Thank you guys so much for the feeback! A few things on a couple of comments I've received; 1) I know Oliver comes off a bit OOC in this and - while I agree to an extent because I simply haven't been writing him lately and I'm a little rusty - you also have to remember that in the scenes with Felicity's friends he's definitely playing his Oliver Queen~ role rather than just being himself. 2) I know that the whole "fake relationship for some time of gathering" thing has been done to death in every fandom ever (it's because it's a good fun trope to write, let's be honest), I've honestly only ever read one other story in this trope for Oliver and Felicity and that was a year ago and it was definitely a different type of story than what I've created (probably a better one, too, because damn that story was hot).
As always, feedback is really appreciated thank you guys so much for continuing with this story if you're here! Now, on to the chapter!
It takes a tense seven minutes to find the Waffle House Oliver had mentioned. During which the only conversation comes from the cab driver asking where they're headed and Oliver responding. At the restaurant, they don't speak until the waitress asks for their orders. Oliver orders two plain pancakes and Felicity orders a Belgian waffle with berries on top.
Halfway through his pancakes, Oliver finally speaks up, "So, a tour of Fenway Park?"
"Yup," Felicity nods, pushing a strawberry around the syrup on her plate. "You ever been?" Oliver shakes his head in response. "Yeah, me neither. I didn't go to any games or anything during college."
"The Queens weren't big on organized sports that didn't involve dressing up and showing off our stature," he admits quietly, like he's ashamed of how his family used to act. Felicity considers that with his mother dead and Thea off figuring out who she is when she's not a Queen, Oliver is left to uphold, redeem, and pass on the Queen name.
"Well, I figured it was better than making you sit through another seminar. I only have one thing from nine a.m. until noon tomorrow and then a presentation by the dean followed by a reception," she tells him, cutting off another bite of her waffle. "So most of our day tomorrow is free at least. We can go into the city or something." She shrugs and stuffs the bite in her mouth as Oliver nods.
"Our flight leaves at five on Sunday night," he tells her, checking his phone to be sure.
"The barbeque is only until three on Sunday so that should give us plenty of time to pack up and check out. You asked the hotel about getting a late check out time, right?"
"Yeah," he nods. "They said check out is usually at eleven but with the reunion being this weekend they've extended it until six Sunday night." Felicity nods and they lapse back into an uncomfortable silence. The waitress comes back, Oliver pays the bill, and they head back towards campus.
By the time they reach the rendezvous spot for those going on the tour, a large group has already amassed. A large variety of people, from children of alumni to the elderly, wait for the bus to arrive. Arianna and Shane show up a few minutes after them. Shane sports a Red Sox jersey that Felicity doubts fits the "business casual" dress code but it's paired with a pair of tan khaki pants. Arianna sports a light grey shirtdress and a red baseball cap. She immediately notices Felicity eying the cap and puts up a hand.
"Not a word, Smoak!" Felicity throws her hands up in defense and stays silent.
"I'd forgotten what a die hard you are, Shane," she says instead. He nods and throws his hand up in a fist pump.
"Red Sox!" Oliver and Felicity both laugh at him as he draws the attention of the other attendees and earns a light smack on his arm from Ari. Within a few minutes the bus shows up and their tour guide steps off, explaining the logistics of the round trip to the famous home of the Boston Red Sox. When she's finished, they form a line to board the bus and Chester pops up out of seemingly nowhere at Felicity's elbow. She looks at him, eyes wide, about to ask where he'd come from, when he cuts her off.
"Heads up," he mumbles, "David Gray incoming." Felicity's eyes widen even more and Arianna spins around at the name, searching the crowd around them. Felicity has to force herself from looking around as well as she ignores Oliver's questioning eyes on her. Eventually, Arianna's eyes stop roving, land on someone Felicity can't see, and return to Felicity.
"Looks like he's coming on the tour," she mumbles and Felicity groans.
"I don't know why I didn't consider this possibility when I agreed to come to the reunion," she sighs, running a hand nervously over her ponytail.
"He's watching you," Chester adds, unhelpfully.
"Stop staring at him," Felicity snaps.
"Who's David Gray?" Oliver asks, looking around the others, surprised to even find normally unreadable Shane looking nervous at the turn the conversation had taken.
"I'll tell you later," Felicity says, waving him off, "when he's not possibly in ear shot." Arianna looks between Oliver and Felicity curiously.
"I can't believe you never told him about David," she hisses.
"It never came up," Felicity shrugs. Without conscious though, her hand reaches out for Oliver's, looking for comfort. He laces their fingers together without question and she considers for the first time that it might be a good thing that he understands wanting to keep some secrets to himself.
They board the bus and manage to get seats far away from David. Felicity keeps herself from seeking out the man by staring at her and Oliver's still joined hands and trying not to read too much into the touch. After all, she'd only seeked his hand out for comfort and he'd only taken hers to uphold their cover. The same reason as why he'd kissed her the day before. The anomaly that was that morning should be filed under "never again" and forgotten about.
She takes a deep breath and flexes her fingers, sliding them out of his. He looks at her curiously but doesn't say anything. They listen to Shane and Chester banter back and forth about the Red Sox vs. the New England Patriots – the NFL team – and Ari occasionally jump in with a sarcastic comment to stir the pot.
Arriving at the park, the tour begins with some general facts about the stadium. It was founded in 1912 and holds as the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. Felicity is surprised to find Oliver more interested in the tour than she'd expected. He even begins to talk statistics with Shane during the tour guides lulls. Arianna nudges her with a grin.
"Heads up," she laughs, "looks like you've got a budding fan on your hands." Felicity laughs and shakes her head, nudging Arianna back as Oliver grins back at them. They somehow manage to avoid David for the whole tour and Felicity begins to consider that he may not be interested in talking to her either.
The tour lasts about two hours and they get back to campus for the last half hour of lunch with the graduating class of 2014. The five settle into a large round table on the second floor and Shane, Chester, and Oliver return to their conversation about Fenway and Major League Baseball. Arianna, who has removed the ball cap, scarfs her meal down and Felicity laughs.
"Didn't get breakfast this morning, I take it," she comments. Arianna shakes her head no.
"Nope," she says, after swallowing, popping the P, "Shane and I had better ideas for this morning." She winks at Felicity who blushes thinking about her own wake up call. Suddenly, Chester jumps up from the table mid-conversation and begins searching the crowd, phone in hand.
"There she is," he shouts suddenly, gaining the attention of the surrounding tables. Felicity turns and spots a tall, gorgeous brunette making her way towards their table with a wide smile.
"Chester, darling," she drawls in a fake snooty voice as she reaches their table.
"Jen!" Ari squeals jumping up to hug the woman. Felicity stands as well, grinning at her old friend as she pulls Felicity into a hug after Arianna.
"Wow, Happy, look at you!" Jen laughs in her normal voice. "The West Coast agrees with you, I take it!"
"Me?" Felicity smiles. "What about you? I feel like an Oompa Loompa next to you in those heels." She eyes Jen's bright red stilettos enviously. She hears Oliver clear his throat behind her and turns to find him standing as well.
"Oh, sorry!" She turns back to Jen. "Jen, this is my boyfriend Oliver. Oliver, Jen. Jen lived down the hall from Ari and I."
"Damn, Happy," Jen exclaims, looking Oliver up and down in an over-the-top manner, "you did good !" Felicity blushes and shakes her head but Oliver laughs.
"Happy?" He asks as they all settle into their seats, Jen taking the time to give Shane a hug and Chester a kiss on the cheek.
"It's her name," Jen explains, once she's settled on the other side of Chester. "Felicity means 'a great happiness'. So, we call her Happy."
" You ," Felicity informs her dryly, "are the only one who calls me Happy, Jen." Jen shrugs with a smug grin.
"I didn't know you two were still in touch," Felicity continues, looking in the direction of Jen and Chester. Jen nods and Chester rolls his eyes good naturedly.
"Hey, Smoak, not all of us move to a different coast and completely drop contact, you know." Felicity grimaces and drops her head.
"I guess that's fair," she acknowledges, knowing she hadn't been doing her part to stay in touch in the last two years. Somewhere around the time she found a bleeding vigilante in her car she'd realized she couldn't exactly honestly tell her friends about her life anymore.
"Seriously," Arianna jumps in, "what happened to you in the past year and a half that you didn't have time to e-mail or call?" Felicity gnaws on her lower lip and shrugs.
"I got really busy at QC," she offers, "and then the takeover happened and it's just been really hectic." She feels Oliver tense beside her and she think he may be about to break in and blame himself but he gets cut off.
"So, I've heard," a deep voice says from behind Felicity and she scrunches her face in annoyance at Arianna before relaxing it into an unconcerned smile and turning toward the man behind her. He's only a few inches taller than her but in her seated position, he towers over her. In a black dress shirt and khakis, David Gray grins down at her. It actually infuriates her that the past five years have been so kind to him, his handsome face thin and clean shaven and his light hair immaculate.
"David," she greets with a terse nod. He rounds the table and pulls out a chair across from her.
"Mind if I sit?" He asks no one in particular before dropping down in the seat without a response. He continues as if he'd been part of the original conversation with a lighthearted grin, "I bet you wish you'd stayed on the East Coast now, huh?" Arianna pulls a face and turns to him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't you watch the news?" He asks her, keeping his attention solely on Felicity. "Masked vigilantes running around shooting arrows into people, earthquake machines, armies of super soldiers. It's a wonder the earth hasn't just opened up and swallowed Starling City whole." Felicity shrugs refusing to comment.
"Oh, yeah," Chester jumps in, "I've heard about that Arrow guy! He seems like a badass." Felicity fights to keep the smile off her face.
"He's a murderer," David counters. Out of her peripheral, Felicity catches Oliver's hand tighten on his glass of water. Felicity rushes to jump into the conversation.
"He's helping the city! He's not killing anymore," she hesitates, "he's found another way to do it." Oliver's hand slips off of his glass and under the table. She feels it land on top of her own hand in her lap. David's eyes watch Oliver's hand disappear and she knows he didn't miss the movement.
"He's dangerous," Oliver says as Felicity glances down at their hands, "but he's seems to think he's helping, at the very least."
"He should be in a cell," David argues, "not earning praise." He eyes Felicity curiously and she tenses, knowing exactly where his mind is going.
"You seem to know an awful lot about his intentions..," he trails off, letting his accusation dangle there. Felicity refuses to rise to the bait, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"Do you know who he is?!" Chester say suddenly, picking up on what David was trying to ask. Felicity does her best to look startled by the question, even as she feels Oliver squeeze her hand in reassurance.
"What?" She asks with a laugh as though the thought were ridiculous. "Of course not!" David continues to watch her calculatingly and she resists the urge to squirm under his gaze. After a moment, Oliver clears his throat.
"I don't believe we've met," he tells David. "I'm Oliver Queen. Felicity's boyfriend." The name sparks recognition in David's eyes but at the word 'boyfriend' his eyes flick to Felicity for a brief moment. This time she can't contain the squirm and shifts in her seat.
"David Gray," he tells Oliver shortly before rising from the table. "Well, I should get back to my own table. I'll see you around, Felicity." He offers the words casually but they ring like a threat in her ears. Oliver's hand slips out of hers and back to his water glass, bring it to his lips for a drink before looking at Felicity expectantly. She knew his respect for her secrets would only go so far and having said secret sitting across the table from him has brought him to the end of his leash. She sighs but refuses to budge.
"So, who exactly is that guy?" He finally asks the table at large. Jen gives a gasp that Felicity feels is a little over the top for the situation.
"Felicity hasn't told you about David?" Jen asks, looking bewildered and Felicity groans.
"Look, guys, it's not like I spent that past five years doing nothing but thinking about David, okay? It really just hasn't come up," she insists. Jen shakes her head like this is unacceptable.
"David was Felicity's college boyfriend, like, basically the entire time," Jen explains. "They broke up right before graduation. Felicity wanted to move back West and David wanted to stay here."
"That's why they broke up?" Oliver asks and Felicity's hands clench in annoyance at the conversation being had like she's not sitting right there.
"Well," Jen continues with a flourish, as if the story is far more interesting than Felicity feels it is, "he proposes, in front of everyone, a week before graduation. He expected her to be all Suzy Homemaker here in Massachusetts. You can imagine how well that went over with Felicity." Oliver nods, reminded of the times when Felicity's gone after him for her Executive Assistant position.
"He just wanted her to throw away the years she'd put in here to be his doting little house wife," Arianna continues for Jen. Felicity looks down at her plate and picks at her food, uninterested in the memory lane their trekking.
"What an asshole," Oliver comments while Chester and Shane murmur their agreement despite having been present for the events. Chester had actually been there when David had proposed but the very public proposal and ensuing break up got around to Shane and the rest of the campus pretty quickly.
"Yeah, so," Felicity cuts in, "can we talk about anything else please? Jen, what have you been doing lately?" Jen's face lights up as she jumps into a story about her job and Felicity's ex-boyfriend is quickly forgotten.
After lunch, Jen, Arianna, and Felicity are all set to attend a workshop on the advancement of women in the workplace while the men convince Oliver to join them at the sports bar down the street to catch as much of the Red Sox game as they can.
"So, you and Oliver Queen, huh?" Jen asks Felicity during a lull in the activities of the workshop. "That's surprising."
"I can still barely believe it myself," Felicity smiles ruefully.
"If you two get married you won't even need to work anymore," Jen smirks, continuing quickly at the dark look Felicity sends her, "I mean, you can , obviously, you just wouldn't need to."
"We're not getting married," Felicity insists. "And Oliver isn't rich anymore. All of his family's assets were tied up in Queen Consolidated, so when it went under so did they. All he has is the balance of his personal accounts."
"That's got to be a good bit of cash though, right?" Arianna asks.
"Sure but he's finding out it doesn't last as well as he'd expected it to." The other two women nod in understanding as the speaker for the workshop begins to explain the next activity.
When they meet up with the men at the bar, Jen settles in next to Chester and immediately gets into the game being played. Arianna sits down begrudgingly next to Shane but Oliver stands to greet Felicity.
"Hey," he smiles, "you wanna get out of here?" She stares at him oddly but nods.
"We'll see you guys at dinner," she tells her friends before Oliver slips his hand into hers and leads her out of the bar. They walk down the street, back toward campus.
"What do you want to do?" Felicity begins to ask but Oliver begins speaking at the same time.
"What did you mean earlier?" He asks suddenly, his eyes on some indeterminate spot in the distance. Her head whirls around as she stares at him.
"What? When?"
"When you were leaving the hotel room. You said something about going back to 'real life'," he explains, his eyes still not meeting hers. Felicity sighs, her shoulders sagging as she slips her hand out of his.
"This isn't real life, Oliver," she mumbles, staring at the ground. "We're not really a couple and we should forget about whatever happened this morning when we get back home." She looks up and finds him watching her. She can't bring herself to break the stare.
"You're right," he says, his eyes intense and making Felicity squirm. Suddenly, he kisses her, pushing her back into an alley behind her.
Despite the alarm bells sounding off in her brain, her hands move into motion, wrapping around his lower back and pull him tight against her as he backs her into the brick wall on one side of the alley. His hands move into her hair, mussing her ponytail, and she lets out a breathy gasp against his lips. He nips lightly at her lower lip before moving his mouth down the column of her throat, sucking lightly at the nape of her neck.
Her hands fumble around to the front of his shirt, working at the top buttons of his dress shirt as his lips dip lower to the place where the top few buttons of her own blouse are already open. His hands flow easily from her hair, down her neck and arms, lower, lower, lower. He grips one of her thighs, pulling it around his waist as his mouth moves back up to hers. Her skirt bunches at her upper thighs and the hand on her leg moves inwards towards the apex of her thighs. His fingers dance lightly across the fabric of her panties and she gasps suddenly, pulling away from his mouth.
"Oliver, stop," she pants and his hand stills immediately, his eyes meeting hers. "We're playing with fire here." He looks appropriately shame faced for a moment before the intensity returns to his eyes, surprising and enthralling her.
"It's not real life, right? We could forget about this later," he hesitates, "if you want to, I mean." The fire in his eyes turn her on and she knows his hand, still resting very gently against her, can feel it. And suddenly the public alley fades away, her friends a few buildings down fade away, and reality fades away. All she can feel is Oliver's hand and his eyes on her. So, she kisses him and reaches down to guide his hand further.
She groans against his mouth as his fingers dip beneath her underwear and slide into her. He starts with one, easing in and out of her with his middle finger as he watches her face. When he slips the second finger in she squeaks in surprise and clenches around him, gasping in pleasure. She sighs his name as his fingers slide in and out and his thumb finds her clit. He beckons her with his fingers on just the right spot and covers her mouth with his own just in time to swallow her loud moan as she comes apart against his hand.
If Felicity thought that morning was awkward, it was nothing compared to the awkwardness that ensued after their near-exhibitionist leap over second and right into third base. And, yes, the irony of using a baseball euphemism about their sexual encounter a few buildings down from a sports bar is not lost on her.
They'd still had almost two hours left before they had to meet her friends for dinner and, after adjusting their clothes and taking a moment to stare uncomfortably at everything but each other, neither of them had any idea what to do with themselves. Felicity had suggested going back to the sports bar and catching the rest of the game but Oliver had shot that down in favor of avoiding questions from her friends.
Felicity shrugs noncommittally, "we could just go back to campus. Walk around until dinner." Oliver nods silently and they start back towards campus.
"This is so awkward," Felicity blurts unintentionally, immediately groaning in annoyance at herself. But it makes Oliver chuckle next to her and that kind of makes her feel better.
"Yeah," he nods, "sorry I shouldn't have-"
"Please," she scoffs, cutting him off, "like you forced me into that. I mean it, it was great obviously! It's just, you know, we should probably-"
"Not do it again?" Oliver asks with an embarrassed smile and Felicity nods. "Yeah, probably not."
"I don't want things to be awkward between us, Oliver," she says. "You're important to me."
"You're important to me, too," Oliver assures her. "And I don't want it to be weird either." Felicity nods.
"Good. Then, we agree, no weirdness." Oliver reaches over and squeezes her shoulder lightly and, even as her heart sinks, Felicity smiles at him. When they reach campus, they decide to just take a walk around until dinner. As they do, Oliver asks Felicity about her friends.
"So, Jen and Chester, they're not together?" Felicity laughs and shakes her head.
"No, they're just two of the most dramatic people I've ever met and they mesh well together," she explains. "In college, they used to lie and tell people they were siblings just to see how they'd react."
"Wouldn't people just assume one or both of them was adopted?" He asks and Felicity nods.
"Oh, sure! But when the people would say that they'd just look at them blankly and ask why they'd think that. People didn't know what to do after that. It could be kind of funny." Oliver just shakes his head at the idea.
"What about Shane?" He asks. "He's kind of hard to read."
"Yeah, he's more of the strong, silent type. You just have to open him up. Baseball can do it, as you've seen," she smirks, thinking about the two of them at the stadium earlier in the day.
"I like your friends," he tells her after a few minutes of silence, a sad smile on his face. "Chester reminds me of Tommy." Felicity bites her lip and watches him for a moment.
"I'm sorry I never got to know him," she admits quietly. "They way you talk about him, he seemed like a great guy."
"He was," Oliver nods and then grins, "and he would have loved you." Felicity ducks her head and smiles.
"Why do you say that?"
"You don't let me pull shit," Oliver shrugs with a chuckle. "Tommy used to love to see me put in my place." Felicity laughs and shakes her head.
"He'd be proud of you, Oliver," she says quietly and shrugs. " I'm proud of you." Oliver stares at her for a moment before looking past her and nodding.
"Thanks for saying that." Felicity sighs but doesn't try to convince him it's not something she's just saying. When the vigilante first showed up in Starling City, he'd terrified her. Now, he'd become a beacon of hope for the city. A guardian angel, as lame as that sounded even in her head.
Oliver checks his watch and jerks his head in the direction of the main road.
"We should probably try and get a cab and head to the hotel where the dinner's being held," he suggests. Felicity nods and allows him to lead her back toward the busy road where they hail a taxi and head towards the Westin Copley Place Hotel.
At the hotel, there's a short reception for all the classes before they're split up by class year for separate dinners. Oliver and Felicity locate the others and they all find themselves a table.
"So, what did you two did after leaving the bar?" Chester asks them with a salacious wink. Felicity tries not to blush even as Oliver answers.
"Just went for a walk," he shrugs and she's actually a little annoyed at how easily he lies, as if he hadn't made her come with his hands in an open alley against a brick wall. Her skin heats up at the thought and she occupies her attention on her food. The conversation continues on around her until Jen turns her attention on Felicity.
"So, how is your mom?" Jen asks, tucking into her pasta with gusto.
"She's fine," Felicity sighs with a rueful grin. "Calls me every birthday and Hanukkah to remind me of my grandbaby bearing years and to marry rich."
"But never to get rich on your own," Arianna nods in understanding as Jen eyes Oliver next to Felicity.
"Seems like you're well on your way, though," she comments and Felicity chokes on her potatoes, sending Jen a glare across the table. Jen just laughs as Oliver smirks.
"Okay, so, he didn't run for the hills at the mention of the mother or possible nuptials," she teases. "He seems like a keeper!"
"Technically, I'm not rich anymore though," Oliver jokes and Arianna and Jen nod.
"Yeah," Arianna says, "Felicity mentioned that earlier. That all your assets were lost when your company was acquired." Oliver nods in affirmation but doesn't question why they'd been talking about it.
"But you're working to get your company back, aren't you?" Shane asks, getting interested in the conversation.
"Yeah," Oliver shrugs, "but it's not going to be easy."
"He's hoping his stepfather will be able to help. He was CEO for a few years," Felicity explains.
"I don't know how many jams he's willing to help me out of though." Shane nods in understanding and they all return to their meals for a few minutes. Jen's just started telling a story about Chester embarrassing himself at a club somewhere when someone clears their throat behind Felicity. She turns to find David standing behind her chair, looking much less cocky than he had before.
"Hey, Liss," he smiles sheepishly, using the old pet name he'd had for her. "Can we talk for a minute? In private?" Felicity looks around the table warily before nodding and standing to follow him out of the room and into the less crowded hallway.
"Listen," he begins, once they're away from her friends and mostly alone, "I want to apologize for going all Spanish Inquisition on you earlier." He scratches the back of his neck and waits for Felicity to say something.
When she doesn't, he continues, "it wasn't really how I wanted our first meeting after five years to go. But I saw you and your boyfriend and I guess I got a little jealous." He shrugs and watches her for a reaction. Felicity sighs.
"It's fine," she tells him honestly. "I don't really know how us seeing each other again was supposed to go. It's not like we got a whole lot of closure."
"Exactly," he nods in agreement. "So, I just wanted to apologize for coming off like an asshole. It was not my intention."
"I appreciate it." His conscious cleared, David leans easily against the wall behind him and studies her silently for a few seconds.
"So, you and Oliver Queen, huh?" He asks, prompting an eye roll from Felicity.
"Why do people keep saying it like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like he's one of the classier Kardashians and I'm a hobo?" He chuckles at the analogy and she glares at him. " Yes , me and Oliver Queen." It shouldn't irk her as much as it does. But it bothers her that apparently the rest of the world finds the two of them just as unthinkable as she does. How is that fair?
"I didn't mean it like that," David insists, shaking his head. "It's just surprising. He's practically royalty on the West Coast." Felicity shrugs and crosses her arms over her stomach.
"Sometimes things just happen," she offers, "unlikely people find a home in each other." His eyes drop to the floor at her assessment and she feels a little bad for insinuating she hadn't found a home with him. Their homes just hadn't been together.
"I should let you get back," he says finally. "It's been nice seeing you, Liss." Felicity nods and heads back to her table. She takes a seat and takes a bite of her potatoes, ignoring the looks she's receiving from the other occupants of the table.
"Are you going to tell us what that was about?" Chester finally asks.
"He just wanted to apologize for being a jerk to Oliver and I earlier," Felicity shrugs. Arianna and Oliver both eye her suspiciously but everyone else seems to accept this answer and return to their previous conversation.
"So, how's it going?" John's voice comes through her phone as Felicity stands on the balcony off their hotel room later that night.
"Oh, fine," she sighs, "the fake boyfriend met the ex-boyfriend. It was the appropriate amount of uncomfortable for all parties involved."
After a beat she quietly adds, "Oliver is really good at this whole faking it thing."
"He has years of practice," John offers as an explanation and Felicity hopes he can't tell what she's really feeling. John's always been disturbingly good at reading her.
"Yeah," she murmurs. "My friends like him, too. It'll be unfortunate when we break up."
"Unfortunate for them or you?" John asks smugly and she can hear his grin across the phone line.
"You're laughing at me," she grumbles as she hears him chuckle. "I'm can't believe you're laughing at me, Dig. Don't make me use my loud voice!" He has the good sense to stop chuckling.
"Sorry," he says but she can still hear the amusement in his voice. "I'm sure it'll be fine Felicity. You're halfway through the weekend." She hums noncommittally thinking about what she'd woken up to that morning.
"Listen, I know it's late there. I'll let you go. Call if you need anything."
"Will do," Felicity nods to herself. "Thanks, Dig." As she ends the call, her phone alerts her to a text.
From: Arianna Swenson
Do you have a swim suit?
To: Arianna Swenson
Not with me.
She types up her reply and steps back through the sliding glass doors into the hotel room. Oliver is standing next to the couch, replacing the blanket from the night before. Felicity watches him for a minute but doesn't fight him on it this time. Her phone beeps again.
From: Arianna Swenson
I'll bring you one, then.
Felicity frowns and types up a quick reply;
To: Arianna Swenson
What?
After about twenty minutes of pretending to watch TV while Oliver sits on the couch and she doesn't hear back from Arianna, there's a knock at the hotel room door. Oliver looks toward it and frowns.
"Did you order something?" He asks and Felicity shakes her head, standing to answer the door. Oliver puts up a hand towards her and moves to the door instead, protective instincts kicking in. He checks the peep hole and she sees him visibly relax.
"Who is it?" She asks but, in lieu of answering, Oliver just tugs the door open. Arianna and Jen breeze past him into the room, offering quick greetings. Shane gives Oliver an embarrassed smile and takes his time entering the room, instead of making himself at home.
"What are you doing here?" Felicity asks, looking around her friends wildly. Arianna begins digging through her large tote bag as Jen answers.
"It's like college, right? So, we figured, Carson Beach!" She squeals in excitement trying to hype Felicity, who's still looking dumbstruck, up to the idea. Felicity surveys them and realizes they're both wearing jean shorts and tank tops, with the tell tale straps of their bikinis underneath. Arianna find what she's been digging for and tosses the forest green bikini at Felicity who fumbles but catches it.
"You realize it's almost eleven at night?" Felicity asks incredulously. The other two women ignore her and turn to Oliver, instead.
"We brought extra swim trucks for you, too," Jen tells him excitedly as Arianna returns to searching through her bag.
"That's alright," Oliver says quickly, "I don't really like to go in the ocean unless I have to." Jen and Ari nod in understanding but Felicity just watches him, trying to discern if that's true or if he's just getting out of being forced by her friends.
"Well, you don't have to swim but you're still coming," Arianna says with finality before turning to Felicity. "Chester is waiting in the parking lot downstairs so hurry up and dress and we'll go." With that, she grabs Jen's had and leads her past Oliver and Shane and out of the hotel room.
"Sorry," Shane smiles apologetically before following after them. Felicity sighs resignedly and turns to Oliver.
"Did you bring any jeans with you?" His eyebrows raise as he looks at her incredulously.
"We're going?"
"Well, I am," she shrugs, " you can do whatever you want." She moves to her suitcase and flips it open, pulling a t-shirt and a pair of floral print shorts out of it. She'd packed them to wear home on the plane and hoped they wouldn't get too dirty and she'd end up having to wear a skirt. When she stands back up, Oliver is standing over his duffel bag. He turns when he feels her eyes on him.
"I'll go," he tells her, "but I was serious about the ocean." Felicity nods and heads for the bathroom to change.
Chester's car, while a nice sized SUV, was still not big enough for six people. Especially not six grown adults who should absolutely not have been sitting on each others laps. Regardless, thankfully, Arianna offered to sit on Shane's lap so Felicity and Oliver got separate, albeit very squished together, seats. Chester and Jen fought over the radio in the front seat for the entire ride to the beach. Felicity thinks Oliver might be getting his fill of her friends as he spends the ride in silence. But, then, she considers that he's not exactly talkative in the first place so who knows.
At the beach, loud music and a bonfire alert them to a party down the beach. Felicity considers that it's probably teenagers or actual college students and wonders what they'd think of a bunch of adults in their late twenties trying to recreate those years. They head down the beach in the opposite direction, each holding a beer while a small cooler dangles from Chester's fingers. The sounds of Arctic Monkeys fades into a quiet background noise and they stop to sit in the sand.
They sit in silence and, down the beach, Arctic Monkeys is replaced by the Neighborhood. Felicity listens and is trying to identify the song when Jen breaks the silence.
"We should play a game," she says suddenly, turning to face the others.
"What game?" Chester asks, looking intrigued by the proposition. Jen shrugs, takes a swig of her beer, and considers it.
"I've Never?" She suggests finally and everyone else but Felicity and Oliver nod their assent.
"Exactly how far are we planning on pushing this whole 'pretending to be college kids' thing?" Felicity asks tiredly, absently drawing symbols in the condensation on her beer can.
"I've never," Arianna starts loudly, with a malicious grin at Felicity, "had sex in the school library." Felicity gives her a sharp glare and takes a drink from her can. Jen claps excitedly at Felicity's participation.
" I've never had an affair with a teacher," Felicity counters and Jen and Chester both gasp as Arianna lifts her beer can grudgingly.
"To be fair," she says, once she's swallowed, "he wasn't one of my teachers."
"Which one?" Jen asks, looking a little perturbed to just be hearing about this.
"Professor Wilkes," Shane answers for Arianna with a smirk.
"What?" Chester shouts. "That explains so much!" Felicity laughs and leans against Oliver without thinking.
"Fuck this game," Arianna grumbles, taking a drink of her beer that has nothing to do with the game. Felicity smirks at her and Shane shakes his head, pulling Arianna tight against his side.
"My turn, my turn!" Jen claps again, laying back against the sand and staring up at the sky, trying to decide on something she'd never done. Felicity wonders if maybe that wasn't her first drink of the evening.
"I've never," she starts slowly, "gone skydiving." Felicity, Oliver, and Shane all lift their beers to their lips and Jen gasps.
"Be kind, rewind," Chester exclaims, "Miss Felicity afraid-of-heights-and-flying-and-general-death Smoak has jumped out of an airplane?" Felicity shrugs.
"My friend John can be very persuasive," she explains, evasively. "What about Shane? You've been skydiving?"
"That's not news," Arianna shakes her head, looking maybe a little annoyed. "Everyone knows Shane's an adrenaline junky." She frowns at her fiance who grins adorably at her.
"I'm not an adrenaline junkie, Ari," he chuckles, "I just like extreme sports."
"He has a Jet Ski," Arianna informs Felicity. "We live in Philadelphia. What the hell does he need a Jet Ski for?" Felicity puts her hands up shaking her head.
"Don't put me in the middle of this, Ari. You wouldn't believe some of the things Oliver gets into." It slips out without thought and she feels Oliver tense next to her.
"Oh, yeah? What are you into?" Shane asks and Oliver shrugs.
"Mostly just motorcycles," he explains. "I've been in a couple accidents, though. Nothing too terrible, Felicity's just not over it." He shoots her a playful glance that she knows is actually a warning and she grimaces in apology.
"I'm a nervous Nelly," she murmurs with a shrug, lifting her beer to her mouth again.
"Well, I'm bored again," Jen says suddenly, sitting back up and shaking the sand out of her long brown hair. Felicity catches Oliver looking at Jen in amusement and smiles. Maybe he isn't quite tired of her friends yet. Jen jumps up, catching Felicity's hands and pulling her up as well.
"Let's go swimming," she commands, "you're wearing one of my bathing suits so you clearly have to. Otherwise I brought it for no reason." Felicity sighs but nods as Jen starts pulling her own tank top over her head. Felicity follows suit, trying not to wonder if Oliver's eyes are on her or not.
"Don't go too far out, guys," Shane says, "it's pretty dark." Felicity straightens after removing her shorts and feels a hand on her bare stomach, she turns her head to find Oliver standing behind her.
"Be careful," he murmurs, catching her eye, and she nods before Jen tugs her away and down toward the waves.
Felicity and Jen can only handle the chilly water for about five minutes and are quickly racing back towards their friends. Jen practically jumps into Chester's arms who gives a shout of indignation. Jen clings to him regardless and gives an exaggerated shiver.
"Cold," she gives as an explanation and Chester shakes his head but wraps his arms around her. Felicity stands to the side, shivering as well.
"Tell me we brought towels." Jen looks around to Arianna, curled up against Shane, at Felicity's words.
"Ari, where's your bag?"
"I must have left it in the car," Arianna sighs, moving to stand up but Oliver beats her to it, jumping to his feet.
"That's okay," he says, "Felicity and I will go get it." Chester tosses him the truck keys and Oliver, taking notice of the way Felicity's shivering, pulls her tightly against him as they head towards the parking lot.
"I'm gonna get your shirt wet," she says quietly, looking at his dark gray Henley quickly turning black with water marks. He shrugs as if it's inconsequential and tightens his arm around her. The music from the party gets louder as they near the car and Felicity can pick out the sound of The 1975's "Chocolate" playing from a sound system.
"You're really warm," Felicity says, a few feet from the truck, snuggling her face against Oliver's chest. She feels his chuckle reverberate through her and it makes her smile. He uses the key fob to unlock the truck and leaves her to search for Arianna's bag. Pulling out a towel, he wraps it around her shoulder and she clutches it tightly around her.
"You're wearing my color," he tells her in a gruff voice, tugging playfully at string fastening the fabric around her neck. She rolls her eyes and smiles at him.
"I didn't exactly pick it out. Don't go getting all egotistical on me." He laughs and leans down to press his lips against hers. She knows there's no one to see them so she can't blame this kiss on their cover. She wonders vaguely if Oliver's gotten so good at lying that he's managed to fool himself. It doesn't stop her from cupping his jaw in one of her hands and kissing him back, though.
And suddenly he's got her pressed up against Chester's truck and she's not cold anymore. She's burning up from the inside out as his tongue slips past her lips and he presses one of his thighs between hers. His hands are running through her wet curls and playing with the strap of her bikini top making alarm bells sound in her head and causing her to push away from him.
"Oliver," she pants as she pushes him back by his shoulders. He looks appropriately contrite and ducks his head.
"I'm sorry," he breathes and she realizes his breathing is shallow as well and she's suddenly scared of whatever is going on between them, the pull both of them seem to be having trouble resisting.
"It's okay," she breathes as he steps away from her and the cool air rushes in around her again. She pulls the towel tighter around her and Oliver runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head lightly.
"No, it's not," he says quietly before reaching back into the truck and grabbing Arianna's bag. He shuts the door and locks it before motioning back down the beach without looking at her.
"We should head back," he suggests and she nods in agreement, pushing herself off of Chester's SUV and following Oliver back towards her friends.
By the time they get dropped back off at their hotel, Felicity's had a few more beers than she maybe should have and her already defunct filter has decided to completely take the night off. She begins untying the bikini as soon as Oliver gets the hotel room door open and actually laughs when Oliver all but runs to the bathroom to change himself.
When he comes out, she's sitting in her pajamas pouting in the direction of the couch. He eyes her warily as he skirts the bed and crosses to the couch.
"What's wrong?" He asks, sitting down carefully on the couch.
"I want you to keep me warm again," she admits with a frown. Oliver considers how young she looks when she's drunk and chuckles at her.
"That's probably not a good idea," he tells her quietly. She sighs dramatically and flops back on to the bed.
"Yeah," she nods, "but the two of us do a lot of stupid stuff anyway." She sits up on her elbows and grins wickedly at him. He doesn't budge and she changes her face into a pout. He laughs and stands up, snatching the pillow and blanket.
"Fine," he gives in with a put upon sigh and thinks maybe he'd had a beer or two too many as well, "but separate blankets." Felicity nods enthusiastically and slides under the covers. Oliver lays next to her, pulling the extra blanket over himself, and she doesn't hesitate to snuggle up against him. He sucks in a breath as she nuzzles her face against his chest and turns the light off.
"Hey, Oliver," she stage whispers after a few minutes.
"Hm?"
"I don't know what's going on between us," she admits, "but I think I kind of like it." She doesn't wait for him to respond before her breathing evens out and she slips into unconsciousness. He listens to her breathing for a minute.
"Yeah," he says quietly into the dark, "I think I do to."
As an extra little factoid; David Gray is actually a singer who covered "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" which I used in a mix recently and didn't realize until I'd finished the story that that is where my subconscious got the name from. Oops!