Page 5 of The Dating Prohibition

“I got it.” He headed out the French doors to the backyard—the storage room was within the detached two-car garage.

She walked toward the kitchen and turned into her brother’s office, which had a corner desk with two huge curved monitors, a bar cart with some of his favorite spirits, a bench ottoman flanked by a couple of high-backed chairs, and a huge humidor fridge that he kept diligently organized.

As she pulled open the door and the fragrances of tobacco leaves filled her senses, Kendra sighed at the comfort it brought her—her granddaddy had always smelled of cigars.

She used to say that when she enjoyed a good cigar and a couple of fingers of scotch, she was channeling her inner little old man, which she always pictured would bring a smile to PawPaw’s lips. Rest his soul .

Eyeing the wares, Kendra picked a couple that she knew would make her brother smile and a spicy, bold one for herself. Before

closing the glass door, she decided to grab one more for BJ, just in case. A thump at the back doors made her get up in a

rush, shut the humidor, and jog into the kitchen. As she rushed past the island, she could see BJ struggling to balance three

cases of glasses with one hand and a raised knee while reaching for the door. When he saw her approaching, he straightened,

securing the boxes with both hands. “Hey! Can I take one of those off your hands?” she offered.

“Nah, I got it. You ready?” His voice didn’t sound strained, but a bead of sweat slid down his temple.

Kendra nodded, locking the back doors before leading the way to the front door. She held it open and waited for BJ to step

through before exiting and pressing the smart pad to lock the door behind them. “Careful.” She watched BJ take the steps slowly

and followed him.

He jutted his chin. “Can you open the back?”

“Sure!” Once the cases were set down side by side, Kendra pulled a stick out of her pocket. “I thought you might like this

one.”

BJ accepted the cigar from her, smiling a little when he saw the label. “I haven’t had one of these in a while. What did you choose for yourself?”

“I chose one from the My Father brand for me too. Yours is The Judge, but I got La Opulencia for myself.”

“Good choice.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. “It’s been a while since we used to all go and lounge at the cigar bar. At least for me, anyway. Have

you and Logan gone recently?”

“Yeah, me and L just went last week. Not sure when we can go again now that the restaurant’s about to open up.” They got back

in the car, and he guided them toward the wine supplier. “So we were about to talk about your business plans... you wanted

advice on something?”

“Right!” She snapped her fingers. “Thank you for remembering. Yeah, I really wanted to talk to you. Remember back when I was

in college and I used to host those supper club dinners?”

BJ angled his head to look at her. “Yeah.”

“I have a speakeasy restaurant and bar concept I’ve been working on. It would include a supper club–style multicourse meal

in a hidden speakeasy dining room of no more than twenty, which would be in the back of the bar and only accessible by a password

provided at the time of the reservation. The bar would have table and booth seating with a small stage for musicians and other

performance stuff—maybe some open mic nights, etc. Prohibition club style, but elevated, and the entrance is a heavy wooden

door. I’m still thinking through some of the particulars, but I started working on a business plan when I got back to the

States.”

BJ slowed to a stop for a red light. “Wow, that sounds really interesting,” he said, nodding thoughtfully. “So what is it

you need me for? I can’t imagine that you’re asking me for cooking advice.”

Kendra giggled. “Well, no, but given the theme, I thought it would be cool if the business was located in a landmark building. There are so many here in DC, surely there’s one that would suit what I’m trying to do.

And since your expertise is in historic preservation, I thought you could give me some advice in terms of the locations that I’m checking out. ”

He regarded her for a moment before the light changed and he returned his focus to the road. “It’s crazy that you say that

because the research that I’m doing for my sabbatical is a piece tracing historical landmarks from the South and up through

the DMV toward New York. I already published a paper on preservation sites in New England. This time, I’m focusing my research

on heritage preservation specifically relevant to the Great Migration going from the South up the East Coast. I want to do

a similar one on the route up to Chicago later on, extending up to Detroit, and maybe on to St. Louis.”

Kendra stared at him in awe. His brain is sexy as hell. “Wow, Benji, that’s really important work.”

BJ sucked his teeth. “ Nobody calls me Benji anymore.” He glowered. “What grown-ass man wants to be called Benji?”

Kendra’s shoulders shook with laughter as she nudged him with her shoulder. “Well, that’s like me trying for the last two

decades to shed ‘Keke.’ My family refuses to call me Kendra, even though that’s what I want.”

“I mean, I don’t call you Kendra either, Kenny.” The rumble in his voice dipped lower when he reached the nickname and Kendra

blew out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“‘Kenny’ doesn’t bother me.” If it comes from you. She frowned at the thought. “But noted, I can stop calling you Benji.”

“I don’t mind if you want to call me ‘Ben.’ It’s what most of my colleagues call me at the university if we’re on a first-name

basis.”

“You mean, there are people that you see every day—who aren’t students—that are still stuck calling you Dr. Stephens?” Kendra’s mouth quirked up. “Are they also tenured PhDs?”

“Some, yeah. I keep my circle pretty small.” He shrugged. “Some folks don’t get past the formality stage.”

“Fair.” She nodded. “Anyway, what do you think? Want to join forces for some of these visits? You’ll be able to do some research,

and I’ll be able to get your advice. Having an establishment in a landmark building—especially one that was a part of the

Great Migration route—would be spectacular. Any chance to celebrate our history, you know?”

BJ checked his mirror before making a left turn into the parking lot. “That, I do. And, yeah, I’m down. We can share notes

on the locations we’re finding. I know of a few already that have spaces being leased for commercial use, and maybe you can

identify some spots that I can research via the National Archives.”

“Deal!” Excitement built in her chest. “I’m so happy that I ran into you! I have such a good feeling about this project.”

“It sounds like a really interesting concept. I could definitely see that being a trendy spot here in DC.”

“Me too,” she gushed. “Thank you, I had a feeling you’d be into it.”

“I’ve never not supported you, Kenny,” BJ said, lips curved slightly. He was quiet for a minute and then muttered something to himself before

returning to an audible tone. “Even when you and your brother are at each other’s necks, and you know you can be a little

hotheaded.” He parked and they both got out of the car.

Kendra side-eyed him as she pursed her lips. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Maybe you had one too many

drinks, and you hallucinated, because hotheaded? Me? ” And, of course, he was right, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She gestured to herself with innocent doe eyes as she blinked up at him. “You must have me mistaken for someone else.”

He pushed her playfully, making her giggle as they strolled in the doors, immediately spotting their contact through a window

into a back office. He was on the phone but waved to acknowledge that he would be out in a minute.

BJ turned, taking advantage of their wait time. “Now, Kendra.” He tilted his head, his eyes shining. “Don’t make me bring

up Boscoe.”

Her jaw dropped as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Boscoe was lost for less than three hours and it wasn’t my fault that he

got out of the yard! Logan was supposed to close the gate.”

BJ full-on smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he shook his head and laughed. “He was supposed to close the

gate,” he admitted. “But you were the one that let the dog outside when you got home. You didn’t check to make sure the gate

was closed before you let him out.”

“Since when am I responsible for making sure he does what he’s supposed to do?” She threw up her hands. He’s never held accountable for anything!

“You could have taken Boscoe for a walk. You didn’t have to put him in the back. You chose what was less work for you.”

Kendra sucked her teeth and put her hand on her hip, turning away from him. “Ugh. And this is how you show support,” she deadpanned

as the supplier stepped out of his office.

“Hey! You here for PALATE?” A bald man with a salt-and-pepper beard waved as he walked toward them, freckles dotting his light

brown skin.

Kendra nodded. “Yes, are you Scott?” She reached out her hand. “I’m Kendra Porter, Logan’s sister.”

He shook it vigorously. “Oh, great to meet you! And yes, Scott Tooley. Let me grab a dolly and I’ll bring your cases out to your vehicle.”

“Great!” She and BJ headed back outside.

“Dude had quite the grip. Shook your hand like he wanted to shake the change out your pocket,” he joked quietly.

“Almost made my teeth click,” she whispered conspiratorially.

A rumble of laughter made her grin. “Yo. Same ole Kenny.” He leaned back against the side of the SUV. “And I did support you.

You don’t remember me trying to calm you when you started crying, or how I sat with you on the porch waiting for your parents

until Boscoe just randomly came running back from wherever he’d been?”

Kendra leaned back against the driver’s-side door, her elbow grazing BJ’s arm as she shut her eyes—the rest of the memory

flooding back to her. “You sure did. Man, I forgot all about that.” She gaped until she had another thought. “But wait, how