Per usual I own nothing except for the story idea. Arrow and the characters do not belong to me sadly. Slight note: made a change in this chapter by adding in some of Oliver's point of view. I kind wanted to know what was going on in that head of his. Might continue on for a few more chapters we'll see.

Chapter 8: So it's a date

5 months ago…

Deciding what to wear never used to be a problem. Hell it was easy, pair of jeans check, plaid shirt check, converse shoes and out the door. I didn't have enough money to care about my clothing options. The rent, the electric bill, the water bill they kind of came first. Now I have an entire closet full of options. Rose had given me everything a girl could dream of when it came to attire. Of course she had because well she had an eye for fashion and that meant now so did I. I had about half of my closet thrown out all over my room. I had gone through fifteen different skirts, seventeen blouses, ten different dresses including the short black one with the cutouts at the waist. I questioned Rose about that one but she just indicated with a nod and a hand wave that it might be required. I sincerely doubted it. The fact that I had been doing this since about 4am was a whole other matter. After my orgasm induced wakefulness I had been doing anything and everything to rid myself of the pent up frustration that I now was experiencing. I had cleaned my apartment from top to bottom, re-organized any files that I had left unfiled, I even hacked into various data bases for any and all information related to Oliver Queen. My theory was I should know more about the person I was having sex dreams about.

I really was starting to think I had a huge problem. My fact finding mission on Oliver Queen the pre-island days was not so wonderful. He was horrible in fact I couldn't believe that I had even one sex related dream about him much less ten. He was either completely dumb in highschool or too busy attempting to gain a new conquest to care. That D in algebra yeah not impressive; and don't even get me started on the story about peeing on the cop. I was truly torn the man I was getting to know couldn't be the same man these stories talked about. He was well he just had to be more than just his sorted past. Hence how I came to be standing in front of closet attempting to decide what to wear. I was about to pull out a black and white patterned dress that not only showed of my rather adequate form but also my well toned arms when my phone rang. I stumbled over the clothing that hadn't been up to par and reached my phone well into Madonna's second Like a Virgin. Of course this time it was Kate calling and not Oliver.

I started laughing when I heard her singing borderline into the phone before I said Hello. Kate called every morning so we could trade notes about our day ahead. This morning was no different except this time I was meeting Oliver Queen in less than an hour. "Kate we have to make this a quick call. I have a meeting with someone at Luca's at 8." Kate never missing anything including the slight amount of excitement in my phone replied with a long and very drown out "Who might this meeting be with?" I could almost hear the click of satisfaction in her next statement "Oliver Queen maybe." I let out an exasperated "How in the hell did you find out! I told nobody because it just happened last night!" Kate right on cue came back with "Oh please your line was busy for over an hour and you never talk on the phone that long even with me. I thought about it and recalled that you and Oliver did exchange digits so I put two and two together."

I had put the phone on speaker at this point and was pulling the zipper up on my dress when I replied with a sarcastic "Well give the girl a gold star." Kate laughed and replied "Alright in all seriousness what are wearing, did he suggest the date, did you, and does Martin know you're cheating on him?" I was applying a slight bit of makeup to my otherwise flawless complexion when I replied "Kate I'm going to see you at lunch today and I shall reveal all. However until then you'll just have to wait with bated breath." Kate huffed and was slightly annoyed I'm sure but she still responded back with "fine have it your way. I'll see you later today and I do expect full details!" I ended the call shortly after with that with an I promise and I'm sure Martin will understand. Checking my reflection once more in the mirror I made sure the makeup was right and the ponytail was perfectly in place. Once satisfied with the reflection that was staring back at me I high-tailed it out the door. Oliver Queen should never be kept waiting.

Arriving early was kind of a first for me. I was usually late or somewhat on time. In the old days I just showed up and that was an event in and of itself. Luca's was right across from QC and Felicity was right it was cute. The coffee shop was in a small corner location inside of a larger strip center. The walls were painted white with French designs covering them. Pictures of foreign places lined the walls, quotes from famous authors, poets, and scientists also littered the walls. The space had about five tables located in the center of the room, the back was lined with comfortable looking couches and the main bar was located directly alongside the other wall. The morning rush was in high gear with about ten people waiting in line. I had chosen to sit and wait at the table that was furthest from the entrance. I found that the table allowed for me to see all points of entry and exit. I also found that I was able to see her perfectly as she walked up to the front door.

I'd been sitting here for about fifteen minutes replying last night's conversation with Diggle on repeat in my head. I kept rubbing my thumb and forefinger together in my usual nervous manner. I kept coming back to the main question Diggle had brought up last night. Why are you doing this? Why are you risking this? I flashed back to our argument once more. "Dig its coffee it's not like I'm going to sit there and proclaim I'm the hood." John Diggle was an imposing man on a good day. We had just finished our sparing session and I was headed over to the salmon ladder to remove any further remnants of frustration that had remained from our mission this evening. Shooting an arrow into that jackass would have been easier than letting the cops take him. Our mission had gone fine, I put the fear of God into another man on my father's never ending list and was headed back to the Foundry per usual. Dig who was positioned on the opposite roof for back up noticed a woman getting attacked while tearing down his gear. He had radioed to let me know that I might want to put the fear of God into this jackass before calling it a night. I jumped down from the roof to the nearest overhang to get eyes on the attacker. I then raised my bow and with expert precision I released my first of three arrows. The first struck through the center of his hand, the second went through his left shoe, and the final one found its home in the center of his right calf. With the attacker immobilized the woman was able to escape, she must have then called 911 because within minutes the cops were on the scene. I was about the come down and further threaten this piece of trash when I heard the sirens; that was my cue to head out. I still wish I would have been able to further scare the shit out the man who was about touch or harm that woman in a way that no one should be harmed or touched.

I thought the sparing would help elevate the anger I still felt coursing through my veins. It didn't it just made it harder to focus so when his fist came at my face I was slightly unprepared. He connected and I lost my balance before striking back. Dig noticed and held his hands up to end the match. "What's up with you? You're preoccupied like your mind is elsewhere." He stated this while removing the tape from his hands and moving to put the mats away. I went over and sat in the chair next to my gear and responded with hesitance. "I was thinking about the mugger, and I was thinking about Felicity."That got his attention he paused and came to stand next to me with his eyebrow raised with the look I already knew so very well. "Oliver man you can't be serious. She's going to get hurt if you pursue this. She's an innocent, she's a sweet girl, and she's not Laurel. You can't pursue her while you're in love with someone else. She doesn't deserve that and neither do you." I looked at him with a vacant gaze and then back down again. He was right she didn't deserve this. She was good and kind. She has this force of energy that I just couldn't deny. "I know she doesn't but I just can't seem to stay away from her. She makes me happy, she makes me smile, she makes me forget." Diggle by this point was seated in another chair opposite mine with his hands folded together and his shoulders slightly bent. He pinned me with a stare that spoke volumes. "Oliver this is a dangerous game you're playing. You saw how well it went with Helena do you really want that to be Felicity." Of course he was right my last foray into the dating world had gone out with a bang. "She's different John. She's not someone out for revenge; she's not someone who's from my past like Laurel. She's better, there's just something about her that I can't stay away from." I was getting more exasperated with each moment so attempting to end the discussion I stood up and proceeded to the salmon ladder. Dig sensing that I was done talking stood up and prepared to leave. However he did have one final word to say on the matter. "Oliver you deserve to be happy; however so does Felicity." With that he walked out the door.

I had made my choice Dig was right this was a mistake but then there she was and any intention I had of walking out of those doors was gone. She was beautiful. That's it she just was and I had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't even aware of how beautiful she was. She opened the door and smiled at the male barista before finding my gaze in the background. Her eyes locked onto mine and she smiled that heartwarming genuine smile. As I watched her walk through the crowds of people who were milling around I felt my lips begin to upturn until I'm sure my own face matched hers perfectly. I knew that this was wrong; I knew that by even calling her I had crossed some imaginary line. I also knew in that moment that I didn't care; I didn't care that I had a mission, I didn't care about Laurel and our sorted past, all I could see in that moment was her smiling face and those beautiful eyes behind the glasses. I knew in that instant I didn't care about the risk all I cared about was getting closer to her.

Oliver was waiting for me in the Luca's. He looked perfect. His jeans, white shirt and leather jacket were just perfect. I'm betting he just got and up and dressed I'm betting his morning also didn't start at 4am due to some rather erotic dreams. I walked over and smiled what Kate was dubbing my Oliver smile and sat down opposite him. I found it cute when he attempted to stand up when I approached the table thus proving he had been raised by Moira Queen. I smiled as he returned to his seat and then finally said "Hi, so how long have you been waiting? I hope it wasn't too long?" I was still slightly nervous so my voice was a bit high pitched and I sort of combined a few words along the way. Acting like he didn't even notice he answered with a higher tenor than his voice usually held and said "No I was just early for some odd reason. Don't worry I won't make a habit of it."

Martin my favorite barista had noticed me walk in and had my drink ready to go. He approached the table and with a slight nod of approval asked Oliver what he would like. Oliver ordered his black coffee and had made note that Martin already knew my order. I blushed a little when I responded. "I come here everyday Martin see's me more than most the people I work with. He's very sweet and loves to chat about the comings and goings of the people in the shop. He's also getting ready to move in with his boyfriend so he's getting really excited about his new decorating options." Oliver's eyes softened and his mouth upturned in a small smile "I see. Well than what else don't I know about you Felicity?" I blushed again and began to ramble on and on about anything and everything I could think of. He just listened with rapt attention. His eyes gave away his emotions before his mouth did. He smiled, and laughed at almost everything that I had to say. He seemed to truly care about my life and who was involved in it. I glanced down at my watch to see that it was 8:45 and that meant I had fifteen minutes to get into my office space before the system reboot.

Noticing my glance he grasped my hand and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. "I sense our time is about up." I nodded and he still holding my hand moved to stand up taking me with him. "I'll walk you over that way you can finish your story about how you and Kate met." I smiled and checked to make sure the bill was paid before I agreed. I saw Martin wink at me before I exited the building with my fingers now entangled with Oliver's. I continued to ramble on and on past the front doors, to the elevator and then up. He just held my hand and listened while moving his thumb back and forth across the exposed skin. Before I knew it we were at my office door and he was still standing there grasping my hand tightly. My nerves were attempting to make their presence known as my palms started to sweat. Clearing my throat and attempting to speak also wasn't the best idea either. "So here we are, my office, the place I work. Not that you didn't already know that because well that's how we met, for the first time." Embarrassment caused my already flushed skin to turn even redder against the contrast of my black and white dress. Oliver however didn't seem to notice anything was amiss with my behavior or if he did he chose to ignore it. Thank God for small mercies. Now even my legs were beginning to give way to moving slightly back and forth. Why wouldn't he say anything, or let go of my hand? What was going in that head of his? Suddenly as if lighting had struck Oliver finally spoke but didn't release my now slightly sweaty hand. "I had a good time with you Felicity." His tone seemed slightly shocked at the fact. My eyes must have indicated my thoughts because when he spoke again it was clear that he was not shocked in the least. Lowering his face closer to mine and taking two steps to close the gap between us his voice got lower as he almost whispered "Felicity I'm not shocked that I enjoyed our time together. I'm just shocked how fast it went." With that he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

My mind was in overdrive. Oliver Queen's lips were touching my skin. They were soft, tender, perfect and against my slightly flushed skin. I closed my eyes in response to the contact and hummed slightly against my own will. Wishing that I could freeze this moment but knowing that I couldn't I opened my eyes when I felt the loss of contact and gazed into the blue orbs that were staring quite intently at my own. Before my brain could form the correct filter and provide the instructions to my mouth I spoke "You kissed me, I mean not me like my lips but me as in my forehead. Did you mean to do that or did you like lose your balance and I'm rambling again please make me stop." I wanted to bury my face in my hands however one hand was still firmly encased by Oliver's own much larger one. Oliver just chuckled " I really do enjoy it when you start to babble. In fact it's one of the many things that I sort of adore about you. However it's time for you to go to work." He leaned forward again this time he kissed my cheek and finally released my hand. With a smile he said Good bye and began to walk away. Before he was too far away from my office door I called out "Oliver?" He stopped and turned around beginning to walk back towards me. "Yes Felicity?" Before losing my nerve "Would you like to meet me again say tomorrow morning? Same time, same place?" His face broke out into the biggest smile I had seen from him thus far. "Yes I would like that. And Felicity?" "Yes" I responded my smile also growing bigger by the minute. "Would it be alright if I called you again tonight?" I responded before I had time to think. "Yes, absolutely yes." "Great, I'll talk to you tonight." Before he could walk away I leaned forward grasping his arm and kissed his cheek. "Till tonight Mr. Queen." I stated quickly before I rushed behind the office door.