Thunder at the Deep End

The **lightning** cracked across the sky like someone ripping open a bag of chips, and I was officially regretting everything.

I stood at the edge of the pool clutching a red solo cup like it was a lifeline, watching Emma Torres laugh at something Jake Miller said. Jake, who played **baseball** like he'd been born with a glove in his hand. Jake, whose smile made my stomach do that thing where it forgot how to be a stomach.

"You gonna get in or what?" My best friend Marcus hip-checked me, splashing **water** all over my favorite vintage band tee. "Chloe's literally been staring at you for ten minutes."

"She's staring because I'm the only one wearing jeans to a pool party, Marcus."

"You're overthinking it. Just be chill." Marcus adjusted his goggles. "Watch me do a cannonball off the diving board. Bet you I can make bigger waves than Tyler's cousin."

Tyler's cousin was this massive dude everyone called **Bull** because he was built like a human tank and apparently played football in college. Bull had spent the last hour accidentally dominating every pool game and looking confused when people kept forfeiting.

I stripped down to my swim trunks, trying to look casual instead of like I was mentally calculating the odds of accidentally looking like a total dork in front of Emma. Which was extremely high, by the way.

Then thunder boomed directly overhead, and the backyard lights flickered.

"Everyone out of the **pool** NOW!" Tyler's mom shouted from the back door. "That storm cell is moving fast!"

Chaos erupted. People scrambled everywhere, towels and phones and flip-flops flying. I grabbed Emma's arm before I could think better of it. "Hey, my house is right there—we should probably get inside before we get soaked."

She grinned as rain started pouring down, ruining everything and somehow making it perfect at the same time. "Race you?"

We sprinted through the downpour, lightning flashing like a strobe light, and I didn't even care that I was probably about to get pneumonia. Sometimes the best moments are the ones you never saw coming.