Page 71 of The Dating Prohibition
As the shift continued, and the restaurant got busier, Kendra had very little time to hang out near the bar and chat withLogan and BJ, though she sensed BJ watched her, his gaze intensely burning into her. As the evening progressed, she wonderedwhat he was thinking. Whatjabshe had in mind.
Every time she made eye contact with him, her cheeks would color and a flurry of butterflies would tickle her stomach andmove south.
When she returned a glass to the bar for cleaning, BJ’s fingers would slide against her wrist as he took it from her hand. Kendra bit her lip and his eyes tracked the movement, laser-focused as he watched her release it, his lips parted slightly, thetip of his tongue wetting the inside of his bottom lip before he turned away.
As things slowed and Lani took her break in the back, Kendra cleared a couple of empty tables, wiping them down and carryingall of the plates to the back for their dishwasher to handle. As she returned from the sinks, she heard Shonda gasp, and Kendraturned to see her sister-in-law and cousin huddled together.
“What’s going on with you two?”
Their heads snapped in her direction with such a quickness, Shonda’s mouth gaping open, her eyes widening as they focused.
“Lani,” Kendra accused. “You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t.”
“I’m sorry, it just came out and, and—”
“Wait, why didn’t you want me to know?” Shonda asked, her brow furrowed.
“Because I don’t want your husband to know.”
“Oh, I won’t tell him. You don’t have to worry about that.”
I don’t see her lasting more than forty-eight hours before she folds.“Yeah, okay. Listen, I really wanted to keep this to myself and Lani caught on and now she’s blabbed to you. Can we keep acone of silence or not?” Kendra queried, her hands on her hips.
“Listen, it’s your business to tell. You tell him when you want to.” Shonda held her hands up in surrender.
“Or maybe I won’t tell him at all. It’s none of his business,” she griped and headed back toward the dining room.
“Keke, I’m sorry,” Lani pleaded, chasing after her. “I didn’t mean it. I shouldn’t have done it.”
“No, you shouldn’t have, but here we are,” Kendra deadpanned as she crossed her arms over her chest.She couldn’t even make it to the end of the shift.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to wait and see what happens. Either she’s going to tell him or she’s not. And we’ll probably know very soon one way or another.”
“Do you really think she’ll tell him?”
“Yes, I do. And that’s why I told you not to say anything.”
Lani grimaced, apologies emanating from her eyes. “I am really sorry, cousin.”
Kendra sighed heavily as she rubbed her temples, resigned to the fact that her brother was likely to have something to sayand soon. “I know, and it’s fine. It is what it is at this point, and we probably can’t stop it.”
“What if you just tell him yourself so that she doesn’t tell him?”
“This is not something that I wanted to talk to him about. I don’t need his permission to date, just like I don’t need hispermission to start a business. But I also don’t want him looking at me all disappointed and judging me for what his bestfriend and I decided to do.”
“Well, listen, he doesn’t know yet. It’s possible that she won’t say anything.”
“We’ll see. I’m gonna close out my last few tables.”
“I’ll take care of closing,” Lani offered quickly. “You just go do you.”
Kendra nodded, stepping away to bring checks to her last two tables. She avoided eye contact with BJ, lost in her own thoughts,as she tried to smile and thank her last guests.
Once she closed out, she ran downstairs to the employee room, dropped her apron in a hamper, and grabbed her coat. Once shemade it back upstairs, she turned straight for the door and left without a word to anyone.
The next morning, Kendra sat in the coffee shop with her laptop in tow, looking at different properties and also makingnote of different fixtures and aesthetics that she thought might look really strong in each space. As she sipped on an oat milk cappuccino, her phone began to ring, the screen displaying an unknown phone number with a local area code. “Hello?”
