Sweet Spot

The padel court smelled like rubber and nervous sweat. Maya stood at the baseline, gripping the rented racquet like it might bite her. Somewhere behind her, Tyler laughed at something Chloe said—that easy, golden-boy laugh that made Maya's stomach do somersaults.

"You got this!" Tyler called out, and Maya's face burned. She didn't got this. She'd never played padel in her life. But when Chloe invited her, saying Tyler would be there too, Maya's desperate-brain had gone: *What's the worst that could happen?*

Now she knew.

The serve came at her like a neon-green bullet. She swung. Missed. The ball bounced twice, dead and judgmental.

"My bad," she muttered, while her internal monologue screamed *CRINGE ALERT ABORT MISSION.*

Chloe's dad materialized at courtside with a cooler. "Hydration break!" He thrust an orange slice at Maya. "Vitamin C, kiddo. Keeps the immune system strong."

Maya took the orange like it was a life preserver. Tyler was already demolishing his slice, juice dripping down his chin, not even caring. Meanwhile Maya stood there wondering if there was a manual for how to eat fruit attractively in front of your crush.

Spoiler: there wasn't.

"You're overthinking it," Tyler said, suddenly beside her. He grinned, all easy confidence and perfect teeth. "Here."

He reached out, fingers brushing hers as he adjusted her grip on the racquet. His hands were warm. Maya's brain short-circuited.

"Loosen up," he said. "You're playing like someone's holding a vitamin deficiency over your head. It's just a game, Maya."

Just a game. Right. Except it wasn't. It was the first time Tyler had ever said her name without someone else saying it first, and her heart was hammering so hard she worried he could hear it.

The next serve came. Fast.

Maya didn't think. She just swung.

*THWACK.*

The ball sailed past Tyler's outstretched racquet, landing perfectly in the corner. For real.

"YESSS!" Chloe screamed from the other side of the court.

Tyler turned to her, something like real respect in his eyes. "There she is."

Maya's hands were shaking, but not from fear anymore. The orange taste still lingered on her tongue—bright and impossible. She smiled back.

"Yeah," she said. "Here she is."