Oliver

"Can I get you another whiskey, hot shot?" asked the bartender, leaning on the counter, her black hair swinging over her shoulder. Oliver nodded, smiling blandly at the girl. She was pretty, but he wasn't really looking for anything other than a couple drinks and the noise of a Friday night in a club. The club may not have been his scene anymore, but he enjoyed the feeling of being a part of something again, even though he was sitting away from the dance floor and at an emptier part of the bar. "Here you go. One whiskey on the rocks," said the bartender, sliding the drink across towards him.

"Thanks," replied Oliver, taking the glass and sipping at the amber liquid. The bartender seemed to realize that she was getting nowhere with him and walked away to help some other patrons. He got up to move to a different seat, not wanting to get hit on by the bartender all night. He was walking past one of the high-top tables around the edges of the dance floor when he caught sight of a gorgeous blonde woman. She looked up in his direction and flashed a blinding smile. He was immediately enraptured by her smile, and he felt this burning urge to go over and say hi. He casually strolled up to her table, trying to play it cool. Her blue top exposed her toned arms, and a cutout in the high-necked blouse exposed her collar bones as well as a tasteful amount of cleavage. Her blonde curls swirled around her shoulders, and pink painted lips were wrapped around a straw.

"Hey, can I help you?" she asked, not unkindly, but more surprised than anything else.

"Hi, I was just walking past, and I would have felt bad without saying hello," replied Oliver, feeling slightly awkward but trying to conceal it. "You're Felicity, right?"

She smiled again and gestured for him to sit down across from her. "It's cool," she said, taking a sip of her drink. "So I guess you're a regular if you know my name. Come to karaoke night often?"

Oliver grinned at her, totally absorbed in her energy. "Yeah, I'm here pretty often. It's a nice escape from the real world, you know? Oh, I'm Oliver, by the way."

"Hi Oliver, it's nice to meet you. And totally. My job is super stressful, so it's nice to have a place like Verdant to go on the weekend. The atmosphere is so great, and since I'm friends with one of the owners' sister, Thea, it's nice to get a good table every time I come," she said. Felicity kept talking, and Oliver just smiled. Thea had mentioned Felicity a time or two before, and his sister had not been wrong about the blonde's bubbling personality. Oliver sipped at his drink as Felicity kept babbling about her job and how great the club was. Her eyes were flashing in the lights, the steely blue partially hidden behind black-framed glasses. The openness of her gaze was slightly intimidating to him; he wasn't used to people being open around him anymore. She flashed another smile, and his heart skipped a beat. That had never actually happened to him before. Damn, this girl was gorgeous. "I've heard Thea's brother, one of the co-owners of this club, is back from the dead, too. Isn't that way cool? Someone in Starling actually back from the dead? Though I guess he was never actually dead to begin with." Oliver blinked, slightly surprised. Normally people recognized his face from the tabloids or the internet, and this girl seemed like she was internet savvy enough to be one of those people.

Instead of introducing himself as Thea's 'undead' brother, Oliver said, "It was all over the tabloids a few months ago. He apparently hosted this epic party right across the street from an attack by that vigilante guy. They had some pretty great shots of the Queen guy, I think. Especially for pap shots." Okay, so maybe he was taking the opportunity to brag a bit. Those had been good shots.

Felicity wrinkled her nose, "I remember hearing about that on the radio. And I never saw those photos; I tend to avoid gossip rags. And I was reading the articles on my phone; the pictures wouldn't load." She shrugged. "But I'll take your word for it." She took a sip of her drink and smiled around her straw. "So, do you always hit on pretty girls by talking about other attractive men when you're drunk?"

"I'm not drunk," assured Oliver. "Only my second drink, and my tolerance is pretty high. And who says I'm hitting on you? Maybe I just thought you were an interesting looking person. As far as I'm concerned, right now, this is just a conversation. You don't know me, and I don't know you. But I want to." He winked at her as he took a sip of his whiskey. She grinned back at him. "So, what do you say about me and you just getting to know each other?"

"Not looking to make me your girl?" she teased, resting her elbows on the table and lacing her fingers together.

"Not tonight," he replied, crossing his arms on the table and leaning forward a bit. He wasn't lying; he didn't want to pick her up tonight. What he wanted was much simpler: to be a guy talking to a gorgeous woman in a bar just because he could. "You can tell me to leave anytime. I know you probably have a friend who's going to come over soon to save you from the random creepy guy who's been talking too much." Oliver hoped she wouldn't tell him to leave, but he would totally understand if she did. The music was thumping in his bones, but somehow it was quiet enough for him and Felicity to have their conversation at a normal volume. Tommy was a genius, apparently.

"Nah, I'll just give her the signal if I want her to stay away," Felicity joked, stirring her straw in her drink. "I'm up for seeing where this goes if you are."

Oliver grinned, and her cheeks darkened slightly in the low lights. "That sounds good to me."

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

The two of them sat talking for hours, until they heard the bartender yell, "Last call!"

"I guess that's my cue," said Felicity, finishing her water and picking up her clutch from the table.

Oliver didn't quite want the night to be over just yet, so he quickly said, "I can walk you to your car, if you want." Felicity raised an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth quirked up. Oliver realized what that sounded like, and he rushed to correct himself. "I'm not trying to hook up with you, I swear! I just know that it's a bad part of town, and I just want you to know you have the option of not walking out there alone."

She smiled at him for real and said, "Sure, why not." He helped her put her coat on, and held out his arm for her, employing the manners his mother had taught him from a young age. "What a gentleman," she teased, giggling.

"You sure you're good to drive home?" he checked, not wanting to put her in a dangerous situation that he might not be able to save her from later.

"Yep, I only had the two vodka tonics, and then it was strictly water after that," she reassured. "And I'm glad you stopped to talk to me. I had a great time." She stopped next to a small mini cooper and turned to face him, smiling. He took her in, thick-framed glasses perched on her nose, blue eyes sparkling in the streetlights, and blonde curls tumbling over her shoulders. Her leather jacket hugged her figure, and her tight jeans highlighted her shapely legs. She stood a good four inches shorter then him in her soaring electric blue heels.

"I'm glad I stopped, too. Are you going to be here next Friday?" Oliver asked, not wanting to press for her phone number, but wanting to see her again.

"I always am," she replied, pulling one of her bright pink lips between her teeth. "Will I see you?"

"I was hoping so," he said. "Get home safe, Felicity." He almost leaned in to kiss her, but thought better of it. He had promised her that he wasn't there to pick her up. He settled for kissing the back of her hand, making her blush.

"I'll do my best, Oliver," she said. She opened her door and slid into the car as Oliver began to walk away. He slid his hands into his pockets and smiled to himself. God, this had been a good night. Wait till he told Tommy he had a date next Friday. A few raindrops started to fall from the sky, and he relished the coolness on his skin.

He was almost inside when he heard a call of, "Hey, Oliver!" from the direction of the drive. He turned to see Felicity's car stopped, with her hanging out the window. "You better give me your number next time, Queen!"

He froze for a second before smiling and giving her a sloppy salute and hurrying out to her car. "Will do, Felicity. And I'm just going to guess Thea told you who I am."

She grinned crookedly, wrists crossed on the steering wheel. "I've known the whole goddamn time, you big dork. If you decide you want to join me for coffee sometime this week, Thea has my number."

"I'll keep that in mind," he laughed, feeling the raindrops rolling down his face.

"Now go inside before you catch something," said Felicity, rolling up her window. She blew him a kiss as she pulled away, and he grinned the whole way back into Verdant.

"What's got you so smiley, Ollie?" asked Thea, laughing from her perch on the catwalk.

"Did Oliver finally meet a girl?" called Tommy from behind the bar, wiping down glasses. Oliver just rolled his eyes and kept smiling as he strolled up to the office to check the books.

A/N- This fic is based on the song Take Your Time by Sam Hunt, who I am totally obsessed with. I love the idea of Felicity and Oliver meeting in a bar, and Felicity being friends with Thea. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this fic! Let me know what else you guys want to see! All my love-Rose