It was so comfortable, lying here. To the left, an endless meadow with wildflowers bending and swaying in unison, performing choreography arranged by the spring breeze. To the right, the ocean, also glittering and sparkling endlessly.

  He looked up.

  “Ever…”

  He was lying on her leg. The only thing separating him from the creamy skin of her soft thigh was her ivory sundress. She was leaning back slightly, pressing her hands into the grass, face up towards the sky. The sun was directly above them, showering them in hazy rays.

  “Who are you?” Ever asked. He looked up, shading his eyes from the gauzy light.

  She looked down; her face was at such an angle that still, he couldn’t make anything out. He had to sit up.

  “I can be whoever you want me to be.” She leaned in, smiling, before licking him across the lips, over and over and over…

  His eyes smacked open and he sat bolt upright, almost bouncing Mimi off the bed.

  “Were you licking me?” Ever wiped the excess spit off his lips; he might have swallowed some by accident.

  ^Well you were making a kissy face, so…^ the short-legged brown dog looked sort of bashful but completely unapologetic.

  His cell phone buzzed against the worn, wooden dresser next to the bed. Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, he picked it up: it was the number with no contact details. He stared at it for a few seconds, before swiping across.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Hello?” He rested the phone on the bed.

  “Ever hey, it’s Taylor.”

  “Morning.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m still in bed.”

  “In bed? Since when did you have a bed?”

  “Since…” Ever watched Mimi jump off and scamper over to the kitchen. “Since last week. I moved out of the cemetery.”

  “And you didn’t tell me?”

  Ever let the gravity of the silence grow heavier by the second.

  “I’m here now,” she said. It sounded like she was walking quickly. “I’m at the cemetery.”

  “Why did you go to the cemetery?”

  “I… I…” Ever couldn't help smiling a little as she stammered. “I wanted to come find you so we could walk to work together.”

  “I’m not working today, Logan didn’t roster me.”

  “Yeah well, I’m telling you that you are.”

  “You’re not my boss anymore.”

  Fully awake now, he stared at the timer on the phone. Taylor was quiet for eight seconds.

  “Ever, please.”

  Taylor? Saying 'please'? He chewed the inside of his cheek, watching the timer again. They had been talking for nearly ten minutes. 9:52… 9:53… 9:54… 9:55… 9:56… 9:57… 9:58… 9:59…

  “OK, I’ll come in.”

  “Awesome!” She said. “We’ve got some decorating to do. See ya!”

  Ever scratched his side while shuffling out of the bedroom. He found Mimi lapping at her water bowl.

  ^Who was that?^

  “A… friend.”

  ^You don’t sound very convinced.^

  “I’m going to go to work with her now.”

  ^Oh OK. Could you feed me first?^

  “Sure.”

  Mimi was right, he wasn’t very convinced - and maybe that was the way he wanted it.