Chapter 9 - Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9.

Sheila.

The Chinese Gourmet is a place I have never visited before but I have read up on it and according to the internet, it is a three-star rated restaurant that provides—and I quote—an exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.

The restaurant itself is located on the 20th floor of the Brutes and Brothers skyscraper. But instead of taking the elevator to the 20th floor, I watch Dylan punch in a button labeled 'R'.

The elevator starts moving and I feel the urge to run my hands along the sides. The elevator is a beautiful golden color and it feels like I stepped into a royal room. I stop myself from touching it though and nervously glance at my reflection staring back at me in the sophisticated elevator car. 

My eyes sweep to Dylan's form in the mirror and I meet his eyes. Looking away quickly, I blush. Dylan is dressed in a navy suit that shows off his muscular body in a really nice way. His dark hair is messy but sexy.

The elevator car soon stops and he gets down, holding a hand out for me. I gently place my hand in his and he leads me away from the elevator. 

My throat closes up when I discover we're on the rooftop. There's a table right in the middle with flowers on it. 

Dylan pulls out a chair for me and I mutter a thank you, my heart slamming in my chest as I take in the beauty of this place.

He grabs the bouquet on the table and extends it to me. "For you, milady."

I blush as I collect it, inhaling the sweet scent of chocolate. I rear back in surprise and observe the flowers closely. It is a deep red flower that has leaves—or petals maybe—facing directly opposite each other and meeting in the middle. 

Dylan must have noticed my confusion because he speaks up, "they are called Cosmo flowers. I bought them because they reminded me of your scent."

"You know what I smell like?" I'm trying my hardest to contain my excitement at this point. 

"Of course," he beams. "The first night I met you, I got a whiff of chocolate and vanilla scent."

"Thank you so much. It really means a lot to me that you put effort into picking the flowers." I bring them to my nose once more and now that I know why he picked them, it makes the whole experience surreal.

"You're welcome. By the way, you look really stunning tonight."

I want to thank him for the compliment when I hear the ping of the elevator. My face snaps to the direction of the sound and I notice an elderly man step out.

Dylan shoots up from his seat and powers towards the man, engulfing him in a tight hug with a lot of patting on the back.

"My boy, it's been a while I've seen you. How have you been faring?" The older man asks Dylan in a very animated way.

"I've been really good. How's business? Gosh, it's been a long while since I saw you." Dylan replies in a similar manner and they hug once again. 

Then, as if remembering that I was behind him, Dylan turns and guides the man to our table. "Chen, I'd like you to meet Sheila Keith, my girlfriend. Sheila, this is Chen Yao, the owner of this wonderful restaurant."

I extend my hands to Chen for a shake but he pulls me up from my seat and engulfs me with a hug. "It's good to meet you, Miss Keith. I haven't seen this one introduce a woman to me in years so this is a nice change."

Dylan laughs nervously, his hand rubbing the back of his neck but I ignore him and turn to Chen, determined to make a good impression.

"It's really nice to meet you. This is my first time here and I hope to eat the wonderful meals I have heard so much about. And please, call me Sheila." I shyly comment as I step back. 

Chen laughs and turns to Dylan. "You've got a charmer right here, boy." And we all laugh. "Anyway, I'll leave you two for your romantic dinner. Sheila, I hope the meals live up to your expectations."

The table is silent as Chen takes his leave until Dylan speaks, "Would you like to order now?"

"Yeah." I reach for the menu in front of me just as Dylan rings the small bell on the table. There are a lot of food options like peking roast duck, mapo tofu, and chow mein, alongside other dishes. 

I'm indecisive considering I haven't had any of these meals before. 

"Have you decided on what you want to order?" Dylan asks me and I look up to see a waiter standing next to the table, his hands folded behind him.

"Oh…" I flush. "I actually don't know what you order. It all looks new and… unfamiliar."

"Alright then." He closes his own menu and turns to the waiter. "We'll have a portion of everything on the menu."

My mouth drops open and I grab my menu again, checking the prices of the meal and I gasp. The cheapest dish costs up to a couple hundreds of dollars and that's just the cheapest.

I look up at Dylan but he doesn't seem fazed. Instead, he's opening a bottle of red wine, his gaze focused on the task. I immediately compose myself.

"Wine?" Dylan calls out, making me raise my glass as he pours the wine for me.

"So how do you know Chen?" I ask him after taking a sip of my wine. He's relaxed in his chair, looking carefree but when I ask the question, I see his face tense up. He really doesn't like being asked questions.

"He was a friend of my parents, my dad's best friend. He's like a father to me." Immediately he's done answering the question, he drains his glass and I could see that it was a sore topic for him, so I refrain from commenting or asking any other question, even though I have plenty. 

Our meals arrive and I'm grateful for something else to do. We leave immediately after our meal and when Dylan drops me home, he leaves me with a goodnight kiss that got me wanting more and a promise of more dates.