The Summer We Stopped Swimming

The lifeguard cable stretched across the pool's entrance, sagging like my summer plans. I hadn't actually gone swimming in weeks — just sat on the edge with my legs in the water, watching everyone else live their best lives while I scrolled through texts Maya wasn't answering.

"You gonna sit there all day or actually jump in?"

I looked up. Jordan. My oldest friend, wearing that ridiculous baseball cap sideways like we were still twelve and thought that was cool. Which, okay, maybe I still did sometimes.

"Just chilling," I said. "What's up with the hat? You look like you walked off a baseball card."

Jordan snorted and sat next to me, dangling their feet in the water. "Maya's cousin's party tonight. You coming?"

The question hung between us like the lifeguard cable — something that was supposed to be there but felt wrong somehow. Maya's cousin. Maya who'd been my best friend since seventh grade. Maya who'd been different with me since school ended. Maya who'd been posting stories with Jordan instead of me lately.

"Probably not," I said, trying to sound casual. "Not really feeling it."

Jordan splashed water at me. "Come on. You've been moping all summer like a rejected college application."

"I'm not moping. I'm... contemplating."

"Contemplating what? The mysteries of the universe?" Jordan pointed at the weathered sphinx statue that had guarded the pool since like, the 1800s. Some ancient donation from a traveling exhibit that never got claimed back. "Ask the sphinx. She's got answers."

I laughed despite myself. The sphinx had been our inside joke since freshman year. Every summer, we'd make up ridiculous riddles and pretend she was whispering them to us.

*What breaks when you say its name?*

*What gets wetter the more it dries?*

*What friendship dies the moment someone starts catching feelings?*

Wait.

I looked at Jordan sideways.

"Wait," I said. "Is that what this is?"

Jordan's ears turned red. "Is what what this is?"

"Maya. Me. The party invitations stopped when I started—" I stopped.

Jordan splashed more water, harder this time. "You started what?"

"You know." I felt my face heating up. "When I started liking her."

"Oh my GOD," Jordan groaned, putting their face in their hands. "Yes, that's exactly what it is. She didn't want to make things weird, and I was trying to be a good friend to BOTH of you, and it's been SO awkward because YOU won't just TELL HER and get it over with."

I stared. "She knows?"

"The sphinx knows," Jordan said dramatically. "The whole neighborhood knows. Her grandma knows."

"But she stopped texting me."

"She's waiting for YOU," Jordan said. "Like, literally waiting. At the party. Tonight. She told me to drag you there if I had to."

I looked at the pool, the sphinx, Jordan's ridiculous baseball cap. The summer stretched behind me like a lazy afternoon, full of overthinking and sitting on the edge while everyone else swam.

I stood up.

"Well," I said. "We're going to be late."

Jordan grinned. "Finally." They paused. "You're not gonna—you know. Jump in first?"

I looked at the water, cool and inviting. The lifeguard cable sagged across the entrance, not blocking anything but reminding me of all the barriers I'd put up myself.

"Nah," I said. "I'm done sitting on the edge."

Jordan snorted. "Good. Because that hat is NOT working for you."

I pushed them into the pool.

Best decision of the summer.