Falling For Hadley

Chapter 13

HADLEY'S POV

"Put the food on the longest table over there. Have the grill at the very end of it so people can pick up their main dish. And I will get the decorations up soon," I say, pointing in different directions for instructions. Bentley and Jack wheel the grill over to the end of the table and Dylan goes whizzing by me with jars and lights in hand. 

"Give me those," I say, grabbing a few jars and lights, I walk over to underneath the large oak tree in the center of my yard and stand on my tippy toes. I feel arms around my waist hoist me up and I hook a few of the mason jar lights onto some branches. 

"Your welcome," Dylan's voice tickles my ear and I bat him away.

"Thank you," I reply reluctantly and he smiles devilishly. 

"I'll get the rest of them hung up. You go get your camera," he whispers the last part and I could feel my face burn red. I forgot that the first time he met me, he caught me using my camera. He just chuckles and waves me off. I sheepishly walk away and head up the stairs onto my back porch. I step into the house to find Oliver messing with microphones for his band. 

"Hey, how long do you think you can play the music for?" I ask him as I head towards the stairs to my room.

"About two hours. We have a few extra songs lined up if you need," he replies and I give him a thumbs up. Perfect, the whole night was going to be just that. I dash up the stairs and head into my room. It was brightly lit by the evening sunlight and had bright blue walls with ocean murals scattered across the walls. I painted those a year ago when I first got my job at the center. I unearth my camera from underneath my bed and head towards my closet. I pull out a white dress with lace long sleeves and edging. The dress went down to my mid thigh and had a sweetheart illusion top. I slip on a pair of blue sandals and pull my hair up into a braided crown. 

"What's taking so--" Dylan steps into my room and stops dead in his tracks. I push in my silver turtle earrings and Dylan continues to stare. 

"Yes?" I ask, grabbing my camera and walk over to him, looking him up and down. He looked dashing in his button down shirt and cargo shorts. And his blue eyes were sparkling with intrigue, his eyes were gorgeous.

"You," he finally gets some words out and I smile.

"Are you shocked?" I test him and he shakes his head no.

"No, I'm intrigued. You look gorgeous," He complements me, still baffled and staring into my eyes and my dress. 

"Don't I always?" I ask him and he chuckles.

"Every damn day," he says grinning and he offers me his arm. I reluctantly take it as my face burns from his statement. We walk down the stairs and Oliver stops when he sees us. 

"Power couple!!" he shouts and Bentley and Jack peek out from the kitchen.

"OTP!" Jack adds and I give them each a death glare. The three of them snicker and watch us walk out to the back porch. 

"Oh and I forgot, King and Queen!!" Bentley opens the porch door and shouts it out. I smack him on the arm as I let go of Dylan's arm. The three of them continue to laugh and I hide my face behind my camera, snapping pictures of the people at work. 

"When's everybody coming?" I ask in between shots and Dylan looks at his watch as I snap pictures of him.

"In about 20 minutes," he responds shyly and I laugh.

"Smile!" I order him cheerfully and he does. My heart stops at his smile and I gasp. His smile really was breathtaking. 

"What?" he asks suddenly, pulling me out of my stare at his smile.

"Nothing. You looked dorky," I cover with a smirk and he sticks his tongue out at me.

"I have never had anyone call me that," he blurts and I chuckle knowingly.

"I kinda figured," I reply and he laughs along with me. I snap some more pictures as he laughs and he begins to shy away from the camera. 

"Why so many?" he asks, hiding his face with his elbow.

"Because you have a nice smile," I respond quietly and he chuckles.

"You're acting like my smile is the best in the world," he teases and I punch his arm with my free hand. 

"You wish," I state and he snickers. 

"Anyone here?" A group of my friends walks in the back gate and I screech as I see Aria. 

"I could hear the two of you flirting from miles away!" she shouts up at the two of us and I try to hide my burning face. She wraps me in a hug and I steer the camera around her body and mine. Dylan comes from behind me and shakes everybody's hands.

"This is Dylan. He moved here just two weeks ago," I begin to introduce them. "Dylan, Aria is the red head. Jake is the skyscraper blondie. And Olivia is the short blonde." I finish and they all nod. Aria grabs my arm and yanks me off to the side.

"I'm just gonna borrow her a minute," she announces and Dylan chuckles. Once we were farther away from the others, she grins wildly.

"How has your summer been so far?" I ask politely and she scoffs. 

"No niceties! When did you meet hottie Mr.Rich Boy?!" she squeals and my eyes widen to try and shoosh her.

"I met him while I was working a few weeks ago," I respond, memories of that awful and cheesy day running through my head. 

"Damn girl. He is in love with you," she says, looking over my shoulder and I turn slightly. I spot Dylan looking at me with an expression I didn't realize. 

"No, he's not. I'm giving him one chance to prove that he can be more than a stuck up rich boy. And that means friends only," I argue and she snickers.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to break that rule," she replies, biting her lip and waving to Dylan. I pull up my camera and take a shot of her. She instantly takes a step back and frowns.

"Now, how may of our friends are coming. Dylan needs to meet people," I say, checking the picture that I got. 

"Plenty," she responds with a smile.