Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow.
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Well that was strange; was the only thing that went through his mind after the encounter he just had.
Tommy was man enough to admit that he was far from an expert when it came to women. Yes he loved them, adored and worshipped them even, had gone through countless numbers and knew exactly what to do to show them a good time, but the female race and its complexities? Well that was still a mystery that he, since the ripe age of fifteen, had been hell-bent on figuring out.
He had been on the way to Oliver's office for a lunch meeting when he had spotted the three girls from a couple of weeks ago, Bianca in their midst.
Mmm, now that girl knew her way around a bedroom. And a taxi and kitchen for that matter. He had certainly had fun with her but one of the things that he appreciated most was the fact that she never expected anything more from him. In the light of day there were no clinging eyes, expectantly lingering on his back as he left the apartment in the wake of questions that were better left unsaid but were still asked; "Will you call me?" "Let's have dinner tonight?"
And for that he was grateful.
He had had his fair share of clingers, whether it was for his money or just girls that had one too many daddy issues it was hard to tell sometimes, and it was like a breath of fresh air to find someone that understood the meaning of a 'one-night-stand'.
So he watched from across the street as the girls all threw their heads back in unison, laughing at something that one of them had said. And just like the night he had met them, he was intrigued at how different they all were.
Bianca, who was in the middle, was sporting her usual mini skirt, forcing his mind to linger on the memory of seeing her in the red one she had worn the last time he had seen her, the skirt that had initially reeled him in with no hope of return. Bringing his mind back to the matter at hand he took in the rest of her, from the top of her thick red hair to the white heels she had on her feet that made her legs look incredibly tanned. Yep he had lucked out with her.
His eyes then drifted to the woman on her left, knowing that he had seen her at the club but not quite recalling her name. Her curly brown hair created the vision of a halo around her, the white summer dress that clung to her curves only serving to complement the angelic look she was currently rocking.
But ultimately his eyes were drawn to the blonde on the right. Sarah? He was sure that was her name, and for some reason she looked oddly familiar but he couldn't for the life of him place were he had seen her before.
And for once in his life he wasn't captivated by a girl's body, not that it wasn't stunning, far from it, but the thing that caught his attention was her mega watt smile that lit up her whole face and gave the world the impression that she didn't have a care in the world. The way her eyes crinkled from said laughter as they danced with mirth.
And as clichéd as it sounded, even in his own currently scrambled head, the world stopped.
It was as if she felt his eyes on her, compelling her to meet his gaze, and he watched her whole body still as the glimmer of recognition flashed across her pale blue eyes.
His gaze didn't waver as he took her in, watching as her whole posture stiffened, the smile melting from her face rapidly.
Bianca, having noticed the fault in her friend's steps, followed her gaze to the perfectly tailored man across the street.
"Tommy!" She waved him over with vigor, seemingly oblivious to her friend's rapidly falling face and visible discomfort.
Quickly snapping himself out of the trance he was in, he plastered his well-rehearsed billionaire smile onto his face as he crossed the street. His scrabbled brain moving into his usual playboy persona as if on autopilot as he tried in vain to sort through this muddled thoughts.
"Ladies! A vision as always! I see you're saving Starling City's economy one store at a time", he said as he gestured to their hands that were laden with shopping bags of various shapes and sizes.
Bianca let out a ringing laugh at his quip, as the brunette on her left spoke up; "We were just thinking of heading home to be honest, but I'm sure we could be convinced into joining you for lunch?" and now he understood why he hadn't remembered her name from the club all those weeks ago. She was quiet and soft spoken, her voice alone soothing his frazzled nerves as he glanced back at the blonde woman that was yet to look at him again.
Tommy had had various degrees of reactions from the ladies of his past, love, hate, anger, spite, vengefulness, but he was yet to encounter such sadness and avoidance from a woman that he had met once in his life and had barely spoken to.
Why did he cause such a reaction from her?
Better yet, why did he have such a reaction to her?
"As much as it pains me to say that I can't spend my afternoon in the presence of such beauty, I really cant. I have a lunch meeting that I'm on my way to. But I would be more than happy to get my driver to drive you all home?"
After a fair bit of ribbing and flirting from him, and lots of peals of laugher and giggling from them, he waved them off, watching as his Mercedes maneuvered away into the heart of Starling City's traffic.
What in the hell was that? 'Strange' didn't even begin to cover it.
She very clearly didn't like him, throughout the whole conversation she hadn't said a word, hadn't even glanced his way a single time, choosing to occupy her eyes with the people walking past them, rather than meet his gaze again.
And he wanted to know why.
And just like at the age of fifteen, he wanted to solve the complicated mystery of women.
~ A Couple Of Weeks Ago ~
Usual night as always? He thought so.
Regardless of the fact that he was six ways to plastered, women flocked to his side, but even in his drunken haze he could see the money grabbing ones, hoping to score. Hoping that he either remembered them the next morning and called, or that he would forget himself completely and not use a condom. Per chance knock one of them up.
Watching his best friend literally grow up before his eyes was a bit of an eye opener. Oliver was getting his shit together; in his life, with the family company, even within his family Oliver had taken over the position of head of the Queen clan.
And while his best friend was on his way to knowing exactly what he wanted in life he was still here, in the middle of a club, taking in the herd of bodies around him, their bodies swaying to the rhythm of the pounding beats that surrounded them.
And it was only in his drunken state that he could finally admit to himself that he was sick of it. In the back of his head he had known that he was growing tired of it, the constant boozing and womanizing, but bad habits were hard to break. And this is what he did best; this came to him as easy as breathing.
Shaking off the two brunettes on either side of him, he made his way unsteadily to the exit, hoping the fresh air would help dispel the unwanted thoughts clouding his mind.
But when a warm body collided with his on his way, his instincts kicked in, forcing his hands to circle the waist of the bouncing blonde woman in front of him. And he wasn't kidding; she was bouncing up and down as the drink that she had been holding prior to the collision now decorated her bright yellow top.
"Watch where you're going maybe next time yeah?"
But he was too preoccupied with watching the now almost see through blouse outlining the black lace that was hiding underneath. That was until a set of well-manicured nails started snapping in front of his face.
"Firstly my eyes are up here, secondly an apology would be nice…"
Feisty. He liked that.
"I'm sorry for ruining your top but I do think it would still look better on my bedroom floor", and even in his alcoholic haze he mentally face palmed himself. It was possibly the lamest pick up line he had said to date.
"Seriously that's what you're going with?" She looked at him with big pale blue eyes that were colored in annoyance and disbelief.
He knew she meant it as an insult. He took it as a challenge.
"You couldn't handle more sweetheart".
"Try me".
And he did. He grabbed her by the waist and firmly planted his mouth on hers, the grasp that escaped her lips at the action only fueling the kiss as his tongue traced the luscious lips under his.
She tasted like cinnamon and mint and it was quite possibly the most sinfully intoxicating thing he had ever tasted.
The car ride home was thankfully quite and Sara blessed all the gods of shopping who had worn her friends out and made them miss the way she reacted to Tommy.
Because try as she might she couldn't not react to him. The first two encounters with the man had turned her life upside down, till she would do just about anything to turn back time. The first time had been nothing special, a less than desirable introduction, one hell of a kiss and then great sex. The second time however, when he didn't remember who she was? Well that just made her look back and revaluate her life. And from that point it all went downhill; guilt, anger and remorse flooded her and that is what shook her to the core. She had never doubted herself. She had always known exactly what she wanted, in life and in men, and took it no questions asked.
But now? Questions filled her mind that she didn't have answers to, she didn't even know if she wanted answers to them in the first place. What was she doing sleeping with men that didn't even remember her the next morning? Was she being careless in the life that she led? Did she need to change? And it went on and on in a never ending cycle of regret.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when the car had reached her flat, the girls opting to spend the afternoon in her and Laurel's apartment, joining Laurel and Felicity who were already there.
After profusely thanking the driver, who had helped bring up all their bags to the apartment, the girls collapsed on the lounge, as Bianca and Jen filled Felicity and Laurel in on their very successful shopping spree, both the girls approving of the purchases that were randomly being pulled out of the numerous bags at their feet.
"What's got you so quiet buttercup?"
Laurel's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and before she collected herself enough to give a believable answer Bianca spoke up.
"I noticed that too! You've been quiet since we ran into Tommy…" and even the oblivious Bianca noticed all the girls of the room stiffening at the sound of his name.
"What have I missed?"
"Nothing Bee", Felicity said, hoping that the use of her childhood nickname could turn the redheads attention elsewhere, "Why don't you show me black dress you where talking about?"
But her efforts where waved off with a hand and all the girls, including Felicity, knew that she should have known better. Once Bianca wanted to know something there was no stopping her, she was like a dog with a bone.
"What does everyone else in the room know that I don't?"
And Sara knew there was no way around it.
"I slept with Tommy".
Bianca stared at her for a minute before she calmly replied.
"Okay. That's fine. You know I'd be fine with you sleeping with him honey but I do wish you would have told me…"
"No Bee, I slept with him before you did. A couple of weeks before".
At this the room engulfed in silence, Bianca processed the information that she had just received in disbelief. While all the other girls had known, all were witnesses to Sara's confession in the bathroom of the club that night, they didn't want to leave either of their friends to their own devices. So they stayed, albeit silently, as the two women storted this out between themselves.
Bianca turned away from Sara towards the rest of the girls in the room, "And why didn't any of you tell me she had slept with him, it's obvious you knew? None of you felt the need?" And her voice wasn't accusatory, more hurt then anything, and it broke all the girl's hearts.
"We didn't know at the time, we found out at the end of the night after you had gone home with him Bee".
"By which time it was too late".
Bianca nodded at their explanations, turning back to Sara, catching the sad look on the other's woman's face before she had a chance to hide it.
"Okay I get this is awkward that we both slept with him but why are you so upset sweets? Are you angry that I slept with him? Because you know I wouldn't have if I had known. You know I wouldn't do that to you right?"
The single tear that slid down her friend's face didn't help and her worry grew, convincing her of the fact that she was missing something vital.
"He remembered you", Sara finally answered in a shaky voice.
What?
"Okay. Wait huh? What?"
"He remembered you today. After he slept with you, he saw you today and knew you, even knew your name. That night at the club he didn't even remember my face Bee. I'm that girl, the been-there-done-that and stored away for never girl".
Sara saw Laurel about to interrupt and she put her hand up, not giving her sister a chance to speak yet before she got everything out. Before the floodgates opened and the tears began.
"I know that is what I had always wanted Laurel, you all know that. In and out, no strings attached, it was great and easy. Comfortable. And it was, up until I looked at him and he looked through me, as if I was just another nameless face. The fact that I'm forgettable, that's what hurts. I knew exactly what I was getting into, so there's no one really to blame other than myself. Hell I cant even blame him, we were both so hammered and…"
And that was it. Her vision blurred and she would have collapsed into her tears if it hadn't been for the strong arms of her sister coming around her and holding her up.
"You're an idiot". Bianca said, the delicate one as always, but her words made the tears strained haze she was in fade just a bit, enabling her to look up at the other woman.
"Bianca…" Jen's soothing voice tried to cut off the bulldozer of a woman but Sara felt like she needed to hear a bit of truth right now, and Bianca looked like she was more than ready to give it to her.
"Why?"
"Because you are! I've known a beautiful, strong, confident woman named Sara for years. A guy never called? That would have been because she never gave him her number in the first place. A man wouldn't remember her? So what? She'd show him exactly what he's missing. She'd choose who she'd see and she'd have a waiting list of guys lining up to just get a chance to date her. But above all that, she had always known what she wanted. Who she was! The woman that I'm looking at right now? You're not her. So you don't want to be forgotten? Don't want to have one nights stands anymore? That means your priorities have changed, that hasn't changed you! Don't let that change you! Be the confident, beautiful, strong person again that I adore. That all of us adore Sara."
And that was quiet possibly the most empowered speech that any of the girls present had ever heard coming from the mouth of Bianca Louise Parks.
Laurel watched as her sister visibly changed before her eyes, straightening her back and wiping the mascara from below her eyes.
"You're right Queen Bee. Don't know what got into me."
"Tommy Merlyn got into you that's what, and I do think it's time to make him pay. No man deserves to get lucky with both of us, that's too much epic awesomeness to handle."
They all chuckled at that, the rest of the girls in the room thankful that the storm had passed for Sara. She was far from healed, they all knew, but with a little help from them and a nudge here and there, she would pick herself up again and be stronger when she came out the other end.
And they would help, that's what all of them were here for wasn't it?
~ :: O & F :: ~
A couple of days later Felicity Smoak was having her own personal crisis to deal with.
Well not a crisis per se, it could be explained in two very simple yet complicated at the same time words. Oliver Queen.
She really needed to learn to say 'no' to the man. From the very first time she had said 'okay' to him at the front of the nightclub they had met at she knew she was in trouble. The man did things to her insides that she didn't think were entirely healthy. He didn't even have to be in the room with her, a thought of him or a memory about him could trigger a stampede of elephants to go rampant in her stomach. Whoever created the term 'butterflies in the stomach' was severely under-exaggerating. Either that or they had never met Oliver Queen.
When he had asked to see her again there was no way she was even physically capable of saying no to him. Yes, she had been surprised to find out who he really was, the Oliver Queen, as in Queen Consolidated, as in he practically owned this whole building and everyone in it, including her.
But more than anything she had long ago admitted, even before meeting him for a second time and finding out exactly who he was, that she would have liked to see him again, to see where they could lead.
And that smile when she had said yes. Holy mother of all things precious. A nun would say yes to that carefree boyish smile that lit up his whole face.
And so began their wind whirl of dates. And she uses the term 'dates' lightly. Because some of the things Oliver had come up with? Calling them mere 'dates' would be an insult.
Sure there had been the times where he had just taken her to some of the fanciest restaurants the city had to offer and showered her with the best selection of wine that Starling City had. That was to be expected when on a date with the Queen heir.
And yes there had been the time when he had shown up to her house unannounced, his hands preoccupied with takeout bags from what looked to be all the takeaway restaurants in Starling City because he wasn't entirely sure what Emmett would and wouldn't eat. That was possibly the cutest thing she had ever seen; a grown man looking nervous as he watched a six year carefully going through all five cuisines before him, hoping that Emmett would like at least one.
Yes there were dates, and they were all perfect and filled with smiles and laughter, and she had loved every minute of them.
But then there were the adventures. Because some things that he did couldn't just be classified as dates.
On one occasion he had picked her up for lunch, but rather than go down the lift like they usually did to grab a bite from the numerous cafes downstairs, they went up. To the roof. Where there may or may not have been a helicopter waiting to take them both to a secluded meadow on the outskirts of the city where there was a picnic ready and waiting for them. That was more than a little unexpected and she was pretty sure she was speechless for the whole helicopter ride.
After that particularly surreal experience she could definitely admit that she was more than a little overwhelmed by he man that went above and beyond for her. But amidst all the dates and the time that they had spent together he had never pushed her to go any further.
They were yet to have sex again and as of late she was becoming extremely frustrated with that fact.
Especially because she knew exactly what it was like between the two of them.
The moonlight bouncing off their skin made everything seem that much more erotic, she watched his slow progress as he trailed slow and soft kisses along her stomach and she was woman enough to admit to almost fainting when he took her grater off. With his teeth. But who could honestly blame her? The play of muscles underneath the skin of his back was enough to make any girl weak at the knees but watching him now, before her, she knew she was a lost cause if there ever was one.
The way his hands roamed her body, as if trying to memorize each and ever crevice of her being was electrifying. Those calloused fingertips leaving trails of liquid fire in their wake until she felt like she was about to explode from all the heat that was running through her veins.
It had been earth shattering.
He had been unbelievably gentle the first time they came together, the way he held her made her think that she was the most precious jewel on earth. And at the time she had thought that this was so much more than she had bargained for. How was she meant to walk away from this one-night-stand if it was one of the best nights she had ever had?
After their second and third round in the wee hours of the morning she was more than sure that this was by far the best night of her life, and quite possibly one of the best decisions she had ever made, whether it led to something or not she didn't have the strength to care.
And she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if her whole body went up in flames before the first light of dawn.
She knew what being with him felt like, she knew the passion and heat that he both gave and demanded with equal ferocity. So as the weeks wore on and more of their dates passed the more frustrated she got. Because beyond the heated kisses shared in front of her brownstone home that made her heart race and her knees weak there wasn't much else.
And that resulted in one frustrated Felicity Smoak.
So that had to change. Because all was fair in love and war but there was only so much a girl could take right?
I do profusely apologise for the wait. I'm now on a schedule and a chapter will be up around this time every single week until complete.
Just to clarify, this story will definitely be all about Olicity, but I do intend to throw in a few other couples (like Tommy and Sara in this chapter) into the mix to spice things up. You'll never guess who the couple is for the next chapter ;)
Love to all as always.
Your reviews are magical :)
- Stace XO