Chapter 5 – The Jerk
An: I do not own Arrow
Felicity waited for gorgeous Laurel nervously in the client meeting room. In preparation for meeting with the lawyer, Felicity did a little background research on her. Laurel started off her career working at a placed called CNRI which offered legal aid to persons that needed it. From there, she joined the District Attorney's Office where she quickly shot up the ranks. Eventually, she left the office and joined as a partner at one of the most respected firms in Starling City. Felicity realised she still very much believed in helping people because at least half of her cases were pro-bono.
Felicity had always thought soap operas were melodramatic and not a reflection of real life but the story between Laurel, Oliver and Tommy could have been taken from any of the leading soap operas. The only thing missing was she was not pregnant with a baby that could have been fathered by either of them or a third party. The history between them intimidated her. She wondered how Tommy and Oliver could remain so close.
Both men wanted to come with her. She reminded them kindly that she was not a child but after that did not sink in she had to use her loud voice on them. Tommy had already done enough. He had gotten her a meeting the next day with Laurel. He had also called Captain Lance so she could report the chip stolen. Oliver had driven her to the station and stayed with her.
The door to the office opened and a tall brunette with blonde highlights walked in. She was dressed in a pants suit and carried a black brief case with her. Felicity assumed she was coming directly from court.
"Hello Felicity, I'm Laurel Lance," she said offering her hand to shake.
"Hi, I'm Felicity or as everyone is so fond of calling me, the new girl," Felicity babbled.
Laurel laughed. "Yes I imagine it's kind of intimidating being new in a social circle. I practically heard all about this case before I even met you. Did you bring the documents with you?"
"Yes, I have a copy of the police report and the copies of the patent forms. The originals are with Dr. Wells. He did all the work for me. All I did was sign the forms."
"Ok my dad will handle the criminal side of things but the likelihood is Cooper won't be charged with theft. Your best option is a civil suit. You have everything patented so he is in violation of the patent. We will start with a cease and desist letter and then move forward from there," Laurel said to her.
"Ok," Felicity replied. She would follow whatever advice was recommended.
S-2
The day after the launch, Ray held a post-launch meeting at Palmer Tech. The meeting wasn't as formal as Felicity thought it was going to be because as soon as she they all sat down, Ray pulled out a bottle of champagne.
"It's time to celebrate," Ray said as his assistant brought a tray full of champagne flutes into the meeting.
"I thought this was a serious meeting," Oliver said voicing Felicity's thoughts.
"It is, but we should also take the time to enjoy our wins, Oliver. I started this company to better society and this project is a step in that direction. Smart wearables was just a means to fund my other initiatives."
Once everyone had a glass of champagne in front of them Ray held up his glass, "to the successful partnership of Palmer Tech and QC! May it continue to grow and produce more innovative technologies. May it…. "
As Ray babbled on and people clearly got tired of holding their glass in the air, Oliver inched his chair closer to Felicity. He leaned in whisper to her.
"Are you sure you and Palmer aren't related?"
Felicity glowered at him.
"Ray," Felicity said in a tone that indicated to the other man that he needed to stop his long passionate monologue.
"Oh sorry, cheers!" he said lifting the glass to his lips to take a sip.
Once the toast was over they got down to the serious business of reviewing the orders and setting the deadlines by which the factory should have everything delivered to their customers.
S-3
Thea had been right! Isabel did throw a gala after the successful launch to highlight that the company was going in a positive direction but also to gloat over her competitors. Felicity, much to her chagrin was required to attend. She didn't have a date but Thea assured her going stag was ok. Thea also did her hair, make-up and nails for her. She was beginning to think that the younger woman thought of her as a real life Barbie that she could play dress up with. Thea had decided that none of the previous dresses she had bought the IT expert were acceptable and used one of her own pieces that she was creating for her launch.
Thea claimed that Felicity had inspired the piece. The heiress wanted to develop a line of clothes specifically targeted at confident independent business women. She particularly wanted to design outfits that could go straight from the board room to dinners with just minor adjustments. Thea had witnesses firsthand that sometimes there was literally no time to change between events. You had to make your outfit work. The dress was a red sleeveless floor length gown. The bodice as cut in a V that stopped just above her cleavage and hugged her body to her hips where the material flared out a bit. She loved the way the bottom of the dress flowed as she walked. It made her feel like a princess from one of those Disney movies and she needed a prince to waltz with.
She was a little late when she arrived, so the ballroom was fairly crowded but that didn't stop her eyes from automatically finding Oliver. There was just something about the way that Oliver wore a suit that was so appealing. Felicity couldn't put a finger on it exactly but compared to every other man in the room, he just stood out. Oliver had that extra something that drew her in. She was surprised that he wasn't with a leggy brunette model. She had heard that was his type. Instead Oliver was flanked on either side by his younger sisters, each in a designer gown. Even though they were dressed up, Isabel had kept it very kid appropriate. She was surprised the girls were even there.
Her eyes scanned the room to see who else she recognised. There were many prominent socialites in attendance including one Helena Bertinelli and Cooper Seldon. Felicity frowned. Cooper had to know she would be in attendance. He was doing it purposely. On the opposite side of the room she spotted Ray and Anna so she decided to head in that direction. She could do with a little Dr. Who debate about who was the best doctor or who was the best companion.
After a lively debate with Ray, he had to move on to talk with other investors which left Felicity to wander through the ballroom looking for a safe haven. From snippets of conversation that she heard around her she gathered that Isabel was basking in the success of QC, even though it was Oliver's win. Isabel was talking with lots of potential investors and reminding everyone that in a time of economic downturn the company was doing remarkably well due to hers and Robert's leadership. It made Felicity angry but she knew there was nothing she could do to change the internal family politics of the company.
Felicity found a nice secluded spot in the corner, close to the kitchen where the waiters came out with the appetisers, to observe the room. A tug on the skirt of her dress drew attention downwards.
"Anastasia, hello," Felicity said surprised.
"Hello Felicity," the little girl said.
"Where is your brother?" Felicity asked her.
"I left him somewhere over there," Anastasia said pointing over to her left.
Felicity could see Oliver's head over a group of women. He seemed to be anxiously looking around. She caught his eye and signalled for him to come over. He soon arrived with Alexandra in tow.
"You stole half of my date," he said pointing to his little sister.
Felicity shook her head, "Anastasia isn't half of anything. She is one of your dates," Felicity corrected him.
"I agree," Isabel butted in.
Felicity was startled. She had spent the entire night making sure she wasn't near that woman. The less interaction she had with her, the better.
Isabel frowned at her youngest daughter, "Anastasia when I agreed to let you come to the gala it was with the understanding that you would not leave your brother's side. You gave me and Oliver quite a scare when you disappeared."
"I'm sorry," Anastasia said with her head bowed.
"That is not good enough. Anything could have happened to you here. When you promise me to stay with your brother you need to honour that. You cannot go wandering off," Isabel said to her daughter.
"But there are bodyguards all around and I saw Felicity, and I wanted to talk to her. I'm safe here," Anastasia argued.
"The bodyguards are guarding everyone in general not specifically you. That was your brother's responsibility," Isabel said glaring at Oliver. "I am your mother and I determine where you are safe, not you. I may have been talking with a lot of people but I can assure you, I've kept both you and your sister in my line of sight for the entire night. You have sorely disappointed me tonight," Isabel said.
Anastasia's eyes began to gather water and Oliver was going to intercede but Felicity put a hand on his arm to stop him. Isabel crouched down and hugged her daughter showering her with kisses. "Mommy loves you very much but don't think crying is going to get you out of this. You will be going home half an hour earlier than previously agreed,"
"But!" Anastasia started to whine.
"No buts, if you wanted to stay longer you should have followed the rules," Isabel told her daughter sternly.
Felicity's heart went out to the little girl.
"Isabel, before she goes can I take her to the desert bar for some cheesecake," Felicity asked. Young children were supposed to like sweet things.
"Please mom, can I go with Felicity?" the young girl begged her mother.
Isabel frowned. "Anastasia, I taught you to respect adults, she is either Ms. Smoak or Aunty Felicity,"
"Aunty Felicity," Anastasia corrected herself excitedly.
Isabel sighed, "you can go,"
The little girl started tugging Felicity towards the desert bar she had been pestering Oliver to go to earlier.
"Felicity," Isabel called out, "She is only allowed one slice. Anymore and she will be sick tonight,"
"Yes Mrs. Rochev-Queen," Felicity replied.
"Since you appear to be sticking around for a while, you may call me Isabel," the older woman conceded.
Felicity almost tripped over her foot in disbelief. She was now on a first name basis with Isabel. Who would have ever thought that would happen?
They arrived at the desert bar to find various types of cheesecake. Anastasia didn't know which one she wanted. Felicity was fairly sure if Isabel had specified that she could only have one slice, Anastasia would have tried one of each.
"How about we make a deal, I'll take the chocolate cheesecake, you take the strawberry cheesecake and then we'll cut them in half and share them. That way we both get to try it without having more than one slice," Felicity proposed.
"Deal," Anastasia said her face lighting up.
They found a deserted table near the entrance where they could enjoy their desert. Before she could cut it in half, Oliver and Alexandra joined them. Anastasia stared longingly at their cheesecakes.
"Aunty I want to try those too," she said her lips turning down in a cute pout.
"Ok, we can cut our cheesecake in fours and share a piece with each other," Felicity suggested.
Alexandra protested that she wanted her cheesecake all to herself but her sister begged her. She caved to her younger sister's demands. While the girls were busy sampling the cheesecakes and debating which one was better, Oliver scooted closer to Felicity.
"Why did you stop me earlier with Isabel," he asked her.
"Because she is their mother Oliver. She has a right to discipline her children anyway she sees fit as long as it doesn't physically or emotionally abuse them. Yes it may seem cruel but she can't wait until they are teenagers to try to teach them discipline. By that time they could be hooked on drugs. She needs to do it now."
"I suppose if someone had been stricter with me growing up, I might not have wasted so many of my teenage years and early twenties hung over," Oliver mused.
"So how come your sisters are you dates tonight Oliver?" Felicity asked curiously.
"They really wanted to come and I had no one to go with," he said shrugging, "I didn't see any harm in bringing my little sisters." He leaned closer to her and she got a whiff of his cologne, damn that man smelled good.
"Plus it gives me a great excuse to get out of here early," he added.
"I wish I had an excuse to get out of here early," Felicity admitted.
A twinkle in Oliver's eye told her he was up to something.
"How about you offer to drop us home?" he suggested.
"Will that really work?" Felicity asked hopefully.
"Absolutely!"
S-4
Oliver was loading the booster seats into the back seat of the BMW when Alexandra blurted something out to her little sister that drew his attention.
"I told you this was the same car!" She was fiddling with the floor matt in the back.
"What makes you say that?" Oliver asked.
Alexandra pulled aside the matt on the back to reveal a stain in the flooring.
"Ana dropped her grape juice there just before the car disappeared. We covered it over with the matt," Alexandra told them.
"Ally you weren't supposed to tell anyone that," Anastasia said horrified.
Oliver glared, "I thought I've told you girls no drinking or eating in the cars."
"Sorry," they both said at the same time with shoulders slumped.
"I was going to take you for an extra long drive but I should follow your mother's example and drop you straight home," Oliver said.
"No, no, no, we want the long drive," Alexandra said.
Oliver shook his head, "we are going straight home."
Alexandra slapped her sister's arm, "see what you caused."
"I didn't tell him!" Anastasia hissed back.
"Girls! No fighting please," Oliver said firmly.
Both girls bowed their heads and got peacefully in the back seat. As usual Oliver drove. Felicity had an idea where they lived but she had never been to that part of town before. As they passed a large gate with a Q in it Felicity was about to ask if they had missed the house when Oliver cut her off.
"We're almost there,"
They turned into the driveway after the Q. Two maids were waiting for the girls. Oliver asked her to wait just a few minutes for him. He unloaded the booster seats and put them in the massive garage that housed at least ten cars. He entered the house and returned with a basket which he placed in the back seat.
"Felicity do you trust me," he asked her as he slid into the driver's seat again.
"Yes," she replied without even missing a beat.
When they returned to the main road, instead of turning left to head back into the city, he turned right.
"Where are we going?" Felicity asked curiously. It was night, and she was alone in her car with a man in an area she didn't know but she didn't have the slightest bit of fear or doubt.
He smiled, "I take the girls this way when we're driving. There's a clearing up ahead that has a good view of the stars."
"Are we going to talk about that fact that this is your car?" Felicity asked.
"You needed a car, we have over twenty. There was no decision to make. The BMW was already purchased through the company," Oliver shrugged it off as if it were no big deal.
Soon they were at the clearing that Oliver described. He took the basket out of the back seat and spread a blanket over the hood of the car.
"The heat from the engine will keep us warm," he said sitting on the hood and leaning back to look at the stars.
Felicity followed suit.
"Wow, it really is beautiful," she said as she stared up at the twinkling stars.
"Yeah, no light pollution out here. Do you know any of the constellations?" he asked.
"I had a boyfriend that was into astronomy. He tried to teach me but I could only spot the easy ones," she told him.
Oliver started pointing out the ones that he knew. After a little while, he went back to the basket and pulled out a bottle of wine, two glasses and some sandwiches. He then moved the blanket onto some grass by the side of the car so they could enjoy the wine. Felicity was careful to tuck her dress under her and Oliver gave her his jacket to stay warm.
"I thought you lived out here as well?" Felicity asked before taking a sip of her wine. It was easily the best wine she had had since she moved to Star City.
"I live with my mother which is the house right next door, the gate with the Q," Oliver said.
"Your mother lives next to Isabel?" Felicity asked horrified.
"No Isabel lives next to my mother. My mother was there first. Isabel was mad when my mother got the house in the divorce so she brought the property next door for a ridiculous price and moved in. Isabel refers to her as the Wicked Witch of the East."
"Isn't it supposed to be Wicked Witch of the West?" Felicity asked.
"Yeah but my mom is East of Isabel,"
"I suppose it made it easy for you to see you father?" Felicity commented.
"When the divorce happened I was away in college. When I eventually got my degree, I lived in the loft that Thea lives in now. When Thea wanted to move out of the mansion, I gave her the loft and I moved in with my mother. Even though she has Walter now, I thought it was best for one of her children to be with her. It's also closer to the girls if they need me,"
Felicity smiled softly, "Thea says you adore them."
"I do. Even though Isabel is their mother they are still my sisters just like even though Malcolm is Thea's father she is still my sister. Sometimes it's hard to balance all of their needs. That day we first met, I was supposed to spend the entire day with Thea but Anastasia called. She had just broken her arm and she was scared to tell Isabel. I didn't know how bad it was and I needed to get to her right away. I know Thea said she understood but I knew she was disappointed."
"That's why you were so rude," Felicity concluded.
"I didn't mean to be but you were standing in the way,"
"I understand," Felicity said reaching out and putting her hand on his.
"Was Isabel mad?" Felicity asked curiously as Oliver shifted their grip so that Felicity's hand was in his much larger hand.
"Only after the Doctor put a cast on Anastasia's hand and declared her fit to head home. Despite how frigid she is at work, she does love her children."
"Yeah I concluded as much tonight," she said holding her empty wine glass out to him to pour her another.
"You really like your wine," he said to her.
"I do," she said with a large smile.
S-5
Felicity was vaguely aware of the car coming to a stop. She had started to drift off the minute she sat in the car. Perhaps she shouldn't have drunk half of the bottle on her own. Oliver's cologne soon invaded her senses again and the seat belt that had been constricting her movement had been removed.
"One more minute," Felicity mumbled. All she needed was one more minute of sleep and then she would go on her way.
She soon felt herself being lifted out of the car and cradled against a hard chest. Felicity's eyes flew open. She was staring at Oliver's neck.
"Oliver?" she questioned.
"Thea's room is always ready in case she wants to come home and spend the night. She won't mind if you stay there tonight,"
"I can drive home," Felicity insisted.
"I don't want my best employee falling asleep on the way home. It's safer to stay the night," Oliver said shifting her in his arms so that he could open the front door to the Mansion.
"But your mother..."
"My mother is not here. She took Walter on a vacation to celebrate the Applied Sciences launch and even if she was here, she has asked to meet you."
"She has?"
"Yes,"
Felicity wasn't quite sure what to do with that piece of information as Oliver carried her through the mansion. Soon he was pushing open another door and walking over to a bed. He pulled back the covers and then placed her gently on the bed.
"I don't think Thea's clothes might fit you," he said as he gently took her heels off for her.
"Are you calling me fat?" she complained.
"No, I'm just saying you have a nice ass," he said as he walked out of the room.
Felicity was too sleepy to reprimand him. He soon returned with one his shirts.
"You can change into that. I'm the next door to the right if you need anything ok,"
Felicity nodded sleepily. The bed was so comfortable she was fairly sure she would be sleeping in her gown. Before he left the room, he bent down and kissed her softly on her temple. Felicity found herself leaning into it.
"Good night Felicity,"
"Good night Oliver," she mumbled.
S-6
A few days later, Sara and Nyssa dragged Felicity to the gym to meet up with Oliver to learn how to punch. Felicity was staring at the punching bag in front of her. Oliver stood next to her.
"Hold your hand up?" he instructed.
"It's still healing Oliver so I don't see the point of this," Felicity whined.
"You have a left hand Felicity. Just because you are right handed doesn't mean you should only train your right hand. Now hold up your left hand,"
Felicity grumpily showed him her left hand. Oliver went through the process of making a fist with your hand. Once he was satisfied that she was doing it correctly, he settled himself in front of the punching bag. He asked her to watch his stance and the way his body moved when hitting the punching bag. He hit the bag and the bag swung away from him, the chain holding it from the ceiling clanging as it swung. He easily caught it when it returned to him. It was an impressive display but instead of paying attention to the stance Felicity paid attention to the way his muscles flexed as he moved.
"Your turn," he said.
Felicity stood in front of the punching bag and attempted to punch it. She rebounded backwards away from the bag. It was only Oliver's hands on her shoulders that kept her from falling on her butt.
"Your stance is all wrong," he admonished "were you even paying attention to what I was showing you."
He moved his hands to grip her hips to prevent her from falling over as he adjusted her feet with his foot. He then showed her how to swing her hips to give her punches power. The next punch she took actually made the bag shake a teenie-weenie bit. Oliver drilled her on the punching bags before assigning her some weights to improve her upper body strength.
"What do you usually do now?" Felicity asked as she finished the last set of ten he had given her to do with the five pound weights. They had at least an hour and a half before QC would officially open.
"I go up to the office and read reports. They usually put me to sleep, especially technical reports from the Applied Sciences Division," he said winking at her before he continued, "and then I'll take an hour nap on the couch. My assistant will wake me up for my first meeting or if Isabel is around," he said.
"I work hard on those reports Oliver!" Felicity said poking him in the chest.
"I know," Oliver said grabbing her finger and holding it tenderly in his hand, "but not everyone understands them. That first meeting you attended with Ray, I spent the entire meeting googling what you and Ray were talking about on my phone because I didn't understand a thing you were saying!" Oliver admitted.
"I did notice you on the phone. I thought you were messaging your girlfriend or something,"
"No girlfriend to message," Oliver replied quickly. She got the sense that he was hinting at something though.
"Since you're so kindly teaching me to punch, why don't you stop by my office when you're not busy and I can explain the parts you don't understand," Felicity offered.
"Deal," he said.
"Deal," she replied.
Five hours later, just before she was getting ready to head up to the cafeteria for lunch, Oliver arrived in her office with sushi.
"No Big Belly Burger," she sulked.
"It's not exactly healthy Felicity," Oliver pointed out to her.
"Humph," Felicity pursed her lips. "Only because you've been upgraded from Jerk, will I accept this."
"I've been promoted?" he asked taking a seat opposite her.
"Yes, you're now decent enough to be a friend," she told him reaching for her box of sushi.
"I guess I'll just have to take what I can get," he said smiling at her before she started inundating him with technical terms.
S-7
Two weekends later, it was Thea's birthday. Her friend started her day with brunch with her mother, Oliver and Walter before starting to get ready for her party. The party was being hosted at the club that Oliver and Tommy ran together, Verdant. Felicity had tried to get out of going but the little spit fire named Thea Queen-Merlyn insisted that Felicity needed to accompany her in the limo. The boys would meet them at the club.
She got ready with Laurel and Thea in the loft. Again it seemed like Felicity had become a Barbie doll but this time she had company. Thea had her professional hair stylist, make-up artist and manicurist attend to them. She had a field day instructing her specialists how she wanted each of their hairstyles, their nails and make-up. By the time they were finished Felicity thought it was a different person staring back at her in the mirror.
Thea had ordered Felicity to sex it up so Felicity selected a short black cocktail dress that stopped mid thigh. Most of her back was exposed except for a few bands of cloth that ran across her back. She paired the dress with sky high black strappy stilettos. Thea was impressed.
"You're going to knock Ollie's socks off!" she squealed.
Felicity blushed, as tempting at that sounded, it couldn't possibly be true. They got off to such a bad start. "Thea your brother and I are just friends."
"The Nile is not just a river in Egypt," she chirped happily.
Felicity ignored her. She was not in denial. Oliver Queen did not like girls like her. He still teased her that she was a fangirl.
Diggle soon arrived to collect them. She swore she heard the bodyguard mutter something about catching the look on Oliver's face. On the way out, they passed a group of paparazzi as well as a few of their neighours. The limo was nice. There was a chilled bottle of champagne waiting for them and Thea didn't hesitate to open it. By the time they got to the club Felicity was already feeling a slight buzz. Roy met them in front of the club.
"Looking hot Blondie," Roy said. He was dressed in a suit and tie. From the stiffness of his posture Felicity knew he was uncomfortable but he was only making the effort for Thea.
"You don't clean up too bad either," she said pulling on the end of his tie.
"Oliver's really going to go crazy tonight," Roy commented.
"Why is everyone always mentioning Oliver?" Felicity asked exasperated.
He smirked at her with that same look he had the first day she met him, "Dick," she said.
Diggle guided Felicity and Laurel to the VIP section of the club. The room was crowded mostly with Thea's friends but she was still able to pick Oliver out instantly. It was like she was a compass but she didn't point to the magnetic north pole, she pointed to Oliver. His back was towards her but through the reflection of a mirror near him she could see a young buxom brunette was talking with him. The girl was flirting, playfully resting her hand on his chest. Felicity felt a rush of anger in her system and tore her eyes away. She reminded herself that she was just his friend and he was free to pick up any girl he wanted.
Felicity decided to head to the bar. A lot of the young guys were staring at her. Maybe she should have picked out a dress a tad bit longer. Soon Thea arrived at the entrance to the VIP room, escorted by her boyfriend.
"Happy Birthday," everyone yelled.
Thea pretended to be surprised and grateful even though everyone knew she planned her own birthday party right down to the last detail. Felicity ordered another glass of champagne. She started with that, she was going to stick with that. She didn't want to get too drunk. She had just ordered her drink when a tall guy with red hair settled next to her.
"Hello, can I buy you a drink?"
"It's a free drinks party," Felicity pointed out.
"Best time to offer a girl a drink," he said. Felicity thought he was kind of a sleezy.
The bartender placed her champagne flute in front of her. "You're a bit too late," she told him.
"Then how about a dance, beautiful," he said with what was supposed to be a charming smile. On any other girl it might have worked but Felicity had recently become immune to such smiles. When you worked with a man like Oliver Queen, all other males just seemed to pale in comparison.
"No thank you," she said politely.
"Come on, I can see you want to dance," he said holding on to her hand,
Felicity pulled away from him easily, "I said no."
"Come on baby," he said reaching for her hand again.
Just as Felicity was getting ready to hit the guy another hand interceded, stopping the guys hand in midair. Felicity recognised the hand immediately. It could only belong to one Oliver Queen.
"She said no," he said in a low threatening tone. She had never heard such a tone from him.
"This doesn't concern you buddy," he spat at Oliver.
"It most definitely concerns me," Oliver said. Felicity could tell from the tension in his shoulders, he was getting angrier.
"I was here first," the redhead said to Oliver.
"It doesn't matter who was here first or not. I am not dancing with you," she told the redhead.
Felicity looped her hands through Oliver's free arm, "come Oliver let us go on the dance floor. Leave him alone."
She had to tug really hard before he left with her. Once they were on the floor, Felicity hands easily circled his neck and his hands wrapped around her waist. She looked into Oliver's eyes. She could hardly see the blue in his pupils because his eyes were dilated. She wondered if hers looked the same way. She noticed when he glanced down at her lips. This caused her to automatically lick her lips. His eyes darted back to her lips again. Soon he was leaning slowly in. Felicity leaned closer and right before they met she closed her eyes. The kiss felt amazing. Fireworks were exploding behind her eyelids.
Felicity Smoak, a nerd from Las Vegas was making out with the hottest bachelor in Star City, Oliver Queen, in the middle of the dance floor. She felt like was on cloud nine and she definitely didn't want to come down any time soon.
S-8
The first thing that Felicity became aware of was the warmth that was cocooning her body. She nuzzled her nose into her pillow eliciting a groan. Through the fog, she realised that a pillow was not supposed to groan. She opened one eye and was greeted with the sight of a neck that led to a strong jaw line that was covered in stubble.
"Good morning," he said.
"Hi," Felicity squeaked as she realised she was cuddled next to a very naked Oliver.
She was inundated with memories from the night before. It had been a night filled with passion and he certainly knew what he was doing. She realised she was slightly sore but it was kind of pleasant knowing what caused it.
"I know this is kind of backwards," Oliver admitted, "but would you like to go dinner with me?"
"Dinner as in a date?" Felicity asked trying to point angle her mouth so that her morning breath didn't hit him but she still maintained eye contact.
"Yes," he answered his eyes boring into hers.
"Yes," Felicity answered. "I suppose I need to upgrade you again."
"What's my new title," he asked.
"Boyfriend,"
Oliver's lips crashed against hers and soon they were starting round four.
S-9
An hour later, Felicity followed Oliver into the kitchen. He promised her breakfast, even though it was close to midday. He also promised that at that hour in the morning his mother would not be there. He was dead wrong because there seated regally around a small table in the kitchen was Moira Queen daintily sipping from a fine china tea cup.
"About time," she smiled at them.
Felicity tugged at the edge of Oliver's baseball shirt that she was wearing in an effort to try and cover more of her thighs.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Oliver asked.
"Having tea Oliver," she said as she placed her tea cup down on the saucer. It didn't make a sound.
"I meant at home," he said his tone laced with an undertone of anger.
"The last time I checked Oliver this was my home," she pointed out completely unaffected by her son's tone.
"Yes but you're never here at this hour on a Saturday," he pointed out.
Moira arched an eyebrow, "Are you monitoring my movements Oliver? I had enough of that during the divorce," she chided him.
Oliver ran a hand through his hair and Felicity knew he was frustrated. He hadn't intended for this to happen.
"I raised you better than this. Offer Ms. Smoak something to drink. Thea may have left some coffee for you there on the island,"
Oliver walked over to the island and passed Felicity a cup that was labelled with her name. It was still hot. Thea must have just delivered it. Felicity took her first sip. She definitely needed coffee in her system to begin processing the fact that she was standing before the Queen matriarch in her son's Star City Rocket's baseball jersey.
"Ms. Smoak, I must admit that I was hoping to meet you under different circumstances but Oliver and Walter have not been acceding to my requests to meet you so I took matters into my own hands," she said taking another sip of her tea before standing, "I hope to see you again." The matriarch then looked at her son, "as you know Oliver I am now very late for tea at the country club, please excuse me."
After a minute of silence Felicity burst out, "that was the most embarrassing moment I have ever had. It ranks right up there with the time I threw up on a cop."
"If it makes you feel any better, I peed on a cop car," Oliver said soothingly rubbing her back.
Felicity glared at him, "Don't remind me of what a jerk you can be,"
"But I'm your jerk now," Oliver countered.
Felicity smiled softly, "yes all mine," she said looping her hands around his neck and reaching up on tiptoes to kiss him.
S-10
After Felicity finished washing the dishes they used to eat breakfast, Oliver wiping and putting them away right away, she contemplated returning to her apartment building.
"Oliver I can't return wearing the same dress!" she when he put away the last dish.
"Why not?" he asked.
She glared; men could be so clueless sometimes. "Because lots of people saw us leave the apartment and according to my phone, the tabloids are plastered with pictures of us together from both the party and the gala. Heck the cover of gossip city has a close up of our faces stuck together in a lip lock."
"You could stay here all day and return at night when no one would see you. I'm sure we can find something to do," he said wiggling his eyebrow at her.
She threw an orange that had been in the fruit basket on the island at him. He caught it in one hand.
"Is there anything you can't do?" she asked.
"Hack a computer," he answered easily.
She raised her index finger at him threateningly, "what did I say about that word,"
He smiled widely at her before pulling her into his arms and kissing her.
S-11
Early Monday morning, more than 48 hours after she first left to go to Thea's birthday party, Felicity returned to her apartment building. She tried to sneak past the same night guard that saw her leave on Friday night. The guard arched an eyebrow at her. She was busted. She held her head high and walked as quickly as she could to the elevator.
An hour later, when she exited the building dressed for work, she found Oliver leaning against the BMW with two cups of coffee. She smiled. As he handed her the cup she could see it was labelled Fangril! If her coffee wasn't so precious she would have thrown it at him so she had to settle on punching his arm.
"Ow," he said rubbing his bicep.
She smiled at him, "my boyfriend has been teaching me to punch properly,"
Oliver arched an eyebrow, "he has? He must be so tired of trying to teach a Fangirl,"
Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, "I would use my knee next but I need that particular area functioning properly,"
Oliver smirked, "I'm sure you do,"
"Jerk," Felicity responded.
He kissed her on her temple before picking up his coffee and walking over the driver's side.
S-12
Friday evening Oliver knocked on the door to her apartment to pick her up for their date. Felicity was ready. She had made sure to get home early to prepare. She glanced at her reflection one more time to make sure her make-up was still good and her hair was still in place. She opened the door and found Oliver standing there, shifting his weight from side to side. He had a dozen red roses in one hand.
"For you," he said holding out the roses to her.
"Thank you," she said accepting the roses. She lifted them to face and inhaled. They smelled wonderful. "Let me just put them in a vase,"
Once she got the flowers situated on her coffee table she looked up at Oliver he was looking at the packaging from the three benzos she took.
"You're nervous?" he asked.
"Yes but I don't know what I have to be nervous about. I've already seen you naked, multiple times naked," she said her eyes roaming over Oliver's form.
"I have an idea, how about we skip the dinner and go straight to the naked part," he said walking over to her by the sofa.
"What about our date?" she protested as Oliver towered over her.
"I can move the reservation to tomorrow," he told her his eyes glancing down to her brightly coloured lips.
"But this is our first date," Felicity whined.
"Technically the night under the stars could have been our first date," he pointed out.
"But you didn't kiss me," she pouted cutely.
"I did, on your temple, not all first dates have to end with a kiss on the lips," he stated sagely.
"Ok," Felicity agreed pulling him by his tie down to her height so she could kiss him senseless.
They didn't make it to dinner that night or the next or the following weekend.
An: There is an epilogue to come.