I’m the first to arrive at our meeting place. It’s understandable since I left an hour early. I order my favorite coffee and a slice of pie. I’m not a fan of having a heavy meal in the morning because it upsets my stomach, or maybe I just got used to the times in the province when we didn’t have anything to eat. I push those painful memories away.

I take my laptop and other documents out of my bag while waiting for my order. I’m about to message Gen to come earlier when I realize that I don’t have my phone with me. I pat all my pockets and I check my bag, but I can’t find it. I try to remember if I took it out on my way here but I’m sure that I didn’t. Maybe I left it at the condo. Anyway, it’s our regular meeting so they don’t have to be reminded.

I haven’t noticed how much time passed, but when I check the clock mounted on the wall of the café, it’s almost 10 o’clock already. The door of the café opened so I turn around, expecting it to be Gen or any of my org mates. Instead, a very striking Ian is walking towards me, hands in his pockets. I can see that some of the people in the café are glancing in his direction. Ian stops right in front of me. I look at him in confusion.

“What are you doing here?” I ask Ian. “Are you meeting someone?”

He leans slightly to my ear and whispers, “Yes. My ex-boyfriend.”

Getting used to his teasing, I whisper back, “He’s not available. He’s waiting for someone else.”

He laughs and sits on the chair across me. A waitress immediately appears beside him to take his order.

“I’ll have what he’s eating. Thank you.”

The waitress shuffles back inside to prepare his order.

“Seriously. What are you doing here?” I ask Ian once again. “My org mates are arriving soon. If you’ll be staying, you should move to another table.”

“They’re not coming.”

“What are you saying? Of course, they’re coming.”

“You left your phone at the condo,” Ian explains, handing me my phone. “Gen was calling you earlier, but she said no one’s answering so she called me instead. She told me to tell you that they decided to postpone the meeting to give you enough time to search for a new apartment.”

“Why didn’t they tell me earlier?” I can’t hide my annoyance at them for making a decision without consulting me.

“Well, to be fair to Gen, she called you early. She just didn’t expect that you’d left an hour ahead of your schedule.”

He has a point. But still. I’m allowed to feel a little bit of annoyance.

The waitress comes back with Ian’s order. I wait for her to setup his food before asking for my bill. The good thing is I can search for a place earlier than I intended. I just hope that there’s still a lot of vacant apartments for rent. At this time of the year, almost all the affordable apartments are occupied by students like me.

“Thank you for bringing my phone,” I turn to Ian. “I guess I’ll go ahead now.”

“Wait,” he stops me. “Let me just finish my food. I’ll go with you.”

“What? I thought you said you have to run some errands?”

“Yes, but it can wait,” he says with his mouth full. He’s trying to finish his food as he can. “I can drive you around. I brought my car.”

As much as I hate asking other people for help, I can see the practicality of letting Ian drive me. Aside from the fact that I’ll save some money for fare, I can cover a greater area with his car.

“Okay,” I agree reluctantly. “But I’ll reimburse you for your gas.”

He knows me too well to argue with me. “Okay. Deal.”

When the waitress comes back with my bill, Ian is already finished with his food. He snatches the bill from the waitress hand before I can reach for it. He gives the waitress enough cash for our meal, and a generous tip to the waitress.

“Stop doing that,” I complain at him. “I can pay for my own food.”

“What? You think I’m treating you?” he looks at me in fake disbelief. “You’ll be paying for our lunch later.”

“Whatever. Let’s just go. I want to finish early so I’ll have time to sort my things out.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

He picks up my bag before I can protest, slinging it over his shoulder. He quickly walks away before I can snatch it back from him. I follow him outside to his car. I just hope that we can find an apartment quickly. I don’t want to spend time with Ian more than necessary.