Chapter 33 #2
Jalen thought about it for a moment. It’d been a while since she had gone away somewhere, even for a weekend.
It had been last summer, to be exact, because she always made it a point to take her sisters on some sort of vacation when they were out of school.
It would be nice, but she didn’t want to leave Kodi to take care of the others for the entire weekend, and while Landon had seemed to come out of her phase, she didn’t want something to happen and the two of them to be at each other’s throats.
Not to mention that if that was when Kodi wanted to visit Vega, Jalen wouldn’t ask her to postpone simply because she wanted to go away with Rohan for a couple of days.
“Before you overthink it. If you want to, my mother has already volunteered to have the girls over for the weekend.”
She thought about it for a moment. She didn’t have a problem with them spending the weekend with Vivian.
They’d already spent the weekend after Christmas with her and the weekend after Valentine’s Day, so that she and Rohan could have some alone time.
Jalen had also gotten over feeling as if she was imposing on the older woman, even when Vivian was the one who asked.
She genuinely seemed excited to spend time with her sisters.
“Okay, where are we going?” she inquired.
“It’s a surprise,” Rohan returned before gently massaging her feet.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done anything for her birthday that didn’t comprise her sisters making her a cake, or cupcakes, and spending the day with them. She’d always enjoyed those days, never thought of spending her birthday any other way.
A small part of her wanted to feel guilty because the prospect of doing something with Rohan excited her.
However, she reminded herself that she wasn’t breaking the tradition they’d inadvertently set; she was just expanding it.
She still wanted those cupcakes that Mikal would frost too heavily or the twins would load with sprinkles, and she still wanted to spend the day with them.
It was about forty-five minutes later when all the girls returned to the living room. Jalen had started letting the twins handle their own bath times a couple of months ago at their request. She had agreed, but let them know she would help if they needed it.
It was Omari’s turn to choose a movie since Nathan had chosen the other one, and Mikal chose before movie night even started. Omari chose Encanto. Jalen wasn’t surprised since it’d become her favorite, and Nathan had already chosen Moana.
She had been proven correct about the twins falling asleep when they were halfway through the movie, and Nathan climbed into Rohan’s lap, laying her head back against his chest while Omari lay across Landon’s back. Three-quarters of the way through the movie, they were both asleep.
Jalen picked the six-year-old up from Landon’s back and carried her down the hall while Rohan followed them. She laid Omari on the bottom bunk, pointing to the top one for Nathan.
When they returned to the living room, they finished the rest of the movie before Mikal stood and told them she was going to bed. Goodnights went around, and Jalen checked the clock to see that it was now almost midnight.
“You want to choose a movie, Landon?” Jalen asked.
“Can we watch Candyman?”
“If you want to.”
Landon started the movie, and about halfway through it, she stood with a yawn. “I’m going to clean up the snacks and head to bed.”
“Don’t worry about it. I got it,” Jalen told her. She was still watching the movie and eating some Skittles, so she didn’t mind cleaning up when she was done.
When the movie went off, she sat up straight. She’d been leaning into Rohan’s side and stood, prepared to clean things up.
“Why don’t you go shower and get in bed? I’ll do this,” he told her.
“Are you sure?”
He leaned over and kissed her. “I’m sure, baby.”
Jalen thanked him before standing and going to her bedroom. She grabbed a pair of panties, shorts, and a tank top before entering her bathroom, starting the shower, and undressing as she waited for the temperature to rise. She stepped into the shower once it had.
Once out of the shower, she moisturized and pulled on her clothes.
She knew she wouldn’t sleep until Kodi got home.
Jalen hadn’t felt the need to give her a curfew because Kodi had always been responsible, and she deserved to cut loose.
Her little sister had worked extremely hard to make sure she got into the college of her dreams, and Jalen was proud of her.
Now, all Jalen had to do was get through this summer semester of her program, pass her certifications, and she’d be able to call herself a registered nurse.
She exited the en suite to find Rohan looking through his bag and pulling out clothes.
She slid into bed as he entered the en suite.
Jalen grabbed her phone from her nightstand, where it had been since Rohan had left earlier to pack some things.
She checked it and saw that she’d received a text from Kodi while she was in the shower.
Kodi: I’ll be home in about an hour. So, go to sleep or have Rohan put you to sleep because I know you’re still up. ;p
Jalen: Be careful coming home.
Jalen decided she wouldn’t respond to the second half of Kodi’s message. Sliding down in bed, she scrolled through videos on her phone, watching shorts until Rohan came out of the bathroom. He was dressed in a pair of lounge pants as he ran a towel over his hair.
Reaching over, Jalen turned her bedside lamp on as he turned off the overhead light.
When he slid into bed beside her, she placed her phone down, turning to look at him. She was going to thank him again for cleaning the living room, but she knew what his response would be. Instead, she moved over and laid her head on his chest.
“Have you heard from Kodi?” he asked.
“Yes, she’ll be home in about half an hour.”
“I’ll stay up and wait for her if you want to go to sleep,” Rohan volunteered.
“I’m fine. I’m not exhausted yet,” Jalen responded.
The two lapsed into silence as Rohan ran a hand up and down her back, and Jalen drew patterns on his abdomen. She hadn’t realized how long they’d been sitting in that comfortable silence until she heard what she thought was the front door opening and closing.
As Kodi went to pass her bedroom, she stopped briefly. “You’re not doing what I told you to,” the teenager stated with a smirk. “I put your keys on the table by the front door. Thanks again for letting me use your car.”
“It’s no problem,” Rohan responded. Kodi bid them goodnight, reaching in to close her door with a wink. “What did she tell you to do?” he inquired, and Jalen looked up at him.
“To have you put me to sleep.”
Rohan chuckled. “I would, but you don’t know how to be quiet, baby.”
Jalen pinched him, which only caused him to laugh more, but he wasn’t wrong, and she didn’t feel comfortable having sex with her sisters in the house.
Reaching over, she turned off her bedside lamp. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, baby,” he responded when she settled back into his arms, and Jalen closed her eyes. She always enjoyed falling asleep next to him.