The Papaya Pitch

Maya was dying inside. Literally. The neon green polyester hat her manager called a "visor" was doing absolutely nothing for her glow-up, and the AC at Tropical Twist was barely fighting the July heat. She'd been working there exactly three weeks, and the only thing worse than the uniform was the fact that her crush from Westside High walked past every single day.

Liam. Number 7 on the baseball team, hair that did that annoying perfect thing in the wind, and a smile that made her forget her own name.

"You gonna stare at the palm trees all day or actually work?" Sofia teased, flipping a smoothie cup like she was in a movie. Sofia was Maya's best friend since kindergarten, which basically gave her lifetime VIP access to roast Maya whenever she wanted.

"I'm not staring. I'm contemplating. There's a difference," Maya lied.

The door chimed. Speak of the devil—and by devil, she meant the adorable baseball player who was currently walking toward the counter in his practice uniform, cleats clicking against the floor.

Sofia mouthed "OMG" and pretended to be intensely fascinated by the blender.

"What's good here?" Liam asked, leaning against the counter like he owned it. His hat was backwards today. Of course it was.

Maya's palms were suddenly sweatier than the smoothie cups. "Um, everything? But the papaya mango is literally fire."

"Papaya, huh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Never tried it."

"Live a little, baseball boy," she heard herself say, and she wanted to die. Sofia was making silent screaming faces behind the counter.

Liam laughed. Actually laughed. "Alright then. Make it happen."

Maya's hands were shaking as she scooped the papaya chunks into the blender. When she passed him the cup, their fingers brushed. She didn't imagine the tiny spark, or the way he looked at her for like, half a second too long.

"See you tomorrow, Maya," he said, reading her nametag like it was something he actually wanted to know.

Sofia waited until the door closed behind him. "Did that just happen?"

"I think I forgot how to breathe," Maya admitted, pressing her hands to her cheeks.

"Friend goal unlocked: I witnessed your first real interaction with Liam without you embarrassingly face-planting," Sofia declared. "You owe me."

Maya looked down at her hideous uniform, then out the window where the palm trees were swaying in the breeze. "I think I might actually like this job."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "You only like it now because Liam comes here."

"That's not—" Maya paused. "Okay, maybe a little."

Outside, Liam took a sip of his papaya smoothie, turned around, and gave a small wave through the glass.

Maya waved back, grinning like an idiot.

Yeah, summer was definitely looking up.