The rest of the day was uneventful and Korra was more than happy it was over. Now, all she had to focus on was hockey. There was something so soothing about being on the ice; the smells, the sounds of the puck hitting the pallet of someone's stick as they received a perfect pass, the ringing of iron after sending a puck off the post, skates grinding into the ice as she turned. Nothing could take away from her good mood when she was playing; she couldn't wait to get on the ice. As usual, Korra was the first one to get to the rink. Whether it was game day or a practice, she liked to get there early and go through her regular routine.

"Hey, there, superstar!" A voice yelled from the rafters of the arena. It was Varrick, the schools 'Mr Fix-It' man who was also in charge of running the pro-shop and skate sharpenings.

"Hey, Varrick! Think you could sharpen my skates before practice?"

"Yeah, no problem, kid! Just leave them in the pro-shop, I'll be down in a second!" He said as he hung up another banner the team had earned this year.

Korra made her way to the dressing room to get changed; she wanted to get her warm up jog in before practice. She changed into shorts and a sports bra and held up her cut off t-shirt in front of her before throwing it back into her gym bag. It was warm enough outside that she didn't need it and she'd probably get too hot in just a sports bra, anyway.

She walked through the doors of the arena and started her run. Her usual route took her through campus, around the buildings and sports fields, then she ventured out towards the market just outside campus and ran by all of the little shops and cafés, to then come around the other side of campus running by the new condos before finishing back at the complex. She was just about to go around the last bend before getting back on campus grounds when she heard a big clang and an "OWW!". She turned her head and noticed a pair of legs sticking out from underneath a black car that was jacked up on supports. She walked over to the mystery person to see if she was alright. As she approached the car, she saw a screw driver roll towards the street. Korra picked it up and, as she walked closer to the car, saw a hand frantically feeling around on the asphalt near their legs.

"Looking for this?" Korra asked looking under the car. She stepped back as the dolly the person was lying on started to roll out from under the car.

The person slid out revealing more of the grease stained white tank top that hugged her curves in all the right places. Finally, a pale face, grease smudged cheeks and a pair of deep red lips appeared. "M-Miss…Miss Sato!" Korra stuttered.

"Korra! Hello!" the teacher said rather quickly as she got up while admiring Korra's toned body that was covered in a thin layer of sweat, glistening in the sunlight.

"I..uh..um..your screw driver! I have it!" she quickly shoved it towards her teacher.

"Oh, thank you, I was wondering where it rolled off to," Asami replied as she reached her hand out taking the screw driver from her student, only to realize that Korra wasn't letting go.

They were touching. Their hands were touching. Korra could feel Miss Sato's thumb on the back of her hand. Her soft touch. She had to fight off a blush or else risk embarrassment.

"Korra? Korra, you can let go now. I've got it."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. I was just umm…just…uh…so you know cars, eh?" she changed the subject finally finding her words.

Asami smiled and flipped her hair back; she knew what she was doing and she wanted to see just what kind of response she could get out of the muscular girl. "Yeah, my Dad owns an Audi dealership on the other side of town so I've been around cars my whole life. I'm pretty good with anything to do with engineering, really."

"You play on the hockey team, right?" Asami continued, pointing the schools logo embroidered on Korra's shorts. "I hear you're pretty good, captain," she shot the athlete a smile.

"Uh yeah, I do. And I'm okay, I guess." Korra said as she rubbed her hand behind her head and gave the woman a small, lopsided grin.

"You're more than just 'okay' as I hear it, miss leading goal scorer in the whole league!"

She's attractive, she's smart, she doesn't mind getting dirty, AND she follows my hockey. Could this girl be any more amazing? "Yeah, well, you know, it's a team effort and everyone does their part," she replied humbly. "Speaking of the team, I should probably get back to the rink. My teammates are probably already starting to get dressed."

"Yes, then you probably should get back. Have fun at practice!" Asami waved as Korra ran off towards the complex. God, she's attractive…

Korra could not get Miss Sato out of her head as she finished her run back to the complex. The way her top fit her body so nicely, how that one bead of sweat made its way down her chest, over her breasts. Korra get your head in the game, you've got to practice soon, think hockey. She picked up her skates from Varrick and headed to the locker room.

"My, my, my, you look a little more flushed than you usually do after your run," Kuvira teased as Korra entered the locker room. "Get a little heat stroke, did ya? Gonna use that as an excuse after I out play you?"

"In your dreams Kuvira, even if I did have heat stroke I'd still skate circles around you!"

"That's enough ladies, you're teammates. Focus on playing together so we can win our big game at the end of the month," Jinora lectured.

"You're lecturing us? Who do you think you are freshman?" Kuvira snapped back at her.

"Shut it Kuvy," Korra said, putting emphasis on the nickname, "she's actually right! Let's get ready to practice."

"Whatever you say, captain," said Kuvira as she mock curtsied, "and don't call me Kuvy!"

—-

"Korra! Get your head your head out of your butt! You can't play like this at the end of the month!" Coach Lin shouted across the ice. Korra nodded her head to show she understood her.

"Again," Lin barked before whistling to resume the drill.

Of all the times to develop a crush, it had to be now, two weeks before the biggest game of her life. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get Miss Sato out of her head. Every time she was midway through a drill she'd see her luscious black hair blowing the wind, she'd remember her soft hand touching hers, how she could still smell her perfume mixed in with the faint smell of car grease. The last whistle of the practice brought her back to reality. Coach Lin's voice ringing in her ears, "Alright ladies! That's it for the day, you better get your act together before practice next week, hit the showers!"

—-

Falling into bed that night was the best feeling in the world, her body ached from practice though her mind was still restless. Miss Sato still flooding her mind. She was either going to have the most pleasant dreams tonight or not be able to sleep at all.