Thank you for all the beautiful reviews. I'm actually loving Raylicity/Feliciray or whatever we're calling it. But I am supper psyched about that forehead kiss, however first base that may seem. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the next, I thought I'd upload two this evening to say Merry Christmas!

I love the reviews and I'd love to see more! They fuel me!

Felicity didn't realise how much a good kiss could alter her mood. When she woke up the next day the sun shined brighter, the air was fresher and her hair, despite the heat, was sitting perfectly frizz-less. She wondered for a moment if kissing good-looking people somehow could infect you. They always had great skin, hair and bodies. She wondered if by two lips touching she could catch some of the perks of being devastatingly beautiful. She doubted it.

When she walked into her office that morning, there was already a steaming hot Starbucks coffee at her desk with a post-it note stuck to it. She smiled and lifted the cup, reading the note aloud. "Had to fly out for a meeting, I'll pick you up at seven tonight- Ray."

She dropped down into her chair and pulled the coffee towards her, it was just the right temperature and had just the right amount of sugar in it. She wondered how Ray knew the way she liked her coffee. Maybe he'd asked her assistant, she thought. Just as she put the cup of coffee back down she looked up to see Oliver striding towards her.

"Oliver," She said as worry crossed her face, "Is something wrong? Did something happen?" She leaned forward, ready to grab her bag and go wherever he needed.

"Nothing's wrong, relax." He said, sitting down opposite her desk. He felt strange sitting on the other side of the desk but he loved the way Felicity looked, like she had more power over him than she realized. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to get lunch later. I'll be in the area." He smiled, "If your boss will let you out, that is."

"Oh," She couldn't help but beam even though she caught the jab Oliver made towards Ray. "I'd love to."

"Great," Oliver leaned forward, his eyes grazing over her, then to the cup in front of her. He saw the yellow post-it note and squinted to read it, then a flash of anger bolted through him and he struggled to keep his cool. He couldn't get angry with her, he'd pushed her away and that was his fault. Unfortunately for him, he'd let Felicity work close enough to Ray for him to realise how remarkable she was. Any one she worked closely with loved her; there was no avoiding that. "You have plans tonight?"

Felicity's eyes darted from the note to Oliver and she opened her mouth, ready to give out some kind of excuse but the annoyance she felt over powered that. She wasn't the type to rub things in other people's faces, but she wanted Oliver to know that his time was running out. She wanted him to claim her, but she knew he never would. That's why she liked Ray. He held her the way she deserved to be, he touched her the way she liked it and he didn't push her away, he invited her in.

"Ray invited me to dinner." She said, being honest with him, she wondered if now was the right time to tell him they kissed. And not only that. They kissed in the elevator where Felicity had had multiple fantasies about Oliver taking her against the wall again and again.

"Oh," Oliver looked crestfallen, "Is there something going on with you two?" He saw her lips purse and her eyes narrow. She didn't like that he was talking to her about Ray.

"I don't know Oliver, as you've probably noticed, my love life has one big gigantic question mark above its head."

Oliver nodded; it was his fault she was in this position. It was his fault that she was slipping away before his eyes. He had to take control of the situation. "Do you like him?"

"Oliver, please don't ask me about him." She turned towards her computer, wanting to look anywhere but at Oliver.

"Why not?"

"You know why." She said, her lips tight, before closing her eyes briefly to let out a calming breath, "Listen, if you want to get lunch, we can get lunch, but talking about Ray is off the table, okay?"

Oliver nodded and looked down to his hands, "I didn't want to spend lunch talking about Ray, Felicity." Oliver said, "I wanted to talk about us."

Felicity looked up from her computer, he knew he had her attention.

"If there is an us," he said, moving from his seat and around her desk, towards her.

She watched as Oliver leaned against her desk, his legs only a few centimeters away from her chair. She looked up at him; his tall form, even sitting, towered over her. "What are you saying?"

Oliver exhaled, "I don't know, I-"

The sound of feet moving across the tiles broke both of them out of their trance. It was Felicity's assistant. "Your ten o'clock is here," He said, realising he'd walked in on a private conversation, "Sorry," He gave Felicity a weak smile and turned to leave just as Oliver got up.

"I'll pick you up for lunch," Oliver said, as she watched him back away from her.

"Wait," She stood and walked towards him, "What were you about to say before?"

Oliver shook his head and took her hand, toying with the bracelet on her wrist. His thumb caressed the back of the hand while his other hand wrapped around her wrist and under her bracelet. "We can talk about it at lunch."

Felicity's head was everywhere but at work and by the time lunch came around, her brain felt fried until Oliver walked in. Oliver. The reason she was so frazzled in the first place. He moved towards her effortlessly and before she knew it, her and Oliver were sitting down at a quiet and intimate café a few blocks down from Palmer Technologies.

"I'll get the chicken," Felicity told the waitress who couldn't keep her eyes off Oliver. She felt like clicking her fingers to get the girls attention. She couldn't blame the girl, Oliver was hot.

"Same," Oliver said, his eyes not leaving Felicity. The waitress nodded and moved away while Oliver reached across the table to Felicity's hand. She pulled it back as if he'd stung her and his brow furrowed. "Felicity?" He asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ray and I kissed." She blurted out, she had to tell him. She couldn't let anything go further without Oliver knowing. She'd feel guilty.

"You," He started but paused and took a breath, "Felicity," He closed his eyes to collect his thoughts.

When he spoke, Felicity expected him to be angry, to blame her and maybe even storm out of the restaurant, but he didn't. He nodded understandingly instead.

"I pushed you away, that's what I get." Oliver said, dropping his shoulders and offering her a weak smile.

"Oliver, you know how I feel about you." Felicity reached for his hand but this time it was him who pulled away.

"I think," he paused, "I think this was meant to be." Oliver said, "You'll be safe with Ray, he can look after you."

She thought about Ray Palmer. Tall, handsome and charming Ray Palmer who challenged her and wasn't afraid to touch her. He made her feel sexy but delicate at the same time. All Oliver seemed to do was make her feel sexually frustrated. Although they'd only kissed once; and that ended in them both going home by themselves. She'd always wanted her and Oliver to be more, she'd dreamed about it.

While Oliver was rattling off all the reasons he wasn't good for her, she suddenly had an idea. What if she took Oliver's advice? Maybe if she was off the market, he'd see what he was missing. It wasn't fair to use Ray like that, but she thought it was only fair to let her heart lead the way and even though she loved Oliver, she knew there was a chance she could love Ray. She looked back at Oliver, telling her that they couldn't be in a relationship, dangling maybe's again and again, Felicity decided she'd had enough. Maybe Ray could sweep her off her feet and maybe she'd let him.

"Oliver, you're right." She said, pushing the food around on her plate. It'd come out ten minutes ago but she'd barely touched it. She no longer had an appetite. "Ray cares, he listens to me and he doesn't push me away one minute then pull me back the next." She started to feel her cheeks heating up as she reached for the cash in her purse and put it on the table, "Maybe Ray and I should be together." And with that she stood and left the café, leaving a confused and pissed off Oliver behind.