Hello,
Yes, it often has a negative tone.
*****
Susan: Tony has asked me to go to the movies with him.
Mona: Don't do it!
Susan: Why not?
Mona: Tony is looking only for another dalliance.
Susan: Oh, you mean that he just wants to have some fun, but he is not interested in a serious relationship with a girl?
Mona: That's right!
Susan: How do you know?
Mona: Can't you guess?
*****
George never went to college (university). Oh, sure, he had a dallliance with college in 2009, but that was it. ( = he spent a short time in college, but he soon left.)