The Palm Reader's Promise

Maya's palms wouldn't stop sweating. Like, actual drip-down-your-wrist sweating. She wiped them on her dress for the third time, heart pounding harder than the bass vibrating through Tyler's kitchen walls.

Her hair had already betrayed her—half an hour of flat-iron perfection ruined by humidity and a car with no AC. Now it hung in weird waves, like she'd tried to copy some TikTok trend and failed spectacularly.

"You okay?" Katie asked, handing her a red Solo cup. "You look like you're about to bear witness to a crime."

"I'm just gonna stand in the corner until my social battery recharges," Maya muttered. "Which should be approximately never."

Then came the crash from the backyard.

Somehow, someway, a golden retriever had escaped from two houses down, streaked through the sliding door, and was now careening around the party like a furry, chaotic meteor. People screamed. Drinks spilled. The dog, apparently named Bear (someone was shouting it), bounded toward the food table like it was his personal buffet.

Maya moved without thinking. She dropped to her knees, held out her hand, and Bear skidded to a halt, tail thumping like a metronome gone wrong.

"Hey buddy," she said, voice surprisingly steady. "You're having a way better night than me."

Bear collapsed onto her lap like she was a long-lost friend. And then—because the universe clearly enjoyed its little jokes—THE Tyler appeared.

"That's my neighbor's dog," he said, crouching down. "You're, like, really good with him."

"Bear and I understand each other," Maya said, scratching behind his ears. "We're both just trying to survive."

Tyler laughed, and okay, it was a really nice laugh. "Can I, um, get you a drink? Since you literally saved his appetizers?"

Maya's palms were still sweaty. Her hair was still weird. But as she looked at Tyler, at Bear flopped dramatically across her legs, at Katie giving her a subtle thumbs-up from across the room, she thought: maybe tonight wouldn't be so terrible after all.

"Only if it's not in a red cup," she said. "I've had enough humiliation for one night."