Chapter 4

Mako was rather surprised to find Natalie gone when he woke up. Usually she woke him up, or she at least waited around for him. 'Maybe she had dance practice or something. Not that she needs to practice…' Mako thought, his mind wandering back to the night they spent at the rave house a few days ago. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. 'It's my first day of training for the police force today anyways, I couldn't have her following me about.'

Mako got ready silently in the quiet dorm room, surprised to find himself almost missing his spontaneous roommate.

Once ready, Mako stepped into the hallway to find Tess waiting for him, she flashed him a smile.

"Hard getting up without the proper motivation?" She teased

"Natalie is usually my alarm clock." He replied sheepishly.

Tess laughed, "C'mon, let's head to the 'Justice Department.'"

"Remember Ba Sing Se?" Tess said, smiling as her mind wandered back to their old college.

Mako laughed, "Yeah. That was a rough city. The school wasn't so bad though, although this place is ranked as one of the top schools for cops-in-training, so I guess we're better off here."

Tess nodded agreeably, "Yeah. I was just thinking it was really just the two of us out there."

Mako frowned, thinking back. "Yeah, it really was huh? I mean, we knew we were leaving in a year, so why make too many friends."'

"I agree. I'm glad everyone's here though. And Natalie too." Tess commented.

Mako looked at her, silently agreeing.

Tess and Mako walked up to a fairly large group of students, all standing around the training grounds chatting as they awaited their mentor.

"Holy shit." Tess said.

"What?" Mako asked, following her gaze.

To both of their surprise, there was Natalie herself, leaning completely on, and with arms tightly wound around the neck of an extremely good looking tan man, who seemed to be laughing at something she said.

"I thought she was a dance major?" Tess said in confusion.

"Yeah, so did I." Mako agreed, following Tess's lead as she headed towards Natalie.

"Natalie? What are you doing here?" Tess questioned once they were closer

Natalie looked around in surprise, noticing Tess and Mako almost immediately, "Oh! Hey guys! I was wondering when you'd get here, I waited by the door for hours, although I suppose I forgot to mention my major…" Natalie trailed off, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. The man next to her flashed Tess a handsome white smile, and nudged Natalie, "Who is this beautiful woman?"

Natalie blinked, "That's my roommate, Mako."

Mako sighed, shoulders slumping as he gave up without a fight.

Natalie's male companion laughed, "The other beautiful woman?"

Natalie smiled, "That's my friend Tess, earthbender. Guys, this is my partner in crime, Jet."

Jet smiled again, dipping into a slight bow as he nodded towards Tess, "The pleasure is all mine."

Tess blushed, "N-nice to meet you."

Natalie gave Tess a sly smile, "You know, I was just about to talk about you guys. The boss wants me and Jet to split up and team up with you guys, since you're new here."

Jet frowned, "Aw, what? She wants to separate us? How could she."

Natalie shook her head with over exaggerated sadness, "I don't know, I tried to explain our love was real."

Mako looked at Natalie warily, "Who's paired with who then?"

Natalie smiled, "YOU AND ME CUBBIE, ALL THE WAY YOU AND ME!"

Mako muttered something about karma and spirits as Natalie dragged him off towards the area where they fitted students for training gear, waving goodbye to Tess and Jet.

Jet blew a kiss to her as a goodbye, and then he turned towards Tess with a crooked grin, "I guess that just leaves you and me, hm?" Tess nodded her head nervously yes, "I'll show you where girls can get fitted, it's sort of in the same area, c'mon follow me." Jets said as he smoothly grabbed her hand and lead her off towards some buildings to their right.

"So, you and me then huh?" Mako questioned as he followed Natalie towards their destination.

Natalie turned her head to flash him a smile, "Yep! ... Say, you know…" She trailed off

"What?"

"If you joined the dance team, we could spend the whole day together, wouldn't that be fun?" She finished with a laugh

Mako grimaced, "Yeah, but it would really be unfair for me to take you away from everyone else like that. Don't want to be a hog."

Natalie pouted, sticking out her lower lip as she walked in silence in front of him for a few more minutes.

After several minutes of silence between the pair, she finally spoke up, "Well, whatever you say cubbie."

Mako blinked, raising an eyebrow in surprise "You don't honestly want to spend all your time with me, do you?"

Natalie pretended to take a minute to consider, "I like the idea of having a bodyguard though."

Mako simply shook his head in exasperation.

"So, how do you know Natalie?" Jet questioned casually, having dropped Tess's hand only to stand so close their shoulders were touching.

"Natalie? Oh, I uh, we're childhood friends, but she moved away in high school… and then we ran into each other here." Tess finished quietly.

Jet smiled, "She a cool chick. We met last year at a party. Man can she dance."

Tess nodded in silent agreement, having already decided to speak as little as possible to save herself some embarrassment.

Walking in fairly awkward silence for a few feet, Tess finally asked a question that had plagued her mind since seeing Natalie and Jet together, "So… did you guys ever… yah know.. canoodle?"

'I JUST FUCKING SAID CANOODLE FUCK SHIT TITTIES GOD DAMNINGNDIW.' Tess mentally face palmed.

Jet tossed his head back, laughing, and Tess couldn't help but admire just what a nice neck he had.

'Wait, did I just think about how attractive his neck is? What is wrong with me? Spirits'

Jet had stopped walking for a moment, regaining his composure as he tried to hide the last of his chuckles.

"Did we ever canoodle? That's cute. We never dated, if that's what you're implying. We hooked up once when we were really drunk, according to some semi-reliable eye witnesses but that's about it. You get pretty close with your partner in this training."

Tess blushed slightly at the look he was giving her, both sad and thankful when he turned his eyes ahead as they resumed walking.

"You and I will get to spend a lot of time together, I look forward to it." Jet added a few seconds later.

"Me too." Tess agreed immediately, and then looked away quickly when she realized how overeager she sounded.

Jet looked at her even as she turned to hide her face, a genuine smile gracing his features as they continued towards the fitting room.

After getting Mako fitted for his outfit, Natalie decided to show him to the locker rooms on the way back.

"So this side is the girl's area, and that side is for the men." She concluded, having first explained in great detail the 'criminal spirits the haunted the cops locker rooms'.

"They're so close; doesn't anyone ever get in trouble for trying to sneak to the other side?" Mako asked, noticing that the locker rooms were barely even separate at all.

"I haven't gotten caught yet, soooo." Natalie shrugged.

Mako frowned, "Why do you sneak to the boy's side?"

Natalie shrugged again, "I like to live on the edge? I have a dick? I like to borrow men's deodorant? I dunno."

Mako's frown only deepened.

Natalie tapped her foot impatiently, "Anyways, if you're done with the questions, we should be getting back to the arena. We missed the boring part of the Boss's speech, but she'll be getting to the important bits soon I think."

Mako nodded absently, rubbing his neck as he tried to picture Natalie sneaking into the boys locker room to ask for some Old Spice.

Both pairs returned to the arena to catch the end of Be Fong's speech, "…And I'm looking forward to teaching you all this year. Just remember, you fight for the guy fighting next to you when you're in a fight. I look forward to seeing you for our first class, as summer training had to be cancelled this year. So get in shape you sissies. See you soon; enjoy the peace while it lasts." Lin finished, heading back into her office.

Natalie laughed as she turned to offer Jet a high-five, "Sweet! That really frees up my last weeks of break."

Jet grinned, "Yeah, not to mention the rest of the day. You wanna go grab a bite tonight?" he asked the group.

Tess opened her mouth to excuse herself, but Natalie cut her off quickly, "We'd love to! You know where my room is right? Tess's is the one right across the hall, come get us at eight."

Tess glared at her friend, and Mako looked at her suspiciously but didn't object.

"Sweet, see you guys later then." Jet said, winking at Tess as he walked away.

Tess gave a small nervous wave before turning back to Natalie, "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"You're right, it's a great idea. Good job me." Natalie replied, reaching to pat herself on the back.

Tess checked her phone, it was five already. "I gotta go… get ready. See you guys later." She called as she spirited back towards their dorms.

"No you won't." Natalie answered once Tess was out of earshot.

Mako rolled his eyes but smiled, "Playing the matchmaker?"

Natalie nodded as the pair started back slowly towards their room, "Of course, I gotta take care of my girls. We already took care of Rachel, now it's Tess's turn. Jet is so into her, this will be perfect."

Mako laughed quietly, "Wow, and here's me looking forward to doing something fun tonight. Guess we'll just lay around as usual."

Natalie blinked at him thoughtfully, "We could watch a movie. Whoa, hey that's a sweet idea. We're watching a movie, it is official."

"But whenever we watch a movie you make me go sit on the floor because the TV can only be seen from my bed and I'm 'not allowed' on yours."

"I can share, we're cop buddies now my space is your space. But we're watching Pretty Woman."

"Isn't that a chick flick?"

"It's a masterpiece."

Mako sighed, knowing she always got what she wanted so arguing was useless, "And what disease are we catching?"

"I'll just tell Jet we have Ebola. And if Tess asks, we ate some yogurt and now we both have food poisoning."

Upon returning to the dorm room, Tess had found a note from Rachel and Asami saying they had gone dress shopping, and Korra would be training late that night.

'Great. So now I have no one to ask what to wear. Shit. Well, what does it matter, this isn't a date. It's just a bunch of friends going out to eat. And I'm just very attracted to one of those friends. Fuck. Natalie why did you have to agree to this? Oh well, I'll be dealing with him the whole year so I guess I have to get used to this. But none of this is helping me decide what to wear. I guess I'll just go for comfortable…? Casual? Maybe more business? Or a little playful? Oh spirits, what do I do.'

Tess paced her dorm room restlessly, and then decided to just try on every outfit she brought to collage with her.

By the time she had finally settled on forest green shirt and some fairly new jeans it was 7:30.

'It's times like these I wish I could really do make-up…." Tess thought helplessly, although she applied a little eye make-up and lip gloss. She also decided to brush her teeth and brush her hair again.

'7:55. He'll be here any minute. I'll just wait for them to knock. I guess.'

Jet knocked on Natalie's door first, when Natalie opened the door she frowned at him, "Oh, Jet I meant to call you to tell you Mako and I can't make it. We both came down with some bug, it's gross. Vomiting, all over. Sorry. Don't let us stop you two though!"

Jet locked eyes with her for a moment, searching her face curiously. Finding his answer, he smiled, "Alright you two have fun throwing up together."

"Oh we will. See you around." Natalie smiled, closing the door quietly.

Jet turned toward Tess's door. 'Alright, we now it's just me and her I guess. I wonder if she'll still want to go… she didn't seem too interested today. I don't even know if I still want to go, what if I make myself look foolish or something. I played it so cool this morning, but I haven't stopped thinking about her since I saw her. Well, I'll just go along with whatever she wants I guess.' Jet decided as he knocked on her door.

Tess opened the door, checking behind him for Mako and Natalie, "Uh, where's everyone else?"

"Food poisoning."

"Oh, well, uh. That's tough."

"I'd still like to go with you though, Tess. It'd be nice to get to know each other before our training starts. You know, since summer practice was cancelled."

"Yeah, that sounds like a swell idea. Top notch." Tess replied shyly.

"Great! I know a place we can go, so shall we milady?" Jet asked, making a sweeping gesture with his hand to invite her to accompany him.

Tess smiled, 'Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought…' She thought as she followed Jet out of the dorms.

"So, would it be fair to call this a date?" Jet grinned devilishly, voice dropping an octave on the word 'date'.

The word pierced through the air, Tess jolted slightly in surprise as Jet draped a muscular arm across her back, leading her towards the restaurant, 'He is a lot more… forward then this morning.'

"I suppose, it could be a date… um, if that's what you want?" Tess replied cautiously.

Jet flashed a killer smile down at her, guiding her to the door, "I can settle for just a date tonight."

Tess blushed at what he implied, 'What is wrong with me? Normally I make dirty jokes every five minutes? He's got me all… in a tizzy.'

'…. In a tizzy? Thank god that was only in my head.'

"What about all in a tizzy?" Jet asked from across their table, confusion painting his expression

"Fuck." Tess breathed

"Huh? Well, if you want to…" Jet trailed off suggestively raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, no, no. I mean, not no but not yes. Yes but no right now, but not to say yes later maybe, or no. Um, what I'm trying to say it, you look very… good. But I-" Tess stammered nervously

Jet laughed, "Relax, I was joking. Forget I said anything hm?"

Tess blushed more, nodding quietly and berating herself in her head.

"So…" She started, voice tense, "What do you, uh, do?"

Jet looked at her quizzically, but a small smile remained on his face, "I go to college…? I eat, sleep, the usual?"

Tess huffed, "I meant-"

Jet chuckled, "I know, I was joking again."

"Oh."

Jet shook his head slightly as he let out another chuckle, "I'm training to be a cop, as you already know. I'm minoring in Homeland Security. Yes that's a minor don't laugh. I play football, and again don't laugh, I'm in a band."

Tess tilted her head and pursed her lips, "Whoa, you're like the whole package huh?"

Jet shrugged, but Tess could tell he was pleased with her response as he picked at his food with a grin.

"So, what position do you play? And what do you do in the band? Are you the dancer?" Tess teased, finding herself relaxing slightly in Jet's company.

"I would dance if I could, I assure you. Actually Natalie is our dancer, when we can afford her… But I'm the guitarist. And as for football, I'm the quarterback."

Tess blinked at him a few times, trying to figure out if he was joking again.

"Whoa, well you're the whole package and then some huh? Did you come out of a Disney movie?"

Jet laughed again, "Yeah, you got me. I'm really Troy Bolton from High School Musical."

Tess nodded with a giggle, "He had to go to college eventually."

"Exactly, so if you don't mind me asking, what do you do?"

"Me? I'm training to be a cop, um, I guess you know that. I… am going to help teach the Avatar earthbending. And I do some art on the side. Yeah." Tess finished, feeling foolish for not having a list as impressive as his.

"The avatar? Damn. You must be a banging earthbender I take it?" Jet replied earnestly.

"I guess. I can metalbend and sandbend too, so you ever need a spoon bent or a uh, sandcastle built. I'm your girl."

Jet's eyes lit up, "My girl, huh?" he raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at his lips "I can get used to that."

Tess blushed, feeling flustered all over again.

"It's uh, getting kinda dark. I mean late." She sputtered, "My friends are probably wondering where I am." Tess bit her lip nervously.

Jet's eyes lowered to her lips to catch the action, and slightly delayed he replied, "I was going to suggest something else, but I guess I can give you to your friends for a little while."

Tess wondered how long it would take for her crazy red blushing to fade.

Jet paid for the meal, and then stood and offered Tess his arm, which she took hesitantly. He pulled her closer and held her there gently but firmly as he led her back to the car.

Jet insisted on walking her to her dorm room, but Tess managed to convince him to walk her to the doors of her dorm building instead.

Standing there in front of the doors, Jet gazed down at her with an expression Tess couldn't quite decipher. His stare was smoldering.

"So, I'll uh go." Tess managed to choke out, averting her eyes as she began to turn towards the door.

"Hang on." Jet insisted, catching her elbow with his left hand lightly, and using his other hand to tilt Tess's chin up so she was looking up into his warm brown eyes.

He leaned in closer, until his mouth was right next to her ear

Tess could feel his sultry breath rise up her neck, and it made her shiver.

"I'm going to kiss you now." He purred.

Tess shivered again, more violently, as his lips brushed gently against her face.

"And you," he crooned heavily, "are going to kiss me back."

Tess's blush had now spread from her face to her neck, her heart pounding so fiercely in her chest, it felt as though it were about to crack her ribs wide open.

"O-Okay," Tess murmured so weakly and quietly that Jet wouldn't have heard had he not been mere inches from her.

Smiling devilishly, his lips brushed against her ear before placing his strong calloused hand on the back of her neck and pulling her against him, their lips meeting.

Tess was still for an instant; almost certain her heart had finally stopped beating.

'His lips are really soft...' she thought as she finally gave in, and melted into his arms, returning the kiss.

After a few moments, the couple broke apart, locking eyes as they regained their breath.

"That was…" Tess hardly choked out.

Jet winked, "I agree. Now, back to your friends."

"What, I.. Ok. When, or, how will I?"

Jet grinned over his shoulder as he retreated, "I'll text you. Natalie gave me your number. Till next time, milady." Jet said, giving her an over exaggerated bow before sliding into his car.

Tess watched him drive off before walking inside and slumping against the door, "Holy shit. What Just happened."