Taken

First Date

Felicity stared at her bed. Not that she could see much of her bed given how many clothes she had thrown on it. She seemed to have emptied her entire wardrobe. She had twenty minutes until Oliver would be at her apartment and she was nowhere near ready. What do you wear on a first date? A date with a man that you've known for nearly two years, spent practically every day with (including weekends more often than she would like), and had seen more or less naked more times than she could count.

Groaning, she sat down on the floor and leant against the bed. She hadn't been on a date in over three years. 'God, had it been that long? Way to go Felicity.' Her mind interjected, adding to the long list of anxieties she had about this evening. Glancing at the clock and realising she now had fifteen minutes to find an outfit, tame her hair and do her make-up. Great.

She decided she would choose three outfits and wear the middle on in terms of poshness (was that word? It is now, Felicity decided). That way she would be prepared if she needed to dress up or dress down depending on what Oliver was wearing.

She hurried to get dressed. Deciding that she couldn't really go wrong with her hair down, she ran a brush through it, wincing at the tangles. She went with minimal make-up because she had never been one to wear much and more importantly, she didn't have the time to do anything else.

A knock on her door brought her attention back to this evening. She hobbled over to the door, attempting to slip her heels on at the same time. Bad idea. She should never multi-task when it comes to moving or balancing. She wobbled and fell into the table by the front door.

"Ouch!"

"Felicity?!?!" Oliver's voice came through the door. "You okay?"

"Fine." Felicity replied. rubbing gently at her hip. Another injury. At least this one wouldn't scar. Her body had enough scars. The memories of Slade Wilson flooded into her mind and she was momentarily frozen in the hallway.

"Felicity?" Oliver's voice sounded worried.

"Coming." Felicity crossed the final few steps and unlocked the apartment door. "Sorry, just trying to do too many things at once." She stopped talking and gazed at the man in front of her. He looked exceptionally good. Not that he ever looked 'not good'. But dressed down in a pair of jeans and a Henley, he looked incredibly kissable.

"I won't object to being kissed." Oliver said smiling.

"I said that last part out loud, didn't I?" Felicity said, burying her head in her shoulder in embarrassment.

"Maybe. You look lovely."

"Is this okay? I mean, I didn't know where we were going, or if you had made plans at all, or if this was even a dress kind of date. Although you did say dinner in the text, so I assumed we'd be sat down, but now I'm thinking that that was an assumption I shouldn't have made, and now you're looking at me like I'm crazy and you're probably regretting ever agreeing to this date and I am going to shut up now." Felicity finished slamming her mouth shut.

"Nervous?"

"Mm-hmm." Felicity said, not trusting herself to fully open her mouth.

"Same." Oliver added. "It's stupid. What's there to be worried about? It's not like we don't know each other already."

"What if you realise that I'm really dull outside of tech stuff?"

"You could never be dull, Felicity." Oliver held out his hand and she slipped hers into it. She grabbed her purse and coat with her spare hand and joined Oliver on the doorstep. "Ready?"

Felicity nodded and led the way down the stairs and out to Oliver's car. She slid into the passenger seat of the Porsche, Oliver closing the door behind her.