The Art of Almost Drowning

Marcus stood at the edge of the pool, clutching his red solo cup like it was a lifeline. Tyler's annual summer rager was already in full swing — bodies splashing, bass throbbing against the fence, someone definitely vaping behind the shed. And somewhere in all this chaos, Taylor was laughing at something some guy said, her smile brighter than the July sun reflecting off the water.

Marcus's childhood friend since second grade, the one who'd seen him through braces and bad haircuts and that unfortunate phase where he wore fedoras "ironically." Now she was the girl his chest tightened around whenever she looked at him for too long.

"Yo, Marcus!" Tyler materialized, slapping his shoulder. "Truth or Dare. Your turn."

The circle formed fast. Chelsea, the girl Marcus had tutored in algebra last year, grinned wickedly. "Truth: Have you ever eaten something truly disgusting?"

Marcus's face burned. "One time my brother made a spinach smoothie and forgot to add fruit. Just straight spinach. I drank the whole thing because he was watching."

Everyone howled. Even Taylor cracked up, and Marcus felt that weird flutter in his stomach that was half pride, half humiliation.

"Okay, dare," Tyler said, pointing at Marcus. "Jump in the pool with your phone in your pocket."

Before Marcus could panic, Buster — Tyler's enormous golden retriever — came barreling out of nowhere, chasing a deflated beach ball. The dog slammed into Marcus's legs at full velocity. His phone flew out of his hand in a beautiful arc, splashing perfectly into the deep end.

Dead silence. Then Buster shook himself vigorously, spraying water everywhere.

"That's a lot of money to watch sink," Taylor said, but she was smiling. She was actually smiling. At him.

Marcus's chest swelled. Maybe this was it. Maybe losing his phone was somehow worth it. Maybe being a complete idiot in front of everyone was exactly what he needed.

Then he felt it. The spinach. From the spinach artichoke dip he'd eaten earlier, probably wedged between his front teeth. He'd been smiling and laughing and confessing embarrassing stories all night with a giant green chunk of spinach in his teeth.

He couldn't bear it. He just couldn't.

Marcus turned away, checking his reflection in the sliding glass door. Yep. Huge. Glaring. Absolutely impossible to miss.

"Marcus?" Taylor appeared beside him, handing him a napkin. "You had something in your teeth. Like, five minutes ago. I was trying to figure out how to tell you without making it weird."

He stared at her. "You waited five minutes?"

"I panicked!" She laughed. "Also, watching you panic is kind of cute."

The air shifted. Something opened between them that hadn't been there before, or maybe it had always been there and neither of them had noticed. Marcus wiped his teeth, handed back the napkin, and for the first time all night, he wasn't drowning at all.