Page 5 of The Dating Prohibition
“The weather is perfect,” she murmured. The early afternoon sky was a clear light blue with thin clouds gently traversingtoward the east. A small flock of American robins were bunched together on the mostly bare branches of a maple tree that wasjust starting to bud new leaves. “I love springtime.”
“I prefer fall.” His deep voice rumbled like the threat of low thunder off in the distance but reverberated low in Kendra’sbelly.
“Yeah?” She turned to look at BJ, whose locs were pulled back from his face. The profile view of his strong jaw flexing madeher quickly turn her gaze back out the window.Just because we’re in the middle of a dry spell doesn’t mean we need to be thirsty.She shook her head slightly to focus on the conversation. “I love this time of year—peak bloom of the cherry blossoms isone of my favorite things.”
“Oh yeah, I remember,” he chuckled. Once Logan had gotten his license, she used to force him and BJ to take her to the Tidal Basin so that she could marvel at the blush-coloredclouds that circled the water. From certain angles, people would take photographs that showed the blossoms framing the monuments, and often visitors would observe proposals and engagement photos taking place with the trees and commemorative structures in the background.
Kendra smirked. “I was kind of a pain back then, huh?”
He maneuvered out of his parking spot and toward Logan and Shonda’s, which was just a handful of blocks away. “Who says that’schanged?” BJ glanced at Kendra slyly before returning his attention to the road, the corner of his mouth just slightly lifted.
Kendra scoffed and smacked his arm. “Hey! You haven’t seen me in years.”
BJ grunted. “Yeah, too long,” he agreed. “I haven’t forgotten what you said the other day. You mentioned wanting to ask meabout something.” He pulled into Logan’s driveway and parked, turning off the engine.
Both of them hopped out of the SUV and crossed the grass to the porch steps. “Yeah, I did... Damn, I never remember theirlock code.” She bit her lip, trying to jog her memory, but only the code to her own apartment came to mind.
“I got it,” BJ murmured, then typed in a four-digit sequence, and the bolt mechanism unlocked. He swung the door open withone arm, standing to the side to let her pass. “After you.”
Kendra felt warmth radiating from his torso as she stepped past him, his cologne capturing her.What is that? Definitely a gourmand fragrance, but with notes of tobacco and something spicy...“Thanks. I think the stemware cases are in the back in their storage room if you want to grab those. I’ll grab Logan’s cigarsand then help you out.”
“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. Beforeclosing 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 arush, shut the humidor, and jog into the kitchen. As she rushed past the island, she could see BJ struggling to balance threecases 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 stepthrough before exiting and pressing the smart pad to lock the door behind them. “Careful.” She watched BJ take the steps slowlyand 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 thisone.”
BJ accepted the cigar from her, smiling a little when he sawthe 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. Haveyou 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 backin the car, and he guided them toward the wine supplier. “So we were about to talk about your business plans... you wantedadvice on something?”
“Right!” She snapped her fingers. “Thank you for remembering. Yeah, I really wanted to talk to you. Remember back when I wasin 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 mealin a hidden speakeasy dining room of no more than twenty, which would be in the back of the bar and only accessible by a passwordprovided at the time of the reservation. The bar would have table and booth seating with a small stage for musicians and otherperformance stuff—maybe some open mic nights, etc. Prohibition club style, but elevated, and the entrance is a heavy woodendoor. I’m still thinking through some of the particulars, but I started working on a business plan when I got back to theStates.”
BJ slowed to a stop for a red light. “Wow, that sounds really interesting,” he said, nodding thoughtfully. “So what is ityou 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 thatbecause the research that I’m doing for my sabbatical is a piece tracing historical landmarks from the South and up throughthe DMV toward New York. I already published a paper on preservation sites in New England. This time, I’m focusing my researchon heritage preservation specifically relevant to the Great Migration going from the South up the East Coast. I want to doa 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.”
