The night hung heavy,  

streetlights flashing by in a blur of gold and shadow.  

Evan gripped the steering wheel, eyes on the road,  

mind spinning in chaos.  

That kiss outside her apartment—  

he could still feel it,  

the warmth of her lips,  

the quiet trace of her perfume,  

and her last soft words: *“Take care on your way.”*  

Too vivid to be a dream.  

Too brief to be enough.  

The car hummed down the empty streets,  

and suddenly his chest tightened.  

Because he knew—  

by now she would be changing clothes,  

putting on her uniform,  

painting that calm, professional smile.  

She’d walk back into the hotel’s golden light,  

into the noise and the laughter,  

the same faces that blurred into one another.  

Men with glasses half-filled,  

words half-true.  

And she would smile for them.  

Not for him.  

The thought stabbed straight through him.  

*If only I’d worked harder years ago,* he thought.  

*If I’d taken every job, pushed through every night—*  

Maybe things would’ve been different.  

Maybe she wouldn’t have to be there.  

Maybe he could’ve been someone she could lean on,  

someone who could pull her out of that world.  

Now, all he could do was watch from a distance—  

the boy of daylight,  

helpless against the woman who belonged to night.  

By the time the car rolled into his neighborhood,  

his head throbbed from overthinking.  

He parked in front of Zhang’s house,  

took a long breath,  

and only then realized his palms were slick with sweat.  

He grabbed the keys and rang the bell.  

Zhang appeared in the doorway, solid and grinning.  

“Well, kid,” he said,  

“how was it? The drive go smooth?”  

Evan forced a smile. “Yeah. Smooth.”  

He wanted to say something more—anything—  

but swallowed it down.  

Zhang gave him a look,  

one that seemed to read more than it said.  

Then he chuckled, clapped Evan on the shoulder.  

“Not bad, huh? Next time, dinner’s on you.”  

He paused, grin widening.  

“And remember—bring the girlfriend.”  

Evan froze, heat rushing up his neck.  

“Uh—yeah.”  

The word stumbled out, dry as paper.  

Zhang just laughed louder and waved him off.  

Outside, the air was cool again.  

Evan walked toward his small rented apartment,  

the night pressing close around him.  

But Zhang’s teasing still echoed in his head—  

*Bring the girlfriend.*  

The words looped again and again,  

half joke, half truth,  

and all it did was make his heart burn hotter.