Zombie at the Pool Party

I felt like a zombie walking into Jake's backyard. Literally. My skin was practically gray from months of winter, and I was moving at about half-speed because I'd spent the last three hours psyching myself up in front of the bathroom mirror.

"You coming in or what?" Maya called from where she was already knee-deep in the pool, her orange bikini bright against the blue water. "The water's actually not frozen solid."

"I'm assessing the situation," I said, clutching my towel like it was a bulletproof vest.

Truth was, I wasn't there for swimming. I was there because Jake — the Jake who sat behind me in chem and smelled like cedar and accidentally funny jokes — was going to be there. I'd been basically a spy for weeks, memorizing his coffee order (caramel macchiato, extra whip) and his Instagram posts (mostly dogs and landscape photography).

The problem was Jake was currently talking to Brianna. Brianna, who was a solid nine and somehow made small talk look like an Olympic sport. I was more like... recreational-level social interaction, at best.

"Don't let Brianna get to you," Maya said, suddenly beside me and dripping pool water everywhere. "She's all talk. She spent all last week telling everyone about her 'bull' of an ex-boyfriend, then literally posted a sad quote about him yesterday."

I snorted. "Oh my god, same Brianna who claimed she was psychic?"

"The very one." Maya handed me an orange slice from the fruit platter. "Eat this. You look like you might pass out."

I took it, mostly because refusing would've been weird. "Thanks. I'm just... I don't know if I can do this. The whole flirting thing. The existing in public thing."

"You're not gonna flirt," Maya said dismissively. "You're gonna casually exist in his general vicinity and see what happens. That's it. No expectations, no grand gestures. Just... vibing."

"Vibing," I repeated. "Right. Cool. Just vibing."

I took a breath and walked toward the pool, Maya's words echoing in my head. Jake looked up, spotted me, and actually smiled — not like, polite smile, but like, genuine smile.

"Hey!" he said. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

And just like that, the zombie feeling faded. Maybe I wasn't a social expert. Maybe Brianna had better small talk game. But Jake was happy to see me, and honestly? That was enough.

"Sorry," I said, dropping my towel. "I was busy doing a tactical assessment of the pool area."

" naturally. He grinned. "Want to conduct your assessment from in here?"

I jumped in. The water was cold, Jake was smiling at me, and I was definitely, absolutely not feeling like a zombie anymore.