Finders Keepers

I sat on the corner of the cafe, a cup of coffee on the table and sketchbook on my lap. What Alex told me during our lunch earlier had been lingering in my mind.

“Don’t hold on to Zack too much.”

“Alex,” Lisa said sternly, glaring.

“No, Lisa, she needs to know.”

“Know what?” I asked.

Alex sighed, scratching the back of his neck. “I don’t want to hurt you, but before it’s too late, it’s better if you don’t be too close to him.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“Listen, Penny. Zack is never serious with a girl. He shows a girl that he cares but after a few months he’ll leave her. I’m telling you this so you’d know before he hurt you.”

“Well, maybe I’m different.”

“Trust me, you’re not.”

“He’s sweet to me.”

“And so did he to the other girls.”

“Maybe I’m an exception because I’m his bestfriend’s sister.”

“Stop being so stubborn!”

“It’s in our blood!” I retorted. “And I’m not going to stop spending time with him because it’s too late, Alex. I’m falling for him.”

He sighed again. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you, kid.”

What if Alex was right? What if Zack wasn’t serious and just used me as variety because I’m not American? Because so far, I don’t know what he felt about me and I was too scared to ask about it.

My hand moved up and down as I shaded the sketch of the cafe, my head nodding lightly to the beat of the song I was listening to in my iPod. Suddenly someone plugged out an earphone from my ear. I looked to where they were from and found Nathan plugging in the earphone, his other hand holding a cup of coffee.

“12-51? It’s my favourite from The Strokes. Nice choice,” he grinned and excused himself to sit across me, after taking out the earphone. I turned off my iPod and kept it in my bag and continued to sketch. “What are you drawing?”

I shrugged. “The cafe.”

He eyed me for a moment as he sipped his coffee. “Is something in your mind?”

My head snapped up. “What?”

“You seem a bit troubled.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, a little.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I stared at him. “I just know you, Nathan. We met twice and you expect me to tell you my personal stuff?”

He laughed. I realised when he did so, his eyes were narrower. “You’re right. I just feel like I’m drawn to you, that’s all. Feeling like I want to know you more.”

“I’m flattered,” I said plainly and continued drawing.

He laughed again. “You’ll love me once you get to know me.”

I looked up at him. “You’re so confident.”

“Come on,” he grinned. “You’ll warm up to me. How about dinner tomorrow at 7?”

“No,” I smiled sweetly.

“What, do you have a boyfriend?”

My smile faded. Boyfriend? Was Zack my boyfriend? “No, but—“

“Great! I’ll wait for you in front of the cafe,” he decided as he stood up, bringing his cup of coffee along.

“I didn’t even say yes!” I shouted but he just held up his coffee and drunk it.

- - -

Later that night, I was reading a biography about a painter named Affandi in my room. His paintings had this traditional accent (the moment you saw them, you could immediately tell that he was from South East Asia) and I really loved it. He was the reason why I started painting, and I really looked up to him as my inspiration. Whenever I was stuck with my painting, I looked at his and felt inspired all over again.

My phone started ringing next to me on the sofa. I checked the caller ID and it was Zack.

“What are you doing?” he said after we exchanged hellos.

I felt a smile creeping up my face. “Reading a biography about a painter. You?”

“Flicking through TV channels. Nothing good is on.”

I chuckled. “Nothing is ever good on TV nowadays.”

“True that,” he sighed and I could hear him lowering down the TV volume. “So... anything new happened today?”

“We last met over twelve hours ago, and you’re asking me if anything new happened?”

“I guess so, yeah.” He laughed and the image of his dimples and musically laughter flashed in my mind. It made me smile even wider.

And then came along the thought of Nathan asking me out.

“Well, actually... a guy asked me out. He’s Jane’s brother.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. The only thing I could hear was the vague sound of TV. “And what did you say?”

“He kind of... decided by himself. I said no, but he insisted when I told him I didn’t have a boyfriend.” I paused. “Which is true.”

Another silence. “Well, have fun. I’ve never met him but he sounds like a fun guy.”

“He is,” I lied. I didn’t know him yet.

I heard him chuckling. “Are you sure you’re single?”

Nope. “Yeah. I mean, no one’s asked me to be their girlfriend for so far I remember.”

Another silence. This time, it was longer. “I got to go. I must wash the dishes. I’ll see you around.” We exchanged goodbyes and he hung up.

Wash the dishes? Really? I never heard a lamer excuse in my life. He brought up the ‘single’ topic but avoided it. What the hell?

My phone rang again. This time it was a number I didn’t recognise.

“Hello?”

“Penny! This is Nathan.”

I knitted my eyebrows together. “How did you get my number?”

“I asked Jane for it, I forgot to ask you earlier. Are we still on tomorrow night? ‘Cause you know, I realised I didn’t really ask for your decision and decided myself.”

Nathan was brought to his senses. Maybe he was a bit pushy, but unlike other pushy people, he asked for my opinion. I was about to reject his offer again when the thought of Zack’s lame excuse to avoid my relationship status a few seconds earlier. It pissed me off.

“Yeah, sure.”