Alicia smiled and put her hand on her head. She needed aspirin. “Maybe. I’ll let you know at the end of our shift.”
They walked out of the employee lounge together, talking. Alicia headed for her hostess station. She loved interacting with people, but she was a terrible waitress. She tended to drop things.
Alana stood there looking angry. Her long black hair was pulled away from her face and her cheeks were pink. Her brown eyes were narrow and filled with anger.
“What’s wrong, sis?” Alicia was immediately concerned. Usually her sister was such an easygoing person.
“I came out of my office, and Tony and Dee are at a table. Should I call Ray to kick him out?” Alana spat out. Alicia had confided in her sister about last night’s events.
Alicia gasped. How could he bring Dee here, knowing this was her family business? She never thought he would be that cruel. She shook her head. She did not want Ray finding out what happened. He would yell at Tony and that would be even more humiliating. “No. That would cause an awful scene. People will start gossiping. I will stay here, out of the way.”
Alana didn’t look so sure. She crossed her arms in a stubborn way. “Fine, but the first wrong move and they are gone. I mean it, Alicia. No one hurts my sister and gets away with it.”
Alicia hugged Alana. She tried not to start crying. She had to be strong, or at least pretend to be strong. She had put her family through enough grief when she had her fling with John. It had caused a lot of drama with Ray and John fighting. She was the youngest sibling but she wanted to prove she could handle her own life. “Thanks. I’ll be fine, Alana.”
* * * *
Tony bit his lip to keep from snapping at Dee. He had come into the restaurant to talk to Alicia. A waitress had told him she was in the breakroom. He sat down to wait and saw Dee out of the corner of his eye. He groaned and prayed she was meeting a date. No such l
uck. She slid in the booth across from him and smiled happily. She wore her usual revealing outfit and heavy make-up. Matt and Holly had both given him hell when they found out what happened at the pool hall last night. He felt like shit already and didn’t need Dee to make things worse.
“How did you know I was here?” he snapped. Last night, after Alicia ran off, he told Dee he was sorry he allowed her flirting to get to him. He told her she was nice, but his interest lay elsewhere. She refused to believe him. Alicia and Kyle had quit the team and they had to forfeit the game. He hadn’t cared. He only joined to have the excuse to be near Alicia.
He couldn’t believe how badly he messed up. He let his doubts ruin the friendship he had with Alicia. He was still taken aback that Alicia had feelings for him. Instead of wallowing in the happiness, everything had blown up in his face. He wanted another chance to apologize, but Dee was ruining it by sitting with him uninvited. What was wrong with her? She knew how he felt.
“I saw your truck and knew you needed company,” she said cheerfully. Her red lips curled up into a wide smile. “Can you believe that little brat last night? So jealous.”
“You do know this is her family’s restaurant?” he spoke in a low tone so no one would hear them.
Dee shrugged carelessly. She flipped her blonde hair back. He could see the dark brown roots growing back in and he wanted to smile at Alicia’s catty remark about Dee’s fakeness. He had been stupid to allow her flirting to tempt him. He had spent days thinking of distancing himself from Alicia, and when Dee came on to him, he thought briefly that Dee might help him to forget. She hadn’t been able to.
“It’s a public place. Let’s get out of here and have dinner at my place. I know you want me, Tony. You kissed me last night.” She leaned forward and her blue blouse opened up. He could see her white bra.
He winced, glad Alicia had not seen that part. It had been a short kiss that Dee initiated. He should have pushed her away, but he’d hoped to feel something. He hadn’t. He hadn’t known Kyle had a thing for Dee, either. He had been so focused on Alicia all the time that he had missed that. Boy, when he fucked up, he did it big. He took in a deep, calming breath.
“Dee, I told you last night was a mistake. I had a few too many beers, but I don’t feel that way about you.” He hoped she got the hint this time. He had told her this last night, but she had been persistent until he left the billiard.
An angry look came over her face. “You can’t possibly have feelings for that chubby little girl?”
Now he felt the anger rise. His blood started to boil. He leaned forward and looked into her eyes, letting her see his fury. “Alicia has the body of a real woman, Dee.” He looked at Dee’s bony frame. She always wore revealing clothes and her thinness was obvious. “She is a legal adult, so watch what you say about her. I won’t put up with you bad-mouthing her like you did last night. Understand?”
She gave him a murderous glance and stood up. “You will be sorry for this, Tony. No one dumps me.”
She stalked off to where Alicia and her sister now stood. He could see all three women arguing. He stood up feeling a headache coming. He walked over in time to hear Dee tell Alicia, “I know you are jealous, but Tony is too good of a lover for me to give up. He will belong to me. Stay out of my way, little girl.”
“You can have him. We aren’t even friends anymore,” Alicia snapped. Alana nodded, looking ready to tear Dee’s hair out. He’d better intervene.
Tony walked up to them and looked at Dee. “You need to leave, Dee.”
She smiled at him and rubbed his chest. “I know, lover. This is awkward.”
She turned to Alicia. “Poor little girl. You can’t even keep a man. I heard John cheated on you and dumped you. You can’t satisfy Tony like I can.”
“That is it!” Alana grabbed Dee by the arm and led her to the front door. “You skinny ass is out of here for good. I better not see your scrawny ass back here ever.”
Alicia looked at him with tears in her brown eyes and he felt the pain in his chest. He didn’t like seeing her look so defeated. He liked her smiles and her joy. “How could you bring her here, Tony? I never thought you would be so cruel to me. I got the hint last night. You have no interest in me, other than as a friend. You didn’t have to flaunt Dee in front of me or my family like this. I never thought you would do something so cruel.”
Before he could answer, Alana stomped over to him and pushed her finger into his chest. She looked furious. “Get the hell out of this restaurant and never come back, Deputy Smith. I will sic Ray on you, or Noah.”