Sweaty Palms and Sunset Skies

The orange slice stuck to the side of my plastic cup like a desperate attempt at sophistication. Most people were here for the swimming, but I was strictly here to survive Maya's graduation party without doing something incredibly embarrassing.

I'd been crushing on Maya since seventh period English when she'd explained metaphors like she was handing out gifts. Now here I was, fifteen years old, standing at the edge of her above-ground pool while my best friend Devon was already doing cannonballs off the diving board.

"You coming in?" Maya called from the water, pushing wet hair off her forehead. Something about the way the pool lights caught her eyes made my stomach do that thing where it forgets how to be an organ.

"Maybe later," I lied. My palms were so sweaty I could barely grip my cup.

This was fine. Everything was fine. I was just hanging out at a pool party like a normal person who definitely wasn't overthinking every micro-movement of my facial muscles. Devon climbed out of the pool, dripping wet and somehow still radiating chaotic confidence.

"Bro, you've been holding that same cup for forty-five minutes," he whispered. "Either get in the water or put the cup down. You look like you're guarding the last beer at the apocalypse."

"I'm contemplative," I protested. "It's a mood."

"It's a mood where you're creeping everyone out," Devon said, then louder: "Hey Maya! Marcus is finally gonna swim!"

Before I could object, he shoved me. The world tilted sideways. I hit the water fully clothed—phone, wallet, dignity, everything.

When I surfaced, spluttering and wiping my eyes, Maya was laughing. Not mean laughter, but that genuine head-thrown-back kind that made you want to be the reason she laughed forever.

"Okay, that was actually epic," she said, paddling closer. "You needed that."

"My phone is dead,"

"Come on," she said, grabbing my hand. Her palm was soft, warm, completely dry. "We can dry off on the deck. I want to show you this playlist I made."

Maybe getting pushed into a pool wasn't how I'd planned to start summer, but as we sat there dripping wet while the sky turned the same orange as the stupid slice in my cup, I decided some disasters were worth it.