Dinner with the_prettygirl

[barnacle_the]

Barney walked up to Brooke's door, he pulled his sleeve back, it was 5:55, still five minutes to spare. Well, it never hurts to be a little bit early. He straightened out his shirt, and did a swift once over, he was wearing a suit, sans jacket and tie. He wore that stuff to impress, since he had already gotten Brooke to have dinner with him, he

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[the_prettygirl]

Luckily, by 5:55, Brooke had finally settled the Black or Red debate. Red was always her color. But it was flashy, and she didn't want Barney to think she was trying too hard. And even more importantly, how could she not wear the gold necklace he had given her? And that looked fantastic with the short, black dress and gold heels she had on now.

She'd just finished airing herself with a touch of perfume when he knocked. And because she was completely and utterly not nervous at all, Brooke took one last look in the mirror and took a deep breath. Even though she wasn't nervous. Right.

Swinging open the door, she greeted him with an appreciative smile. "And here I thought you'd be late." He'd ditched the jacket and tie. Clearly, our boy had a few surprises in him.

[barnacle_the]

Barney gave her a smile, she looked amazing in her short black dress. The necklace shining from around her neck, the ensemble went perfect together. He realized after a few seconds that he was still staring at her, he cleared his throat.

"Me late? That rarely happens." He held up his hand, twirled it, making a flower appear, and offered her a pink daisy, those magic lessons were worth something after all. Even if it was cheesy, not everyone could do that. "Beautiful flower for a beautiful woman."

[the_prettygirl]

She couldn't help but grin. She eyed the flower, not surprised in the slightest that it happened to be her favorite. It was the deft twirl of his fingers accompanied by the sudden appearance of the daisy that caught her off guard, and she found herself tentatively taking it from his hands, fingering the stem and taking in its aroma.

"Okay, I'll give you points for that," she said with a smile, still clutching the daisy. "No quarter behind the ear, though."

[barnacle_the]

"Please," He said making a face. "That is a parlor trick. This is real magic."

He smiled once more before offering her his arm, "You ready for the night of your life? I guarantee it will be in the Top Five if not number one."

[the_prettygirl]

She lifted an eyebrow, but nodded once and took his arm. "I don't know, Barney," she said, a playful smile forming on her lips. "I've got a pretty sweet Top Five."

She took another whiff of her daisy and turned her head to look him straight in the eyes. "Magic flowers might get you to Top Fifteen, though." She shrugged. "It's progress."

[barnacle_the]

Barney laughed softly and patted her hand. "I'm telling you, it will make the Top Five, right above when you met me."

He looked back into her eyes, a smirk playing on his lips, "So, where does a limo get me?" He asked revealing a black limo waiting for them.

[the_prettygirl]

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. No one could make her roll her eyes so fondly and still laugh, despite herself.

Her eyes switched to the sleek black limo, patiently awaiting its passengers. As limos went, it was a pretty nice one. Only a little smaller than the one she used for the company. Still, taking her out in style? Points for that.

"I do love a good limo," she turned back to him with an appreciative smile. "Let's say that bumps you up to about...oh, I don't know. Sixteen?"

Workin' your way up, Barney boy.

[barnacle_the]

"Sixteen?" He feigned a wince. "Guess I will just have to show you my A-game then. The night is still young, plenty of time to get to number one."

He opened the door for her, wondering again why he was trying so hard with this girl. But when he looked at her smile, he lost all train of thought. She certainly was magnificent looking.

[the_prettygirl]

She rolled her shoulders with a small smile. "You have a shot. Number six was a dream, anyway."

For a split second, a fleeting fragment of time so small it was barely a passing thought, Brooke wondered 'what the hell are we doing?' Here she was, in a pretty black dress, accepting gifts from and going on a date with someone everyone considers a womanizing player. For that split second, as Barney charmingly held the opened the door for her, she saw Billy's face and wondered if he thought she was an idiot. In that second, she decided for some reason, she didn't really even care.

The second passed almost as quickly as it came, like the appearance of the daisy in Barney's fingers, and she entered the limo after giving him a smile.

[barnacle_the]

The limo slowly pulled away from the curb after Barney got in, he let them ride in silence for a few seconds. He was trying to keep from looking at her too often, but it was difficult. Finally he turned to her.

"I hear you made Billy a suit? What up? He doesn't even wear suits."

[the_prettygirl]

She could have sworn he was side-glancing her. She concealed a small smile and enjoyed the comfortable silence.

"What? Like you object? I tried to get the boy to embrace some suaveness." She shrugged and gave a little sigh of satisfaction. "He loved it. Even if he doesn't say it." Looking at him, she added, "And he looked good."

[barnacle_the]

He nodded as he listened to her. It was hard to concentrate on anything she said when she looked him straight in the eyes.

"You know..I happen to know another man that looks great in a suit. Perhaps even better than Billy. Is there any chance that you are continuing this awesome trend of suit making?"

[the_prettygirl]

She bit her lip, letting out a soft laugh. "I knew the gold had a catch! Barney Stinson, are you trying to charm me into making you a suit?" She shook her head. And Billy said he just wanted to get into her pants! She managed to bite back this last thought, definitely not wanting to get Billy in trouble or jeopardize his "Wing Man" status.

"As a matter of fact, I've been known to whip up a suit or two for some handsome men. You might qualify, if you play your cards right."

[barnacle_the]

"There is no catch!" He smiled innocently. "Of course, if you were going to make a suit, I wouldn't be opposed to getting in on that opportunity."

"You make them for handsome men? Well there is no one more handsome, or awesome than me. I'll send you my measurements..just encase of suit emergencies." He didn't want to come off too cocky so he decided to make a little joke out of it. "I like the pants a bit tighter than normal, they make my butt look good." He winked.

[the_prettygirl]

She nodded, grinning and . "Of course, of course. And hey, a man who takes advantage of his opportunities. I like it!"

She flipped a piece of hair over her shoulder, seriously wondering if she should go there. But because Brooke's mind didn't exactly work on a step-by-step logical basis and mostly loved to spit out whatever thought entered it, she totally was going there. He walked right into it. And when he winked? Her mind was made up.

She lowered her head to look up at him, meeting his eyes and letting a coy smile spread on her face. "You can send me them. Or...I can get them myself." She shrugged, leaning back. "Whichever."

[barnacle_the]

When Brooke looked up at him like that it was all he could do to not let out the gasp that stuck in his throat. His body tingled, damn she was good. And hot. He would have grabbed her then and there if the limo hadn't slowed down. Unfortunately that meant they had arrived at the restaurant. Still he leaned closer to her, his voice low "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were flirting with me."

He lifted his hand up to lightly move back a stray piece of hair, his fingers not quite touching her cheek. He moved in closer, his face right in front of hers, he could smell her perfume and it was dizzying. "You are damn good at it." He smiled his lips almost grazing hers.