--4--
Oliver groaned inwardly. This was going...horribly. What had he been thinking? As if taking her to a fancy French restaurant was going to impress someone like Chloe. It wasn't as though she didn't like the restaurant or something. It was just that it made him look even more snobby, which was apparently what she had decided he was. No matter how hard he tried to turn the conversation lighter and more personal, she kept turning it back to business.
"You can relax, you know," he told her, amused. "You had me convinced about five minutes into the conversation to invest. I read your little pamphlet, too," he said, eyes laughing at her a bit. "It's fascinating, really. I mean, you guys are taking a step that no one ever has before, trying to help these people. But we can actually talk about something else," he added.
So she complied, making small talk, listening as he talked, but she seemed totally uninterested. What was with this girl? The night was coming to a close, and she seemed as thoroughly unaffected by him as she had that afternoon. It had gone from purely being a matter of ego for Oliver to one of fascination. Desire to prove himself had given birth to determination to prove himself.
When they got up to leave and he took the check, she actually tried to argue. She said it was a business dinner so it was on the foundation. He just rolled his eyes and said, "Really, I've apparently been boring you all night. Least I can do is cover the check."
Chloe felt guilty when he said that. She hadn't meant to be so impolite. "I'm--sorry," she stammered slightly, frowning. "You know," she shook her head and he looked up at her. "I think it's just been a long time since I've been anywhere with anyone other than my cousin. Didn't mean to be so rude," she finished.
Finally! She was human after all! "Hey! Don't apologize! You didn't do anything wrong, I'm just making a bad impression." He grinned at her. "Maybe you can let me make it up to you another time."
She looked at him doubtfully, but said, "Maybe," regardless. "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other anyway," she added. He helped her into her coat, a surprising gesture. Well, even if he was an arrogant rich boy, at least he had manners.
They left the restaurant and he watched her round the corner, feeling irritated. He didn't want the night to end, especially not on this note.
Suddenly he grinned mischievously. Well, she might not be able to stand Oliver Queen, but she seemed much less repulsed by the Green Arrow.
"We meet again," said a familiar deep voice.
Chloe jumped, looking behind her. The Green Arrow stepped out of the shadows. She fought a smile. "I have the strange feeling I should either call the cops or pepper spray you. Or both," she added.
He chuckled and she shivered, taking an involuntary step back from him.
He noticed. "You know, you'd probably be a lot less jumpy as a person if you didn't spend so much time walking down dark streets in the middle of the city on your own. Would probably make my job easier, too," he added.
She glared at him, turning around to walk away. He kept up easily. "Your job? You rescued me from one mugger," she said disdainfully.
He smirked. "A mugger with a gun," he reminded her.
She rounded on him. "Is there a reason you're following me?" she demanded.
"I have a feeling the moment I leave you're going to get kidnapped or something," he teased. "Call it a sense of duty."
She rolled her eyes, but he could tell she was secretly enjoying their banter.
"So, what you're telling me," she said, stepping closer to him, her voice becoming seductive, "is that it's purely a protective instinct. Nothing to do with the fact--" she brought her lips close to him, and he could feel several alarm bells going off in his head, "--that you find me...attractive," she breathed, tilting her head slightly. Then, in the amount of time it took him to blink, she was a foot away from him again. "How disappointing," she said lightly, laughing at him, and starting to turn away from him again.
"Oh now that's just foul play," he said, grabbing her wrist and wrenching her back to him. Before she could protest he was kissing her again, more passionately than the previous night. This time she kissed him back, too, and he felt a surge of satisfaction. He wondered what it would take for Oliver Queen to get this kind of response out of her, but then he waved the thought away. Who cared?
Chloe broke the kiss first, pulling away from him with a strange look on her face.
"This is weird," she said, stepping back.
He ignored her at first, and moved to kiss her again, but she didn't let him. "Why weird?" asked the distorted voice with a hint of frustration.
"I don't even know you," she said. "You don't even know me."
His lips quirked into a sexy grin. "Personally, I think the mystery is a turn on, Miss Sullivan."
She looked startled. "How do you know my name?"
"Reliable sources," he said ambiguously.
She looked at him narrowly. "Well I still don't know a thing about you," she said.
"What do you want to know?" he asked, pulling her back to him.
She took in a faltering breath as his lips moved to her neck. This was wrong, she thought wildly. She never did things like this. "How about your real name?"
"Next question," he said, indicating that that information wasn't up for grabs.
"Why the leather?"
"Grew up in a world where I saw the elite trumping the lower classes in every way, sometimes illegally. Robin Hood was my inspiration."
"And here I thought Robin Hood wore tights," she teased, trying to maintain composure as his mouth found a particularly sensitive spot just beneath her ear.
"Problem with the leather?" he asked against her neck.
Chloe shuddered. "Umm...I guess if it's how you get your kicks, who cares what I think?"
"Please," he said, evidently very amused. "Don't pretend you don't think it's hot."
Chloe rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
"Any other questions?" he asked, entertained.
"Yeah. Why are you kissing my neck?"
"Well if I kissed your mouth, you wouldn't be able to ask me the questions that are apparently so vital to you."
She could actually hear the smirk in his voice. "Not what I meant," she said a little grumpily.
He laughed, a deep sexy sound that gave her yet another dose of chills.
"Serious," she muttered darkly.
"Probably because it's very satisfying," he said, grazing his teeth against her ear so that she caught her breath. "You're incredibly attractive when you're nervous," he said, taunting her before actually biting her ear.
"Plan on letting me go home any time soon?" she asked breathlessly.
He smirked again. "Was planning on offering you a ride again if you like," he said.
She could only nod.
Chloe laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, her heart still thudding in her chest.
What on earth was going on?
Why couldn't she attract normal men?
She snorted. Like she ever gave normal men a second thought in any case. After all, hadn't she managed to single out the class alien for her high school crush?
So naturally she managed to find the one man in a hundred mile radius who had a bizarre fetish for green leather and archery.
Still, whatever was happening, she'd only seen him twice and already she could feel things escalating wildly out of her control. When he was with her...it was like quit operating normally. He'd been in total control both instances whereas all she could really do was...well, melt. It was exciting and absolutely terrifying at the same. Since when did she do things like making out with someone whose real name she didn't even know?
Thinking of how discontent she'd felt with her life just the other day, though, she wondered whether that wasn't a good thing.
She made up her mind to ask Clark if he knew anything about the Green Arrow. He would at least be able to tell her whether the guy was some sort of perv or not.
Closing her eyes, she thought she could still feel his hands gripping her waist, his mouth on her neck and she bit her lip. She really, really hoped he wasn't a creepy stalker or sex offender or something like that.
Author's Comment: All right, I know there will be several people who think it is ridiculous that Chloe's date with Oliver went so poorly, but just bear with me. Chloe will give him a chance. Promise.
B.S.S.
