The Summer Everything Changed

The humidity was already ninety percent when I rolled up to Taylor's party, my hair frizzing like I'd stuck my finger in an electrical socket. I should've known better than to wear my good thrifted blouse, but I was sixteen and stupid, and I wanted Jordan to notice me.

Inside, the air conditioning was fighting a losing battle against thirty sweating teenagers. Someone had set up beer pong in the dining room, and the moment I walked in, I saw him—Jordan, leaning against the doorframe, looking stupidly hot in a white tank top. I froze, my palms suddenly so sweaty I could practically wring them out like a sponge.

"Maya! Finally!" Taylor grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the kitchen. "You have to see what Ethan found in his garage."

In the middle of the kitchen floor sat the most pathetic excuse for a dog I'd ever seen—some kind of chihuahua mix with one ear that stood up and one that flopped down like it had given up on life.

"His name is Bull," Ethan announced proudly, like he'd personally invented the concept of dogs.

"Bull," I repeated. "You named a ten-pound animal 'Bull'?"

"It's ironic," Jordan said from behind me, and I practically jumped out of my skin. He was grinning, and up close, I could see a tiny scar through his eyebrow. "That's what's so cool about it."

I opened my mouth to say something clever, something that would make him laugh or maybe fall in love with me, but what came out was: "My palms are sweating."

The silence that followed was absolute. Taylor gaped at me. Bull let out a confused yip.

Jordan's grin widened. "Mine too," he said, holding up his own hand. "This party's lowkey stressful, right?"

And just like that, the spell broke. We ended up sitting on the back porch steps, sharing a lukewarm soda while Bull snored on Jordan's lap. We talked about everything and nothing—our weird families, his dreams of studying film, my fear that I'd never figure out who I actually was.

"You're already figuring it out," Jordan said when I voiced that worry. Bull stirred, licking Jordan's hand. "We all are. That's the whole point."

At midnight, my mom called. I had to leave. But as I walked home under streetlights that made everything look golden and possible, I realized my palms weren't sweating anymore. And for the first time in forever, neither was I.