Chapter 6
Jalen looked herself over in the mirror.
She was going out with Rohan, and she was nervous.
It had been a while since she’d gone on a date, and that one hadn’t ended well.
They’d gotten to talking, and she told him she had five girls at home that she took care of.
She hadn’t told him they were her sisters, but she didn’t feel the need to.
If he was trying to date her, it didn’t matter her relationship to them; the fact that she took care of them wouldn’t change.
In this situation, she had already told Rohan that she took care of five girls, and he had still asked her out. She had to give him brownie points for that. As did Kodi when she asked Jalen if he knew about them.
While that seemed to be a good sign, she still had not told any of her other siblings that she was going on a date.
She just didn’t want to make anything too serious out of what was happening.
So, she decided she would go on this date first and see how it went.
Then, maybe after some time had passed, if they were still dating, she would let her other siblings know.
Being the oldest, there would never come a time when she thought she needed her younger siblings’ permission to date anyone.
However, since she was their guardian and anyone she dated would have to realize that she and her siblings were a package deal, she wanted her sisters to be comfortable with that person.
“You look pretty.”
Jalen turned around to find Kodi standing in her doorway. Her little sister was leaning against the doorframe, eating a bell pepper.
Jalen looked down at the outfit she was wearing. She’d decided on a navy and white dress with a slit up the left side, along with a pair of white heels. “Thank you.”
“I take it he’s taking you somewhere nice by the way you’re dressed. So, bonus points to him.”
“We’re going to Casemia, but I’m meeting him there. He didn’t want me to feel uncomfortable with him picking me up.”
“Even more bonus points for him. I told the others that you had some things you needed to take care of tonight. But you know Mikal and Landon had a million and one questions.”
Jalen laughed. “I bet they did. They’re both so nosy.”
“True. However, Landon and Mikal are in our room right now. Landon is on the phone with that boy from school, and Mikal is eavesdropping. The twins are in their room having a tea party. So, now’s your chance to get out of here without the masses grilling you.”
“I shouldn’t be home too late.”
Kodi waved her off. “Take your time and have fun. We’ll be alright here.”
Grabbing her purse, Jalen exited the bedroom door.
Stopping to kiss her little sister on the forehead and thank her.
Kodi leaned down to make it easier for her.
She knew that on a Friday night, most teenagers would go out, but Kodi had volunteered to stay home and watch their younger siblings.
Even though Jalen told her that she would get a babysitter.
Going down the hallway, Jalen grabbed her keys off the hook and headed out of the front door. She checked the time once she was in the car. It was going on six forty. They had a reservation for seven o’clock. She figured she had enough time to make it there if traffic wasn’t too bad.
As she drove towards the restaurant, she shook off some of her nervousness. She wasn’t normally a nervous person. However, she didn’t need a repeat of the things that happened on her last date.
Jalen pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant with five minutes to spare. They had a valet service, but she parked her own car. She was very finicky about whom she allowed to drive it.
When she approached the front door, she saw Rohan standing there waiting for her. Jalen stopped for a moment and looked him over. He was wearing navy slacks and a white button-up. She knew he was attractive, but she was reminded just how much so at that moment.
As he looked up and saw her, a smile spread across his face. He approached her, took her hand in his, and brought it to his lips to place a soft kiss on it.
“You look beautiful,” he complimented.
“Thank you,” she responded. “Are you spying on me?” she then questioned playfully, looking him up and down.
“Great minds think alike,” he told her. “Are you ready to go in?”
Jalen nodded at him, and with her hand still in his, he led her into the restaurant as an attendant opened the door. They approached the hostess at the stand.
“How can I help you?” she questioned.
“Reservation for Rohan Murphy.”
She looked over the list before grabbing two menus and asking them to follow her.
Once they were at the table, Rohan released her hand, pulling her chair out for her as the hostess placed their menus on the table.
Jalen had never been to Casemia; however, she had gotten food from there before during a dinner at the hospital. The tables were spaced out, and the lighting was soft. It gave a romantic feel. When she brought her attention back to the table, she found him looking at her.
“Would you mind if I ordered a bottle of wine?”
“Red wine?” she questioned with a scrunch of her nose.
Rohan chuckled. “I can order a bottle of white wine if you aren’t a fan of red.”
“Please,” she responded.
As the waitress came over with a pitcher of water, Jalen picked up the menu and looked it over. It didn’t take her long to decide that she wanted the grilled quail with asparagus and rosemary potatoes.
Placing her menu down, she picked up the glass of water in front of her and took a sip. When she placed the glass back down, she again found Rohan looking at her.
“Have I told you how gorgeous you look?”
Jalen smiled. “You’ve said something along those lines. I don’t think I’ve told you how handsome you look.”
“Thank you. Have you decided what you’d like to order?” Jalen nodded as she twisted her glass from side to side. “How are your girls?” he questioned.
Jalen smiled. She thought it was sweet that he had asked her about her sisters. “They’re good. It’s the weekend, so it’s their favorite time of the week. How is Alynn?”
“She’s doing well. She wasn’t excited to go back to school a few weeks ago after her surgery, and now she wants to have a sit-down with the creator of school hours and have a discussion.”
The two of them chuckled. Jalen had the same issue with Mikal sometimes. While she liked school, she didn’t want to be there for seven hours out of the day.
The waitress returned with the wine and glasses, pouring one for each of them. She then took their orders, and once she was gone, the two proceeded with small talk.
????????????
Rohan watched as Jalen took the last bite of her key lime pie. He’d ordered chocolate cake himself. Flagging the waitress, he asked her for the check when she came over.
“That was honestly one of the best key lime pies I’ve had in a while,” Jalen told him.
“I’ve never been a fan of key lime.”
“Blasphemy,” she replied in mock shock, causing him to chuckle.
When the waitress came back with the ticket, Rohan took his wallet out, placing his credit card inside the check folder before handing it back to her.
“Was your cake good?” Jalen questioned.
“It was. I typically get the chocolate cake for dessert when I come here.”
“I’ll have to try it next time I come. Desserts and sweets are my guilty pleasure.”
“We can come back whenever you want,” he told her, and he meant it.
When the waitress came back, Rohan took his card and placed it in his wallet before signing the receipt, adding a tip.
“What do I owe you?” Jalen asked. Rohan shook his head.
“I asked you out.” She glared at him for a moment.
“You can leave the tip,” he said, even though he already had.
He’d suspected that she wouldn’t want him to pay for her food.
So, he’d decided to let her leave the tip, even before they’d started dinner.
“Next time, I’m paying,” she told him as she placed some cash on the table.
Rohan remained quiet but smiled at her. One, because she’d said next time, which meant she wanted to see him again. Two, because he would not let her pay any time; however, he wouldn’t tell her that just yet.
It was almost nine-thirty when they walked out of the restaurant. It was unusually cool for September. Rohan popped the mint he’d gotten on the way out.
“I know it’s getting late, but I want to take you somewhere,” he informed Jalen as he watched her do the same.
“Okay. Is it far?”
“No, it isn’t.”
Rohan led her over to his car and opened the passenger door for her. Where he wanted to take her was only about three blocks, but he didn’t want to have her walk there in her heels.
It took only a few minutes for them to pull up at their destination.
Getting out of the car, Rohan walked around to her side and opened the door for her.
He had brought her to Papago Park. There were several parks in town, but this one, in his opinion, was the best. When the sun went down, soft coral-colored lights lit up the area.
While the atmosphere was nice, that was only one reason he’d brought her to this park. They also had paddle boats, and that was what he wanted to take her on. They stayed open until ten-thirty on the weekend, so they had plenty of time to enjoy a ride.
Rohan took her hand, finding that he liked the feel of her soft hand in his, and led her over to the paddle boat rental. Once he’d filled out the paperwork and they'd signed the waivers. He paid, despite her objection, before helping her into the boat.
He was sure trying to pedal with heels on would be difficult, and he also didn’t want her to do it barefoot. He knew they cleaned the boats after each use, but he didn’t mind moving them along.
“I’ll move us along; you just relax,” he told her.
“I’ve never been to this park at night. It’s really pretty,” Jalen stated.
“It is. I bring Alynn here sometimes since it isn’t too far from my brother’s house,” he replied, glancing over. There was only one other boat on the water, and it wasn’t close to them, but he still wanted to be cautious. “They do puppet shows, mime shows, and things like that.”
“That sounds like fun. I’ll have to bring the girls. The twins will love it.”
Rohan smiled at her. She hadn’t spoken much about her girls when they were at dinner. Though he’d inquired about them, she had given him vague answers. He understood she didn’t want to tell him too much too early on.
“I’m sure they’d have fun. On warm days, there are ice cream and shaved ice vendors. When it gets cooler, they have cocoa during the shows.”
“For ice cream, I just may come by myself.”
He laughed along with her. She had told him she was a fan of desserts and sweets. He could see that she had not been joking about it.
They spent another twenty minutes on the lake before they headed back to turn the boat in.
Once they were back in Casemia’s parking lot, Rohan got out to open her door for her. He’d parked beside her car, but his mother had raised him right. When she unlocked her door, he opened it as she turned to him.
“I had a great time tonight. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. So let’s make a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“A deal that you won’t make me wait two weeks until I can take you out again.”
Rohan watched as she bit her bottom lip. “I think I can do that.”
Grabbing her hand, he brought it to her lips, placing a kiss on it. “You just let me know when. Goodnight, gorgeous.”
“Goodnight, Rohan.”
When she had slid into her car, Rohan closed the door and stepped back. He watched her pull out before going back to his car and getting in. He wanted to take her out again next week, but he knew she had other responsibilities, so he would wait until she was free.