The Art of Sneaky Texts

Marcus's palms were sweating. Again. He gripped his **iphone** tighter, scrolling through Maya's Instagram for the third time today. Baseball practice had ended twenty minutes ago, but here he was, leaning against the bleachers like a total creep.

"You stalking again?" Kiara dropped her bat beside him. "Bro, you're gonna wear out your thumb."

Marcus jumped, nearly dropping his phone. "I'm not stalking. I'm... researching. Strategically."

"Right. Because that's what normal people call hovering over someone's post from 2019." Kiara popped a **vitamin** C gummy from her bag. "Want one? Might help with those nervous vibes you're throwing off."

Marcus declined. His nerves weren't from anything health-related. They were from Maya. From the way she laughed in chemistry when he accidentally knocked over his beaker. From how she'd sat near him at lunch yesterday, close enough that he could smell her coconut shampoo.

He'd become an expert **spy** without even trying. He knew Maya walked past the baseball field every Tuesday at 4:15. He knew she liked strawberry smoothies and hated algebra. He knew she always wore that lucky hair tie on her left wrist. Information gathering. That's what his dad called it when he explained Marcus's baseball stats obsession.

But knowing facts wasn't the same as knowing someone.

"She's coming," Kiara whispered suddenly, nudging him hard. "Maya. Right now. Field-side."

Marcus's stomach did somersaults. This was it. The moment he'd been overanalyzing for weeks. His palms went full monsoon mode. He could do this. Just say hey. Just—

"Hey Marcus!" Maya waved, walking over. Her smile hit him like a fastball to the chest. "You guys have practice today?"

"Uh, yeah." Smooth. Real smooth. "Just finished."

"Cool." She adjusted her backpack strap. "I was gonna ask—"

THE baseball coach blew his whistle from across the field. "Team meeting! Now!"

Marcus looked at Maya. Looked at his coach. Looked back at Maya.

"Go ahead," she said, stepping closer. Her eyes were this really pretty shade of golden-brown. "Find me later?"

His heart did something illegal. "Yeah. Later."

As he jogged toward the dugout, Kiara caught his eye and gave him this tiny thumbs-up. Marcus grinned so hard his face hurt. Whatever Maya wanted to ask him could wait. Some things were worth the suspense.