To Dance with a Prince

Untitled Part 13

Helena looked in the mirror at Felicity's apartment after having gone through three different outfits. She had called and asked if she could get ready at Felicity's for her date with Tommy because she was nervous. Felicity had happily agreed and after trying on three different dresses they both had decided that she should wear a red dress that had a rounded neckline and was form fitting down to her knees. Felicity had to admit that Helena looked gorgeous in it and she could not wait to see Tommy's face.

They walked into the living room and Helena gasped as they heard a knock at the door. Felicity opened it with a grin and then opened it wider and stepped out of the way so Tommy could see Helena. He was speechless.

There was several seconds of silence and Felicity finally leaned closer and whispered, "Tommy, shut your mouth, you are drooling."

He snapped his mouth shut and then stuttered, "He......Helena, you look stunning."

She blushed. "Thank you Tommy. You look quite handsome yourself."

"Are you ready to go?" Tommy asked and let out a breath of relief when Helena said yes.

"You guys have fun." Felicity walked them to the door and as they left, Helena mouthed "Thank You", as she walked past. She placed her hand in the crook of Tommy's arm as he led her down to the waiting car and she felt her nervous stomach flutter. She had been in love with Tommy since she was 16 years old and now she was finally going on a date with him.

He opened her door and helped her inside and as he closed it and walked around to the driver's side he let out a breath he had been holding. She looked absolutely stunning tonight. He was in big trouble.

***

Felicity grinned as she closed the door behind them. Helena had told her she would stop by the bar tonight after her date because she was going to stay with Felicity for the night. She had offered to stay in a hotel but Felicity would not have it and as she walked to her room to get ready for work she realized that she and Helena could be considered friends now and she was enjoying it.

She changed her clothes and gathered her things to head to work. Oliver had promised to stop by and see her later that night. He had been at an opening of a new school and despite all of his duties the ones that involved children was what he loved most. As she stepped outside she suddenly was bombarded with paparazzi snapping pictures and yelling questions at her. She hid her face and ran as fast as she could. Luckily for her the bar was just a couple of blocks away and she hurried inside the back door so they could not follow her inside. What was that about?

Felicity walked into the bar and saw her two best friends sitting, waiting for her. She knew the press would not come in the front door as they had a sign that forbid them entering with their equipment. The owner had told her he had it put up when he was going through a bitter divorce that had made the papers.

"Felicity, it is about time you got here." Nyssa walked over and gave her a hug as did Sara and then they settled on a couple of stools as she moved behind the bar counter. Felicity saw they already had their drinks and so she spoke to the current bartender before he left.

She gave them an incredulous look. "I just got bombarded outside my apartment by paparazzi." She let out a breath and then looked at Sara. Sara gave her an interesting look and Felicity walked over and looked intently at her. "What is that look on your face?"

Sara cleared her throat, and looked at Nyssa. Nyssa nudged her, obviously trying to get her to say something. "Spit it out ladies." Felicity tried to keep the annoyance from her voice, but she did not succeed.

"Have you seen the tabloids today?' Sara asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. You know I don't like reading that stuff." Felicity had glanced at the papers now and again when she stood in line at the grocery store, but she had never been one to buy them or visit their websites for celebrity gossip.

"You might want to see today's Spoiler Magazine." Sara reached in her back pocket and pulled out a magazine. She threw it on the bar and Felicity almost passed out. There were her and Oliver on the cover in a photo that had been taken at the polo match, and the headline screamed, "Prince Dating Local Bartender".

She looked up at them in shock. "Oh my god."

"The article is actually much better than the title." Nyssa said, trying to ease the tension.

"Yes, they say how he is dating a "beautiful" bartender and that he seems extremely happy with you." Sara gave her a look that said it wasn't too bad.

"But why is this coming out now? The polo match was several days ago." Felicity had never been in high society so she didn't understand how all of that worked.

"I don't know but now that your picture is out there I would figure out a new route to work. Or maybe have Oliver assign you a body guard for when you are out in public." Nyssa said matter of factly.

Felicity scoffed, "What? No way! I don't need a body guard."

Sara quirked an eyebrow at her. "Well then you are going to have an entourage of press following you everywhere."

Felicity sighed. She needed to talk to Oliver when he got there and find out what was going on and why all of the sudden their picture was in the paper. She knew that dating a Prince meant she would be in the public eye but had not been prepared to see them outside of her house. That was almost unnerving.

Felicity worked throughout the evening, talking to Nyssa and Sara in between customers and she was glad when she saw Oliver walk in the door. However, he seemed frazzled and she could see flashes of light outside the door. They must be camped outside.

"Well if it isn't Prince Charming." Sara teased and grinned.

Oliver gave Felicity an unsure look and then asked. "How long have they been out there?"

Felicity grimaced. "Since I left my apartment and came to work."

Oliver sighed, shit! He was hoping they would have a little more time to themselves before they were thrust into the spotlight. He was use to the attention and even knew how to distance himself from the intrusion, but Felicity was different. This was all new to her, and he just prayed it had not scared her off.

"Oliver we need to talk." Felicity gave Sara and Nyssa pointed looks and they moved to a booth nearby. Felicity walked over and kissed him softly before she leaned on the bar facing him. "So did you see this?" She slid the tabloid over in front of him and he hung his head to his chest.

"No. Look I am sorry about this Felicity and I am sorry that they were waiting outside your door today. They are supposed to wait until the Palace press office contacts them to release photos and such. I will talk to Alice our secretary when I get back and find out what happened." He took her hands in his and looked her over. "They didn't harass you did they?"

She shook her head and gave him a small smile. "No but I ran to work today. Maybe I should think positive and say they got me to exercise."

Oliver chuckled and then wiggled his eyebrows as they both thought about the salmon ladder and said, "Maybe we need to visit the gym again."

Felicity winked at him and walked to take care of a customer, as Oliver pulled out his phone. He spoke briefly to Slade and then hung up the phone. An hour later he was sipping a beer that Felicity brought him and when he saw her looking at the door, he saw Slade walking in with a young man in tow. They walked over to Oliver and exchanged a few words and when Felicity walked over to see what was going on Oliver said a sentence that made her blood boil.

"Felicity, I want you to meet your new bodyguard, Roy Harper."