A third one, that proved to be a challenge but ended up being longer than I expected it. Prompt was the title's line, being flirty.
Hope you like it! And please, if you do, leave a word or two to make my day.
"ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SAY "YES".
"Hi"
He's taken aback at first. If he's being honest, picking up women wasn't exactly what he had in mind that night. He just wanted to unwind, leave the pressure of his father's expectations aside and just have a drink. That gave Tommy the perfect excuse to drag him to his bar, where he'd been sitting nursing his second drink when he spotted her. It hadn't been intentional.
Blonde locks cascaded down her back, covering the vast extension of skin that her dress left bare. As if he were calling her name she turned around, the bluest eyes he'd ever seen meeting his across the room. Even through the dark lighting he could see a faint blush taint her pail complexion as she looked down, barely a beat after holding his gaze.
It's electrifying and he finds his eyes straying to her throughout the night. Sometimes she sneaks a glance at him and their eyes meet for the briefest moment, yet she looks away before he can do anything about it. Still the dance continues, and before long he's hypnotized by her every move; the way she tilts her head back in laughter at something her friend'd said, or how she licks her lips after every sip taken from her cocktail.
Tommy walks up to him half-way through the deal and so easily reads the silent conversation he's having with the 'mystery blond' –his words, not Oliver's–. Quite a few words of encouragement between the lines of 'go for it' and 'it's about time you get back in the game again' are uttered. And he's not wrong; Laurel is long gone, almost vanished from his memory, and the last time he tried engaging in any sort of relationship with someone was with Mackena, months ago.
Still she was with a friend and, in spite of her wandering eyes, she seemed quite shy. So he stayed put, thinking there was no way to do this right.
An hour and a few drinks later he's almost ready to leave and, after fighting the urge to search for her again, lets his eyes scan the place for Tommy to bid him goodbye. Except they land on her, now standing by his side, red lips parted in surprise as blue eyes meet again.
"Hi" she mutters making up her mind.
"Hi" he calls back, smiling at the welcomed surprise.
She counters it with the brightest smile he's ever seen, before biting on her lower lip and awkwardly leaning against the table. He notices her fidgeting, fingers clutching her purse before taking a hold of the bar to steady herself and sitting in the stool next to his. A low chuckle leaves his lips; she's nervous, and adorable –not a common word in his vocabulary–.
"I'm Oliver." He offers when silence stretches between them, though not awkward it's certainly charged.
"Felicity… Smoak." A very cheesy line enters his mind at this, something the old Oliver sure would've used to get her to go away with him. Still that boy was long gone.
"Though you probably don't need to know that. You know, maybe you're into first name basis; or you're a psychopath, in which case I shouldn't tell you that much about myself." She closes her eyes as soon as the words leave her lips; he simply raises his eyebrows. Not what he was expecting.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that; didn't mean to say that at all, actually. Apparently my brain chooses to say the worst things and my mouth simply cooperates with it." Charming.
"Let me just start this over, please?" He nods at her expectant expression and, taking a deep breath and mentally counting to three, she gives it another try. "Hi. I just meant to say my friend –though I'm debating on finding another name for her– left with your friend, the blue-eyed, dark hair, handsome type. Anyway, they basically bailed on me, and he not so subtly pointed your way saying, and I quote, 'you could use the company.' So… here I am, making a fool of myself since apparently smooth is the exact opposite of what I am drunk. Not that I am drunk; not sober either, just a plain talking mess either way. And I'm gonna stop now, cause I can see I'm freaking you out a bit."
He takes a moment to register her words before bursting into laughter. She sure is something else. Light, funny, open as no one he'd met before; definitely a breath of fresh air. Worried lines on her forehead soothe away at his amusement and give place to another one of those delightful grins that take his breath away.
"That does sound like Tommy" he adds when his laughter dies down, and downs what's left of his drink.
"Yeah… anyway, I was wondering if maybe you wanted –and you really don't have to say yes–, but maybe have another drink… with me?" His eyes widen, his attention set on her now more than ever before. She's asking me out.
"I could buy, or maybe just leave it on your friends tab; after all he's been bragging for the last hour that he owns this place." She lets out a breathy laugh and at his silence turns nervous again; you really couldn't blame her, he's that good-looking.
"I don't know why I'm doing this, I could just take a cab home and end my humiliation here; but, and maybe this is those three cosmopolitans talking, I sort of felt a weird connection here; or from there, all night, and just thought, 'what the hell?, may as well ask him out'. So there it is, we could have a drink, maybe share embarrassing stories about our friends who deserted us. All you have to do is say yes."
He takes a second, not to consider her offer because there's not another option in his mind that a big, bold 'yes', but to take in all of her. His lips tug up in amusement and content of having found her in the darkness that surrounded him.
As he apparently takes too long to answer, a worried frown troubles her forehead, taking his silence for confusion or downright rejection.
"This is me trying to flirt with you, and failing miserably at it. You know just, before with the whole locking eyes and such I thought…" She trails off, already lifting from her place and scanning the room, surely looking for an exit. "Just, never mind. I'm gonna go, over there, and let's pretend this never happened, please? I'm really sorry."
"Don't" his voice is assertive, amusement clear by the smile still in place.
"Don't what?"
"Leave. If you don't want to, that is." Now it's her time to be taken aback; a puzzled look crosses her face at his response.
"Oh. So I didn't just totally freak you out with my word vomit." She cringes at her poor choice of words. "And now I've talked about vomit with the cute guy from the bar. No wonder I'm still single."
"Cute guy from the bar?"
"Yeah Katie, my friend, and I have the tendency to nickname people we meet before we actually know their names. That was yours, her words not mine."
"Mystery blonde." Their eyes lock as he stands up, towering over her. "Tommy's words, not mine." He adds with a wink before leaning over the bar and ordering both another round. By the time he turns around he's very pleased to see a familiar color taint her cheeks again.
"Queen." He lowers his voice, leaning against the bar and handing her the drink. Another delicate line draws in her forehead in confusion.
"Oliver Queen, my name. Not a certified psychopath as of yet." he clarifies drawing a smile from her. "Nice to meet you."
A hand is outstretched and, as she takes it in hers, their eyes lock once more, grins breaking across both their faces as the spark takes on a life of its own.