Dylan in Trouble

Cherry Dresses Make Men Champagne Crazy

Choosing a dress when trying to impress a guy was the most difficult thing in the whole world. As much as Halle wanted to dress comfortably she couldn't help but be drawn to her more revealing dress. Revealing may have been a stretch, but the tight fit and low, scooped back probed some interesting thoughts.

She admired the way cherry red made her skin brighten. The way it made her look curvier than she'd remembered being and how the long sleeves slimmed her arms. She looked prettier with it on, which hardly made sense.

To hell with it all! She'd wear the dress and make sure she cared nothing of what Dylan Matthews thought.

But before the thought was complete she was already daydreaming about how he might look when he first saw her. Perhaps he'd give her one of his shining smiles. Or even trail her body with his eyes like he'd done the day before.

The warm sensation from this thought followed Halle until she pulled up to the formal restaurant with her brother in the passenger seat. It had been years since she'd seen Sam in a suit. He looked good; she understood why a pretty girl like Kaylee would want to date him (a piece of information he'd revealed the previous night).

The subject of dating pulled her thoughts to Dylan (Him again! Could she think of nothing more interesting). No man had ever occupied her mind like this before. Much less after one conversation. A conversation in which Halle had been stupidly unaware of anything and Dylan had done most of the talking (which hadn't been much) leaving the situation feeling awkward. Halle wouldn't have been at all surprised if Dylan had taken an immediate disliking to her after the encounter. If there had been even a chance of him being interested in her it had most definitely been stomped on.

"Ready to head in?" Sam asked.

Checking her watch, she nodded and they both stepped out of the car. Inside the restaurant, the staff approached the two siblings with a greeting. When they gave a name for their reservation Halle and Sam were led towards the back to a table lined with eight chairs. And occupying six of the chairs were Hart, Peyton, Dylan, Kaylee and Halle and Sam's mother and father.

"Sorry about being impatient," Hart smiled sheepishly. "You weren't even late, but we didn't want to miss ordering time. I'm honestly surprised they seated us since our whole party wasn't here yet, but alas." He gave a one shouldered shrug.

Sam patted his shoulder with a huff and took his seat. He was between Peyton and Hart and across from his parents and Kaylee. This left Halle to sit across from Dylan who she warily made eye contact with.

His face cracked into a grin and just as she'd fantasized his eyes lingered on her body. More specifically her hips, then her breasts which swelled against her red dress. Then his gaze roamed her legs before settling onto her face. She slid quickly into her seat.

The others were conversing as Halle tapped her fingers against her thighs. Confidence was building in her chest when she finally spoke.

"Dylan, tell me about yourself. How did you meet my brother?"

"Well, about five months ago when I was shopping for statue heads, Sam happened to be doing the same. We bonded over our shared love for decapitated Roman emperor statue heads."

Peyton and Hart snickered; Sam looked slightly embarrassed. Halle gave Sam a questioning look. Did he really have an interest in that sort of thing? She wondered if he had a collection. How amusing! She hasn't realized her brother was such a nerd.

"I can't believe you're serious," A smile pulled at Halle's lips and it was hard for her to stop.

"He's very serious," Halle's father interjected. "Your brother keeps his whole collection in our basement."

Mouth slack, Halle stared at Sam. It was hard for her to quell the laughter in her chest. Sam blushed furiously when Halle gave him a mocking look.

Before anyone else could speak a waiter approached the table and passed around menus. Everyone bowed their heads and studied their menus and for a quiet moment no one spoke. Until Dylan met her eyes across the rims of their menus.

"What do you plan on getting, Halle?" The question was innocent enough, but the way his tongue dragged on her name made it difficult to speak.

"Beef Ragu most likely, yourself?"

"Beef Ragu as well. It seems we have a lot in common."

"Hardly, we're just ordering the same meal," Halle curved her lips slowly.

"We could order the same plate, too if you'd like?"

Halle paused and pulled herself backwards. She'd been leaning over the table, closer to Dylan. "What?"

"I-I just meant that we could—" Dylan cut himself off.

"No, I knew what you meant," Halle continued awkwardly. "Sure! Let's do it."

"Okay. It says in the description it's for two."

"That's good."

For a long moment they said nothing and just stared at each other. Then Kaylee cleared her throat, breaking their eye contact between them and when they turned their heads they saw the whole table looking at them.

"So, I see you two are ready to order. Anyone not ready?" Kaylee inquired.

"I just need a minute longer," Halle's mother mumbled into her menu.

Halle's eyes turned back to Dylan. His confidence had turned to awkwardness and it made her like him even more. In the span of twenty-four hours and two conversations she had begun to like this man. Halle especially liked his green eyes, the way way shone brighter because of the green button up he wore. His height was immense (something she'd always looked for in men); the thought of his height drew her mind to the lengths of other things. She imagined their children would be tall. Children? Gosh, where had that thought come from?

Would they get his green eyes? Halle wanted to hit herself. She shouldn't be thinking these things! Children? With a man she'd just met?

Dylan was downing his champagne in large gulps. And when his cup would empty he'd pour himself another. With each swallow he'd watch her body moving within her dress. The more she'd move the more he'd drink.

When she shifted her weight and her breast bobbed, he choked. Peyton's hand had slammed onto his back in an effort to help him.

His eyes were shining and not because of his shirt. She could see her cherry dress reflected in his glasses.