For one perfect, silent moment, the awkwardness was no longer his alone. It had become a shared deluge. And he laughed.
He stood at the edge, holding a bag of chips, as eight other guests in linen shirts and sundresses sipped rosé on lounge chairs, fully dry. His toes curled over the concrete. Awkward was a gentle word for this. awkward. torrent
The invitation said “pool party,” so Marcus showed up in neon swim trunks and flip-flops. The backyard, however, held a kiddie pool—the hard plastic kind with a fading cartoon fish on the bottom. Three inches of tepid water. A single floating Band-Aid. For one perfect, silent moment, the awkwardness was
He looked down at his neon swim trunks, now legitimate attire. He looked up at the soaked, shivering partygoers clutching half-melted cheese plates. He stood at the edge, holding a bag