Sweaty Palms & Summer Games

The vitamin gummies in my pocket were melting into a sticky disaster, but I couldn't reach for them. Not now.

"You up for padel?" Jake asked, flashing that grin that made my knees do that stupid fluttery thing.

"Uh, yeah. Totally." I lied through my teeth. I'd never played padel in my life. But Jake had invited me to the country club's summer tournament, and apparently, this was my ticket to not being invisible anymore.

The court was blazing hot, palm trees swaying lazily like they had nowhere better to be. Meanwhile, my heart was hammering like I'd just chugged three espressos.

I clutched the racquet, palms sweating so much I was practically sliding off the handle. Great. First impressions going perfectly.

Jake partnered with me against these two juniors who looked like they'd been born holding racquets. They demolished us. 6-1, 6-0. The second set was mercifully shorter only because Jake kept laughing and missing shots on purpose to make me feel better.

"Dude, you okay?" he asked afterward, sitting on the bench. "You look kinda—"

"Yeah, just need to grab something." I bolted before he could finish.

The swimming pool area was practically empty. Perfect. I sank onto the edge, feet dangling in the cool water, and fished out the destroyed vitamin gummies. My mom had insisted they'd help with "stress and focus" before I left for the summer. Because apparently, your mom sneaking wellness supplements into your bag wasn't embarrassing enough.

I stared at the gelatinous orange blob that used to be shaped like a bear. This was it. This was my cool summer romance moment. Sitting by a swimming pool, eating melted vitamins, still sweating through my shirt after getting absolutely wrecked at a sport I didn't know how to play.

"You need those more than I do."

Jake stood there, shirt damp, holding two waters. He dropped into a sit beside me, completely casual, like he hadn't just watched me have a mini breakdown.

"First time playing padel?" he asked.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Dude, you served it into the net. Every time." He grinned. "But you kept going. That's kinda sick."

The water felt suddenly cooler against my legs. My palms had stopped sweating.

"Tomorrow," Jake said, cracking open his water. "I'll teach you. No tournament, just us. Then we can hit the swimming pool after. Unless you have more vitamins to attend to."

I laughed so hard I nearly tipped into the water.

Maybe the vitamins were working after all. Either way, I was definitely coming back tomorrow.