FALLING FOR YOU
Chapter 4: Niagara On the Lake
Oliver found the arcade at the Hotel Americana easily. He had arrived earlier than what they had agreed upon, but that was okay. He could wait. What was twenty minutes of idle waiting time compared to spending the rest of the day with Felicity Smoak?
He crossed the arcade and made it to the glass doors that opened to the indoor water park that the hotel was famous for. He couldn't go through without the water-proof wrist band that the water park guests had, so he just stood behind the glass wall and scanned the area as far as he could see, looking for his now-favorite blonde date. He didn't recognize her at first. He hadn't seen her before with her golden hair all wet and clinging to her head. Also, she had her back towards him as she stood on the edge of the wave pool, laughing at something she was amused by, and all he could think of as he stared at her was how terrific her shapely physical features were.
As if she could sense someone staring at her from behind, Felicity turned around suddenly, and Oliver realized that it was her. "Shame on you, Queen," he berated himself. Honestly, he would have continued staring in awe – which his best friend Tommy would count as gawking – if she hadn't turned around. He felt a bit embarrassed even if he knew that she couldn't read his thoughts.
He told himself to quit daydreaming and focus on her beautiful eyes and blushing face instead of her… other equally admirable physical qualities. But really, he couldn't help but appreciate her attractive frame. Even in her emerald green, one-piece, athletic swimwear, Felicity looked… Wow! Well-toned muscles. Gorgeous hips. Hourglass form. He can't believe he was going out with this particular woman that day.
Felicity flashed him a smile that finally interrupted his internal debate. He waved at her, grinning from ear to ear. She retrieved a beach towel from a nearby chair and began to walk towards him. When she reached the glass doors, she pulled one of them open. "Hi! You're a bit early."
"I know. I wanted to make sure I won't be late," Oliver responded. "No need to hurry. We have the rest of day." He was still smiling like a lovesick fool.
"Okay. Let me just rinse off and dry my hair. I'll just need to grab my purse from my room, and then we can go."
"Sure, take your time."
Felicity went straight to the women's shower area. She came out with a tote bag, already dressed in blue denim jeans and an olive green knitted top decorated with cherries along the boat neckline. Her hair was dry, but still unstyled. She asked him to wait for her at the lobby while she got ready and grabbed her stuff. About ten minutes later, she met him at the lobby, and they left the hotel in his car.
"I've never ridden in a top-down Porsche before. It's terrific!" Felicity remarked.
She hadn't complimented his sleek, expensive sportscar before, even though he had driven her around Niagara in the last two days in it. Joy-riding in a top-down sportscar had always been in her bucket list, and she was thankful that Oliver made it happen relatively early in her life. Riding in a Porsche with the sun roof down and the cool wind blowing against her face and making her wavy hair fly? Nothing quite like it. Especially when she was sitting in it beside the most wonderful guy she'd ever met since a geeky girl like her started noticing the opposite gender.
"I'm glad you think so," Oliver said to her. "I sometimes miss driving this. I had it brought here a couple of years ago when the company bought me an SUV. I thought driving a top-down was more fun out here."
Felicity turned to him and smiled. Then she looked around, holding in place some hair on the side of her face. They'd been driving down Niagara Parkway for about fifteen minutes already, and the scenery captured her fancy. Never had house-watching been this much fun. She commented, "These houses are lovely. Sometimes I wonder when I will ever be able to save up enough money to have my own house instead of living in an apartment. I bet even the smallest one of these costs a fortune. It's not just the house, I'm sure. Real estate around here must be outrageously expensive." She had to yell most of it, because the wind was blowing against her ear; she couldn't really hear herself very well.
"Yes, they are," Oliver replied, also with a slightly louder voice. "It was almost impossible to purchase property here, but my parents were persistent. We wanted a home where we could get away to for a weekend, maybe longer. The first time we visited Niagara On the Lake, we immediately decided we wanted a vacation house here. One with a vineyard, like that one over there. Mom wanted to try her hand at running a winery, but at the time, there were no good deals. My parents' real estate agent got paid a handsome sum for eventually finding us a great house."
"Well, I can't wait to see it," Felicity told him. "Are we going now, or on our way back?"
"We'll go later. I think it's better we tour the town first and then have lunch in a restaurant of your choice. We'll get Thea some take-out. There's this one café that serves her favorite sandwich and the best classic poutine in these parts. She texted me at the hotel and asked me to get her some. She said she can wait because she had a late breakfast."
"Okay."
They drove into Niagara On the Lake about thirty minutes later, and Felicity was immediately enamored by the sights she saw. Situated on the shores of Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara River, the lovely town is known for its wineries, shops, and the quaint European-like atmosphere in the downtown area. There are colorful flowers everywhere, and the streets were lined with trees of various shades of green. Many 19th century buildings are still standing. Oliver pointed out the theater where theater productions are held during the summer Shaw Festival. She found it amusing that by pure coincidence, the tree-lined main street where most of the shops and restaurants were located was called Queen Street. He kidded about their family owning most of the property along the street, and Felicity would have believed him if his smirk hadn't given him away.
After driving by the 19th century Fort George, they parked the car somewhere in the downtown area and strolled leisurely down Queen Street, going in and out of shops to look at souvenirs and other trinkets.
"Oh, Oliver, look!" Felicity exclaimed enthusiastically, pointing at a few horse-drawn carriages near the delightful Prince of Wales Hotel across the street they were on.
"Do you want to go on a ride?" Oliver asked her.
"Can we?" she asked eagerly.
"Of course! We've got time," he answered, taking her hand in his and leading her to cross the street.
With Oliver's bigger strides, Felicity practically skipped towards the carriages, yet cheerfully so. They hopped on the first carriage, and after Oliver spoke to the lady behind the reins, they left to tour the rest of the town the old-fashioned way.
Felicity was having the time of her life. She loved learning about the town, its history, and other interesting trivia. Aside from the woman driving the carriage, Oliver was more than pleased to be her personal tour guide. He was thrilled to do it, more so because she had let him hold her hand during their entire carriage ride. They had closed the gap between them within the first five minutes, mutually basking in their nearness to each another, neither one wanting the ride to end.
Nevertheless, it had to. Because hunger pangs soon reminded them that it was time for lunch. They chose an Italian restaurant to dine in, Felicity following through on the rain check from the night before. After that, they picked up Thea's food.
On the way back to their parked car, they passed by Greaves, and when Oliver told her that the store sold the best jams and fruit preserves in Ontario, she just had to buy a few little jars of different flavors to bring back home.
"So, did you have fun?" Oliver asked as they got on the car and buckled up.
"Fun is an understatement," replied Felicity. "I can't believe I've never really looked up this place. I just love this town! Love the simplicity, the laid-back atmosphere, and how everyone is so warm and friendly. I'd really like to come back."
"Just tell me when. I'd bring you here anytime," he offered sincerely. His keenness was undeniable, and it made her blush to think that he would make her such an offer without the slightest hesitation.
She had to look away for a brief moment, hoping to conceal how flattered she was. Since day one, Oliver had a way of making her feel special, cared for, valued. The thought made her insides do somersaults. But she did respond by saying, "I'll keep that in mind, Oliver. You do make a pretty good tour guide."
While Thea munched away on her poutine and sandwich at the spacious kitchen, Oliver gave Felicity a tour of the grand Queen vacation house. He showed her all the rooms in the first floor beginning with the living and dining rooms, but of course, what she found most interesting was the adjoining library and study, which showcased the most impressive-looking, most enormous fireplace she had ever seen in her life. He then brought her upstairs to the recreation and entertainment rooms. Felicity kept correcting him as he spoke, replacing the word 'house' with 'mansion,' because that was the word that more accurately named their family's property. He showed her the guest room, the master suite that belonged to his parents, and the dainty girl's room that belonged to Thea, which he said needed renovating because Thea had already outgrown pink and ponies, and now refused to stay in it.
When he brought her to his room, however, Felicity hesitated a bit before eventually deciding to step into it. She stood at the threshold, holding her breath as she scanned the spacious, wood-paneled room that smelled like Oliver's cologne.
"Hey, it's okay. My room doesn't bite," Oliver joked, touching her shoulder to assure her that she wasn't intruding into his privacy. He did not spend an extra hour that morning for nothing, cleaning his room and making sure everything was spic-n-span as always. He wasn't going to deny it if she accused him of showing off.
But more than that, Oliver wanted Felicity to somehow catch a simple glimpse of his inner self. He had always thought that in the privacy of his room – both here and in their other mansion in Toronto – he had always been the best version of himself. No pretenses. No fear of failure. Free from anyone's imposing expectations. His room was a reflection of who he truly was. He sincerely hoped that she liked what she'd see of him in it.
A few steps into his room, Felicity stopped at the foot of his queen-sized bed and looked around, carefully and quietly. After a while, she asked, "Is it always this… neat?"
"In all honesty, yes," he replied with a chuckle. "For a business executive, I've pretty much become more 'domesticated' these past few years. Thea teases me about my being obsessive-compulsive when it comes to housekeeping. She hates it when I remind her to make her bed or tidy up her room."
Felicity raised an eyebrow and folded her arms in front of her chest. "Interesting," she remarked. "A rich yet domesticated guy who's a well-versed tour guide, as well as a rescuer with keen reflexes. Hmm… Never met someone quite like you, Mr. Queen." She beamed, smiling at him brightly like the sun shining outside.
Oliver blushed, his neck, ears, and face turning scarlet at the compliment. He put his hands in his pants pockets, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Raisa was a good teacher," was all that his suddenly shy self could come up with at the moment.
"Who's Raisa?"
"She's our housekeeper. Been with our family since I was little. My parents were hardly around, so she practically raised me and Thea."
Felicity could have felt pity, but she did not dwell on that. She preferred to look on the bright side – that there had been a kind-hearted soul looking out for Oliver and his sister all these years. "So, Raisa raised you. I get the pun. Clever," she said instead, and they both laughed.
She spun around and sat on the edge of his bed. Then she started on one of her babbles, but this one wasn't so pointless. "I don't know what I would do if I had a bedroom as spacious as this one. My mom and I just rented apartments as I was growing up. When I moved out after college, I've only ever lived in apartments myself. Two to be exact. Where I am living now is even smaller than the first one. Been saving up so I could buy a bigger townhouse. A promotion in my job would certainly help, but I guess, with where I'm at right now, a pay hike is far from reach."
"Have you… have you thought about moving again? Maybe find work somewhere farther away? I could put in a good word for you in our company, maybe a recommendation to the IT department?"
There. He had said it before he even had the chance to think about it. It was quite impulsive, and he knew it, but he could not help it. On the one hand, he only wanted to help, because he knew that Felicity deserved better (and because he thought that her prejudiced, misogynist supervisor was a jerk). On the other hand, he also did not want to scare her away by handing her a dole-out that she might misinterpret. Felicity Smoak was a brilliant woman, and he believed that she would eventually succeed in her career on her own; she certainly did not need him to offer her a short-cut to the top of the corporate ladder. But still. Anyways, he'd already said it, and now it was up to her to respond to his not-so-very-well-thought-of 'suggestion.'
"Oh, I've had offers," she said after a brief moment of silence, trying to decide what to say. "Actually, there's one from here – a cybersecurity company run by my friend Alena called Helix Dynamics that's based in Toronto. I know I could make a difference there, especially since it's a start-up, but the salary and benefits aren't that much different from what I'm getting now. So…"
"So, you're not really interested," Oliver said. He wasn't sure if he was verbalizing a fact for her or asking her a question, but he really wanted to know. Something inside him wished she could move to his city.
"Maybe," she said, shifting her gaze from the painting on his wall to his eyes, "or… maybe I don't have reason enough to be interested. Not yet, at least."
Something in his gut told him that she was waiting for him to respond to that, to say something. Anything. Her eyes were so intently fixed on him, he felt like he could melt under her expectant gaze. In a split-second decision, he chose to take a leap of faith and tell her how he felt about her. How much he wanted to keep seeing her. To give her enough reasons to uproot her life in Vancouver and move to the other side of the country so that they could have a chance.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the moment was stolen from him when Thea entered his room and said, "Ollie! It's Tommy. He wants to talk to you. Says you haven't been answering his texts in the last couple of days."
Oliver looked away from Felicity and took the phone that his sister was handing to him. He sighed in disappointment as he put the phone near his ear. Giving Felicity enough reason to be near him would have to wait. For how much longer, he wasn't sure, but he was running out of time.