Sweaty Palms at Match Point

I hated how my entire life could be ruined by a game I'd first heard about twenty minutes ago.

"You good?" Maya asked, spinning her padel racket between fingers that looked like they'd been dipped in golden glitter. She was wearing this skirt that kept swishing when she moved, and I was trying very hard to look at her face and not her legs because that's what a decent person would do and also I was terrified of being caught staring.

"Totally good," I lied. My palms were sweating so much I could barely grip my own racket. "Just warming up."

She laughed, and it was this sound like someone throwing confetti. "Chill, Jake. It's just pickup. We're literally at twelve-love right now."

Twelve-love. A score that didn't even make sense. Padel was like tennis but with walls and somehow more confusing. I'd only agreed to this because Tyler had dared me, and because Maya had asked if anyone wanted to sub in, and because I was an idiot who thought sports were a solid personality foundation.

"You sure?" She grinned. "Because you look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm good," I said again. "Just got distracted. Think I saw a... goldfish."

She stared at me. "A goldfish."

"In my pocket," I continued, because at this point why not just completely destroy my dignity. "He's very small. His name is Bubbles. We're very close."

Maya stared at me for three seconds, and then she was laughing so hard she had to lean on her knees. I stood there feeling like I'd simultaneously won and lost everything.

"You're so weird," she said, wiping her eyes. "I like that."

Then she served the ball directly at my face, and I didn't even try to hit it back. I just watched it bounce past me, thinking about how some people's golden moments were heroic and mine were just getting a pretty girl to laugh at my terrible jokes.

"That's point," she called out. "You gonna play or what?"

I tightened my grip on the racket. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm playing."

I still didn't know the rules. I was still sweating through my shirt. But Maya was still smiling at me like I was someone worth knowing, and maybe that was enough.

"Your serve," she said, winking.

I missed the ball entirely. But I made her laugh again. And honestly? That felt like winning.