Page 21 of The Dating Prohibition
As she started the car and pulled off, she saw BJ frown, much to the pleasure of the devil on her shoulder.
The next day, Kendra rushed to brush her baby hairs into place. She’d pulled her hair back from her face to lay her edges,though she planned to let her tresses flow. Once the swoops were to her liking, she tied a silk wrap to let them set. Rippedjeans and heeled booties, a Black Joy T-shirt, and her duster coat completed her look. She pressed her glossed lips togetherand studied herself in the mirror. “Girl, what are you doing?” she asked herself. “This man does not care.”Does he?
A knock at her front door made her jump. She hurriedly removed the wrap and the clip holding her hair back, letting it fallover her shoulders. She checked to make sure she didn’t have lip gloss on her teeth and opened the door.
“Hey, you ready?” Ben stood at the door looking every bit the hot professor, and Kendra’s mind wandered back to that subtlethreat of a spanking with a wooden spoon. The top half of his hair was pulled back, the rest flowing down toward his shoulders.His spectacled face was framed with a fresh shape up and a trimmed beard. Those familiar scents of tobacco and vanilla invadedher nose.
He was in jeans and a button-up shirt with a wool blazer and brown leather shoes. One hand was shoved into a pocket, and helooked like a real-lifeGQad.
Damn, not fresh from the barber...Her face flushed. “Yeah, I’m all set.” She grabbed her purse from a console table next to the door and smiled as she steppedoutside, listening for the smart lock to bolt into place. “What have you been up to today?”
“Hit the gym and the barber, and then I did a little research for one of the articles I am planning to write. Put some books on hold over at the Library of Congress.”
“That’s... very productive of you.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “What about you?”
“Made a few calls, pulled some more spec sheets for my proposal.” She followed him to his truck and was surprised when hereached to open the door for her. “Oh wow, thanks!”
BJ frowned. “You’re welcome?”
“Are you asking?” she laughed.
“You seem surprised... No one else opens doors for you?” The tips of his lashes were so long they looked like they couldbrush against the inside of his frames.
Stop. Staring.She shrugged as she climbed inside. “Been a while.”
“Hmm. Guess that hot date wasn’t so hot after all,” he mused.
Kendra’s mouth dropped open.Caught.He smirked as he shut her door and walked around to his side. They rode in comfortable silence to the property, Kendra staringout the windows and taking in how much the city had evolved while she’d been away.
“Man, I missed this place,” she muttered as they drove down a street of row houses, many of which had clearly been renovatedwith painted bricks and modern windows.
“It’s changed a lot, huh?”
Kendra turned to look at BJ, who kept his eyes on the road. “Yeah, it feels different. A few of my school friends have movedto Charlotte and Atlanta.”
“Gentrification.”
“Yeah,” she huffed.
“Think you’ll stay this time?”
“Maybe. I’d like to,” she admitted. “It’d be nice to be near family––to have my spot near Logan and Shonda’s.”
“You’re not sure you can?” He quirked an eyebrow.
“I don’t think I’ll stay if I fail at this,” she replied quietly as she looked down at her lap. And there it was. Though BJwas Logan’s best friend, since high school, he’d been one of the few people who would listen without telling her what to do,how to feel, or whether she was wrong. He just listened. If she asked him a question, he’d tell her the truth. He wouldn’tsugarcoat anything, but he always came from a place of support and didn’t take unnecessary jabs.
“Are you worried about failing?” The tone of his voice was gentle, like a fuzzy blanket against bare skin. “Really?”
Kendra bit her lip. “Yeah. Logan doesn’t think I will, but I don’t want to disappoint him. Momma has her doubts, but...”That’s just Momma.
Ben nodded. “I hear you.” They pulled up in front of an old firehouse.
“Oh wow. Ben...” Kendra’s voice trailed off as she stepped out of the truck. “This could beperfect.”
He followed and stood at her side. “Could be.” He smiled slightly.
