Page 78 of The Dating Prohibition
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 wasit, 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 hewasn’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 likethis.”
“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’reready 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 facesscrunched 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 backten 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 runningjust 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 thecounter.
“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 stuffout. 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 withoutside 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.
