And just like that, we’re back in Paris. Except, you know, we’re in New York.

“You saw my flyer,” I say.

Our foreheads touch, skin against skin, like we’re inseparable.

“Technically I didn’t,” he says. “I was on my way home from work, scrolling through Instagram, and I saw a picture of your poster. Someone shared it with a caption like, Oh, this is romantic. I only half read what it said and flicked past it. But something must have caught my eye, because a few seconds later, I was like, ‘Wait, what did that say again?’ By the way, I agree, it is romantic.”

I laugh but it comes out like a quiet shriek. We almost missed each other, again. I know it was always the risk in a city of eight million people—and when you don’t have the other’s phone number—but phew, I’m never making that mistake again. On that note…

“Can I have your phone?” I say, pulling from our embrace for a very good reason.

He raises an eyebrow but does as he’s asked after unlocking it.

“I’m saving myself as a contact,” I explain.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Zach says with a laugh as I type in my details. “But you’re right, it was kind of dumb of us.”

I look at him, my heart knocking against my chest. All this time I’ve been wondering and there it is, the truth. “Yeah, it was supposed to be this grand gesture but—”

Zach shakes his head as he cuts in. “I didn’t even know your last name, or the region you’re from.”

“It’s Lambert, and Touraine.”

“Mine is Miller. And anyway, I knew why we did what we did, but—”

“It made no sense in the light of day,” I finish for him.

I never admitted this to myself, but it’s true. We got swept up by the magic of the night, by what was happening to us. It was too beautiful, too pure, to look at through a screen for months to come.

“Well, we’re together now.” He kisses me again.

My lips remember his like no time has passed at all. This is what I was holding out for. This is what was always supposed to be.

He takes back his phone and says, “And now you have my number, too. But I really hope you won’t have to use it for a while.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve got all night.”

I smile. “Me too. I don’t have to be at work until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Work, huh? We have a lot to catch up on.” He kisses me again, softly. “Do you feel like going for a walk?”

“Um, yeah. This is what we do: walk around cities all night.” And kiss. Especially the kissing.

We walk to the south end of the Highline, exiting by the Whitney Museum, Luz’s favorite in the city. Then we head south, away from the busyness of the Meatpacking District and down the cobblestoned streets of the West Village, with their boutiques and little restaurants, still packed at this hour.

I tell him about my first few months in New York, skimming over my early days as a dishwasher, and happily bragging about being put on the line just a few weeks in. Zach seems thoroughly impressed.

“You know, I actually applied to Nutrio,” he says as we cross over to the waterfront. “But I hear the chef’s pretty intense.”

“I would say that rumor is one hundred percent correct. But isn’t that everyone in New York?”

“Wow,” Zach says with a laugh. “You’re even talking like a New Yorker now. Does that mean you’re staying here for good?”

It turns out that his contact at Le Bernardin—where he was supposed to work after coming back from his worldwide trip—had left before he got back. Zach never even stepped foot there. For the last few months, he’s been job-hopping, from the restaurant at a swanky hotel in SoHo to a retro burger joint in Harlem, and a few other places in between. He’s been struggling to find his place, where he’s meant to be, but he likes the diversity, too. I smile at this because I get it. This is our time for adventure and fun and figuring things out—and that’s why I’m in New York, too.

“What about your travels? I need all the stories! And the pictures. Please, I’ve been waiting for a year.”

He chuckles. “I’ll tell you about them, but we have time. There’s no need to rush.”

He’s right; I just want to be with him. No thoughts, just feelings. “I can’t believe you were right here, tonight, a few minutes away from me. What were the chances?”

“That we randomly meet in two different cities, across an ocean, over a year apart?” He smiles, looking exactly like I pictured him in my dreams.

“I guess we beat the odds.”

“And I’m so happy we did.” He stops us in the middle of the street and kisses me.

There will never be enough kisses.

We keep walking down to Washington Square Park, and without consulting each other, we plop down on a bench. I don’t feel like talking anymore, and by the look in Zach’s eyes, we’re on the same wavelength.

Suddenly, his hands are inside my coat on my lower back, mine in his thick short hair. We’re kissing and kissing and kissing until it feels like we’re going to run out. Of what, I’m not sure. I guess, technically the temperature is low right now—it’s almost midnight—but I don’t feel cold at all. Instead, I’m wrapped in his body, engulfed in his warmth, entranced by being in his presence again. I’m vaguely aware that the back rest is digging into me, and that people are playing chess at one of these stone tables nearby, but the world doesn’t matter anymore.

“You taste so good,” Zach whispers in my ear.

Electricity courses through me. It’s like no time has passed at all. I guess, in our hearts, it hasn’t. “This was definitely worth waiting for.”

Zach smirks—gosh he’s so sexy—his stare drilling through me. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

A year I waited for him, but my heart was marked with Zach’s touch. We were meant to be together; no one else could compare.

Eventually, we decide to head toward the Hudson River, holding on to each other tightly as we walk.

“Are you going to tell me about the poster now?” Zach says, when we reach the water.

I feel myself cringe on the inside. I forced destiny’s hand so hard. Should I really be surprised that it worked? Or maybe the tightness in my chest is not surprise, but disappointment that it took so long.

“After we missed each other in Times Square, I felt like I had to do something. I thought that maybe I could find you.”

He raises an eyebrow. I think back to the missions Ben and I went on together, all the fun we had and the hope I felt. I’m not going to mention another guy now, though. Zach doesn’t need to know everything just yet. Or maybe ever?

“And then I saw you,” I continue. “Across the subway platform, at Bedford Avenue. I called after you, I ran—it was you, right? A Monday night around eleven p.m., at the end of September?”

Zach searches his mind for a moment. “Yeah, my friend lives around there, and we often hang out on Monday nights, when I’m off.”

The confirmation hits me harder than I thought it would. It wasn’t for nothing that I ran away into the night and made things all messy with Ben.

“Anyway, you were gone,” I say. “I’d come so close and—” I stop again. None of it matters now.

I let the silence settle for a while, but my mind is bubbling up. “Did you ever think we should have done things differently?”

Zach takes a deep breath. “Yes. No. I went over it in my head a lot.”

He tells me about the train to Berlin, the next destination on his backpacking trip, and how he thought about me the whole way.

“Did you ever think to look for me after we missed each other in Times Square?” My voice is a whisper. He was there. He said he was there. Was he really there? I’m glad it’s dark around us. Night always helps bring bravery out of me; I’m not so daring in the daylight.

Zach shrugs, averts his eyes. “How?”

“I don’t know,” I say, even though I totally do.

I called the restaurant he was supposed to work at. I searched Instagram and TikTok back to front. I enlisted a friend—we came up with a list, and let it take us all over the city. If I did all these things, Zach could have as well. He could have called every restaurant in a two-hour radius around Paris. He could have contacted Le Tablier and asked about one of their students. And there are probably other ways I’m not thinking of. But that wasn’t our deal. It wasn’t the plan.

It’s getting pretty cold now, especially by the water, but this night cannot end. We cross over to the other side of Manhattan, exploring the quiet streets of Chinatown, with all its colorful signs and pieces of street art painted on the sides of buildings. Slowly, we make our way up Bowery, Zach wrapping his arm around me to keep me warm, and soon find ourselves on the Lower East Side. There are enough bars and clubs in this area that we see people on almost every block. Still, the city feels like ours to explore. Every corner of New York turns out to be a perfect spot to kiss Zach.

“When can I see you again?” Zach says as we enter a twenty-four-hour diner. The booths are made of black vinyl and squeak as we snuggle up on the same side.

I smile. “Today? Tomorrow, every day?”

Yes, there’s work. But I can’t picture doing anything other than being with Zach.

I order blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and Zach gets fries and mac and cheese. Of course, as soon as our meals arrive, I want his and he ogles mine, so we end up splitting everything. It’s weird and delicious and comforting. Heaven.

“What?” he says, when I’ve been staring at him too long.

“I can’t believe we’re together again.”

He laughs and kisses me, his lips sticky with maple syrup.

“My family is arriving in town for my dad’s wedding on Saturday. Do you want to come?”

I’m trying to sound casual, even though this very question has been on my mind for the last hour. I know it’s fast. Luz would not approve. But Zach is part of my life; he has been for a whole year.

“Of course I do. Should I wear a suit?”

I nod. “With a tie and your absolute best dancing shoes. It’s going to be so wonderful!”

“I can’t wait.”

My heart fills with glee. This is what life should be all about, non? You make plans and you work hard and you allow yourself to dream. Then, when you least expect it, everything falls into place, exactly how you imagined it would.