Dirty Deeds by Stella Rhys

5

ALY

Since opening two months ago, I’d come to dread the nonstop chaos that was weekend brunch service.

Our menu included our usual items like French toast, crab cake Benedicts and the Stanton Family lobster roll, but on top of that, there were dollar oysters at the raw bar and the ever-popular Hail Mary, which was basically a Bloody Mary on fancy steroids. It was a product of Evie’s food-driven imagination, which meant it was garnished with not just olives and celery but vodka-poached shrimp, pickled asparagus and an obscenely large lobster claw.

It was gimmicky, yes, but still delicious and every bit a part of our much-needed rebranding of the company. Drawing the trendy Instagram crowd, no matter how annoying some of them could be, played a huge part in spreading the buzz. So I had to remind myself before every brunch service that the madness was worth it.

Of course on this particular Sunday, I was more than happy to drown myself in the crazy. I had my big photo shoot in an hour, but I didn’t even care about running around and getting myself sweaty.

I needed the distraction like I needed air to breathe.

I needed to think about anything other than the crazy shit that happened to me last night. I needed to forget the fact that I’d not just run into Emmett Hoult but almosthad sex with him, and more than anything, I needed to forget every dirty, filthy, annoyingly hot thing he did to my half-naked body in that car, because every time I did, I had to squirm or groan or bite my lip – and anytime I did one of those things, Evie caught me and gave me grief.

“You really need to stop being so delighted about this,” I said tartly when she found me taking a mid-shift breather in the kitchen. “How would you feel if you hooked up with basically your high school bully? Huh?” I challenged. “It’s horrifying, Evie. I keep having these moments where I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m going to actually die of embarrassment.”

“What? Why?” Evie protested. It was hours after I’d told her the story, but there was still excitement dancing in her eyes. “Why be embarrassed about wanting Emmett if he wants you back? Seriously, Aly, what happened between you two last night was hotter than any porn I’ve ever watched in my life, and that’s saying a lot because Mike and I haven’t had sex in three months, and I’ve – ” Evie cut off, swiftly narrowing her eyes at the kitchen guys listening in. “And I’ve been watching a lot of porn, assholes!” she yelled at them, prompting a round of laughter before returning her attention to me. “Honest to God, Aly. This could wind up being an amazing summer of nonstop dirty, sweaty hate-fucking for you. And that could very well be what you need to fall asleep every night. Right? Right?”

I squinted at her like she’d grown a second head.

“Evie. Have we forgotten that my hatred for Emmett is like, real hatred and not foreplay hatred? You do remember that I despise him, right? Like, truly?”

Evie heaved a sigh as she followed me into the office.

“Yeah, but can’t we agree that he was a kid when he tortured you like that and he’s probably grown out of that shit?” she pleaded.

“It’s not that simple.”

“It could be! Half your relationship was comprised of getting each other in trouble with your teachers or your parents, but now that you’re adults, none of that shit exists anymore!”

“Yeah, but what about… the thing he did?” I challenged hotly, though my question lost steam halfway through.

Evie knew about the big drama that exploded between Emmett and me junior year, but we didn’t really discuss the subject much. That night in college when I got drunk off cheap wine from Trader Joe’s and finally spilled the beans about that fight, I had made Evie promise to say nothing after I finished the story.

I just had to get it out.

But once I got it out, Evie kind of pursed her lips and winced in a way that made me feel weird. I then broke my rule and asked her to say something, at which point she broke my heart by asking a bunch of questions that made me think she might actually be on Emmett’s side.

And since I refused to lose yet another friend to Emmett Hoult, I told her we should just forget the whole story and never speak of it again.

That was ten years ago and I decided I was going to keep my table-it streak going.

“You know what – don’t answer that question,” I said hastily. “Just…” I sunk into my chair as I groaned up at the ceiling. “Tell me my next move, Evie. He’s been texting me all day about wanting to see me, and I don’t know what to do or say because my brain is completely broken right now.”

“Fine.” Evie exhaled hard and chewed her nails for a minute. Then she shut the door, which meant she was getting serious for once. “Aly.” Pulling her chair from her desk, she sat in front of me. “If we’re being real here… financially speaking, you can’t afford anything else. As both your business partner and your closest friend, I can tell you objectively that your best move here is to do anything you can to make things work with Emmett.” Drawing in a huge breath, she let go of a sigh. “Even if it means wasting his hotness and forcing him to be completely platonic.”

I looked up at her weakly.

“Somehow, I don’t think the platonic thing is going to work after last night.”

“Well, it’s either that or move in with me and Mike. Because you can’t afford to rent even a motel room from now till Labor Day, Aly. Even the shittiest one that’s close enough to work is going to cost you well over five grand for the rest of the summer.”

I bit down hard on my lip. Goddammit. I wished so desperately I could just move in with Evie and nix Mike from the equation, but that was actually a horrifyingly selfish thought, and it just didn’t work like that. People had lives to live outside of my personal problems – my best friend included. Besides, I could never live with myself if I knew I was the reason they called off their engagement. And I could barely imagine the restaurant surviving if a drama like that went down. If Mike left Evie, we’d both be wrecks. She’d be heartbroken, I’d be guilty, and we’d probably wind up running the business straight into the ground.

Which meant I really only had one option.

“So basically, I have no choice but to stay with Emmett,” I mumbled.

“Yep!” Evie said brightly as I groaned to the ceiling. “Oh, come on, Aly,” she frowned, patting my knee. “It’s going to be fine. I’m sure that you two can coexist platonically under one roof. And if for some reason, you fall out of the shower one day and land on his cock, that won’t be the worst thing in the world, right?”

I shot her daggers before swiveling around in my chair and letting my head fall to my desk.

God, this was going to suck.