Three Words at the Court

Maya's palms were sweating. Again.

She wiped them on her leggings, clutching her phone like it contained state secrets. Technically, it kinda did. For the past three weeks, she'd been casually—okay, obsessively—spying on Leo's Instagram stories. Every padel court selfie, every "post-practice" smoothie pic, every gym selfie with his shirt sleeves rolled up exactly the way that made her stomach do that annoying flip thing.

"You coming?" Chloe called from the padel court. "Leo's waiting."

"Yeah!" Maya shoved her phone in her bag. "Just... tying my shoe."

Her shoe was already tied. Obviously.

This was fine. This was totally fine. It was just a casual Friday afternoon padel session with Chloe and her cousin Leo who Maya had been lowkey crushing on since September. No big deal. Except her palms were now officially sweating at industrial levels and she could feel her face pulling that specific shade of coral that screamed I AM EXPERIENCING AN EMOTION.

Leo stood by the net, spinning his padel racquet like he'd been born with it in his hand. His dark curls were messier than usual, probably from practice earlier, and he had that tiny scrape on his left forearm from when he'd wiped out on his skateboard last week. She knew this because she'd been present. It had nothing to do with the fact that she'd also replayed the moment in her head approximately forty-seven times.

"Ready to get destroyed?" Leo grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"In your dreams, Torres." Maya high-fived him—her palm was damp, no way he didn't notice, he definitely noticed, this was the worst day of her life.

The game started. Maya's first serve went straight into the net. So much for acting like she had functioning motor skills.

"Rough start?" Leo teased, retrieving the ball.

"Warming up," she shot back. "Don't get comfortable."

Something shifted in his expression. Just for a second. Something softer.

"Hey," he said, tossing the ball back. "You coming to Jordan's party tomorrow?"

Maya's brain short-circuited. "Maybe? Probably. If I can escape family dinner."

"Cool." Leo's smile did something dangerous to her cardiovascular system. "Because I was hoping to ask you something."

He served before she could process what that meant. The ball hit the padel wall and angled back at her, all physics and trajectory and completely impossible to track when her whole body was suddenly conducting electricity.

"Ask me what?" she called out, returning it somehow.

"If you wanted to practice together sometime." Leo didn't even look at her, but his ears were definitely turning pink. "Just, you know. If you wanted."

Maya missed the ball. It bounced twice and died in the silence between them.

"Yeah," she said, her palms suddenly not sweating at all, just warm and alive and tingling. "Yeah. I'd like that."