Paris welcomed him with the soft clatter of a taxi door and the smell of warm bread trailing from a boulangerie nearby. The streets were still wet from a morning rain, glistening under a shy sun. Evan stepped out near Rue Montorgueil, a street alive with chatter, colorful awnings, and the smell of espresso curling through the air.
He stood still for a moment, letting the sound of Paris settle into him.
Then, he reached for his camera.
Click. A café owner arranging croissants in the window.
Click. A couple laughing mid-kiss, wine glasses in hand.
Click. A crumbling building with ivy spilling over the balcony.
Click. His cappuccino, foamed into the shape of a clumsy heart.
Later that afternoon, he took a video. The light was golden. He held the camera up, slightly awkward but honest.
"Hey Selene… I'm here. Paris. Look—" he turned the lens slowly, showing cobbled streets, the Seine in the distance, and a street musician playing jazz.
"Everything is kind of perfect… but I miss laughing with you."
He almost posted it.
Almost.
Instead, he saved it to his drafts and put his phone away.
That night, the bar was dim and smelled of old wood and bitters. He sat near the counter, alone, his camera bag slung over the stool beside him.
« Un verre de vin rouge, s'il vous plaît. »
One glass of red wine, please.
He sipped slowly, eyes on the map on his phone, thinking through the next week. Montmartre, Le Marais, the Catacombs. Maybe he'd finally visit the Shakespeare & Company bookstore again.
"Hi," said a voice beside him. "Are you here to explore too?"
He looked up. An American girl, probably mid-twenties, with a pink beret she clearly bought today and a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.
"Hii," Evan said, offering a polite smile. "Yeah, kind of."
"I'm Lena," she said, stretching out her hand.
Evan shook her hand. "I'm Evan."
"So are you traveling solo… or waiting for someone?"
"Amm Solo, yeah" Evan said nodding and thinking
"I'm here with my boyfriend who's… very busy doing boring business stuff, which means I've had exactly two days of sulking and zero fun."
"Sounds like a terrible trip."
"It was—until I had this crazy idea." She grinned. "We should wander Paris together."
Evan raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a fun idea for you. But I'm not exactly good at being harmless company."
Lena rolled her eyes dramatically. "God. Relax. We're not gonna have sex in the catacombs or something. We're just gonna explore."
Evan blinked. "You say that like it's a normal disclaimer."
"It's Paris. I've seen weirder," she said, grinning. ""Come on. You look like someone who needs to wander. And I'm extremely bored. Plus, there isn't a single person here I can talk to without being judged for being American. And you—well, I saw you speak French…"
She raised an eyebrow, playful.
"That makes you instantly useful."
Evan said smirking "What's in it for me then?"
Lena (grinning) "The honor of my wildly unpredictable company."
She gave him a mock-curtsy. "Limited-time offer."
Evan smirked despite himself, shaking his head. "I literally just wandered into this bar to plan my quiet, non-chaotic solo week."
"So you're saying you do have time?"
"…I'm saying I might regret it"
"Cool." She clinked her glass with his. "Let's get lost tomorrow. But like, in a fun, platonic, not-naked way."
Evan laughed. "You really have a way with words."
"You should hear me order in French. I think I accidentally asked for goat intestines this morning."
They both laughed.