CHAPTER 2

The next few days went by with the two running into each other at the gym; same time every day. However, Mako was still embarrassed by their initial encounter and never managed to sputter out more than a "hi" or "nice to see you again" before strolling off to his workout spot as quickly as possible. The glances they stole from one another was obvious, though, and he couldn't help but notice that she might be waiting for him to say more.

'You're being stupid and rude. Just go talk to her!' He yelled internally. 'It was an accident and you apologized. She's not going to hold it against you forever.' At that moment she looked up, catching his stare, and rubbed her nose and giggled. 'Okay, maybe she will…'

A few minutes later, he was putting his dumbbells back on the rack when a sweet, adorable voice caught his attention. "So, are you going to have an actual conversation with me, or just continue to apologetically stare from across the room from now on?" He turned to see a bright smile and swimming blue eyes looking up at him. 'Good lord, she's cute…'

"Uh – right… Well, I figured the smart thing would be to hide away until it was forgotten, but then I would have to find a new gym, and that's just too much effort."

She playfully punched him in the arm. "Oh, don't be over-dramatic! It's not a big deal. I'm fine, see?" She moved her face a little closer, turning it from side to side to give him a better look.

"That's… good. Yeah, good! Ha – alright, maybe I'm being a little weird about it."

"You're definitely being weird. Good thing you're cute."

His heart stopped beating immediately. 'She thinks I'm cute?!'

"Oh – uh… Thanks," was all he could manage as he began rubbing the back of his neck.

She giggled once again, that ridiculously adorable tune that he could listen to all day, every day. "Don't sweat it. You look like you're about to faint."

"I just might if you keep laughing like that," he responded as he dropped his hand and straightened up in an effort to act a little smoother.

"Ohhh, aren't you just the sweetest thing? Smooth talker – bonus points for you."

"We're keeping points now?"

"We are." She threw up one finger to show off his total. "You're no longer at zero. Unfortunately you both earned and lost points from the other day. But, you've managed to get back in the game." The wink she tossed his way made him weak at the knees.

"I'm glad to know I can at least attempt to salvage myself after such a poor introduction." He decided it was time to take a chance. "Would you be willing to let me make it up to you?"

She gave him a once over as she silently debated. For a moment, he thought she was going to turn him down and his heart sank. 'There goes that idea. Good job, Mako.' But then, she perked up a bit and smiled widely at him.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask! How about Saturday? I'm staying at the Royal Embassy Hotel. Pick me up around 7? I'll meet you in the lobby."

He stared, obviously perplexed at how direct this girl was. 'Be smooth.'

"Uh, yeah! That sounds great! Um – any thoughts on what you'd like to do?" His mind was racing with ideas of how the night would go, but couldn't settle on any one in particular.

"Seeing as that's a usual dinner time, that'd be a good start," she retorted while laughing at his genuinely confused face. "Anything after that I'll leave up to you. Lucky for you, I'm pretty flexible. I'm up for just about anything." She turned to walk towards the locker rooms, but leaned back for one more comment before stalking off. "I'll see you then! Don't keep me waiting." She winked and disappeared.

Mako stood there, positively stunned. 'Was that… an innuendo?'

He arrived at the hotel about 15 minutes early, fire lilies in hand and dressed the best slacks and button up he could find. 'I really need to shop for some nicer clothes,' he told himself as he fawned over his closet, tossing excessive amounts of workout clothes aside in an effort to find something clean and presentable. He paced back and forth in the lobby, sitting down for a minute at a time before getting up to move around again. His nerves were getting the better of him. It wasn't until the clock hit 7 on the dot and he heard the elevator doors open that he finally stopped moving.

'Wow…' His eyes grew wide and his mouth hung agape as he watched the girl step out and into the lobby towards him.

She work a dark, yet bright, blue dress that hugged her well from the waist up and panned out going lower, stopping just above her knees. The simple wide cut at the neck gave a perfect accent to her protruding collar bones and the sleeveless item showed off her well-sculpted arms just right. Her brilliant brown locks were left down, thrown over her shoulders and looking just slightly messy. Black heels gave her muscular calves a gorgeous look as her caramel skin looked soft and silky against her colorful attire.

Korra stopped just in front of him, her hands clasped together with a small grin on her face. "Are you going to say hi?"

He stood there, mouth still agape, nodding at the comment. Words were an inferior thing at this very moment.

She giggled. 'Stop that or I'll die!'

"Um – goodness… Yeah, hi. WOW… I mean, well, wow. You look…" He coughed, trying to process what he was about to say. "Perfect." His eyes widened again. 'Oh God, did I just say that out loud?'

She smiled that gorgeous, perfect smile that could stop wars. "Aw, thank you! That's very sweet of you."

Mako let out a breath, trying to come down from his momentary panic. "You're welcome. It's true though, you look positively stunning." He looked down, remembering the flowers in his hand. "Oh, these are for you! I hope you like them."

With both hands, she reached out and took the bouquet from him. She brought the flowers up to her nose, taking in a deep whiff of their succulent scent. Her features immediately calmed, taking on a look of content-ness. "They're perfect. These are my favorite flowers. Good choice!"

He clenched his fists and puffed out his chest proudly. "Awesome! Well, you want to get out of here?"

"Absolutely!" She grabbed his bicep and let him lead her out into the night.