The Sweat Under My Hat

My snapback had become basically permanent since seventh grade—a faded navy thing that covered whatever my hair was doing that day and, more importantly, gave me a portable hiding spot. Which was exactly what I needed when Maya sat next to me at the summer league baseball game.

"Hey," she said, all casual, like she hadn't accidentally become the cutest person in our grade since moving here in April.

"Hey." My voice cracked. Smooth.

I shoved my hands in my pockets because my palms were already sweating. This was fine. Totally normal. Just two people watching baseball. Except I'd spent three weeks convincing myself I was over my crush on her, and now my brain was doing that thing where it forgot how to human.

She pulled an orange from her backpack and started peeling it. The citrus smell hit me—sharp and bright and suddenly this moment felt too real, too specific. Like I'd remember this exact second forever.

"Want some?" she held out a segment.

"Yeah. Thanks." Our fingers brushed. My heart did something illegal.

We watched in silence for an inning. My palms were sweating so much I worried I'd literally slide off the aluminum bench. Then she pointed at the field.

"That's your cousin pitching, right?"

"Yeah. Lucas. He thinks he's basically in the majors already."

She laughed, and it was this genuine sound that made something in my chest unclench. "I've never actually been to a baseball game before. My family's more into, like, tennis."

"Wait, seriously?" I pulled my hat down lower, trying to hide my smile. "You picked a great first game. Lucas's team is down by seven, and he's definitely going to try to showboat and probably strike out."

"Good." She leaned back. "I prefer the drama over the actual sport."

She didn't move her hand when it rested on the bench between us. Our pinkies were touching. Just barely. I stopped caring about my sweaty palms.

"You know," she said, "you have really nice eyes. You should take off your hat sometimes."

I didn't. But for the first time, I wanted to.