My Beautiful

Chapter 4

“Get yourself together, Xian!” I told myself, slapping my cheeks as I stared at the rearview mirror of my car. My anxiety level was at its highest due to my upcoming meeting with Kim, but some things I learned from Paul yesterday about her and her family made me more nervous than ever. This news about Kim shouldn’t worry me – it didn’t concern me – but somehow it bugged me … really fucking bugged me I couldn’t sit still.

Kim had made me wait for a week before she finally set a date to meet with me. She wanted to have coffee at this famous coffee house in BGC. I had been too excited to see her I had arrived forty-five minutes earlier than the scheduled time. It didn’t help that I was becoming increasingly anxious as the seconds ticked. I blew out a big breath through my mouth, hoping to calm myself down. It wouldn’t help me any bit if I was giddy as fuck when she saw me.

I glanced at my watch and finally got out of my car, making my way towards our meeting place.  

I easily got us a table at the secluded portion of the coffee house. There were some who glanced as I walked by, but I ignored them. When I was being groomed for Anton Lim-Uy’s position as the next president to his group of companies, I had been seen frequently on television, making me recognizable anywhere I went.

A waitress came forward to get my order and I declined, wanting to do the ordering when Kim arrived. The waitress walked away without another word, and I was left doing nothing. A few minutes passed of me sitting idly and me checking my Iphone for e-mails before Kim arrived.

I saw her walking towards our table as soon as I raised my head from my phone, and quickly stood up like the gentleman I was raised up to be.  My eyes never left hers as she inched closer. She was dressed so casually in jeans and white shirt, but damn if she wasn’t gorgeous. She smiled tentatively, and the lump in my throat increased.

“Hi,” she greeted. “I’m sorry if I’m late.”

“No, you’re exactly on time,” I said. I moved to help her with her chair, but she quickly sat down, prompting me to do the same.

“So, gusto mo ng umorder?” I asked her.

“Yeah.” She motioned for a waitress for the menu.

“It’s my fist time dito. Do you have a suggestion on what I should have?”

“Their drip coffee is good. You wanna try it?”

I placed the menu on the table and nodded. At this point, I would have ordered whatever she suggested.

She leaned back on her chair, and rearranged her bag on her lap to her side. The silence between us started to become uncomfortable, and I was about to say something when she spoke.

 “So …” she clasped her hand together and gave me a tight smile “… ano ang gusto mong pag-usapan?”

I laughed, loving how she went straight to the point. I assumed this was the reason why she chose to have a coffee meeting at three in the afternoon, rather than lunch or dinner, so we only had little time to chat.

She arched an eyebrow at me in challenge, clearly asking why I found her question amusing. I grinned, loving her spunk. She seemed to be a little more assertive now – not that she wasn’t before – but there was a little more sass and stubbornness in her tone I loved.

“Ikaw naman … kararating mo lang, parang atat na atat ka ng umalis.”

“Well, you wanted to talk … so here I am to do just that, Xian.”

She sounded so serious, and I sighed. This was a no non-sense coffee date to her … well, not actually a date. I should be thankful she had actually agreed to see me.