Ever sat in the darkness. The autumn zephyrs hid behind the trees in the park, before gusting out and snatching the remaining warmth that Gaia had left behind. Ever hugged himself, suddenly aware that he was really hungry. He stood up and started walking out of the park and down Lygon Street.

  In the past, Lygon Street had been very European influenced: pizzas, pastas, souvlakis, gyros, paellas and more. Over time, it became more multicultural, offering Chinese, Japanese and Korean options. He let his gut decide where to eat and tonight, it took him past the Italian and Greek comfort foods towards the Asian end of town.

  His first instinct was to go with what he knew: the little Chinese place run by the husband and wife. Seeing that the lights were off, he decided to go to the ramen place on the other side of the street.

  “Irasshaimase!” The chef called from the back room, not taking his eyes off the multitude of pots and pans. Ever raised one finger and the front-of-house staff bowed and led him to a table along the wall. He looked at the menu briefly, pointed at the first option on the first page and let the waitress take the menu away.

  Ever pulled out the phone from his pocket; it had just started to vibrate.

  “Zoe?” He passed the phone to his other side, leaning into the wall.

  “Try to sound a bit happier to hear me.”

  “No… I mean yes, I’m happy to hear from you.”

  There was silence for a while. Ever pushed the smartphone against the side of his head, leaving an ear print on the glass.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “It was good to see you again,” Zoe said. Ever realized at that point that besides Logan, he hadn’t spoken to anyone else on the phone. It had been all through text until now. Gauging tone and meaning through words was difficult. Just going off voice wasn’t a whole lot easier.

  “It was nice to see you too.” He paused, touching his cheek. Amidst the emotional rollercoaster that Taylor had put him on, he hadn’t even registered that Zoe had given him a kiss until now. “I’m glad that you came.”

  “Where are you? Sounds busy.”

  “I’m having dinner at the Japanese ramen restaurant down the road from Pagoto’s.”

  “Oh? Any good?”

  “I don’t know, it's my first time here. I’ll send you a picture.”

  A big, steaming bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. He put the phone down for a moment and snapped a pair of bamboo chopsticks.

  “Hey, it would be good to meet again. Preferably just the two of us?”

  Now it was Ever’s turn to be quiet as he opened up a second line of communication.

  *Mentor, is she flirting with me?*

  More than that, she wants some!

  *Wants some what?*

  …Just say yes.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Yay!” Zoe squealed. “I um… where do you want to go? Actually, you know what? Go and eat first.”

  “Alright, I’ll send the photo first. Talk to you soon.”

  He hung up, then took a photo of the bowl of ramen. Picking Zoe from his short contact list, he added the photo and sent it off. The bowl of ramen was one of the best dinners he’d ever had.