Korra POV

I jammed my key into the lock of my apartment. With a yell of "I'm home!" to Gavin, I plopped down on the couch. I looked out the window to see the rain had only continued, harder than before. My drenched hair was soaking my oversized sweatshirt and my leggings were clinging to my body tighter than before, thanks to the amount of puddles I stepped in. And my converse, my poor converse... They were going to be hung up to dry for a couple days. I sighed loudly, thumping my head against the armrest of the couch.

Gavin's head popped through his bedroom door. "Fuck, how hard is it raining?" He asked, sauntering into the living room and kitchen area, completely warm and dry. I growled at him, picking up a towel from the closet and returning to my spot on the couch. "Well, someone's had a bad day." He raised his eyebrows and poured some Coco Puffs into a bowl of milk.

Gavin is my best friend. We'd known each other since Junior High and we've been best friends ever since. We sort of just… got one another. We even tried dated for a little while, but we both ended up realizing that we only wanted to be friends. When we got into NYU (after doing a happy dance) we decided that instead of living in dorms, we should just get jobs (and have our parents chip in a little) and get an apartment.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Gavin asked invitingly, still staring at me, Coco Puffs in his mouth. I scowled at his disgusting, teenaged boy antics. He simply gave me a chocolate-filled smile. Lovely.

"Do you know who Mako Anderson is?" I asked suddenly, trying to make it sound like "no-big-deal", even though he was the richest person in New York.

His eyes showed a flash of recognition, probably thinking I was just going to tell him about Mr. Anderson's 'newest investments in submarines' or whatever else billionaires buy these days. He shrugged, "Yeah, the billionaire, right? Why do you ask?"

"Well he came by 'The Caffeè Casa'-" cue gasp from Gavin. "-And he was, like ignoring me at first, but then at the end, he like, begged me to go out with him." I exclaimed with a sneer.

"What?!" He said dropping his spoon, which ended up clattering in his bowl, which then proceeded to fall on the ground. If Gavin even noticed the mess he had made, he didn't show it. He ran over to me, still on the couch, and shook my shoulders violently. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Gavin! Now we have to clean the floors!" I whined, while shaking his hands off and going to get a paper towel out of the cabinets under the sink.

"Do you know what this means? He's, like, a billionaire!" Gavin yelled, running his hands through his hair, his eyes bright and excited. He was tripping his way over to me, standing above me in a daze, like I wasn't cleaning up his mess.

"Gavin, I declined his offer." I say maturely, crossing my arms defiantly, a complete opposite of how I usually act around Gavin. He didn't understand about Mako Anderson, the jerk of the century. He thinks that he can get throw his money around and get whatever he wants. What "Mr. Anderson" doesn't know is I don't care about his money. Honestly, I don't like his money; it makes him cocky and egotistical. The fact that he completely ignored me for the whole meal, and then he gets one look at me and all of a sudden he wants to go on a date completely baffles me. I mean, I'm not an insecure girl, I've dated many times and I know that there are guys that'll find me attractive. The point was all he saw me as was a pretty face. He probably was tired of the blonde, super-model, bimbos that were always clinging to his arm like a child. I'm not going to be his first brunette sex appeal. That was the deal breaker. He was an ass! I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm attracted to him. He's sexy, ok? A sexy, idiotic bastard; I wish he wasn't in my mind all day, I've only met him once and I should hate him.

Gavin stared at me wide-eyed. "What?" He said, almost whispering. "Are you an idiot?" He asked. "I mean… he didn't do anything to you did he? Did he hurt you?! You just say the word-"

"Gavin!" I snapped, gaining his attention. "Chill, I just didn't want to go on a date with him. Now go get ready, the football game comes on at 7." I say, not really in the mood to back up my argument. Thankfully, Gavin took the hint, cleaning up his mess, and walking back into his room with a small huff. I heard him start the shower and I followed in suit. I let the water wash away my worries, one by one, taking Mako Anderson and his sexy ass out of my mind.

When I got out, Gavin was (unsurprisingly) still in the shower. Yes, my 20 year old best, straight, guy friend takes longer showers than me. Go figure. I put on a dark grey t-Shirt on that I had cut the sleeves off of and put on a pair of Nike shorts, going into the living room, ready to eat pizza and watch the football game and then some action movie with Gavin that he got at Red box the night before. It was about 7:15 when the doorbell rang.

"I got it!" I yelled to Gavin as I lazily walked to the door, swaying a little bit. I looked in the peephole and almost died.

Mako Anderson was standing at my doorstep. "Shit!" I whisper-scream. I tip-toe out of the room (as the doorbell continues ringing) and race into Gavin's room. "Gavin! You need to get the door!" I say, nearly yelling over the doorbell and Gavin's shower.

"No, you get it; I'm in the fucking shower!" He says incredulously, "Why?"

"Because, the billionaire that you're so infatuated with is outside!" I scream. Then a terrifying voice enters the room, through the door.

"Korra, I know you're in there, I can hear you." Mako's voice is frustrated and unhappy. I roll my eyes even though he can't see me, and once again bang on Gavin's door.

"Plah-eaaaaaaaaseaaahhh Gaaavvvv!" I whine, unable to accept that soon I'll be walking to my doom. My doom in the form of a downright sexy billionaire.

"Go, Korra, he's not going to leave." Gavin chided, as if I were the one who needed scolding!

I huffed childishly and stomped back to the door, flinging it open and crossing my arms angrily. There he is, standing in all his glory, sporting a charcoal grey suit and a dark blue tie. Damn it, I'm attracted to him.

He grinned, as if I was his wife and he hadn't seen me in a while. "Nice party." He commented, stepping into my house, totally uninvited. I gaped at him, my eyebrows drawing together.

Okay, so I had lied to him. What the fuck ever.

"Yo- you can't just… walk into my apartment!" I stutter, in complete disbelief of his actions. After shaking my head and regaining my cool, I look to see he's inspecting the floor to ceiling apartment windows overlooking New York, right across the road from Main Street and a couple blocks from Central Park. He looked at me across the tan sectional, with some emotion buried deep within his amber eyes.

"Your apartment building needs better security. I walked in here, you being none the wiser until about 3 minutes ago. And had I wanted to, I could've broken down your door." I looked at him, still gaping. I mean… he could definitely break down my door. He's a strong, muscular, with a toned and muscled super-hot ass….

Oh god. I'm oogling him. And he knows! As he smirks at me my cheeks redden and I look at my bare feet, almost forgetting about his comment to my apartment building's security. "I'm not afraid of intruders, if that's what you're insinuating." I say to the ground, not sounding quite as cold as I would've liked.

"…You should be." He said as he looked out the window, though I have a feeling he wasn't seeing the view. I sighed heavily, wondering what he was doing here or how he-

"How the hell did you know where I lived?" I snap.

His eyes turn back to me, changing into a lighter look, his hot smirk taking over his facial features. "I know people." He simply states, the number one go-to evasive answer. I groaned right as Gavin walked through the door, with only a towel hanging low on his hips. At first, he didn't even notice us, heading to the kitchen while we were standing at the window.

So I angrily whispered, "Gavin!" blushing harder than before. Gavin turned around, nearly screaming his girly scream, pulling his towel up, and tightening it hastily.

"Uh. Hello." Gavin stammers, wide-eyed at Mako. Our first billionaire in the house, I mean… can you say "milestone"?

Mako's smirking face turns to a sneer and I start to worry for Gavin's safety. I see how bad this would look to him, me just in a ripped up, masculine-looking shirt, tiny shorts, wet hair, and just having taken a shower. While Gavin was wet in a towel? Yes, I can see Mako's point of view. Mako was quietly growling, and I could see him fuming at my best friend. As (what I'll pretend to be) a knee-jerk reaction, I position myself looking inwardly on him, placing a hand on Mako's chest. He stops growling and stares down at me, his sneer turning into a beautiful smile. I smile convincingly back, and motion to Gavin, "Mako this is Gavin-" Mako's (superfuckinghot) glare returns as he looks at Gavin, who looks confused as hell, "-my best friend and roommate." I clarify, winking at Gavin from behind Mako's softly heaving chest. Honestly, I can't get this man that worked up.

Mako regains his stance, smoothing out his expression and giving him a (somewhat) dazzling smile saying, "Mako Anderson." He stuck out his hand expectantly, which Gavin took hesitantly, as if he was afraid that Mako would break it. If Gavin had been my boyfriend, he might have done just that.

"Gavin Dare" He said proudly, seeing as he changed his last name when his father left his mother. It used to be plain old "Smith", so he saw the window and took it.

Mako stepped back to me, probably expecting me to hold him in some embrace afterwards like before, because when I didn't move my arms he did it for me. He put an arm around my waist, pulling me to him, forcing us once more into the position we were in before, because I think he liked the security of my hand on his chest. I motioned for Gavin to get out before Mako made him.

"Interesting" Mako murmured, bringing me in front of him, a little less than arm's length away. He took one step closer, almost making my chest bump into his.

"So, now do you want to go out with me?" He asked hopefully, and I gave him a confused look.

"Why would you think that?" I raised my eyebrows as I asked. His face fell noticeably.

"I dunno… I mean… you- uh… I just…" He said, looked defeated. I knew what he was referring to, I had held onto him like I liked him. I had been the one to initiate the embrace, the hand on his chest, and everything that happened in the last 10 minutes was all me.

Stepping away, I start "Mako, it's not that I don't think you're a bad guy-" before he cut me off.

"I get it." He looked terribly upset. "'It's not me, it's you' right?" He chuckled un-humorously to himself.

I knit my eyebrows together, "No- it's your intentions with me!" I nearly shouted. "I refuse to be yet another one of your conquests; I'm not just a 'Fuck and Run' girl, Mako Anderson!" My ears were burning with anger; I could feel the heat on them like new sunburn. My eyes were stinging with tears I dare not shed. I had dated men with reputations before. Bad reputations. Reputations that scream 'Run!' and 'Get away while you can!' I've dated boys who are known for cheating,for quickies and one night stands. I go into relationships expecting that I can change their bad boy attitude to a good boy. Like I can help them redeem themselves. Each time ends with the guy getting away by doing what he does to every other girl, not to mention, leaving me with a broken heart. Mako Anderson has this kind of a reputation. Womanizer.

"You think that's what I want from you?" He asked quietly, surprising me with his gentleness. He looked at me with pained eyes for a moment, and then he swept me into his arms. He hesitantly stepped one more foot closer, and crushed my face to his hard chest, one arm securing me to his abs. Hell yeah. I welcomed his scent of charred wood and spice to engulf me with open arms, so similar to the scent of a campfire. His head was laid on top of mine, using our height difference to his benefit, inhaling gracefully and squeezing me to him tighter. "My sweet, adorable, beautiful, Korra, I would never do anything to hurt you." I couldn't help locking my arms around his waist, and nuzzling my head into his chest. I could feel him smile against my head, and I'm sure he felt my exuberant grin against his chest. He must agree that this felt so natural. When I released his waist, he kept me in his arms a second longer, then only letting me get a little away, still holding me around my small waist. "Please give me one chance to show you how much I care for you. Come to the Gaze Global corporate cocktail party on Friday,and then I'll take you to dinner after.

I considered this for a moment. I mean, he seemed genuinely interested in me. "What do you want from this?" I motioned from me to him. And he smiled, almost ruefully.

"I want you to be mine." He answered simply. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the couch casually, as if he didn't just declare that he wanted me. When he saw my hesitation he stood straighter. "I can honestly say that my intentions with you are long term; I have… rules and regulations. I do not like to be disobeyed, I'm possessive and I get jealous. I have problems with my past and I have trouble with trusting people. Most people think I'm happy, but I'm not, and I think that with you, I could be." He stated, never breaking eye contact with me.

"…why are you telling me this right now?" I asked quietly, wondering if he expected me to open up all of my doors also.

"I want you to know that I'm not perfect. That you'll get frustrated with me, but everything that I do is for your safety, always for you." He whispered, getting closer. He must've seen the confusion in my eyes. "I know I sound creepy and obsessed." he stated, turning away and sitting on my couch, tugging at his hair. "I feel crazy, every time I see you my heart beats wildly and my hands heat up. It feels like I'm having a… I just, I've never felt this way about anyone before." He summed up, looking at the wall blankly. I saw his eyes dart to me to catch my expression, but they pulled away quickly.

I sigh, taking it all in. 'I have… rules and regulations', 'I do not like to be disobeyed.', 'I'm possessive and I get jealous.'

"You know sometimes I feel it, too." I say suddenly. I elaborate when he gives me an estranged look. "The…. liking you thing." He grinned at this. "I mean, I find you attractive and interesting. But I'm feisty and I will disobey you." I said, knowing that if I actually went through with this, I would disobey him more than a few times.

He frowned for a moment. "I think I'll cope." He said, apparently taking my challenge. I blushed, realizing I was agreeing to going with him. "So, I have a date?" He asked hopefully.

I hesitate before asking, "As long as whenever I say I want to, you take me home. And we do nothing I don't want to, and I get to choose what I wear."

He looked up, as if thinking over my grounds quickly. He eyed me for a moment, "Please wear something presentable for a nice cocktail party. A dress." He clarified and I nodded.

"Nothing less." I promise.

"One more thing." He said, holding up a finger, "I get to introduce you as my girlfriend." He smiled.

My heart fluttered involuntarily. Yes. Yes! YES! "This isn't just a scam to get a past girlfriend jealous, right?" I said, eying him suspiciously.

He growled, coming over and tugging me into his chest, turning me on that much more. "Never."

"Then, yes." He beamed, absolutely beamed at me and pulled me into a hug, spinning me around my not-so-spacious apartment. He tried to contain his smile when he put me down, but he couldn't. "Just one date is all I'm promising." I mumble.

"And after, you'll be… begging for more." He said suggestively, waggling his eyebrows down at me and I smacked him. After my scolding him, he spoke up whilst still hugging me, "Can I get your number, then?" He almost sounded nervous, as if I could say no to him now. The damned man has already sucked me in, and that wasn't a good thing. I scribbled it down on a notepad and gave it to him. He smiled again and leaned in, kissing my cheek, and making my heart pound against my chest. "Well, you have dress shopping to do, I'll see you tomorrow." He said, walking to the door, smiling just as wide as before.

When he left I nearly screamed of horror and excitement. I sprinted to my closet, thanking god that Asami had forced me into my first New York "repopulate your closet" shopping trip. My closet was full of cocktail dresses and accessories. And with that I called Asami to pick an appropriate one for tomorrow.

Just as the beginning of the ring started, the reality of the situation came crashing down on me.

I had a date with a billionaire.

Wellllll there's chapter 2! I think you guys really like this which is awesome because I LOVE this story. It's just so fun! Soooo Asami is coming in next chapter :D whoooo! Get excited guys! AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Editor: Lara Caspersen
Author:
maryclairewarren