Chapter 8
Jalen was running late. She hadn’t expected there to be an accident on the highway, and it had put her behind by almost twenty minutes. She and Rohan had decided to have lunch at one of the stands in the mini-golf park; that way, they’d already be there.
Having found a parking spot, she got out and headed towards the entrance of the mini-golf park. She found him standing there waiting for her.
“I’m sorry I’m late. Were you waiting long?” she questioned.
“It’s fine, gorgeous,” he told her, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips.
With her hand still in his, he led her inside. When they came to a fork, Jalen pulled him to the right. There was a phenomenal barbecue stand in that direction, and she figured it would be the best place for them to go.
When they stopped in front of the stand, she realized she hadn’t actually asked him if he would be alright with getting barbecue.
“I’m sorry. I should have asked you if this was okay.”
He smiled at her, and Jalen felt a flutter in her stomach. “I’m fine with whatever you choose.”
When it was their turn, Jalen ordered one of their sandwiches with sweet potato fries, while Rohan ordered the brisket with regular fries. They stepped off to the side and waited while their order was prepared.
“How was work?” Jalen questioned, looking up at him.
“It was good. I only had a few meetings.”
“Are you going back today?”
“No, I’m not. I’m done for the day. How many classes do you have tonight?”
“I have two.”
The wind blew, and a few strands of hair blew in her face. Rohan reached out to tuck the strands behind her ear, and Jalen leaned into his touch. He caressed her cheek with his thumb for a few seconds before they were told their order was ready.
They took a seat with their food, said a quick blessing, and dug in. It had been a while since Jalen had come to the stand, and she had almost forgotten how good their food was. Closing her eyes, she let out a soft noise of delight.
When she opened her eyes, she found Rohan staring at her. He slowly licked his lower lip, and it caused Jalen to squirm in her seat.
“Don’t make fun of me,” she stated, trying to clear the small sexual charge that had risen into the air. “I get excited about good food.”
“Then I definitely should never let you eat any of my food,” he told her.
“Is it that good, or that bad?”
He smiled at her. “I guess you’ll have to let me cook for you one day and find out.”
“Oh boy, you’re going to poison me,” she teased.
He raised a brow at her before reaching over and stealing one of her fries. Jalen glared at him playfully before retaliating by taking one of his.
The two continued to talk as they ate, and Jalen learned that he’d graduated from the university she was now attending.
She enjoyed talking to Rohan. She always learned little things about him every time they had a conversation and felt that was a good thing.
She never understood why people tried to learn someone all at once.
Jalen was a firm believer that you should learn something new every time you spoke to a person.
Once they were finished with lunch, they went over to the mini-golf station. Jalen decided she would pay for it, since Rohan had paid for lunch, and she lifted a brow at him when he tried to protest.
The golf park had three different courses to choose from. They chose the mid-length course since it took about an hour and a half to get through.
“We should make this more interesting,” he stated before they got started.
“Okay,” Jalen responded, placing her ball down. “What did you have in mind?”
“If I win, I get to kiss you.”
Jalen bit her bottom lip as she felt a flutter in her stomach again. “And what do I get if I win?”
“To kiss me,” Rohan told her with a smirk.
“So, either way, really, you win,” Jalen said.
He took a step closer to her and ran one of his knuckles down her neck. “Of course.”
“I guess it’s a bet then.”
They played through the twelve-hole course, and by the end, Jalen was teasing Rohan about his loss. Though she was more than sure he might have let her win.
She watched as he stepped towards her. He’d dropped his putter, taking her face between his hands. He leaned in, stopping just short. “I guess that means I owe you a kiss.”
Before she could respond, he closed the gap between them, his lips capturing hers. His lips were soft, but Jalen hadn’t expected them to be anything less. It was actually the first thing she thought about when she’d seen him. How soft his plush, pink lips looked.
Jalen sighed contentedly into the kiss as he deepened it. Wondering why she hadn’t kissed this man sooner as her body wanted to melt into his. He gave her a final kiss and pulled away.
“We should bet like that more often,” she told him.
“I agree with you. Though you could just tell me when you want me to kiss you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The two headed back to turn in their balls and putters. Jalen looked down at her watch and saw that it was almost three o’clock. They had actually made better time than she thought they would, even with her being a bit late.
Rohan walked her to her car, opening the door for her.
“Thank you for working around my schedule,” she told him. “I had fun.”
“I’ll work around your schedule anytime, gorgeous.”
She rose on her tiptoes, and he took the hint and leaned down to kiss her. She was sure that she’d never tire of kissing him. When they pulled apart, she told him she would talk to him later and slid into her car.
Backing out of her spot, Jalen headed towards the twins’ school since they would get out first. She’d placed chicken and dumplings in the slow cooker before she had left for her date with Rohan.
That way, it was one less thing Kodi had to worry about while she was in class.
She liked to make her younger sister’s babysitting nights as simple as possible.
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Rohan watched as Jalen pulled off before walking to his own car and getting in. He wasn’t planning on heading back to work. Instead, he called his brother and told him he would pick up Alynn from school. He figured he’d surprise her and take her to get ice cream.
Pulling up at his niece’s school, he waited in the pickup line. He still had about five minutes before the kids would be let out. He listened to music, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.
The bell rang, and he looked over as the children started exiting the building.
After several minutes, he saw Alynn coming out with a little girl who had a broken arm.
Getting out of the car, he went to the passenger side so she could see him.
While she knew each of their cars, his, his mother’s, and her father’s, they still didn’t want her to mistake one and get into the wrong vehicle.
He watched as she walked the little girl over to an elderly woman who smiled at both of them. She gave Alynn a little pat on the head as she took what Rohan assumed was the other little girl’s backpack from her.
Once they’d finished their conversation, he watched as his niece looked around. When she saw him, she smiled and approached him.
“Hey, Uncle Rohan,” she stated, giving him a hug.
“Hey, Shrimp,” he responded, returning her hug.
When they pulled apart, he opened the back door for her. When she settled with her seatbelt on, he closed the door and went to the driver’s side.
“How was school?” he questioned.
“It was good. We learned a new song in Spanish today,” she told him. “Do you want to hear it?”
“Of course I want to hear it.”
For the next ten minutes, he listened to her sing. He knew that the song wasn’t that long, and that she had simply sung it over and over. She was just starting on the fourth round of the song when they pulled up to an ice cream parlor.
Going inside, they waited until it was their turn.
Alynn ordered vanilla ice cream with Snickers and M they left. He knew his brother wouldn’t be off for another couple of hours, so he headed back to his house.
Once they were at his house, he asked her if she had homework.
She told him she had a math sheet and an English worksheet she had to do.
Rohan sat at the table with her and helped her with her homework.
He checked it for her, and once she was done, they went into the living room to watch television.
Taking out his cell phone, he sent a text to his brother, telling him he was cooking dinner. That way, he wouldn’t pick anything up on his way to pick up Alynn. Rohan set his phone aside and contemplated what to cook.