The Spinach Slide

Maya's palms were sweating. Not the cute, glistening kind—the practically-dripping kind that made gripping things impossible. She clutched her phone, scrolling through Jake's Instagram for the hundredth time today. Baseball cap backwards, that effortless grin, the way he leaned against the dugout fence like he owned the whole school.

"You're doing it again," said Chloe, not looking up from her own phone. They were at Chloe's house, supposedly studying for finals. Currently definitely not studying.

"Doing what?"

"The thing. The Jake thing. The thing where you stare at his photos like they're the Dead Sea Scrolls."

Maya threw a pillow at her. "I'm not obsessed. I'm... conducting research."

"Research into what? His dental records?"

"Into whether he'd notice me if I actually talked to him instead of just existing in his general vicinity sometimes."

This was the problem with having a crush on the most popular guy in sophomore year, who also happened to be the star pitcher and basically walking social proof. Maya was nobody special. She swam competitively, sure, but swimming was different—mostly solitary, mostly hidden behind goggles and caps, mostly just you and the water and the smell of chlorine that never really washed out.

Jake existed in the world. Maya existed beneath its surface.

Her phone buzzed. A group chat notification: "Pool party @ Tyler's house Saturday night. Bring ur A game."

Maya's stomach did that thing where it felt like it was trying to exit through her throat.

"You're going, right?" Chloe asked, suddenly interested. "Jake will be there. Everyone will be there."

"I don't know. Pool parties are... a lot."

"What's a lot? You're a swimmer. You literally live in water."

"COMPETITIVE swimming is different. It's not—it's not about how you look in a swimsuit. It's about times and splits and not drowning while everyone screams at you to go faster. Pool parties are about looking cute and not having spinach in your teeth and remembering that not everyone has seen you in a speed cap since sixth grade."

Chloe snorted. "You're overthinking this. Just wear that navy bikini you bought last month. The one that makes your legs look amazing."

"The one I've never actually worn?"

"Perfect. Problem solved."

Saturday arrived with the kind of humidity that made everything feel sticky and too close. Maya stood outside Tyler's house for seven full minutes before working up the courage to walk in. She could hear music thumping, could see people already in the backyard through the fence slats. This was fine. Everything was fine. She was fine.

She stepped through the gate and immediately spotted Jake. Of course she spotted Jake. He was in the pool, splashing water at some sophomore she didn't recognize, his baseball cap somehow staying on his head despite being completely submerged. He looked effortless and comfortable and like he belonged in his skin, which was the thing Maya wanted most in the world and somehow couldn't quite manage.

"Maya!" Chloe materialized beside her. "You made it! And you're wearing the bikini! It looks amazing!"

"I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"That's just nerves. You'll be fine. Come on, let's get something to drink."

They made their way to the food table, which was groaning under the weight of chips, dip, and an alarming number of green smoothies. "What's with the healthy stuff?" Maya asked, grabbing a cup.

"Tyler's mom is on a health kick," said someone behind her.

Maya turned and literally almost died. It was Jake. Standing right there. Close enough that she could see the tiny freckle on his nose and the way his eyelashes were actually unfairly long. He was dripping wet, his baseball cap in his hand, his hair mussed in the kind of way that probably took effort but looked completely accidental.

"The smoothies are actually pretty good," he continued. "They've got spinach and stuff but you can't really taste it. Want to try?"

He was talking to her. Jake Morrison was talking to her. About spinach smoothies. This was not how she'd imagined this moment going—in her head, they'd had a much cooler conversation about music or literally anything else.

"Sure," she managed, which came out more like a squeak.

He poured her a cup. "I'm Jake, by the way."

"I know," she said, then immediately wanted to die. "I mean, I'm Maya. We have bio together."

"Oh! Yeah, you sit near the window. I always see you reading during lectures."

He'd noticed her. He'd noticed her reading during bio lectures, which was mostly because she was trying desperately to look intellectual and mysterious and not just socially anxious and overwhelmed.

"Yeah, I just... really like biology," she said, which was not even remotely true.

"That's cool. I suck at science. I'm more of a baseball guy, obviously. But my mom wants me to eat more vegetables, so here we are."

He took a sip of his spinach smoothie and somehow managed to look good doing it. How was that possible?

"You play baseball?" she asked, even though she knew perfectly well he played baseball. She'd been to three games this semester alone, sitting in the stands with her phone open to a completely different app so she could pretend she wasn't watching him.

"Yeah, pitcher. We've got a game next week if you want to come. Some of the guys are saying they might go swimming afterwards to cool off. You could come for that part too."

Had he just invited her to his baseball game? And also to swimming afterwards? This had to be a prank. This had to be some kind of social experiment.

"I might be busy," she said, because she was an idiot.

"No worries. Here's my number if you change your mind." He pulled out his phone. "What's your Insta? I'll add you."

She recited her username, feeling like she was floating. Like she was underwater, everything muted and strange and perfect.

"Cool," he said, typing it in. "See you around, Maya."

He walked back toward the pool, putting his baseball cap back on, and Maya stood there holding a cup of spinach smoothie that she'd probably never actually drink.

"Did that just happen?" Chloe asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"I think so?"

"Did Jake Morrison just give you his number?"

"I think so?"

"Did he invite you to his baseball game?"

"I THINK SO?"

Chloe screamed. Like actually screamed, and suddenly everyone was looking at them, including Jake, who turned around and grinned from the pool.

Maya's face was so hot she could feel it radiating off her skin. But then Jake raised his cup in a little salute, like he was glad she was there. Like he was actually, genuinely interested in whether she'd show up.

"Okay," Maya said, her heart hammering in her chest. "Okay. I think I might actually go to that game."

"You're going," Chloe said firmly. "And you're wearing that bikini. And we're practicing what you're going to say to him when he asks you out, because he's totally going to ask you out."

"He's not going to ask me out."

"He gave you his number, Maya. In what universe does that NOT mean he's going to ask you out?"

Maya looked at Jake, who was currently trying to do a handstand in the shallow end and failing spectacularly. He was kind of a dork. A cute dork, but still a dork.

"I don't know," she said, taking a sip of the spinach smoothie. It actually wasn't bad. "I think I might be okay with that."