Felicity stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw Oliver head for the motorcycle. "Oh, no. Oh, no no no. I'm not getting on that deathtrap. Don't you have a car?"
"I wanted to be incognito tonight," Oliver replied. "Hence the crappy clothes and seat, and the motorcycle instead of one of my family's many cars. And I promise to keep you safe."
Felicity still hesitated, torn between her fear of the motorcycle and Oliver's promise, but after a few seconds, she started walking again. Oliver reached the motorcycle before her and pulled two helmets out of a compartment, then handed one to her.
"Sit as close to me as possible, and hold on very tightly," Oliver said as he climbed on the motorcycle, and Felicity couldn't help but say, "I'd never thought I'd hear you say those words to me in such platonic circumstances."
A second later, Felicity realized what she'd just said, and continued talking. "And when I said 'you', I didn't mean you, I meant just people in general. And I don't really think about you- I mean, whenever I've thought about you in the past, it was just in the context of work, because you're my CEO's son, and- this is the third time I've babbled at you this evening. I'm just going to stop talking."
When she looked at Oliver, however, his face was lit up in a smile. "I don't mind your babbling, Felicity," he said. "It's- endearing. Now, put on your helmet and get on- and make sure you hold on to me tightly."
Felicity quickly complied, and once she was on the motorcycle, Oliver turned it on and drove off. Felicity was pretty sure Oliver was taking precautions not to drive recklessly, but she couldn't really tell, because she'd closed her eyes and clung to him like a limpet almost as soon as they'd started moving.
After a surprisingly short amount of time, Oliver pulled to a stop and said, "We're here."
"Give me a minute," Felicity replied. Once she'd calmed down, she opened her eyes and got off the motorcycle.
"Oh, I love Big Belly Burger," Felicity said when she caught sight of the restaurant they were standing in front of. "When I was a kid, dinner options were the two things my mom could actually cook or Big Belly Burger. Well, at least until I learned how to cook."
"I only discovered that Big Belly Burger even existed a few months ago," Oliver replied as they went into the restaurant. "Digg, my bro- bodyguard took me here when I got back. Hey, Carly," he called to a waitress, who waved at him.
A few seconds after they sat down at a booth, the waitress Oliver had called Carly came over. "Usual for you?" she asked Oliver.
"Yep," Oliver replied, and when Carly turned to Felicity she gave her order. "I'll be right back with your food," she said, and walked away.
"You have a usual?" Felicity couldn't help but ask.
"I pretty much always come to this restaurant," Oliver said. "Carly is Digg's sister-in-law, so..."
"Digg is- your bodyguard?" When Oliver nodded, Felicity said, "Not trying to be rude, but as far as I can tell, he's not here tonight. Unless he's a mutant who can become invisible."
Oliver had a blank look on his face, so Felicity said, "I think this is a sign that I should interact with people outside QC's IT department, because they're all geeks like me and I'm clearly in the habit of making references that normal people don't understand. Not that I'm calling you normal, because- three, two, one. I swear I'm not usually this bad- my foot-in-mouth disease is just really acting up tonight."
To Felicity's complete surprise, Oliver just smiled at her. "Like I said before- I don't mind. I think it's cute," he said. "And to be perfectly honest, up until now, Digg was the only person I know who treated me like I'm a normal person, not Oliver Queen."
Felicity was left scrambling for something to say in response, but fortunately for her, Carly came over with their food just then, and Felicity quickly started eating her burger.
"Y'know, this was one of the reasons I chose to move to Starling City instead of Gotham," Felicity said after she'd had a few bites. "It's surprising how few Big Belly Burgers there are in Gotham, especially considering how big of a city it is."
"You considered living in Gotham?" Oliver asked. "What was the appeal?"
"Being the director of the Computer Science division of Wayne Enterprises by the time I was 30," Felicity replied. "But I didn't really like the city itself, and of all the other job offers I got, I liked QC's the most, so Starling City. Plus, I wouldn't be on a date with you if I was living in Gotham."
Felicity picked her burger back up and started eating again. A few bites in, she realized what she'd just said, and looked up to see Oliver staring at her with an inscrutable expression.
"I mean- if this actually is a date. Because if it's not, then that's fine, I'll just retract the part about the 'date' thing-"
"It's a date," Oliver interrupted. "As long as that's okay with you."
"It's definitely okay with me," Felicity replied hurriedly. "I mean, look at you- you're really nice and insanely hot. Who wouldn't want to go on a date with you?"
"Good point," Oliver said with a smile. "And thank you."
"For what?" Felicity replied.
"You didn't mention me being Oliver Queen as a reason to want to date me," Oliver answered.
"It's very hard to see you as Oliver Queen when you're sitting in Big Belly Burger and you're wearing that shirt," Felicity replied. "Is it supposed to be that tight?"
"I borrowed it from a friend," Oliver said with a smile, then reached across the table to grab a fry from Felicity's plate.
Felicity slapped his hand away. "No stealing my fries before the fifth date," she said. "Especially not if you want to get lucky, and wow, that was not supposed to come out sounding like that. I swear, my mouth isn't usually this bad."
"I'm kind of inclined to agree- your mouth was just fine earlier," Oliver replied teasingly, and Felicity blushed at the reminder of their kiss.
"I'm pretty sure it's all your fault," Felicity replied. "What with your face and- shirt and- everything. It's all very distracting. You probably shouldn't be wearing it, and wow, see what I mean? It's definitely your fault."
"Sorry?" Oliver offered with a small grin.
"It's fine, just expect me to keep turning almost everything I say into an innuendo," Felicity replied.
"So- what's the phrase? I had a lovely evening?" asked Oliver as he pulled to a stop in front of Felicity's apartment.
"Sounds about right," Felicity replied. "And I did too- well, definitely after Cooper left." She got off the motorcycle and said, "I'll see you tomorrow. No I won't- unless you decide to come to QC's IT department, which you probably won't-"
Oliver cut Felicity off by pulling her into a kiss, and Felicity completely lost her train of thought. "Goodnight, Felicity," Oliver said, then got back onto his bike and drove away, leaving Felicity standing motionless on the sidewalk.
"Goodnight- Oliver," Felicity muttered to the empty air, then shook her head and pulled out her phone as she went inside her apartment.
"Felicity, this better be important," came Iris's voice over the phone as Felicity flopped onto her couch.
Felicity grinned. "You will never believe who I just went on a date with."