Page 28 of The Dating Prohibition

The next day, Kendra stared at her laptop, anxiously waiting, waiting, waiting. Nothing about this auction was going the way

she thought it would—she thought she’d be in a room full of people, bidding back and forth the way she had seen on TV. But

they weren’t exactly bidding on the same kinds of things.

Instead, she’d placed her bid from home on the space that had been put up for auction for short sale after the previous owners

defaulted on the loan. No one knew their whereabouts. It was kind of sad really, because the location was perfect. Vaguely

wondering whether something nefarious could be afoot, Kendra shook her head, clearing it of the many what-ifs that bombarded

her psyche.

The location was about three miles from Logan and Shonda’s restaurant—an easy commute if she stayed in the studio apartment

at Logan’s for a while longer until she got everything sorted. As much as she hated to admit it, having that space was honestly

a godsend, especially because she was trying to conserve as much money as possible.

She thought about all the money she’d scrimped as she traveled.

The trip itself was step one in her deciding to walk away from tech and embrace the dream she had considered unattainable.

Her family didn’t know that she’d stayed in hostels when she wasn’t near family, or that she had apprenticed in different restaurants, in part so that she wouldn’t have to pay for food.

She took on odd jobs and helped restaurant owners build different data reports so that they could collect the information that they needed to be efficient in running their businesses.

In turn, they talked through their business launches, shared their major pitfalls, and helped her refine her concept.

In part, this was what fueled her fire to want to open Porter Prohibition—getting into the minutiae of the data that would

keep a business afloat, all of the inputs and the outputs and unexpected expenses. Logan doing it first just further convinced

her that she was moving down the right path.

Yes, Logan was the elder brother, and yes, their parents were ridiculously proud of him, but given all that he had accomplished,

they should be. She’d never tell him, but she looked up to her big brother and had always wanted to be like him. That was

why she’d followed him into the tech sector, but with a different focus as she was always great with the numbers and statistics.

She’d followed the data while he worked at the forefront of security and privacy protections.

Kendra nervously sipped a glass of wine, her fingers tapping against the table on both sides of her laptop keyboard. “Come

on, come on, come on,” she muttered, willing her email to refresh. Every few seconds, she stabbed at her portable mouse, refreshing

her email just in case the system was moving slowly, though she knew it wasn’t.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Good news, please, I need some good news . She whispered a prayer and opened her eyes. Her email pinged with a notification and she rushed to open the message from the brokerage handling the auction. Oh my god, yes!

“Finally.” She breathed deeply as the email loaded, squeezing her eyes shut. She bounced her legs under the table. “Okay,

it’s gonna be okay no matter what. It’s gonna be okay,” she murmured, opening the email. “Fuck, it’s not okay.”

Dammit.

Dear Miss Porter,

We had many wonderful bids and we want to thank you for your interest in this property. However, a bid from another participant

has been accepted...

Her phone rang just then and she knew it was the broker she’d been in contact with for the auction. “Hey, Dean.”

“Kendra, you saw?” His booming voice called through the phone.

“Yeah, I saw.”

“Listen, I don’t want you to be discouraged. You had it until the very last second.”

She squeezed her eyes shut again. Isn’t this always the way? She slumped in her chair.

“Listen, there’s gonna be another one soon. I’ll keep a lookout for you, and I’ll let you know if I see anything else that

fits what you’re looking for.”

“Thanks, Dean, I really appreciate it.” Kendra glumly hung up the phone and downed the last of her wine. She turned to refill

her glass and realized her bottle was empty––she and Lani went through most of it yesterday testing out the hair of the dog

theory. Shit. Grabbing her coat and her keys, she stepped out into the night.

The Maple Leaf was a local dive bar that had been around a long time. The drinks were strong and the waitstaff was decent, though not exactly friendly.

“Hey, Kendra, what can I get you?” Eric stood behind the bar polishing freshly washed glasses.

She nodded in response. “I’ll take a Maker’s Old-Fashioned, please.”

“You got it.”

She took off her blazer and hung it on the back of her stool, climbing to perch on its seat, her elbows resting on the counter

as she doomscrolled through social media, trying to get her mind off her disappointment.

“I didn’t think you came to places like this anymore,” a voice remarked behind her.

“Hmm?” Kendra turned. “Oh. Hi, Chase.” She turned back toward the bar to accept her cocktail.

“It’s been a long time,” Chase continued, moving to sit in the empty seat next to her. Smiling wide and still so sure of himself.

His freckled brown skin and hazel eyes practically glowed under the warm lights as he flashed a smile in her direction. “I’ll

have whatever she’s having.”

Ugh. “It has been a long time since I dumped you,” Kendra quipped, winking at Eric as she took a big sip of her drink.

“Now, why do you have to be like that?” His arm landed along the back of her stool. “So, seriously, I don’t even get a hug?

It’s been years.”

“No, Chase, you don’t get a hug. That’s reserved for friends and people I care about.” She drummed her fingers against the

bar, willing him to go literally anywhere else.

“Ouch.” He held a hand over his heart with a pained expression. “Why you gotta do me like that?”

“I could ask you the same question, but I no longer need an answer to that.”

“You’re not still upset about what happened . . . right?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

Kendra gestured between them. “Upset? No. But my breaking up with you had to do with choices you made, not the other way around.”

“You’re right. I admit that.” He nodded thanks to Eric as his drink was set in front of him.

“How big of you,” she mused, staring at the amber liquid in her glass. A curl of orange peel wrapped its way around a large

ice cube.

“Listen, I’m not trying to start any trouble. I just saw you come in and figured it’s been a long time and you look really

good.”

“You sound surprised at that last part.” She kept her eyes on her tumbler.

“I’m not surprised,” he sighed. “I just... It’s been a long time.”

“You said that already.” She took another sip.

Eric returned. “Can I get either of you anything?”

“Yeah, can you make another round for both of us on my tab?” Chase downed his drink, setting his tumbler on the counter heavily.

She stiffened. “That’s not necessary.”

“I know it’s not necessary, but you were gonna have another one anyway, so you might as well have one on me.” He always could

read her well. When they were together, they had all the same interests in sports, in movies, in music. It felt like everything

aligned—the stars included. And nothing could shake her focus on Chase.

But she had her degree and a great job. And when she’d accepted the role in Silicon Valley, Chase had bristled because he couldn’t handle the level of success she’d reached.

Her goal had been to have Chase join her, because his job had potential to go fully remote, but he looked at her achievement through a competitive lens.

She stood to make more than twice what he was and he began to feel more and more like they were in two different parts of their lives.

He couldn’t be happy for her or supportive of her ambitions—so he slept with a girl who worked at the coffee shop near his job.

He hadn’t planned for Kendra to stop by unannounced.

Days later, Kendra left for Silicon Valley with a broken heart.

“Thank you.” She slid the pad of her middle finger around the rim of the glass, attempting to tune out her ex.

“You seem like you have a lot on your mind,” Chase interrupted.

“I do,” she sighed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he offered, turning to face her.

He can’t possibly be this dense. “Chase,” she started, slowly turning to meet his eye. “We’re not friends. I’m not going to confide in you. And you don’t get

to know all of the inner workings of everything going on with me. You gave up that right.”

He exhaled deeply. “Do you want me to leave you alone?” he asked quietly, his gaze serious.

“It doesn’t really matter. You can sit wherever you want, but I’m really not in a talking mood.” She turned back toward the

bar.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll just sit here,” he replied quietly.

She gave a curt nod and returned her attention to her drink. Breathing deeply, she polished off her first glass and set it

at the edge of the bar. “Hey, Eric, can you close me out?”

“Sure thing, Kendra.” He brought a small digital terminal and set it in front of her.

Digging into her wallet, she grabbed a credit card and tapped it against the screen until it beeped, accepting her payment. She added gratuity and pushed the terminal back to him.

“Thanks, Eric.” She draped her purse over her shoulder as she stood.

“Wait, you’re not going to finish your drink?” Chase asked.

“I think I’ve had enough,” she called over her shoulder and kept walking.

At home, she kicked off her shoes and poured herself a glass of water. The last thing she wanted was a headache, and she had

to be at the restaurant early the next day.

Her phone pinged.

Ben: Kenny, are you okay?

Kendra frowned at the message

Kendra: Yeah. Why do you ask?

Ben: I saw you at the Maple Leaf. I don’t think you saw me though.

Kendra: You were there? I must have been in my own world.

She searched her memory for others she saw at the bar, but she hadn’t paid attention to her surroundings at all. The loss

of the auction still weighed heavily on her mind.

Ben: It looked like you were until Chase showed up.

Kendra: Yeah, about that...

Ben: You don’t have to say anything to me, LOL. But I saw how you left, and I saw him calling after you. I just wanted to make

sure he didn’t upset you.

Kendra: Nah, he didn’t.

Kendra’s screen showed the ellipses indicating that Ben was typing and then stopped. Her screen went dark and locked before

she received his next message.

Ben: He misses you, doesn’t he?

Kendra sucked her teeth.

Kendra: I don’t know. Probably. What’s not to miss?

Ben: Wow, I wish I could say I knew.

She scoffed out a laugh.

Kendra: Damn, not my ego catching strays... J/K.

Ben: Ha, shut up...

Kendra: You do know, right? You remember?

Ben: It’s kind of embarrassing to admit this, but that night is a little patchy for me. I know you were there, obviously. And

I found condom wrappers. So I’m imagining things happened... I’m just fuzzy on the details. I mean, you weren’t there when

I woke up.

Kendra: You really don’t remember any of it?

Ben: Any of what? Why don’t you tell me?

A wave of self-consciousness hit Kendra. She remembered every detail and couldn’t help her disappointment that he couldn’t

say the same. She bit her lip and stared at her screen, considering a litany of possible responses to his request before blowing

out a breath. Fuck it.

Kendra: You don’t remember being in my mouth?

He sent a GIF of a male actor blinking in response.

Ben: I can’t say that I do... I wish I did though.

Kendra: That’s a shame... I remember everything.

Ben: Well, why don’t you enlighten me?

Kendra: What do you want to know? If you want the play-by-play, we should probably just have a conversation. It’s a lot to have to

text.

Ben: Humor me.

A slow smile spread over Kendra’s lips.

Kendra: Give me about 30 minutes. I’m gonna get changed and clean up a bit.

Ben: Bet.