Chapter Three

Oliver was having the strangest dream where he kept trying to make it to his date with Felicity but he'd end up at the wrong restaurant or he'd lose time or his car would be stolen. When he woke up in the hospital waiting room with a stiff neck from sleeping in the small chair, he was feeling more than frustrated by his dream. John plopped down wearily in the chair next to him after handing him a cup of coffee. "How are they?" Oliver asked.

"Lyla's sleeping now. Doctor's say Claire is a little underweight but it's nothing to be concerned about. They said the biggest problem with babies coming this early is their lungs may or may not be developed fully but we lucked out and she's got a healthy set of screamers."

"That's great."

"You know you could have left, right?" John said after neither of them had spoken for a minute. "You didn't have to stay after dropping that stuff off."

Oliver scoffed. "We've been friends for how many years, Dig? Do you really think I would have left?" Lyla's delivery had been difficult and John had been worried out of his mind, looking more and more frazzled every time he'd come out to the waiting room to update Oliver. In the end, the baby and Lyla were fine but Oliver was still glad that he was here for his friend.

"Well, I'm still sorry about your date but to be honest, there was nobody else I wanted here."

Oliver understood why. The first big thing that brought them together as friends started in a situation eerily similar to this. He'd been there for Diggle then and he'd been here tonight because that's what family is for. "It's fine, Felicity understood. Besides, I'd already screwed it up before you called."

"Uh oh, what did you do?"

"They called an emergency board meeting last night. The press caught wind of one of the member's extra-curricular activities, something about furries, I don't know, but they wanted to take care of it before the news went public this morning. I was an hour late and I left my phone in the car so I couldn't even call her until I was already late. I barely convinced her to give me another chance."

"But she did?"

Oliver grinned. "Yeah, next Friday."

John raised an eyebrow as he took a drink of his coffee with a knowing smirk on his face.

"What?"

"You've got this look in your eyes, man."

"What look?"

"It's a look I've never seen in your eyes. It's this weird dazed and happy look. You really like this girl, don't you?"

He considered the question for a second but there was really only one answer. "Yeah, I think I do. Is that crazy? I've had a total of three conversations with her, I barely know her, but I want to know more. I feel out of my depth here."

John smiled, reaching over to squeeze Oliver's shoulder. "You feel what you feel, simple as that."

Oliver chuckled. "That's your advice?"

"That's the best I got after the night I had. Come back in eighteen years after I've gotten some sleep."

He didn't point out that it would probably be longer than eighteen years before he got some decent sleep. Oliver grew up with Thea, he knew how evil teenage girls could be and the constant worry didn't end after age eighteen. He was happy for John and Lyla, that their family was growing and they were in a good place, they deserved it more than anyone else he knew. He just hoped he was lucky enough to find that kind of love. "Speaking of the reason I've been here all night, am I going to get to meet that baby anytime soon?"

John's face lit up and he jumped out of his chair. "Yes, I haven't seen her face in five minutes and I think I'm having withdrawals."

Oliver joined his friend and they made their way to the nursery. After, he met the baby, he had a couple of phone calls to make before he went home to crash. It had been a crazy day and he needed some sleep that wasn't in a hospital waiting room but first he had to make sure Felicity knew how grateful he was for her giving him a second chance. Now he just had to make sure he didn't screw up this time.


Felicity shuffled to the door, growing irritated by the persistent and loud knocking. She yanked the door open and scowled at the person on the other side, except she couldn't see them on account of the large bouquet of flowers they were holding in their hands. "Good morning!" Sara greeted her cheerily from behind the bright pink flowers.

"What are you doing here so early? And what's with the flowers?" she asked as she moved out of the way, letting Sara and Nyssa come inside.

"It's ten in the morning and it's not that early, considering Laurel woke us up at six with a phone call to share the good news," Sara told her as she made her way into the kitchen, setting the flowers down on the counter before digging around in the cupboard for coffee supplies. "What I don't understand is why she thinks it's inappropriate to call and tell us at midnight on a Saturday but appropriate to call us on a Sunday at six in the morning. By the time I was done doing the sisterly thing and half-listened to her go on and on about how romantic it was, I was already too awake, and then Oliver called me at eight and I asked if I would bring these to you because he doesn't have your address, something about the possibility of him being a serial killer, and he really wanted to make sure you got those flowers."

"I told her we should have left the flowers at home, they would have looked nice on our dining room table," Nyssa said as she joined Sara in the kitchen, giving her a quick, chaste kiss. "I take it the date went well last night?"

"Far from it," Felicity grumbled in response as she slumped into a chair at the kitchen table. "We didn't even manage to have a date."

Sara handed her a coffee and sat down next to her. "What happened?"

"Well, first he was an hour late because of work," she said as she took a sip of the steaming hot coffee, burning her tongue in the process.

"Inexcusable," Nyssa offered up as she joined them at the kitchen table. "There's no reason to be late for a date unless someone died."

Felicity snorted into her coffee. "If I went by your dating standards, I'd be single forever. Though I probably will be at the rate I'm going."

"I've been late for every single one of our dates," Sara added rather pointlessly.

Nyssa folded her arms and put them on the table, leaning in close to Sara. "And I love you in spite of that."

Sara rolled her eyes but the love was clear in them. "Excuse me while I swoon."

"I know you two are sickeningly adorable but can you wait to rub it into my face until I've had at least half a cup of coffee?"

"Pre-coffee Felicity is one of the few things I don't miss about living together," Sara retorted. "Now what happened with the rest of the date? Did you stay at the restaurant until he showed up? Did you guys still have dinner?"

"He called me right after I finally gave up and left the restaurant."

"And you waited?" Nyssa asked.

"I wanted to hear what he had to say and I wanted to give him a piece of mind." That had been her original plan but he'd been sincere about how sorry he was when he'd finally shown up. Another example of her frightening inability to say no to him when he was standing in front of her. "We ended up deciding to still have dinner but at a different restaurant."

"So he showed up an hour late with some lame excuse about work and you still went to dinner with him?" She didn't need to look at Nyssa to know she had a deep frown on her face.

"We never made it to the restaurant. His friends had their baby last night, early from the sounds of it, and he had to go. We rescheduled again for Friday." She took a drink of her coffee, avoiding Nyssa's gaze.

She didn't have to try very long before she was saved by her phone ringing. She scrambled out of her chair, dashing into her bedroom where she'd left her phone on the nightstand. She answered it breathlessly, not bothering to check who was calling. "Hello?"

"Hey," Oliver's voice greeted her softly and she could immediately feel the corners of her mouth lift up in a smile.

"Thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful."

"I'm glad you like them. Consider them an apology for last night and a thank you for giving me another chance."

"How's the baby?" she asked as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"Good, healthy, perfect. Thank you again for being so understanding. She's John's first kid and he was freaking out a bit."

"I'm not going to hold you being a good friend against you."

"Good to know. I just wanted to call and make sure you got the flowers, I'll see you on Friday."

They said their goodbyes and she spent a moment clutching the phone to her chest, a giddy feeling spreading throughout her body. She should really work on containing her excitement, considering how last night went, but she didn't think she could, or maybe she didn't want to.

There was a sharp rap on her bedroom door that startled her. "Hang up that phone and come spend time with your besties before we decide we'd rather spend our Sunday having sex," Sara called through the door.

Felicity rolled her eyes, hearing a mumbled chastisement from Nyssa, before she joined them again in the kitchen. "Why would you want to do that when you can spend the day here helping me unpack?"

Sara's eyes widened. "You know, I think Nyssa and I promised to have lunch with my parents. I must have forgotten."

"She's lying. We'd be happy to help you unpack," Nyssa said.

"Speak for yourself," Sara grumbled in return.

Felicity and Nyssa shared a laugh and Felicity was grateful that she had these women in her life. She wouldn't trade their friendship for the world.


Felicity's week flew by as she learned the ins and outs of her new job. She was happy to discover that she got along with most of her fellow employees and she got on fantastically with her boss, Richard Martin. Everything was going great until Friday.

Technically, it started to go downhill on Wednesday but she didn't start to see the ramifications until Friday. Wednesday was the first day that she saw Oliver since their date-that-never-was when he came to see her in the IT department under the guise of seeing what kind of food she wanted to have for their date but she knew that he just wanted an excuse to see her. She was happy he did, it was the highlight of her day, seeing him for five brief minutes, and she'd found herself tempted to come up with some lame excuse to go see him. It didn't last long. The reality of trying to come up with a reason to see the COO was too daunting but it had been a nice daydream break in her day. Thursday, he came to her office again, this time to tell her that he was going to pick her up this time, like a proper date. She'd dragged out giving him her address, something that he happily played along with, and they enjoyed some flirtatious banter before Oliver had to leave. There had been no visit on Friday but knowing she was going to be seeing him tonight and it was enough to push through the day. Her good mood changed an hour before she left when she overheard two co-workers discussing her...and Oliver.

They had speculated on their date, why her of all people, if that was why she got this job, if she was trying to sleep her way to the top. Nothing Felicity hadn't expected, she just hadn't expected it so soon. They hadn't even been on a real date yet! She'd tried the rest of the day to not let that hang over her head but it was back there, whispering at her, reminding her of all the worries and fears she had about going on this date in the first place.

Oliver came over to her side of the car, opening her door and offering her his hand. She took it, hoping he couldn't see how affected she was by such a simple touch, but that worry evaporated when she got to her feet and saw that he was watching her with a curious expression. For a moment, the world fell away as they stood there on the sidewalk, gazes locked on each other.

"Felicity? Is that you?" An uncomfortably familiar voice called out, breaking the moment between Oliver and Felicity.

Felicity's eyes widened and she stiffened. "Oh no," she whispered so quietly he barely heard her. She gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm going to apologize right now for what's about to happen."

He looked over his shoulder to find a man approaching them with a petite blonde following behind him. The man was a little shorter than Oliver with brown hair and Oliver immediately disliked him, mostly because he didn't like the familiarity his eyes held as they drifted up and down Felicity's body.

"I thought that was you, I haven't seen you in forever," the man said as he pushed past Oliver to give Felicity a hug which she awkwardly returned, surprise and suspicion clouding her eyes. "What's it been? A year? What are you doing in Starling City?"

Felicity stepped away from him, moving closer to Oliver. "I'm living here now, what are you doing here?" Oliver made a split second decision to close the distance between them, putting his arm on her shoulders, and pulling her closer. Her body turned into his partially, tucking herself into his side, and warmth spread throughout his body, enjoying the feel of her next to him. He didn't know if she allowed him to do it because of who was standing in front of them, someone she obviously had history with, or if she did it because she wanted to.

"I'm just in town for the day. I had a meeting with some investors. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Cooper, this is Oliver Queen. Oliver, this is Cooper Seldon. We went to college together."

Oliver reached out to shake his hand, making sure his arm stayed around Felicity.

"I'm also her ex-boyfriend," Cooper said as he squeezed Oliver's hand.

"I'm her date, tonight," Oliver responded as he returned the handshake harder than he needed to.

"Ah, the heir apparent to Queen Consolidated," Cooper said before turning his attention back to Felicity. "I heard you were working there now. I just didn't realize you were that kind of girl." He lowered his voice when he said the last part but Oliver still heard him.

"And what kind of girl is that?" Oliver bit out, anger flashing through him at what Cooper was trying to imply.

He looked back to Oliver, smirking. "The kind of girl who slept with the CEO's stepson to get a job."

Oliver started to pull away from Felicity, uncertain of what he was going to do other than to put Cooper back in his place, but her fingers dug into his arm, stopping him. "We're meeting Sara and Nyssa for dinner, you and your date are more than welcome to join us," Felicity said, surprising Oliver.

Cooper glowered at her before shaking his head. "Thanks for the offer but Ashley and I have plans. It was good to see you again, Felicity."

"I'll tell Sara you said hi," she called after him as he stormed off, his date struggling to keep up. She groaned loudly and stepped away from Oliver. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea he was in town or that we were going to run into him. Obviously. And I wasn't really inviting him to dinner, he just hates Sara and I knew that would chase him off. I'm sorry."

"Hey," he said softly, his hand holding onto her shoulder gently, bringing her attention to him and away from that douche bag. She'd just moved away from him but he had an irresistible urge to touch her and this seemed safe enough. "You don't need to apologize. He's the one who should be apologizing to you. What he said about us, about you using me to get a job, was uncalled for." He felt himself getting worked up and he wanted to chase after Cooper and drag him back here to apologize.

Felicity waved him off. "He's not the first to say it or think it and he won't be the last. I know I got the job because I graduated top of my class from MIT and I got the job before I even met you and I'm not trying to sleep with you to advance my career. I mean, I'm not trying to sleep with you, not that I don't want to, I just mean that this a first date and I'm not that kind of girl. And when I say that I want to sleep with you, I don't mean right now or even in the future because it's a little presumptuous and I'm going to stop talking in 3, 2, 1." An adorable flush rose to her cheeks and Oliver grinned down at her. Now he understood what she told him when they first met, about how it was nice to be on the other side of that.

His smile vanished as another thought occurred to him. "Has someone else said something to you about you going on a date with me?"

She averted her eyes to the ground and he knew the answer, anger filling him again. "I may have overheard a couple people talking about it but even if they're not saying it, they're thinking it. I don't blame them. I mean, look at us."

"Are you trying to imply that I can only get dates with girls who want to move up in my family's company?" He knew that wasn't what she was getting at but he wanted to lighten the mood. He didn't want the date to end before they managed to get into the restaurant. Again.

A small smile graced her lips. "You know that's not what I was saying. I just mean that you're you and I'm me. You're genetically blessed, filthy rich, charming and smooth while I'm the awkward child of a cocktail waitress from Vegas who works in the IT department of your family's company. I'd be confused if I were them, too." She cringed, like she hadn't meant to say that much out loud.

"Let's get something straight here, Felicity," he paused, making sure he had her full attention. "I asked you out because I like you. Because you're gorgeous and smart and I want to get to know you. So unless you're here for some reason other than you're attracted to me and want to get to know me, I say we go into that restaurant and have ourselves a real date."

There was a silence that felt like forever before she finally grinned, nodding. "That sounds like the best idea I've heard all day."

They made their way into the restaurant, hands brushing against each other every few steps but neither made a move to take it any farther. The mood changed even more when they stepped inside the busy restaurant, the romantic lighting and soft music made them both feel unusually subdued. "Reservations for Queen, please," he said to the hostess. Felicity smoothed down her short yellow dress nervously and Oliver placed his hand on the small of her back, leaning down to whisper, "You look beautiful."

She bit her lip and whispered back, "You're not so bad yourself." He laughed loudly as the hostess showed them to their table where they sat down, sharing a smile as they began to browse their menus. "Have you been here before?" Felicity asked as she debated between having the salmon or the steak.

"I used to eat here all the time but I haven't been here in years. My dad used to take me, my mom, and Thea here to eat once a month. It was his way of making sure we all sat down for dinner as a family."

Robert Queen had died in a boating accident three years earlier and while she'd seen the news coverage then, it had slipped her mind that it was Oliver's father. "Were you close with your dad?" She wasn't sure if she should ask, she didn't know how he felt about talking about his father but she was hoping that since he was the one who broached the topic that it meant it was okay to talk about it.

"We were when I was growing up," he said. "As I'm sure you know, I wasn't the ideal son for a long time and we drifted apart. By the time, I got my act together, he was already gone."

That would explain the new and improved Oliver, a man trying to live up to his father's legacy. She set her menu down and reached across the table to briefly squeeze his hand. "I'm sure your father would be extremely proud of the man you've become."

The grateful and appreciative look he gave her made her heart swell and she was struck again by how fast her feelings were growing. She barely knew him and had barely spent any time with this man but she felt herself falling farther and farther down the rabbit hole the more time she spent with him. She took her hand back, placing it in her lap, and focused her attention back on the menu.

"Hello, I'm Holly and I'll be your server tonight," the waitress said. "Are you guys ready to order..." She trailed off, staring intensely at Oliver. "I'll be damned. It's the elusive Oliver Queen. I hear you're a serious businessman now, must be why I never see you." The brunette smiled, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and batting her eyelashes at Oliver.

Okay, so maybe she didn't bat her eyelashes but she might as well have considering the look in her eyes as she took in Oliver, Felicity ceasing to exist to her once she'd seen him. They obviously knew each other and Felicity wanted to bury her face in her hands. First, her ex-boyfriend and now Oliver's ex-whatever, this date was looking more and more doomed by the minute.

"Being Vice President of a Fortune 500 company doesn't leave me with a lot of spare time. I like to make the most of the time I do have," he said pointedly while staring at Felicity. "I'm ready to order. What about you, Felicity?"

Holly's mouth dropped open before she quickly clamped it shut. She turned to Felicity with a sour expression on her face and Felicity smirked, straightening up in her seat. "I'm ready."

They ordered their food, Oliver getting the steak and Felicity the salmon, and Holly stalked off, an awkward silence hanging in her wake.

"I'm sorry," Oliver said, breaking the silence.

"Do you notice how much time we spend apologizing to each other for things that are out of our control?" Felicity remarked with a small smile.

"Considering my past, this probably won't be the last time," he said glumly.

"Are you expecting more of your ex-girlfriends to crash our date or are you talking about future dates?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"She's not my ex-girlfriend, she's just someone I hung out with a few times years ago and I'm hopefully talking about future dates, if this night hasn't scared you off yet."

"I'm still sitting here, aren't I? Besides, we've already had an encounter with my ex and we shouldn't have another. My past isn't nearly as sordid as yours." She cringed, not liking the way that came out. "All I mean is that we've covered the fact that I'm well aware of your reputation and I understand that you've spent your entire life in this city. You obviously didn't know she was a waitress here so no harm, no foul." She left out how she starting to think that the universe was trying to tell them something.

Oliver smiled appreciatively. "Considering the disaster our last date was, I really wanted this one to be perfect." Holly chose that moment to bring a bottle of red wine to their table and Felicity didn't miss the nasty glare she tossed at her before leaving the table.

"I don't think you can count the last one as a date since we never made it I to the restaurant." She did count it but she didn't say that, not wanting to rub salt in the wound since he was as disappointed as she was over what happened. "Though, to be honest, with the exception of an awful blind date that Sara talked me into, I haven't been on a date in a very long time." She'd dated Cooper for two years, meeting him at school and before that she had one serious boyfriend throughout high school, which left her with not much first date experience. Or at least a first date that she wanted to go well.

"I haven't either. Not a real date anyways."

She picked up her glass of wine and held it up. "To a wonderful real first date."

He smiled and they clinked glasses, Felicity taking a long drink of the rich and delicious wine. She wanted to know what kind it was but she didn't want to ask, knowing it probably cost as much as she made in a month.

"So why'd you move to Starling?" Oliver asked, changing the topic.

Felicity set her glass down. "It was either here or Gotham, both QC and Wayne Enterprises offered me jobs after graduation but Nyssa got a job at KORD and Sara's family's here so I decided that this would be the best place for me."

"You three are pretty close, then?"

"They're my family, I don't what I would do without them. I've known Nyssa since freshman year of college and we met Sara our sophomore year and we've been inseparable since. My dad took off when I was pretty young and my mom lives out in Vegas and we're not what you would call close so those girls are the closest thing I have to family. Nyssa's dad treats me like another daughter and the Lance's have been great, all of them have made me feel like part of a family unit for these last four years, it's been really great."

"Quentin and Dinah are great, their house was always open when we were kids. Tommy and I always went there after we'd driven our families crazy. Quentin wasn't my biggest fan once we hit high school but I think that was mostly because Tommy and I weren't always on the right side of the law during our teenage years. We get along now but I wasn't exactly welcome in the Lance house for a few years."

"Are you close with your family?"

"We're close now, my dad dying brought us a lot closer, but there's been some rough years. Right after Dad passed away, Thea found out that he wasn't her real father."

"I remember hearing about that." Oliver gave her a funny look and she continued, "Only because I was living with Sara whose sister is Laurel who's dating Tommy, Thea's brother, which of course you know because you've known all of them longer than I have, they're your family." Someone please shut her up.

Oliver smiled at her, making her heart race. "When Thea found out Malcolm Merlyn was her father, she freaked, wouldn't talk to my mom for months, but they're good now. Thea's going to college in Central City so I don't see her much but she's a good kid, she's on the right path."

"You sound proud of her," Felicity remarked.

"I am. She's grown up a lot these last few years. I was worried about her for awhile but she had a close call when she was sixteen that knocked some sense into her and ever since, she's been a completely different person."

"Is she going to work for QC when she's done with school?"

Oliver shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think she's even sure she know what she wants to do but I know she interested about opening a club, following in Tommy's footsteps. Her boyfriend's the assistant manager at Verdant and I think they've talked about opening their own club, she says it's less pressure than running the company."

"She probably doesn't want to work underneath her big brother, assuming you're CEO by the time she graduates."

"From the sounds of it, I will be within the year," he said.

"You don't sound excited about it," she pointed out.

Oliver shrugged, taking a drink of his wine. "I'm excited but it's a terrifying idea. What if I'm not ready? What if I screw it up? This has been the plan since my father died and it's why I've been working closely with Walter for the last three years but I'll admit that I panicked a bit when Walter said he was planning to step down in the next year."

"I'm sure if he's stepping down, he's confident that you're ready," she assured him.

Oliver chuckled, shaking his head. "I think Walter just wants to hand over the responsibility. He says he wants to relax which is code for this job is too stressful."

Felicity laughed before taking another drink of her wine. "Which I'm sure makes you feel better about taking over."

"It takes all the pressure right off," he joked.

"Is being CEO what you really want to do?" She asked after their laughter subsided.

His face turned serious. "It is now. When I was younger, I wanted nothing to do with it, I didn't want any kind of responsibility, let alone that much. After my dad died, I realized that I had to step up to the plate but thankfully, I was smart enough to know that I wasn't ready to be CEO and learning from Walter was the best way to go. At first, I did it out of obligation to my family but after awhile, I realized that I love it. I love the little details of it, I love the people that I work with, and I love this company," he stopped, redness creeping into his cheeks, something that she thought didn't happen often. "It's what I want, I just want to be ready when I do it."

At that moment, Holly arrived with their food, setting Oliver's plate down in front of him, complete with a view of her cleavage which to Oliver's credit he managed to ignore, keeping his eyes locked on Felicity. Felicity gave Oliver a bemused expression, for the most part impressed by this woman's complete lack of shame, enough to dampen her annoyance. As Holly placed Felicity's plate in front of her, her arm bumped Felicity's glass, spilling the liquid into her lap. Felicity yelped and jumped up, knocking the table with her knees and toppling the bottle of wine which rolled and knocked Oliver's plate to the floor.

Felicity and Oliver were both on their feet now, surveying the ruined food and staring incredulously at Holly.

"I'm so sorry, I'll get you a new table," Holly said, sounding unapologetic.

"Don't bother," Felicity snapped. She stepped carefully over the food on the floor, coming to stand in front of Oliver. "Why don't you go get the car while I go to the bathroom and try to save this dress?"

He looked like that was the last thing he wanted to do but he didn't say anything, choosing to simply nod instead. She made her way through the crowded restaurant, growing increasingly uncomfortable under the weight of their heavy stares and the hushed whispers. By the time she got to the bathroom, she was almost jogging, rushing to get away from the packed room.

She glowered at the large red stain that was drying on her yellow dress. She didn't know how to get wine stains out of clothes, she thought it might have been club sods but she wasn't sure and she wasn't going to go back out and ask. She didn't care about the dress, she'd just needed an excuse to get out of there but now she hated the crestfallen look that was reflected back at her in the mirror. She braced herself against the counter, hanging her head, a melancholy mood settling over her. It had been one thing after another this entire date and she was starting to believe that the universe really was telling them that this wasn't going to work. She liked Oliver, she really did, which was what made this feel even worse, knowing that this wasn't going to work.

The bathroom door swung open but Felicity didn't bother looking up, smoothing her hair back and straightening out her ruined dress.

"I'm sure that you think you're different, that maybe he really likes you," Holly said, her voice startling Felicity. She turned around to face the taller woman who stood over her, arms crossed underneath her breasts. She managed to be intimidating in the crisp white button up and black pants that were her uniform as she narrowed her eyes at Felicity. "He'll just do to you what he's done to every other slightly attractive girl in this city. He'll sleep with you and after he gets what he wants, you won't hear from him again."

Felicity rolled her eyes, ignoring the gut punch of those words, Holly voicing the same worries Felicity had expressed to Tommy. "Maybe he just doesn't like jealous girls who act like a child because he's on a date with someone else." She didn't bother hanging around to hear what else she had to say, instead storming out of the bathroom and heading outside.

Oliver was leaning against the car that was parked on the curb in front of the restaurant. He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes and pushed off of the car, opening the door. Unfortunately, the heel of her shoe chose that moment to snap off, sending her tumbling forward.

Thankfully, Oliver was quick to step forward and catch her, saving her from hitting the pavement. Felicity looked up at him, finding that they were much too close now with barely an inch separating their bodies. She knew that she should move away from him but with his hands grasping her upper arms and hers splayed against his chest, she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. His eyes flickered towards her lips and she stopped breathing, wondering if he was going to kiss her. His head dipped ever-so-slightly before thunder cracked loudly and rain began to pour out of the sky, drenching them in an instant.

They pulled apart and rushed into the car, settling in on opposite sides of the spacious backseat. There was a beat of silence as the car pulled away from the curb before they both burst into laughter. "I can't tell if that was better or worse than our last date," Oliver remarked.

"Better because we actually made it into the restaurant yet worse because we made it into the restaurant," Felicity answered and they laughed again but it was more subdued this time.

Silence hung heavy in the car as they both became lost in their thoughts, neither speaking for fear that it would mean that it was really over. The date hadn't gone well and if they were both honest, none of their encounters had gone that well. They got along well and they were attracted to each other but every time they got together, things went horribly wrong.

"Look, Oliver," Felicity started.

"I know that tonight wasn't the greatest," Oliver said at the same time.

"You go first," Felicity said, wanting to prolong the moment before she had to tell him that this wasn't going to work.

Oliver sighed, staring down at his hands that were clasped together in his lap. "I know that we haven't had the best luck but—" he was cut off by a loud thump from the right side of the car, the sound continuing as the driver pulled over to the side of the road. "What's going on?"

"It's just a flat tire, sir. I'll have us back on the road in ten minutes or so," he called back before exiting the car.

"And our luck continues," Felicity mumbled. If she was a person who was easily frustrated, she might have been pulling her hair out but she wasn't. This was all leaving her only mildly annoyed. Okay, maybe more than mildly but she'd really wanted this to go well and she knew Oliver did, too. At this point, they had to accept it was doomed, a thought that left her feeling down in the dumps and ready to go home and curl up on the couch with a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. "Actually, I think we're only a couple of blocks from my place, I could walk from here." And make it home before the driver managed to change the tire.

"Felicity, please don't go," he pleaded.

She stopped, her hand on the door handle, her broken heel in the other. "Oliver, I had a good time tonight even with everything that went wrong but I'm ready to go home and change out of these wet clothes. It's not a big deal, my place isn't very far."

"So you'd rather walk three blocks in the pouring rain with one shoe then sit in the car with me for ten minutes?" He asked, a hint of sadness lacing his voice.

Her resolve softened and she nearly stayed in the car until his phone rang. He pulled it out his pocket, jaw clenching as he read the caller ID. "What is it?" He bit out as he answered.

She gave him a sad smile and opened the door, stepping out into the rainy night. She pulled her other heel off, bringing her back down to her below average height. She didn't make it more than ten feet before she heard a car door open and shut behind her. She stopped and waited for the footsteps to catch up to her.

"At least let me walk you home," he said, flashing her his boyish smile, only visible because of the headlights shining on them.

She nodded, unable to say no. He grinned and shrugged out of his jacket, holding it out for her. "I know it's wet but it'll still be warmer than walking home in just that dress." She had no good argument so she let him help her into the over-sized dinner jacket.

They stayed quiet, walking close enough to each other that their arms bumped together every few steps. It was a nice walk, even with the cold rain and the frustration from the night hanging over them. "What was the phone call about? If you don't mind me asking."

"There's a problem at work and Walter's in Russia for the next five days so they called me. I guess it's a preview of what's to come when I'm the actual CEO."

"Ah, don't you just love the responsibility that comes along with being an adult?" She teased.

"That would be why I spent years running from it," he said.

"I was always the opposite, I'm always running towards responsibility which probably stems from the fact that my mom's a giant flake. Don't get me wrong, she always did her best by me but she's not the most reliable of people."

"Well she did a good job raising you," he said sweetly, making Felicity glad that he couldn't see the blush rising in her cheeks.

They arrived at her place, both of them quiet until they reached front door and blocked from the rain by the overhang. "I know this date sucked, for lack of a better word, but I like you, Felicity and I liked spending time with you tonight even if everything else went wrong," he said as he stared down at her, towering over her without the extra height her heels gave her.

"I did, too, Oliver, but—"

"Before you say anything else," he cut her off. "I want to remind you of the saying that the third time's the charm. I know that it's been one thing after another since we met but I also know that you're all I've been able to think about since I met you and I don't want to give up just because of two admittedly bad dates."

"Oliver..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say, having already decided that there wasn't another date in their future.

His eyes drifted down to her lips again and she desperately wanted him to kiss her, to change her mind. His head started to move towards her and her eyes slid shut in anticipation. She felt his breath on her face and she knew that all she had to do was lean into him and their lips would be touching.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be as his phone began to ring again, blaring loudly and destroying the moment. Felicity sighed as disappointment rippled through her and he gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I have to take this."

She nodded sadly and leaned against her front door as he snapped into the phone that he would be there as soon as he could. It was then that the town car pulled up, signaling that the night had really come to an end. He looked between her and the car as he put his phone back in his pocket, regret plain on his face. "It's okay, you should go, it sounds like it must be pretty important," she told him, mostly because she needed him to go so she could go inside to wallow in her misery.

He lingered for a minute, obviously wanting to say more before his shoulders sagged, accepting that he had to go. "I'll call you, we'll figure something out, okay?" He stood there waiting for her to answer. She nodded and he smiled at her one last time before turning around and making his way to the car.

He made it halfway down the path leading away from her apartment before she realized that she couldn't let him leave without telling him where she stood. "Oliver!" She called out to him as she jogged up to him. "I like you, Oliver, I really do," she said.

"But?" he finished for her.

"But I don't think this is going to work out and it's not just because of how our dates have gone because honestly I've had worse. I've been living here for just over a week, I haven't had a chance to settle in yet, and I haven't exactly made any friends outside of Sara's friends and family. And that's not even including that I just finished my first week at my new job, at a company that you're going to be CEO of in the very near future, and I don't want to do anything to cloud my future there. People are already talking and it's not that I care what they say or what they think, it's that people are going to know me by that reputation before they even put a face to the name. You already have a lot on your plate and it's only going to get crazier for you, this isn't the best time for either of us. Maybe things keep going wrong for a reason, maybe this is so hard because it's not meant to happen." She hated saying those words out loud but she knew it was the right thing to do.

Disappointment flashed across his face but it was gone so quickly she wasn't even sure it happened to begin with. He smiled but it was tense and forced and she decided that it was her least favorite of them all. "I understand. It's okay," he said in an oddly soft tone, the words coming out strained. "I have to go." He didn't hang around this time, walking briskly to the car and disappearing inside. She stood on the sidewalk and waited until the tail lights faded from view before she finally went into the apartment.


The next night, Felicity was sitting in Sara and Nyssa's living room, drinking a glass of wine, while Laurel filled them in on the details of Tommy's romantic proposal.

"I've known it was coming since he bought the ring but it was still incredible and romantic and sweet and..."

Felicity tuned Laurel out, not on purpose, but she didn't want to hear how well Laurel's love life was going. She was incredibly happy for her and Tommy but she'd felt miserable since last night which wasn't the best head space to be in while listening to a story about a romantic engagement. She kept seeing Oliver's face before he'd climbed into the car and it was killing her. She knew it was the right thing to do but she didn't expect it to make her feel as down as it did.

"Felicity? Are you with us?" Sara asked, nudging her with her elbow.

"Yeah, sorry, what were guys saying?"

"Are you okay? You seemed pretty deep in thought," Laurel said.

"I'm fine. Besides, we're here to talk about your engagement, not my love life." She took another drink to distract herself from the intense stares the other three woman were giving her.

"So you are thinking about Oliver," Sara stated.

"So do you have a date picked out?" She asked Laurel, not-so-subtlety changing the subject.

Laurel narrowed her eyes at Felicity. "Yes, it's in two months and you're a bridesmaid so all you're going to hear about until then is wedding talk. Now tell us about your date."

Felicity took another hasty drink. "Is two months long enough to plan a wedding?" She could pull a wedding off in that amount of time but that was because she'd always wanted small and quiet affair, something she didn't think Laurel would be game for.

Nyssa answered for Laurel. "You missed the part where she said she knew when Tommy bought the ring months ago and she's been doing under the radar planning since then. Now get on with the story."

Felicity sighed dramatically and set her nearly empty glass on the dark oak coffee table. She told them about her date with Oliver in excruciating detail from the moment he picked her up to the moment she watched him drive away. When she was done, all three women were unusually quiet.

"So that's it?" Unsurprisingly, Sara was the first to break the silence. "You're not going to see him again because the date went badly? Even though you're both obviously attracted to each other and you have amazing chemistry? You're going to ignore all of that because of a bad date?" Her pitch had risen higher and higher, signaling to Felicity that Sara was genuinely upset about this turn of events. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"She has a point, Sara," Laurel said. "Going out with Oliver could jeopardize her career, she's been there for one week, it's not a good idea to date the future CEO."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Of course you agree with her about that, what with you being a high-powered ADA workaholic."

Laurel's raised eyebrows suggested her sister had gone a little too far but after Sara gave her a sheepish look and a mumbled apology, all was forgiven and forgotten. "I didn't say she was right, I just said she had a point. I've known Ollie my whole life and he's been a different person since his dad died. If this was the Ollie from three years ago, I would tell you to run as fast and as far as you can but he's not that guy. He's pulled together every aspect of his life except for the romantic side of things. Tommy and I have tried to set him up plenty of times but it never makes it farther than the first date. I'm not saying that he's a saint, he's a grown man and he gets lonely, especially when you consider that every person in his life is in a stable relationship, but he hasn't been able to find someone that he connects with on a deeper level. I'm not trying to push you into seeing him or tell you that you made the wrong decision, you're the only one who knows what's right and wrong for your life, I just want to make sure that your decision to not see him again isn't based on his reputation because that's not the man he is anymore." Laurel leaned back in her chair, taking a calm drink of her wine, the equivalent of a mic drop after that speech.

"I know you're right and he's a great man and I'm sure that he'll find the right person but it's not me. I'm not ready for a serious relationship and I'm not willing to risk everything that I've spent my entire life working towards."

Laurel nodded, understanding where she was coming from but the same couldn't be said for Sara who was too busy giving Felicity the death glare to end all death glares. Sara was her pushiest friend when it came to her love life so she understood her frustration but she wasn't changing her mind. "What about you, Nyssa?" Sara asked. "I'm obviously Team Oliver, Laurel's Team Career, what are you?"

"I'm not Team Career, I'm Team Do Whatever Makes You Happy," Laurel clarified.

Sara waved her off, waiting for her girlfriend to offer up her opinion. "I have to say I'm Team Felicity. I don't see why she has to be in relationship, something I've been telling you since her and Cooper broke up, and I think she's right. I don't think her and Oliver are right for each other."

"I should have known you wouldn't be any help," Sara grumbled.

Nyssa grinned, leaning over to give her a quick kiss. "Though if Felicity is looking for some casual romance, there's this guy at KORD I think you would really hit it off with."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "I thought you were on my side, didn't you just you don't see why I need to be in relationship?"

"Who said anything about a relationship? I just thought you could have some fun, go on a date or something. You and Cooper broke up over a year ago and I fully support you not getting into a serious relationship but I think you could use some fun."

"I still can't believe Cooper was in town," Sara said, irritation coloring her voice.

"You're telling me," Felicity groaned. "I wish you could have seen his face when I told him we were meeting you for dinner, I don't think he could get out of there fast enough."

"Good. I hate that little creep," she said, making a face.

Laurel chuckled, shaking her head, and tucking a piece of long brown hair behind her ear. "You must really hate this guy."

"The feelings mutual, especially since she hit him in the head with a pool stick," Felicity said.

"You did what?" Laurel asked her sister with wide eyes.

"We were at the bar one night and he was drunk, acting like an idiot. He tried to leave and Felicity stopped him, trying to take his keys so he wouldn't drive drunk, and he shoved her. So I hit him in the head with the closest thing and knocked him out cold," Sara told her proudly.

"It wasn't like he hit me, he was drunk and he wasn't thinking straight. We broke up the next day because of it but he had deeper issues that he needed help with and I couldn't do it," Felicity said, recalling what a nightmare the last three months of their relationship had been. "I don't want to talk about Cooper or Oliver anymore. Let's get back to the wedding talk."

That did the job, all four women quickly gabbing away, working out the logistics of planning a wedding in two months. Felicity was careful to pay attention, not wanting to drift off and bring the focus back to her. She'd been honest with them for the most part but she'd kept the real deciding factor to herself.

Last night after he'd left, while she was sitting in the bath, drinking a glass of red wine and eating ice cream straight from the carton, she'd realized why she'd really told him that they wouldn't work out. The thing was, what she was so reluctant to say out loud, was that Oliver (and her feelings towards him) terrified her. She was already infatuated with him from the little amount of time they'd spent together and she knew that if she let herself, she could easily fall for him. It wouldn't be the kind of feelings that were calm and safe, they would be the kind of feelings that would swallow you up and spit you up in the end, and that was something she couldn't let happen. She wouldn't be the kind of girl that chose a man over everything else and yes, she'd only been on one official date with Oliver but she could feel it in her bones. He would consume her if she gave him the chance.

So yes, she stopped things before they really began but it wasn't because she was a coward. No, it was because she was logical.

As she listened to Laurel describe her perfect wedding, Felicity thought maybe if she kept telling herself that, it would ring true.