Swimming in the Dead Zone

My summer job consisted of three things: standing behind the counter at Sal's Pizza, watching the delivery dog—a golden retriever named Buster who belonged to the owner—sleep on the linoleum floor, and praying my crush would actually walk in and order something other than a salad.

She finally did, two weeks before senior year started.

Maya Fox.

Her last name literally made everyone call her "the fox" behind her back, which was exactly as cringe as it sounds and also completely accurate. She had this hair that fell like she'd just woken up perfect and this laugh that made you feel like you understood jokes better just by hearing it.

"Hey, Liam," she said.

She knew my name.

"Hey," I managed. Smooth. Truly poetry in motion. "What can I get you?"

"Um, just a slice of cheese?"

I was about to grab it when my phone buzzed. My cousin had been spamming me all afternoon about tonight's party at the lake. Everyone was going.

I am my own worst enemy, and I have the text messages to prove it. Instead of just being cool, I said, "You going to Jensen's tonight? Everyone's swimming at the quarry."

Smooth?

Maya tilted her head. "Maybe? I heard his parents are out of town."

"They are," I said, like I hadn't spent three hours overthinking whether to show up alone.

Then the TV behind me fuzzed out.

Because apparently the universe had decided I hadn't suffered enough embarrassment for one afternoon. The cable connection chose that exact moment to die, taking Sal's precious sports game with it.

"Great," I muttered.

"You know," Maya said, watching me fumble with the wires behind the counter, "my brother fixes these."

I froze. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. He says most problems are just loose connections." She leaned against the counter like she wasn't absolutely destroying me with casual proximity. "You just have to find where things aren't clicking."

I turned around. She was smiling.

"Is that metaphorical?" I asked, because apparently I was committed to being the most awkward person alive.

"Maybe." She grabbed her pizza slice. "See you tonight, Liam."

She left, and Buster the dog opened one eye, thumped his tail once, and went back to sleep like he hadn't just witnessed my entire personality malfunction.

But she'd said see you tonight.

I texted my cousin back: *I'm in.*

Sometimes the universe breaks your cable just so you'll finally talk to the girl. Sometimes the universe is just terrible at timing and excellent at outcomes.

I'd take it.