Page 16 of Wait For Me

“If I planned to stay, that would be the only way to make it happen at first.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Actually, I work for the hotel I’m staying in right now. Part of my pay goes toward my room rental, but then the rest goes in my savings for when I move on. It’s why I’m stuck here for a bit longer than I thought I would be. The cost to stay is almost too high.”

“What if it was too high? How would you get back home?”

“I have a safety net savings to get back home on, just in case.”

“Said it before, but you’re obviously a smart girl.”

“It’s common sense,” I argued.

“Not to most people. Believe me.”

“So, Zane Wall-Street Frik, what would you invest in, if you were trying to make some quick cash?”

“Investments should never be about the quick cash, you’ll lose most of it to taxes that way.” I stared at him and when he realized I was serious he pulled out his phone and then opened an app to show me a few things. I soaked every bit of what he had to say up like a dry sponge left out in the rain. It was the first really good thing that happened on my extended road trip, and for that moment in time, I thought maybe, fate did exist.

That night, when I got back to the hotel, I went against Zane’s advice and sank most of my emergency money into a crypto currency that looked like it might start to take off soon. I had this feeling in my gut. I just hoped it wasn’t another misstep on my part because that was all the money I had held back to get home eventually. $3,000 worth. Zane would tell me I was an idiot for the choice I made. Time would tell.

~*~

Zane managed to find me the next day while I was shopping for groceries. “Hey stranger, fancy meeting you here.”

“Hi.”

“Obviously, you’re buying groceries, but I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner tonight?”

“You want to take me out?” I asked curiously, wondering why he would want that.

He gave me an odd look for a minute before nodding his head. “Yes, on a date. You, me, dinner, maybe candlelight, at the very least some good food and crazy conversation.”

“The age difference doesn’t bother you?”

He chuckled. “Sweetheart, let me clue you in on a little something. When it comes to men, dating younger women is almost never an issue – so long as they’re legal. For most, it’s an ego boost when a younger woman agrees to date an older guy.”

“Ah, so your ego’s feeling deflated lately?” I teased.

“Well, hell, now it is.” I laughed along with him at that. “What do you say? I had an amazing time just sitting there talking with you last night and would love to do it again.”

“Sure, sounds like a good time. When and where?”

“Six and I’ll pick you up. Where are you staying?”

I shook my head. “You should know better by now. I’ll meet you.”

“All right, I will concede to you looking after your own safety.” He named the restaurant and I agreed to meet him there at six.

“Wait, do you have a car?”

“Road trip, remember?”

He grinned then. “Yeah, of course. Okay, see you at six then.”

~*~

Dinner was nothing to write home about, but the conversation was great though. It seemed as though Zane and I could talk about anything and everything together. Honestly, the way our conversations flowed, it was like the dreams I used to have about connecting with Jared. If only it could have been this way with him. Part of me was beginning to realize that the Jared I had placed in such an important position in my mind and heart wasn’t anything like the man known as Bagger in the real world. Maybe that was what happened as you grew up, you started to realize that dreams made fools of reality.

Because my conversation with Zane went so well, and I was so swept up in our easy way with one another, I made an error in judgment. It was one that would come back to bite me in my ass later, but at least, at the time, it turned into something wonderful. Maybe that was my lesson to learn in life – wonderful and sweet was always accompanied by the bitter pill you had to swallow after. This time, I was only partially jaded by the experience. We had an expiration date going into this thing. He was here temporarily on business, and I was just passing through. When I gave him my virginity, I did so knowing those things were true and that eventually we would part ways.

Two months later, when Zane was ready to go back home, he asked me to come with him. I thought about it. Everything had been moving in the right direction with Zane. We got along well, our conversations were never stilted, he listened when I spoke and was never condescending if I said something he didn’t think was accurate. We argued over the stock market and crypto currency after he found out that I sank my savings into some little-heard-of joke coin. That was the only fight we ever had.

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