smiled back. "What did you picture?"

Something about the way he asked — like he actually wanted to know — made Maya's palms stop sweating for the first time all afternoon.

"Honestly?" she said. "I didn't picture you at all."

That wasn't true. But it felt true in that moment, standing there in her water-stained shirt and ridiculous hat, Jake with his spinach smoothie, the whole world feeling suddenly... possible.

"Well," Jake said, "now you have to. Play again next Saturday?"

Maya grinned. "Only if you let me try that spinach thing."