#highschool friends

The scene before her was downright idyllic with every array of flower in full bloom. Her eyes scanned over the endless fields of tulips, lilies and even an array of brightly colored roses. The various perfumes scented the air with their luscious scent while the bees buzzed from bud to bud in search of pollen for their hives.  She brushed her fingers over one rose’s soft, pink petals while she used her brightly painted lips to convey her first question.

“So I’ve been back in town for a matter of three days and, you’ve already convinced me to meet you in an empty meadow near the local B&B…” she shifted her eyes to his slumped form. His fingers were hidden in the pockets of his jeans, his shoulders were slouched forward and, his eyes were dancing from side to side while his left foot tapped out a small tune of fear. She grinned despite the circumstances and let her soft voice roll between through the endless breeze. “I’m wondering Mr. Queen if I should be fearful of finding you somewhat charming once again,”  she took an elongated pause while he shuffled from side to nervous side.

“You’re admitting you found me charming?” he sputtered with surprise.

She cocked her head and gazed over his aged face. The years as she knew they would be had been extremely kind. He no longer had the soft, untouched skin of days gone by. Now his chin and, cheeks were covered in a few days worth of scruff. She noted with a small amount of pleasure that his endless blue eyes seemed to darken everytime her hips gently swayed. She coughed a bit roughly when she saw his adam’s apple bob, “You’ve dodging the unspoken question.”

He gulped audibly, “I’m waiting for it to be asked if you don’t mind…”

She gently batted her long, painted lashes and lowered her voice until it felt almost sultry before she let the question between them float through her waiting lips,  “So what’s it going to be Oliver? Are we going to rehash the past or not?”

His smile made her knees buckle when he smiled shyly. She grinned then swallowed roughly when his dancing eyes made her excited stomach jump. “I’ll be honest I’m still stuck on the fact that you actually showed up,” he admitted in the cutest nervous tone that she swore she’d ever heard.

“You’re still dodging,” she squeaked back just as timidly.

His nervous smile grew as he timidly spoke, “I’m still nervous about the answer…”

“Yeah me too,” she gulped before his lips had time to fully close.

His lips pursed, his body tensed and his eyes danced with frantic almost nervous energy. His fingers twitched from inside his pockets when he finally decided to take a verbal step forward. “So ummm how have you been?”

His awkward question made her fingers still over the endless field of petals. She lifted her fingers to her fallen hair and replied while she pushed them gently back into place. “You’re charm is wearing thin…”

“Yeah well that was bound to happen,” he chuckled gruffly.

She rolled her sapphire eyes and decided to push the conversation forward, “Cut the crap Queen it’s been what almost six years since we last spoke?”

His neck cracked when his head moved rapidly back and forth, “Well Lissy given how we umm ended things I wasn’t sure of where to start exactly,” he finally managed to murmur through tight lips.

She allowed his confusion and, even admired his comments. “Well first off it’s Felicity and secondly I’d say six years of silence over a non relationship is long enough wouldn’t you agree?”

“I agree that that it’s been long enough but, I don’t agree that it was a non relationship,” he managed to mumble quietly from his position across the field.

She shifted her body so her back was facing the endless line of freshly bloomed flowers. He grinned and took one timid step forward, she remained still while he took his first timid steps toward her. Her skin bristled as the wind blew softly around them. The back of his shirt billowed out proudly while her own knee length skirt danced around the calves of her trim legs. She smiled while her cheeks flushed red. He lowered his once proud head and kept his eyes trained on the ground before him while she kept her bright eyes focused on his slumped form. He whispered softly once they were mere feet from eachother, “You’re not pouncing on my last statement…”

Felicity’s lashes fluttered as her lips slightly parted, “Why should I? We never had anything worth mentioning,” she uttered teasingly.

She saw his fingers moving along the inside of his jeans pocket. He grinned accusingly, “You know for someone who ran from something more with me you’re awfully flirtatious Fel-ic-ity…”

She lifted her palms toward her shoulders in mock surrender, “Perhaps six years with no other offers made me long for our torrid past…”

She saw his lips curve in amused understanding, “You haven’t changed a bit have you?” he finally asked as she giggled in defeat.

“You know Tommy always fell for that act…” she mumbled when she realized her carefree defense hadn’t fooled the boy with endless blue eyes, “so why the hell don’t you?” she finally asked as he took another timid step forward.

“You’re not a tease Felicity,” he shrugged knowingly. “You used to put this act on whenever Tommy dragged you to some party so let’s just say I remember the defense…”

Her head bobbed, “Yeah you always seemed distracted…” she murmured as her palms fell to her sides.

“I wasn’t nearly as distracted as a certain someone would have liked,” he mumbled almost too quietly for her to hear.

She whistled lowly sensing they might be traveling towards some unmarked territory. “So I get to be your dirty secret again I see?”

He repeated her previous behavior and, rolled his perfect blue eyes, “You only agreed to see me once I offered a secluded spot Felicity. I wanted to take you to dinner or at the very least lunch near my office. It was your idea to meet out here where no one could see…” His accusation made her head spin with a twinge of regret.

She nodded slyly, “I did….”

She still couldn’t fully see his eyes but his tone was telling, “Why couldn’t we meet in town like I suggested?”

She coiled her arms to her chest and exhaled deeply, “Well I’ve spent six years distancing myself from your family drama so let’s just say I wanted to keep my life and your’s separate…”

His eyes fell to the ground before they once more locked on her own, “And why was the house off limits?” he groaned lightly.

Her glare said more than her words ever could, “You’re a funny man you know that?” she accused lowly.

“I take it you’d prefer to leave that day in the past then?” he interceded moments later.

“Precisely,” she agreed quickly yet quietly as the space between them remained. She glanced over his shoulder and, wondered aloud when she saw a man’s shadow move within the structure. “So umm not to you know push us toward a different subject but ummm how did you get the inn keeper to let us meet here anyways?”

Oliver followed the line of her hooded eyes and chuckled deeply, “He’s an old friend from my college days. I used to come down to the inn when Laurel and I had an argument about her dating my brother so when I told him about you and, our story he was more than  happy to lend us some space to talk.”

Felicity accepted his answer but, kept her arms anchored to her upper arms. “So that means we can continue this awkward little talk inside then?” she questioned in humor.

Oliver’s feet tapped along the ground when he muttered, “Yeah, sure let’s go…”

Felicity waited until she could clearly see the outline of his muscled back before she dared to move forward towards the main road. Part of her heart yearned to be feel his touch upon her skin, hell part of her only came here because she wanted to see his dazzlingly blue eyes. He called out over his shoulder as she stood behind him frozen, “Ummm it’s going to be hard for us to talk if you don’t come inside…”

She yelled back as her feet propelled her forward, “Well look who’s pointing out the obvious.”

His shoulders shook when he smirked. She giggled and, rolled her neck as her sluggish steps became quicker ones. She wanted to feel his skin upon her own that was true but, the bigger part of her already wondered how badly this entire ordeal was going to end.  

Felicity’s eyes slid open with ease as the finally clear memory moved softly through her mind. Her dreams of that night were always fractured and, distorted because her behavior that day had been so out of character for a normally shy, reserved girl. She always assumed that she’d been nervous and, shrugged the memory aside. She always assumed it’d all been one sided....

What she’d forgotten was the moment that led to every single memory she’d spent years trying to erase. She stared at the dust laden ceiling and, marveled at the delicate cobwebs that danced lightly along the popcorn ceiling of the darkened room. She let her body ease and, her mind clear while she searched through her own cobwebs for a memory she’d once tried to destroy…

“Hmmm that’s actually the right answer,” she mused while Oliver’s brow furrowed in aggravated agreement of her layered statement.

“I’m not an idiot Lissy, I’m actually fairly intelligent for a jock.”

She brushed her fingers over the delicate loops of his nines and twos while she scanned over the equations before her. She felt his heavy sighs along her cheek as he inched himself closer to her crouched form. She allowed the small movements and, smiled with delight when she chuckled, “I never said you were stupid my friend. I simply think you’re being stupid when it comes to other aspects of your life.”

Oliver huffed, “I’m not discussing this again Felicity…”

She pushed her hair behind her ears and, narrowed her eyes before shifting her gaze to his handsomely confused face. “You deserve real love Oliver,” she whispered almost in complete shock. “You deserve a real life and, frankly it’s not going to be with Laurel.”

His oversized palm seemed to smudge his handsome features as he dragged the weary appendage down his face slowly. “You don’t want to have this conversation Lissy...you don’t want to hear what I have to say,” he grumbled in hushed, exhausted tones.

The room around still reflected damage from the daily summer storms. The window’s were still cracked, the floors still had bits of smashed glass and fallen leaves scattered about in random corners. Felicity brought her fingers to her lap and folded them together until her bent knuckles were white. Oliver’s body seemed to teem with nervous, almost volatile energy. Her sideways glance caught the appearance of a shudder when he breathed, “Why did I chose you? Why the hell didn’t I see this?”

“Oliver?” she mused quietly with her brow furrowed in mostly silent confusion.

His chin dipped while his hands slid along his jeans. She continued to stare at him wordlessly while he muttered mostly incoherently, “I didn’t want this...I didn’t want to feel the way I do...I wanted this to go away…”

Her fingers ached from undo strain when she asked, “Oliver what’s going on?”

He laughed almost sadly, “You’d run if you knew what was racing through my head right now…”

Felicity frowned, “Oliver what are you getting at?”

She felt the late spring breeze through the cracked windows. The scent of lavender and lily’s filled the room with hope and, renewal while the man beside her turned into a muttering pile of self-loathing. His palms brushed rapidly over his upper thighs, his face remained veiled by the shadows of the room as  his chin remained anchored to his chest. She felt her fingers breaking apart as she sought for some small token of comfort, his chest heaved with unexpressed words while his shoulders slumped in despair…

“Oliver you’re starting to scare me…” she babbled when his body began rocking back and forth between the back of the couch and the broken down coffee table. The wind swept around them with the scent of spring while his harsh breaths grew darker. Felicity stammered once more out of terror, “Okay Oliver what the hell is going on?”

“I’m afraid…” he gasped as his head shot up.

His blue eyes now seemed gray, he licked his nervous lips and brushed his fingers along the caps of his knees. Felicity whispered, “Of what?”

He mumbled with shaky breaths, “Of falling in love…”

She felt her body leaning closer as his lips parted. His fingers started to ease along his knees, her fingers began reaching for his slightly bruised digits. She almost whimpered, “Oliver what are you saying?”

He smiled sadly, “I’m saying I’m in love with you…”

She shuffled her feet and groaned when her toes slid over the front of his calves. The way he sounded when he’d admitted his love still stung her broken soul.  His nose was wedged between her neck and shoulder as she snuggled into his embrace. His soft lips danced over her shoulder as he softly snored against her ear. She laughed internally when she reviewed how she’d reacted…

She laughed because she ran...she ran back to someone who almost eight years later would threaten to kill her. She laughed because here she was determining if she was ready to run again....

She tried to shrug off the memory knowing she wasn’t ready to dig that far into her own heart and, gave him a cautious sideways glance. Her heart nearly skipped when she muttered, “I never got over you…” towards his sleeping face. She smiled when his lips curved happily in his sleep. She pressed her fingers along his knuckles and sighed, “I’m afraid of you so in order to protect my heart I’m trying to push you away…”

His knees brushed along the back of her upper calves as he snored softly in response. She grinned and let her forehead fall over his sleeping brow, “You know admitting that I’m still in love with you is much easier when you aren’t awake to gloat about it…” she finally croaked in begrudging acceptance as he slept soundly around her.

In that moment she realized somewhat suddenly that the man she’d hated,  grieved and, ultimately loved was here sleeping soundly beside her. He was alive, he was right here breathing softly as his rising chest bumped along her curved spine. He was here and, she was scared to death because, now she didn’t want to run...

She peered out the window and groaned when the night sky still held thousands of bright, twinkling stars. She let the glimmering pins of endless light quietly mock her while the room around her groaned and creaked as the wind blew savagely outside. The branches raced across the thin layer of glass with screeching precision. Felicity let the harsh sound calm her jumping nerves. His soft snores raced across her skin like lightening bugs raced along an evening sky. HIs surprisingly soft skin remained anchored over her waist, his fingers were tangled in the fabric of his loaned oversized tee-shirt and, his chest was pressed along the sharp angles of her back.

Felicity shifted beneath his touch when his body angled closer. She nuzzled her face against his brow that smelled surprisingly of cedar and mint while her knees inched toward her trim waist. His knees fell in behind her own as they bent, his nose fell over her shoulder as he gently nuzzled her cooling skin. She let him pull her closer as he too continued to entwine their weary forms. Despite her previous reservations, she admitted silently to herself this time that she was savoring the warmth of his body against her own. She shuddered when his lips danced over the nape of neck before another soft snore sent chills down her electrified spine.  

The branches rattled along the windows when his actions forced a nearly forgotten memory towards the once still surface of very deep waters…

Three Years Ago…

“This can’t be okay?” she hiccuped along the collar of his shirt. Oliver’s fingers slid down the fabric along her spine with practiced ease while his other hand danced along the aging lock of the cheap front door.

She watched him jimmy the lock with a credit card of all things as he held her tightly with one arm. He whispered along her brow gently once the cylinder of the lock slipped free of it’s metal shackle. “Old trick I learned when Laurel and I were first dating…”

She gurgled drunkenly, “Well that’s a image I want in my head…”

His smile along her brow sent chills of pleasure racing along her skin. “Don’t judge so quickly Lissy. The reason could still surprise you…”

She let his words travel along her fading sense of hearing until all she could mumble with any confidence was, “Nope anything relating to Laurel is bad…”

He chuckled but remained mum as he dragged her through the small sitting area that looked much bigger when bathed in the afternoon light. The pale colored walls now looked dark, the furniture seemed tattered and worn, the floors seemed to creak and, the house seemed to speak as he gently pulled her further into his warm side. She wrapped her arms around his torso and marveled at how solid he felt along her trembling touch. She must have mumbled, “Damn you’re solid…” because moments later she felt him brush his lips to her temple.

“What’s that for?” she coughed as he gently guided her up the steep flight of unforgiving stairs.

“I’ll tell you when you’re not slurring your words,” he allowed with ease as his feet finally found the landing.

She rolled her chin along his collarbone while he continued to nudge her along the aging floors. She let her mind wonder as the various scents of almond, lilac, and honey assaulted her senses. The alcohol in her stomach burned along her throat when the various smells attacked her all at once. She burped uncontrollably, “I think I’m going to puke,” as his hand gently traveled down the line of her spine.

He breathed along her skin since his lips seemed to be anchored to her forehead, “Just focus on me Lissy, focus on my voice okay?’

She pinched his sides and muttered, “Fel-ic-ty, Oliver my name is Felicity not Lissy.”    

He seemed to ignore her sputtered words until he remarked clearly, “Why won’t you let me call you Lissy?”

She tripped over her drunken feet but, didn’t move an inch since Oliver had her chest anchored to his side. She rubbed her nose along the collar of his shirt roughly while her lips moved along the pale skin of his chest, “My friends call me Lissy, hell even Tommy did…” she seemed to realize suddenly with shock.

“Yes and I thought I now qualified as a friend,” he suggested slowly. “I thought we’d begun to repair our relationship,” he also offered when he stopped to open a door.

His skin felt soft, sure and taut along her mouth. She kissed him gently as her drunken thoughts continued to weave her into an inescapable mess. “No...no with you it’s different I don’t want to be Lissy with you...I want to be Felicity if that makes any sense at all?”

She looked at with almost hopeful eyes once her lips left the skin of his chest. He traced along her jawline with his index finger while his thumb brushed along her bottom lip. Her heart nearly fluttered when he pressed a simple kiss to the tip of her button like nose. “You’ll always be Felicity to me…” he murmured before his fingers fell to her shoulder. She tilted her chin and angled her face. Oliver too angled his face and began to incline his sturdy neck.

She rasped with the taste of whiskey over her failing tongue, “We’re making a mistake you know that right?”

He seemed to nod in complete agreement but, his body still was inching closer. She squeezed along his waist until he’s begun to trail his fingers down her side. Her breath hitched, his eyes gleamed and, their hearts raced as their lips hovered over each other’s. She whispered, “We’re about to kiss aren’t we?”

His answer was the pressure of his lips against her very surprised ones…

Present Day…

His harsh breathing shook her from her daydream. Her lashes fluttered over his dampened skin when she rubbed her fingers over his knuckles. He yawned in a state of deep sleep, “You’ll always be my Felicity…” like he’d been dreaming of the same memory.

She whispered as her fingers ghosted over his knuckles, “Yes I’m truly afraid I will be…” before she let her eyes close and, her mind finally rest as the peace of his embrace made her feel oddly whole.