Sweaty Palms & Secret Padel

Maya's palms were literally dripping as she clutched her phone, staring at Leo's Instagram story. The new kid from Barcelona, looking all casual with his padel racket, captioned "Anyone down to hit some courts?"

Ugh, why was she even stressing? She'd been hiding her mom's competitive padel obsession in the basement for months, secretly practicing against the wall until 2 AM. Her serve was actually fire. But letting these popular Aspen Academy kids know she played? That was social suicide. Padel was SO not vibing with the cool crowd's lacrosse-and-crew energy.

Then there was the cat situation.

Barnaby – this scrawny, judgmental calico she'd been secretly feeding in the abandoned lot behind the tennis courts – had somehow become her emotional support animal through this whole "new girl" nightmare. Every time she spotted Leo in the hallways and her palms started sweating again, she'd mentally escape to those afternoons with Barnaby, watching him aggressively groom himself while she vented about how cute Leo looked when he laughed at lunch.

"You gonna text him back or what?" Sophia nudged her in AP Bio, smirking like she knew everything. Which, honestly, she kind of did.

"I don't even play," Maya lied.

"Girl, please. I've seen your serve on TikTok. It's giving pro athlete energy."

Maya's face burned. "That's NOT—"

"Leo's been waiting for someone who can actually rally," Sophia lowered her voice. "He's bored crushing everyone. And he thinks you're cute."

Her palms were officially a disaster.

That afternoon, she found herself at the courts, heart hammering against her ribs as she adjusted her grip on the borrowed racket. Leo grinned when she walked up, all easy confidence and stupid perfect hair.

"Thought you didn't play," he teased.

Maya took a deep breath, wiped her palms on her shorts, and served the ball straight past him.

"I don't," she said, watching his expression shift from smug to genuinely impressed. "I dominate."

Later, when they collapsed on the bench, breathless and laughing, Barnaby wandered out from behind the equipment shed and started rubbing against Leo's legs like he owned him.

"Wait, you know this cat?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, I've been feeding him for weeks," Leo said, scratching behind Barnaby's ears. "He's kind of why I started coming here alone."

Maya's palms stopped sweating. Sometimes the universe really did have your back.