So as to be more intimate, they walked to the garden, where there was nobody.
"May I get you anything to eat?" he offered, clearly aware of how good eater she was.
"Yes, please." She said and Oliver started his way to the mansion. "But Oliver"
He turned around with a questioning look.
"You'd better bring thousands of those tiny canapés. Otherwise, I'll die of starvation."
He grinned and went inside. He found some plates with caviar and pâté and he took some of the rolls. He asked a waiter for a tray and he put everything on it. On his way back to the garden, he saw her in the distance sat over the ledge of the pool. She had tucked up her dress and she had her legs inside the pool, playing in the water. Most of her legs were revealed. He stopped and looked at her. She looked so calm, so sweet, so charming, so tenderly sexy, even.
"Oh, Oliver, you're back", she said, realizing his presence.
He sat down by her side, putting the food between them. As he was wearing a suit, he didn't put his legs inside the pool. Instead, he bent his legs.
"You're going to stain your dress", he said pointing to her position.
She shrugged her shoulders. "So what? I'll just wash it."
Of course. That was Felicity, his Felicity. Completely simple, straightforward and natural. Completely different from the other girls.
"You know… I hadn't dressed like this ever since my prom."
Oliver listened to her in silence, paying attention to every single word she said.
"It was supposed to be a great day, all fun and touching. But it wasn't. My mum was drunk and… well, my father had already been gone since I don't even remember when. I had to get ready at one of my friend's house so that the boy I was dating didn't see my mother and all the mess. I don't have any picture of that day with anyone of my family. I was… alone."
Her weeping eyes talked more than her words.
"You're not alone now. You have me." He said very seriously. Then, he added downplaying his previous statement: "After all, I'm your boyfriend, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course, my fake boyfriend because a real one seems to be unthinkable now".
"Any man would love to date you".
"Any man?" she repeated, clearly referring to him.
Several seconds passed by in silence, until he said "Yes, any man."
They both knew the implications of their conversation. And she knew how perfect that moment was for a kiss. At least in films. Then, she noticed he was getting closer. She got nervous, really nervous. So she stood up.
"I need to pee, so I should probably go to the bathroom…" she said awkwardly.
Oliver stood up quickly enough to grab her hand, preventing her from going away, forcing her to come back to his side.
"I am really happy you came here with me." He began.
Felicity saw his sparkling eyes. They were shining like never before.
"Are you?" she got to answer.
"Yes. I've always hated these parties and being with these artificial people. But tonight… Only with your presence it was a lot easier for me. For the first time I had a reason to actually want to stop talking to them: being with you. And here we are. Having fun. And I'm good because when you're around, it seems to me nothing could go wrong."
Her heart skipped a beat. What was he implying exactly? Once again he was coming dangerously close. She freaked out, so she tried to take a step back, but she trod on her dress, falling. Instinctively, Oliver tried to help her, but eventually both of them fall to the pool. When they emerged from the water, Felicity was almost hyperventilating.
"Oh my God… I knew I'd mess it up!" she exclaimed.
Oliver, on the other hand, was smiling. "Well, before the island I used to end up inside pools at parties because I was drunk. Now it's because of a girl. That's a big step forward."
"Oh, yes, I can't decide which one is worse." she claimed a little bit annoyed, making him laugh. "Is this funny, Oliver? Because I don't think it is".
Then, he laughed even more. Her hair was so messy and the mascara of her eyes had moved along that he couldn't help it. "You look like a raccoon."
And she chuckled. She chuckled because of how ridiculous the situation was. She chuckled because Oliver's laugh was contagious. She chuckled because she was happy. She chuckled because her heart was alive. She chuckled because she was in love with Oliver Queen.
"So now what?" she asked looking her dress, completely ruined.
"We'll get in through the back door. Only the servants will see us."
"Good. Come on. I don't want to catch a cold."
And so they did. They passed through the kitchen and they went to Oliver's room. It was almost as big as her apartment.
"I'm going to Thea's bedroom to take some clothes for you":
Suddenly, Felicity remembered what Thea and Roy were doing.
"Actually, I don't think you should."
Oliver frowned, but then he understood what she meant, making a murderous look while walking to the door. Felicity ran towards him, closing it right under his nose.
"Oliver, stop. Thea being your little sister doesn't imply she's still that little. What they do is totally normal. Besides, I bet you were far worse than her at her age," she added with a smile.
"But we're not talking about me, we're talking about her. And I'm killing Roy."
He tried to open the door, but she prevented him.
"I myself will wound you with an arrow if you dare get out of this room", she said moving aside.
Oliver was clearly pissed, but he remained still.
"You wouldn't hurt me."
"Try me." She answered with a challenging voice.
Finally, he gave up. "I guess you can use some of my clothes."
He took a grey t-shirt and some short trousers out of his closet and gave them to her. "They'll look baggy on you, but this is the best I can do right now."
"Thank you". She went to the bathroom in Oliver's room to get changed. She took advantage of the moment and had a look at his things there. He used the Hugo Boss cologne, as well as a dandruff shampoo. Felicity smiled to herself. She took a towel to dry her hair and then she tried Oliver's clothes on. She looked like a tomboy, but it made her laugh. In fact, when she came back to Oliver's room, he couldn't help giggling at her.
"I look horrible", she said laughing.
"You're beautiful."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you told me the same when I was wearing my dress. How can that be possible?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it's because you're naturally beautiful".
She blushed. "Yeah, sure…"
She sat down over the bed and he smiled. She's on my bed, he thought.
"So what do you want to do now?"
"We could watch a film."
He nodded. "Ok, let me go down to pick up one."
"Just don't bother Thea, will you be able to do that?"
He forced a smile. "I won't. I'll be here in two minutes."
He was on his way to the living room when his mother saw him.
"Oliver! Thanks God I found you. Mr. Mackenzie wants to talk to you."
He sighed. He had no other option, so he talked to him.
"Saxord Consolidated has been the next. It is really annoying how little the police is doing."
Oliver nodded, but he wasn't really paying attention to him.
"Also, it is strange the hood has not already solved the problem, isn't it?"
"Yes, strange indeed." He agreed, though he knew the hood could not do anything yet.
"Hi Mr. Mackenzie", greeted another man. Oliver left them talking and went to pick a film. It took him some minutes to choose one, but eventually he took "Pearl Harbor", one of his favourite movies ever. Then, he went back to his bedroom.
"You're gonna love the film that I…"-he stopped talking when he looked at Felicity. She had fallen asleep and now she was sleeping like a baby. He considered waking her up, but she looked so calm that he couldn't. Instead, he took a blanket and he covered her. He changed into his pyjamas and stretched out on the bed next to Felicity. He was sideways, staring at her. When did she make his heart skip a beat? He didn't know. But right now, he knew one thing: he could only be himself around her. She made him happy. She made his life worth living. Then, thinking of her, he fell asleep.
