“Well, I get off in about an hour. Interested in going to dinner?” I ask, and slightly falter my voice.
“I’d love to.”
See, she is interested, and I should have just called her yesterday, idiot. My mind mulls over where we should go, and a restaurant comes to mind.
“Okay, do you want me to come pick you up or meet you there?” I ask, because I want her to be able to decide. She might feel more comfortable driving herself for an easy exit.
“No, I’ll text you my address. I’ll see you in about two hours?”
“Yeah about seven-ish. Bye,” I say, before hanging up.
Pedro looks over at me, and smiles. “See. Just do it. You’re a good guy and deserve someone.”
We spend the next hour playing poker, and Pedro is whooping my ass. I don’t know why I keep agreeing to play when I don’t think I’ve won a single hand. He tells me about his kid fixing to graduate high school and how stressful it is. Apparently, they are short of his tuition for the college he wants to go to, and he’ll have to pick up a second job to make ends meet. This guy already works his ass off, and so does his wife. I hate to see people having to work two jobs and never get to enjoy their lives.
This is the main reason why I have been frugal with my money. The inheritance I received from my mom and dad is sitting in an interest building account, and won’t be touched until I decide to retire. Technically, with the money I have saved, I can retire by the time I'm fifty and pay myself $25,000 a year and have enough to sustain me until I’m seventy and still have some left over. It’s easier when you have a house that is paid off and no car note.
Pedro deserves to enjoy his life, and not struggle at every corner. “Listen, have you had him look into scholarships? They have scholarships for almost everything nowadays. That’s something I would have him look into before you take a second job. You need time to decompress, man.”
Not everyone is as fortunate as me and my brothers, but I don’t take it for granted. Some people will go out and blow their money away like Aiden, but Damon and I are doing things right. We know that eventually we are going to want to retire, and be able to travel and enjoy life. So instead of buying a million-dollar home or a fancy car that doesn’t really matter, we put ours into accounts that build it up over time.
It’s three minutes until six and a shower is calling my name. We didn’t receive any calls today, but I’m not one to go out with someone without showering.
“Enjoy your date tonight. Let me know how it goes,” Pedro says, walking past me and my truck.
I jump in and head to my house, take a quick shower, and then pick out something decent to wear. The bad thing is I have no clue where I’m even going to take her yet.
All that matters is she said yes, and tonight I ‘m going to kiss her good night like a real fucking man.