Zombie at the Deep End

The invitation said pool party, but Maya's brain heard social execution.

She stood at the edge of the crystal blue water, clutching her towel like a security blanket. Her hair—normally her crowning glory, cascade of perfect dark curls—was currently plastered to her forehead in what she assumed was the world's least flattering style.

"You coming in or what?" Jake called from the deep end, pushing his wet hair back like some kind of Disney channel protagonist. Maya's stomach did that thing it always did when Jake looked at her, which was equal parts exhilarating and nausea-inducing.

"Yeah," she managed. "Just warming up."

Beside her, Lily rolled her eyes. "You've been 'warming up' for twenty minutes. It's swimming, Maya, not rocket science."

Maya's fingers toyed with the single goldfish earring dangling from her left ear—a thrift store find she'd worn specifically because Jake liked her "weird jewelry." He hadn't commented yet. He probably hadn't even noticed.

The pool lights flickered on as dusk settled, and someone put on a movie—something with zombies, naturally, because what's a pool party without the threat of undead awakening?

"Hey," Jake said, swimming over to where she still stood. "You okay? You look kind of... zoned."

Maya almost laughed. The irony of being called a zombie while literally watching a zombie movie while her social life felt like it was decomposing.

"I'm good," she said. "Just thinking."

"About?"

Her heart hammered. This was it. The moment. She could say something witty, something flirty, something that would finally make him see her as more than Lily's quiet friend.

"About how I'm the only person not swimming at a pool party," she said instead.

Jake's grin was slow and devastating. "Easy fix."

Before she could process what was happening, he'd scooped her up—towel and all—and jumped.

The shock of cold water was nothing compared to the shock of Jake's arms around her, the way he was laughing, the way her perfectly styled hair was now completely ruined.

When they surfaced, Maya sputtered and wiped her face, expecting humiliation. Instead, Jake was still grinning.

"Your hair," he said.

She braced herself.

"It's kind of perfect now," he finished. "Like you're not trying so hard."

Maya's goldfish earring swung wet and heavy as she treaded water. Something in her chest loosened, something that had been tight all summer.

"Yeah," she said, finally smiling. "I guess I'm done warming up."

Behind them, the zombies groaned on screen, but for the first time all night, Maya didn't feel like one of them.