The Seventh Inning Splash

Maya's palms were sweating, which was honestly ironic considering she was sitting directly under the stadium lights that were supposed to be illuminating Travis's perfect profile, not her impending social doom. The baseball game had dragged into the seventh inning, and she still hadn't said a single thing that wasn't about the weather or the suspiciously orange nacho cheese staining her fingers.

"So," Travis said, turning those devastatingly green eyes toward her. "You come to a lot of these?"

Maya's brain short-circuited. "My brother plays. Well, played. Until he quit. Because of—" Her **iphone** buzzed in her lap, saving her from whatever disaster was about to exit her mouth. She glanced down: a text from her best friend. *Don't forget to breathe. Also, he's looking at you like you're insane.*

She stuffed the phone deeper into her pocket. "Sorry. Just... family stuff."

"That's cool," Travis said, and then his face broke into this smile that made Maya's stomach do something genuinely concerning. "My sister's the same. Always on her phone."

Before Maya could process whether that was a good sign or bad, a stray foul ball came flying their way. Travis reached for it at the exact same moment Maya instinctively threw her arms up to protect her face, which resulted in her elbow connecting spectacularly with the full **water** bottle sitting between them.

Time seemed to slow down as the bottle capsized. **water** cascaded across both of them, soaking Travis's jersey and dripping into Maya's lap. The entire section went silent.

"Oh my GOD," Maya whispered, wanting to literally dissolve into the concrete beneath them. "I'm so sorry—I can't believe—I'm just gonna—"

But Travis was laughing. Not like, polite chuckling. Full-on, shoulder-shaking laughter. "Did you just martial arts that water bottle?"

Maya's face burned hotter than the **orange** sunset painting the sky beyond the outfield. "I was trying to save your face from getting hit by a ball?"

"Well," Travis said, ringing out his sleeve. "Mission accomplished. I guess?"

And somehow, somewhere between the **baseball** game continuing around them and the fact that they were both soaking wet and laughing like idiots, Maya's brain decided this wasn't actually the worst moment of her life. Maybe not even in the top ten.

"Let me buy you a pretzel," Travis said, still grinning. "As a peace offering for my elbow being so threatening."

Maya smiled back, feeling the knot in her chest finally loosen. "Only if it's not covered in that weird orange cheese."