Page 38 of The Dating Prohibition

Kendra remained outside the kitchen, her back against the wall as she squeezed her eyes shut, listening to Ben and Logan mediate

her dating life.

“I think it’s best if you two cool off. You know, I’m obviously not happy that this has happened at all, but you two are grown

and I’m not going to get into that.”

“What do I say, man? I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Listen, I’m already too far into this. But you have to be honest with her and let her know where you’re at. If you’re not

ready, you gotta nip this in the bud, man. That’s my baby sister.”

“No, you’re right.”

“When are you gonna do it?”

Do it? Something snapped in Kendra’s mind, shaking her from her dazed state.

“I mean, she’s here now, but I’m not sure this is the right time.”

“Maybe connect with her outside of here so that it doesn’t feel like everybody’s listening and watching.”

Kendra had heard enough. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and burst through the kitchen door, swinging it wide until it hit the wall.

“Neither one of you has the right to sit here and negotiate how someone is going to end things with me,” she snapped through gritted teeth, her blood boiling.

“You, dear brother, should not be trying to manage my love life. It’s none of your business. ”

Logan fixed his mouth to say something and she held up her hand.

“Aht aht, don’t even think about it.” Seething, she turned to BJ. “And you, if you didn’t want me, you should have just said

you weren’t interested. I tried to give you that out. You shouldn’t have kept talking to me and acting like you were. You shouldn’t have come with me to

Charleston.”

Logan’s jaw dropped. “You went with her to Charleston?!”

Ben eyed his friend, grimacing. “About that...”

“Enough!” she shouted. “I am fucking pissed at the both of you. I just can’t even see straight.” She shook her head, searching

for the words as her eyes filled with tears.

She fought with every fiber of her being, willing them not to fall. “Logan, I love you. But this is too much. I already have

enough family drama––I didn’t think you’d be the source of more. And, BJ...” She choked back a sob. “I’m probably never

gonna say this again, but I think I was falling for you. I would have waited for you to feel ready, because it was real for

me. And now I think it’s over.”

She ran out of the restaurant, Shonda calling after her. She rushed past Lani at the front desk, her body heaving as she reached

outside. She gasped for breath, the tears finally falling from her face as she trudged to her car, leaning back against the

bumper as she tried to control her breathing. Her brother followed her so quietly that his voice startled her.

“Kendra,” Logan said softly.

“Please, I really don’t think I can talk about this right now. I know that we kept it from you, but it was something that we weren’t even ready to define, and it didn’t make sense for it to be a publicly known thing.”

“I hear you, and I understand your reasoning.” He stepped closer. “I’m just saying, I’m sorry. I did step in and you probably

didn’t need that. I’m your big brother, so I’m gonna be protective—that’s something that I can’t apologize for. But I do feel

bad because you didn’t deserve to hear what he said in that way. You deserved it directly. And the fact that you heard us

trying to strategize how he could tell you and let you down... I’m really sorry. I apologize.” He held a hand to his chest,

lines etching his forehead as he looked at her sincerely.

“It’s fine, because from what I heard, he really wasn’t ready. And he had valid reasons for the boundaries he set. So, you

were right—I shouldn’t have bothered to harbor feelings or get involved. I should have known better.”

“Nobody knows better in the moment. They go with their instincts and something drew you two together. I can’t say what that

was, but I don’t want you to hurt either. And he doesn’t want to be the one who hurt you.”

“I hear you.” Kendra stared at the ground, her body numbing to her surroundings.

“But did you mean what you said in there?” he asked quietly, leaning against the bumper next to her.

“What part?”

“That you were falling for him?” Logan turned to look at her.

Kendra blew out a breath, smoothing her hand over her hair as fresh tears began to fall.

She nodded as her brother wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“I don’t know when I started feeling this way, but yeah.

” She sniffled and looked down at her feet.

“You know, there have been a lot of people who I’ve been able to get over pretty, pretty easily.

I don’t think he’s gonna be one of them. ”

“What do you wanna do?”

“I don’t know. I need some time to think. Can you not put me on the schedule this coming week?”

“Sure, of course. But, I care more about you than I do the schedule. Is there something I can do to help? I want to be there

for you.”

“You are. You do so much already. I’m living in your house, working at your restaurant. You take care of me more than you

know. Probably more than you should.”

“Yeah, but those are just things. You’re a whole person, and you’ve been having a hard time.”

She bit her lip and nodded, tears threatening to fall again. “I have, but I’ll be fine. I’ll figure it out. I had come back

to talk through a business proposal I got with both of you, but the more I think about it, the more I don’t want it.”

“Do you want to talk about it now?”

She shook her head. “Maybe in a couple days. I just need to get my head straight.”

“Okay. I’m sorry, sis.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” As she stood, he wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his shoulder.

She took a deep, calming breath as they released each other. “Thanks, bro.”

“You have nothing to thank me for. I’m just doing my job.”

She nodded, heading toward the car door.

“Call me if you need me,” he yelled after her.

“I will.”

“Keke, open up!” Lani’s fist pounded against the front door. “Open up, heffa. You know my legs aren’t strong enough to kick the door down, but I’ll figure this shit out if I have to,” she yelled.

Kendra sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes as she walked toward the door. The banging continued as she threw back the dead

bolt and swung the door open.

“Do you ever do anything quietly?” she deadpanned.

Lani rushed in, throwing her arms around her cousin. “Are you okay? I was seating a table, but I saw you storm out, and you

looked so upset, and then I saw Logan follow you, and I saw Shonda burst into tears.”

“Speaking of,” a voice called from outside the door. Shonda warily stepped into view. “Can I come in?” she asked tentatively.

Kendra nodded, gesturing for her to come in and closed the door behind them. “Can I get y’all something to drink?”

“Are you drinking?” Lani asked.

Kendra nodded. “There’s an open bottle of wine on the island and I can get y’all some glasses.”

“Okay,” Shonda murmured and nodded. Lani too.

They sat around the island on stools. Kendra leaned forward, her arms resting on the counter as her fingers circled the stem

of her glass.

Lani cleared her throat and widened her eyes at Shonda, who hung her head.

“Kendra, I—”

“It’s fine, Shonda. I’m sorry I snapped at you—I shouldn’t have. I was really upset in the heat of the moment, and you’re

my sister. I just wasn’t ready for Logan to become involved.”

“No, I completely understand and I overstepped. I did. And it won’t happen again. You know, as sisters, I know that there

are times when I trust you with things and you don’t go blabbing to your brother. I should have afforded you that same respect.

And I fell short, so I’m really sorry.”

“Come here.” Kendra gestured, opening her arms to Shonda.

Shonda broke down, her chest heaving as she cried. “I really shouldn’t have done it, and I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

“You didn’t hurt me. It was just a shitty situation.”

Shonda stepped back, wiping her eyes.

“And now what?” Lani asked.

Kendra shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it’s over.”

“What was it , exactly?” Shonda asked, taking a sip of wine before examining her glass. “Oh, you’ve got the good stuff tonight.”

“You know, it’s hard for me to say no to a saperavi.” Kendra smiled wistfully. “And I don’t know, honestly. It felt like love,

but I knew that he had walls up. And I wasn’t pushing him for anything. But I think talking to Logan reminded him that he

wasn’t ready. And now, there’s nothing.”

As she said that, her cell phone began to ring, the screen illuminating with BJ’s name and face.

“Do you want to get that?” Lani asked quietly, studying Kendra’s face.

“I really, really don’t,” Kendra sighed, glistening once again. “I’d love to stop crying. I really don’t want to feel like

this.”

“So what’s next?”

“I’m gonna figure some things out. I got an offer from a business here in town, but it’s just not what I want.”

“Do you want to tell us about it? Get your mind off this other thing for a while?”

Kendra nodded as her phone chimed, signaling a voicemail. A minute later, her phone pinged with a text message.

Shonda picked up Kendra’s phone and turned it off. “There. Now you’ve got some peace. You can turn it back on when you’re

ready to deal with it, or not. Completely your call, because we all know you’re here and safe.”

Kendra nodded.

“So about that business offer . . .”

She walked them through all of the conditions for the business, and the more she shared, the more Shonda and Lani’s faces

scrunched up in confusion and disgust.

“There’s no way you should do that,” Shonda said. “You have so much talent, and this is going to hinder you and set you back

ten years! That’s too long.”

“And how are you supposed to build your brand when you’re busy keeping theirs alive?” Lani chimed in. “If you do keep it running

just to shut it down in ten years, people are going to be pissed that you’re letting go of this legacy. That’s a catch-22.”

Kendra nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.” She yawned, her glass empty and another two bottles stood empty on the

counter.

“I don’t know. I’ll tell that real estate agent in the morning that it’s a no go, but now I gotta figure some other stuff

out. I think I should probably go to bed.”

Shonda and Lani nodded. “Okay, girl. We’ll go upstairs. Lani, the guest room’s already made up so you can come stay up there,”

Shonda offered.

“Yes! I don’t have to sleep on a couch for once? A win is a win.” She held up her hands matter-of-factly.

Kendra laughed lightly, and walked them to the door. “I love y’all.”

“We love you.” They wrapped their arms around each other in a group hug.

“We’re always gonna have each other’s backs, no matter what,” Lani said. “Get some rest, cuz.”

“You too.”

As they left, Kendra ignored her nightly skincare routine and plopped on the bed fully dressed.

She made a mental note to wash the sheets, because in her family, getting in bed with outside clothes on was a huge no-no, but her body was too exhausted to care.

When she woke late the following morning, she turned on her phone and was stunned at the number of voicemails and text messages she had––her parents, her brother, her cousin, but mostly from Ben.

The last text from him asked her to call him when she was ready to talk.

She chucked her phone onto the couch and sighed as she turned back toward the bedroom, expelling all of the air from her lungs

as her shoulders drooped. What is even left to talk about?