Chapter 11 #2
He figured that was why he’d been single for a bit now.
he was sure his brother would eventually figure all that out on his own.
Even though Trent was the older of the two, people learned things at different times.
Though Rohan wanted him to learn this lesson ASAP because he was tired of being his wingman.
“Did you hear me?” the brunette beside him questioned, and he blinked out of his thoughts.
“I’m sorry?” he inquired.
“I asked what you did for a living.”
“Oh, I’m a marketing manager. What about you?” he asked. Though he was far from interested, he would not be outright rude.
“I’m a foot model,” she told him with a smile, and Rohan felt his eyebrow twitch but was able to keep it from rising at her statement.
“Sounds like…interesting work,” he responded before taking a drink from the beer he’d ordered ten minutes ago.
“It pays the bills,” she stated.
He didn’t respond. He simply looked out over the bar they were at.
In that moment, he would have preferred they’d gone to a noisy club.
At least then he’d have an excuse to act like he didn’t hear her.
It was silent between them, and he wondered if it would stay that way.
The answer to that thought came a few minutes later.
“They look like they’re having fun together,” she said, gesturing to his brother and her...friend? He honestly wasn’t sure.
His brother had his arm thrown over the back of the raven-haired woman’s chair. He was whispering something in her ear, and from the way she was shifting in her seat, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was.
Rohan could definitely take the hint she was throwing out by bringing her attention to the fun, as she had called it.
He had no plans of participating in it. As he was trying to find the least offensive way to tell her so, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Pulling it out, he saw Jalen’s name flash across the screen. Saved by the bell, he thought.
“Hey, baby,” he answered, and he felt the woman in the chair next to him stiffen.
“Hey, you sound like you’re busy. Did I interrupt something?”
“No, you didn’t. I’m not doing anything important,” he told her. The woman in the seat, who had been trying to lean closer and hear Jalen’s side of the conversation, made an almost distressed noise at his statement, and he honestly wondered why.
“Are...you sure?” Jalen questioned. He assumed she might have heard the woman beside him.
“I’m sure.” He thought for a moment about the best way to get the other woman to leave. “Did you have fun with the girls?” he questioned.
“I did. We were out longer than I thought we would be.”
“I’m glad you had fun, but I missed you all day today.” He paused for a moment. “Do you want me to come home?” He figured, to hell with trying to get her to go away, he would give himself an excuse to leave that wouldn’t require him having to hurt her feelings if she couldn’t take no for an answer.
There was a pause for a moment. “Yes. I want you to come home.”
“You got it, baby,” he stated, standing. He turned his attention to his brother. “Jalen wants me to come home,” he told him, and he watched as his brother tried to contain his smirk.
“Tell her and the kids, I said hello,” Trent threw out, and Rohan turned, leaving. His brother knew how to drive a point home.
Once he was outside the bar, Jalen spoke again. “Who exactly did I just help you get away from?” she asked with a light laugh.
He chuckled. “Some woman. I don’t know her name.”
“So, you lied to me. You don’t actually miss me,” she stated, and he knew she was teasing him.
“No, that part was true,” he responded, sliding into his vehicle. “And I’m glad you had fun with the girls.”
“Was that your brother who said to tell the kids he said hey?” she questioned, once again laughing.
“Yes, he’s petty,” Rohan replied, pulling out onto the road and heading towards his house. It was a little after eleven o’clock. “Anyway, do you have plans tomorrow?”
“I work a twelve starting at six in the evening, but I don’t have any plans before then.”
“You want to get lunch together?” He paused, about to tell her she could bring her girls if she wanted, but he knew they weren’t at that stage in their relationship. Especially if he was questioning whether they were exclusive earlier. He had no intention of making her uncomfortable.
“Does one work for you?” she asked.
“One is perfect. I’ll let you decide where we go.”
“Can I let you know in the morning?”
“Of course, gorgeous.”
For the rest of the car ride home, Rohan talked to Jalen. Once he’d made it to his house, they continued to speak to one another until almost one in the morning. It wasn’t until she let out a yawn that he saw what time it was.
“Get some sleep, gorgeous. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay,” she stated, another little yawn soon following. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” he responded.
The two of them hung up, and he went into his bathroom to shower before falling into a deep slumber himself.