12 comments/ 34640 views/ 30 favorites Weekend Wrestling By: MichaelMasters Friday As the cameraman swooped in front of her field of vision for the third time, Chloe started a countdown in her head. One. Two. Three. "So let's talk about your second album White Fire," Michael was saying, while the band sat opposite him were still grinning from their last scripted joke. Just in front of Chloe, the producer wordlessly directed the cameraman to move in closer. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Chloe wasn't listening to the guitarist's reply. She could have read the band's pre-prepared answers if she really wanted to know. She gazed around the set, eyeing each of the production crew in turn - so many people all focused on one idle conversation, between Michael Zander and a band no one had heard of - she only knew their name from the clipboard she was holding. Twenty-Four. Twenty-Five. One of them, probably the drummer, was doing some strange joke where he would beat the lead singer's head like maracas, while Michael chuckled. It was always like this with the lesser known guests - anything to make a spectacle, anything to get people to watch and pay attention to them. Thirty-Seven. Thirty-Eight. Thirty-Ni- "Chloe - coffees," the producer hissed in her ear. Chloe left without a word. Thirty-nine seconds - a bit longer than usual. Usually they didn't make it thirty seconds from the opening close-up shot without sending her on the coffee run. She checked her phone once outside the set without really paying attention to what she was seeing. On mornings like these it was always difficult to get out of auto-pilot mode. She'd made the trip to the Starbucks opposite the studio enough times now not to really have to think about it. All the same, she did try to hurry on the way back. The producers might look right through her ninety per cent of the time, but they were more than capable of being very focused when annoyed, and nothing annoyed them quite like lukewarm coffee. Someone was coming the other way. They were still quite a way off when, with a small jolt, she recognised them as the guitarist Michael had just been interviewing, and suddenly Chloe felt almost nervous. She was used to seeing famous people of course - she was a runner on a popular chat show after all - but she never got to actually interact with them. She smiled brightly at the guy as they passed each other, even pushing out her chest a little without realising it (not that it made much difference - her small chest was a source of perpetual annoyance), but she needn't have bothered. The guitarist walked right past her, ignoring her completely. Why was she surprised? With the coffees delivered, Chloe could get back to the oh-so vital work that running entailed. That was, seeing to the various needs of the actually important members of the crew. Lunchtime could not come quick enough. The cafeteria was pretty busy by the time Chloe got there, which didn't help her worsening mood. It took her a while to find her friends, and when she did the three of them were deep in conversation with two people she didn't recognise. She took her seat next to Paul. "Nine o' clock then? Is there a dress code or anything?" Paul was saying to the newcomers. He looked excited about something, but then he was easily excitable. Paul had worked there as long as Chloe had, and managed to make the dreary job much more bearable for her. Kirsty was shaking her head meaningfully, from her seat opposite Paul. He seemed to take some meaning, and fell silent. "Are you guys going out tonight?" asked Chloe. She could do with a night out - it had been far too long. And if Paul was going... "No no, we were just talking about... something else," Kirsty reassured her with an unconvincing smile. Chloe did like Kirsty - at least, she was alright to be around - but she could be very patronising. Maybe it came of being so aware of how attractive she was; tall, with long blonde hair and a model's physique, she could sometimes come across as a bit superior. Chloe was by no means unattractive herself. People usually called her 'petite' but she never knew if that was meant as a compliment or not. Either way, Chloe was short, thin, and next to Kirsty, usually unnoticed. "Come on, don't be silly, I heard you," Chloe pressed. She turned to Diana, sat opposite her. She could trust Diana. "Where are you going?" Diana looked around at the others. The two newcomers were both smiling by now. They were both guys, and only now did Chloe recognise them as support crew for the band. "Well..." Diana began. "C'mon, let the blonde chick come along!" one of them chipped in. "It's really not your kind of thing Chloe, don't worry about it," said Kirsty. Chloe opened her mouth to protest, but Kirsty was too fast. "Paul how are your Italian classes coming along?" she asked Paul, a mischievous warmth returning to her eyes that was only for Paul. Chloe wasn't sure if that annoyed her more than the forcible change of conversation. "Ah man, you speak Italian?" asked the other band supporter. "My Dad's half Italian!" And with that, the conversation had moved on. Chloe sulked silently throughout lunch, speaking when spoken to but otherwise ignoring her friends. Why didn't they want her to come out with them? Clearly she was going to get nowhere with them all together like this, but individually maybe she could get to the bottom of this. The afternoon beckoned, and with it three and a half more hours of work. Luckily for her new mission, most of Chloe's work for what remained of Friday involved ferrying documents to and from the set. If she could only track down Diana and Paul, she knew she could wheedle the truth from them. That might be trickier than it sounded though - Paul worked in a completely different building on some news show and Diana, still pretty new, was usually kept confined to the set she was working on. Luckily for her, the newbies also got more breaks. It was barely three o' clock when Chloe saw Diana smoking outside. "Hey Di!" Chloe beamed. Diana at least looked pleased to see her. Say what you wanted about Diana, but she was at least genuine about everything she did. It was a shame she didn't do better when it came to dating but, well, she could stand to lose a little weight. Chloe listened patiently to her story about her afternoon from hell, and as soon as an opening came up launched straight into it with no pretence. "So where are you guys going tonight?" she asked, feigning playful indifference as though she couldn't really care less if she found out or not. Diana's face fell. "Oh, it's nothing really," she said quietly. "I mean like Kirsty said, it isn't really your thing. Probably, I mean." "Tell me! How will I know unless you tell me what it is?" "Kirsty... Kirsty kind of said we shouldn't tell you. She said you'd only freak out. I'm sorry!" she added, seeing her obvious look of annoyance. "Fine. If I'd 'only freak out' after all..." And with that she swept back inside, happy to note Diana was looking slightly guilty. She was more than a little suspicious now. What event could be so bad that she'd be appalled to even hear about it? And why were her supposed friends being so cagey? To make matters worse she didn't see Paul for the rest of the shift - her last hope at finding out. She even started looking out for Kirsty by the end, though she knew she had no chance there. All things considered, Chloe was feeling pretty miserable by the time she was ready to walk out. Her friends were essentially abandoning her to go have fun without her and she had absolutely no idea why. Maybe they really did just find her boring. "Hey Chloe," came Paul's voice. She hadn't even noticed that she was about to walk right past him and Kirsty, who looked to have been deep in conversation by the door when Chloe arrived. "Hello," she replied. There was a silence. Evidently whatever they had been talking about wasn't for Chloe's ears. "I don't suppose," she began for one last time, "that there's any chance of you telling me where you're going tonight is there?" Kirsty looked pained, as though Chloe was wounding her simply by not letting this drop. Paul on the other hand, was smiling. "Oh go on, she might enjoy it you know!" he said. "Paul..." "And you won't tell anyone, will you Chlo?" he said to her. "What? No, I guess not. Just tell me!" Kirsty sighed. But since Paul had turned, Chloe knew she would give in. "Ok, we're going to... well I guess it's sort of like a wrestling match. An underground wrestling match." "A wrestling match?" replied Chloe incredulously. She didn't know what it was she had expected but it was most certainly not that. "Oh come on it's not as serious as that! It's, well OK it is sort of wrestling, but it's girl vs girl. Apparently they hold the matches underneath Rogues - you know, the old nightclub? Kyle said he could get us in..." "Kyle, from the band?" asked Chloe, at a loss for anything else to say. "Yes but it's really off the grid and so you can't tell anyone!" Kirsty insisted. "You mean it's illegal?" "No! It's just, well it's meant to be a bit raunchy, and it's just easier if not many people know about it. It's meant to be pretty wild," she said, her eyes lighting up just talking about it. Classic Kirsty - anything to appear exotic and extreme. Chloe bit her lip. Privately she completely agreed with Kirsty, that it wasn't her sort of thing at all. 'Raunchy' girl on girl wrestling matches in a seedy underground bar? But she'd spent so much time harassing them to find out what it was... "So, you coming?" asked Paul. Chloe hesitated. Paul was smiling while Kirsty was watching her apprehensively, as though afraid she was about to run off in horror and start telling everyone. "Sure!" *** It was 8pm. If she didn't leave soon she was going to be late - the six of them were supposed to be meeting downtown in half an hour. Chloe looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn't been sure what the dress code for underground quasi-legal drunken sports was, if there was one, but she wanted to look as good as possible. She'd gone for her standard black, tight-fitting dress - it accentuated her slim figure well, but no dress in the world could make her cleavage be anything other than just about noticeable. She'd stopped caring about that mostly. Her short blonde hair framed her pale, heart-shaped face nicely - though the lipstick could do with touching up. She didn't know why she was so nervous. Well, there was the obvious strangeness of the event she was going to, but it wasn't that. Every so often the image of Paul smiling and asking her to come along came into her head. With Kirsty on his arm... Now she really had to go. She called a taxi with barely any time to spare, and it was twenty to nine by the time she spotted her friends sitting outside a bar. Looks she would be skipping pre-drinks then. "Sorry I'm late!" she said, to announce her arrival. Kirsty had been deep in conversation with the two guys from the band - she had almost expected them to be dressed in some outrageous attire, but they had both gone for fairly standard, smart looking shirts. Kirsty on the other hand seemed to have wanted to look as slutty as possible - her dress was very short, very revealing, and showed off her substantial cleavage. "That's alright, we've still got a few minutes," said Diana, smiling. She and Paul had been talking when Chloe arrived, and Diana moved along to make room. Diana at least had dressed sensibly. "Looking forward to tonight Chlo?" asked Paul mischievously. She forced a laugh. "I guess? I'm still not really sure what it is we're going to see. 'Sort-of-wrestling' doesn't really explain much." "It's supposed to be a kind of tournament isn't it?" said Diana. One of the other guys, Chloe supposed he must be 'Kyle,' looked around at this. "Well, it's time to see for yourself," he said, getting to his feet. He looked very pleased with himself, and led the way down the road, with his friend. Kirsty stayed by their side along the way, and Chloe, Paul and Diana followed behind. "You look really nice tonight!" Diana told her as they followed along. Chloe was sure she was only feeling guilty about hiding the truth from her that afternoon, but she appreciated the compliment nonetheless. Kirsty meanwhile, was giggling loudly ahead of them. "Oh come on! What's wrong with being roadies? That's what you are isn't it?" she was saying. Kyle and his friend laughed along, protesting amiably. Kirsty brushed her hand along Kyle's arm. Did Chloe imagine it, or did she shoot the briefest glance back at the three of them behind her? Paul was certainly staring at Kirsty now, with a slight frown on his face. If only Chloe could make people jealous that easily, she thought with a sigh. Rogue's nightclub was ahead of them now. It had been a big deal ten years ago, but time had not been kind to it. A string of disinterested owners, combined with the surrounding area going downhill, had meant that it had become increasingly derelict. While still technically open, it rarely did much business. In fact Chloe barely even knew about it, having only been once when she was nineteen, five years ago. It certainly looked like a dump now. And yet, there was a steady stream of people heading for it - not to the old main entrance, but down the side alley. Even surrounded by five people, Chloe felt uneasy going down here. But, Kyle seemed to know what he was doing, and none of her friends showed any apprehension. There was a bouncer waiting by the side door, barely visible from the main street but impossible to ignore now they were here. "Hey Mike, there's six of us tonight," said Kyle's friend. The bouncer looked over us, frowning slightly. He was not a small man, and even this slight scrutiny made Chloe feel uncomfortable. This had never seemed like less of a good idea. "They new?" asked the bouncer. "Yeah, but they're cool," answered Kyle. The bouncer looked at them all individually, still frowning. Chloe winced when he got to her - she was sure he spent longer with her than the others - but eventually he stood aside to let them in. The smell of stale alcohol hit them straight away, and as soon as they were inside they could hear the muffled sounds of a crowd from somewhere within. Kyle took them down the stairs that greeted them in the entrance, and into a dimly lit bar. "Drinks?" he asked with a sly grin. He seemed unconcerned at the grotty state of the bar, or the shady appearance of the few people occupying said bar. They were mostly men. "Definitely," said Kirsty, and made her own way over. Five minutes later, they were all clutching cold bottles of something or other. No one else seemed to be as confused as Chloe felt - what was so special about this place? She could still hear the murmur of a crowd from somewhere, but this dingy bar was not what she had had in mind. "It's through there," said Kyle, noticing her look of bewilderment and pointing to another door beside the bar. "But it's a nightmare getting booze once inside so we may as well fill up now!" Chloe smiled back politely in response, and took another sip of her vodka and lemonade. She had a feeling she was going to need a lot more by night's end. Was it too late to just make some excuse and leave? She knew this would confirm everything her friends probably thought about her - plain, boring Chloe, who couldn't handle anything outside of her comfort zone. A particularly loud but muffled cheer from the distant crowd interrupted her thoughts. "Ooh what does that mean?" asked Kirsty, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "It means, that a match is just starting I think," said Kyle. He downed the remainder of his drink. "Which is excellent timing! This way." Chloe followed the rest of them, through the door, and along yet another corridor. The crowd was much louder now, and as soon as Kyle opened a last set of doors, the full din of what must have been hundreds of people washed over her. The room looked like an actual, low-budget stadium. There were seats and benches all around it, in a circular pattern around a central stage - the back ones were even raised. The room itself was much bigger than Chloe had imagined. It looked like several walls had been knocked through to make it. But after registering all this, what drew the eye immediately was the central stage itself. Fenced off from the spectators was a brightly lit pit, occupied by two women, each wearing a tiny T-shirt and small lycra shorts. As the group tried to find seats, the two women were circling each other, while the crowd occasionally shouted encouragements at them. "Sit down," hissed Kirsty. Chloe jumped - she had been staring dumbly at the spectacle without moving, and hastily took a seat next to Diana. The room felt quite claustrophobic, despite its size, but when the action started it was easy to forget that. One of the girls suddenly lunged at the other - small, athletic, and with jet black hair, she moved very fast, but her opponent, a somewhat thicker girl with tied back brown hair, did not fold as her attacker seemed to expect, but instead spun her around until she landed flat on her back. It was at this point that Chloe noticed that the surface they were fighting on was wobbly and fluid, which apparently made it difficult to maintain balance, and it also seemed to glisten with some oily substance. The black-haired girl scrambled to her feet with her scantily clad body shimmering and glistening. "See? It's just wrestling," said Diana beside her, apparently unfazed by the debauchery. Chloe said nothing, but carried on staring. She had not expected this. The black-haired girl continued to pace around her rival, who looked thoroughly amused. She seemed to be taunting the girl, but her words were lost in the drunken shouting of the onlookers. Another bold charge, and this time the brown-haired girl side-stepped with surprising agility, causing the attacker to topple and land face first in the oily liquid. The crowd roared with laughter. The bigger girl even placed a foot on her opponent's back, as if in mock triumph. This seemed to genuinely incense the black-haired girl, who spun around and grabbed the leg. Her opponent seemed briefly off-balance, but managed to turn her fall into a controlled dive onto the smaller girl. The two briefly struggled, but the black-haired girl could not catch a break at all, and soon her arms were pinned behind her back. Her hair was ruffled playfully, and she looked very frustrated. "Give up?" shouted the brown-haired girl, loud enough even for Chloe to hear at the back. The girl shook her head, to the intense delight of the crowd. As soon as she heard this, her attacker gripped the black-haired girl's T-shirt and pulled it hard. The flimsy material tore easily. Chloe's mouth fell open. The girl's naked breasts were on show to everyone, and while she didn't exactly seem happy about this, no one seemed to be freaking out in the slightest. Indeed, the whole crowd was going wild, cheering and whistling. The brown-haired girl released her, and the half-naked girl got scrappily to her feet, discarding the ragged and useless T-shirt to yet more cheers. What exactly was this? Chloe looked at her friends in horror, a horror they didn't seem to share. Diana was looking on with a pleasant smile, as though this were some exotic curiosity on a tourist trail. Kirsty was grinning and clapping - anything to show she could be 'one of the guys.' And Paul was grinning stupidly at the spectacle. Diana seemed to notice her staring. Weekend Wrestling "This is so cool!" she said. "It's pornographic!" replied Chloe. She looked around at the crowd again, fired up and noisy, and felt rather uncomfortable. The two wrestlers were still going. The topless girl seemed unfazed at the fact that everyone could see her breasts, and her opponent was just as cocky as ever. She even jiggled her own breasts (still covered by her T-shirt but obviously much bigger than her opponent's) in mockery, but her words were drowned out again. The other girl charged for a third time. This time they both went down, and for a moment it seemed that she had finally got the better of her taunter. But it was painfully obvious which of them was the stronger - despite starting out on top of the brown-haired girl, the smaller girl still ended up in a vice. Then bigger girl twisted her around, to show off her chest completely to the rapturous crowd, and even brought a hand around to play with her left breast. "Give up?" she roared again, squeezing the poor girl's nipple. There was a pause, the black-haired girl gritted her teeth, and then nodded. Another deafening roar from the crowd - even Kirsty and Paul cheered. A man walked onto the stage just as the brown-haired girl was physically picking up her opponent. "Let's hear it for THE WOLF!" the referee shouted. The brown-haired girl, who Chloe supposed was meant to be the Wolf, was carrying her opponent off on her shoulders in one last humiliating display, disappearing into double doors at the other end of the ring. Chloe still couldn't quite process what she'd just seen. She had no idea such things existed! Was she really the only one who thought this was obscene? "You alright there, sugar?" asked Kyle, apparently off to get another round of drinks. Chloe suddenly felt silly - was her anxiety so obvious from her expression? "Yeah... Yeah of course - just not what I was expecting. Is it always... like this?" "Sometimes it can a get bit... raunchy," he replied with a wry smile. Chloe didn't press him for details. There was a steady stream of people heading through to the bar, in what was apparently an interval before the next match. She stayed quietly in her seat. Paul and Kirsty were talking animatedly about something which Chloe was doing her best to ignore, and Diana tried to start a conversation a few times, but Chloe wasn't really paying attention. She kept replaying the match she'd just seen in her head - the brutal depravity of it, the way the crowd had cheered lecherously at that poor girl being stripped topless. She wondered what it must feel like to have so many people watching you struggle around naked like that, shouting names at you as you fought to keep your clothes. She shivered. It was at least half an hour before the next match. She had been so focused on replaying the last one that she'd completely forgotten there was going to be another until she saw the referee stride out into the middle of the ring. Two women followed him, just as scantily clad as last time. "Ladies and gentleman, please welcome to the ring our next set of contestants, battling it out for tonight's star prize - three thousand dollars!" The crowd roared on cue, and only now did Chloe see that one of the two was the same winner from last time, The Wolf. Her long brown hair was tied back again now, but she looked just as confident as ever. Her opponent looked quite unfazed, and was staring around at the audience with a voluptuous smile. Her hair was black, like her predecessor, but much shorter, and her frame was taller and almost ungainly. "I give you - The Wolf, and LaRouge!" More shouts, more cheers, and the two women drifted to opposite ends of the ring as the referee retreated to one side. Through the din, Chloe could just make out a whistle, and then it all began. Even knowing what to expect, Chloe could still scarcely believe that this was a real event, and not the set of some porn film. The two wrestlers charged at the same time, falling into the glistening oil and lathering their bodies in it. They seemed somewhat more evenly matched, though 'LaRouge' still seemed to be struggling to make her height advantage work. Their grappling degenerated into mere rolling around. The Wolf made her first attempt at removing LaRouge's top, but failed and let her prey get away instead. Chloe kept looking away to survey the faces in the audience from time to time, at the hundreds of pairs of eyes utterly focused on the depraved scene before them. The same scene repeated over and over - they would run at each other, grapple around for a little, then break off, each time a little more worn down, especially LaRouge who was breathing heavily now. The Wolf seemed to realise her advantage, as the next time they broke apart she didn't wait, but instead barrelled straight toward LaRouge without letting her catch her breath. The surprised LaRouge went down awkwardly with the Wolf on top, but as she fell grabbed her attacker's T-shirt and pulled, tearing it. The Wolf obviously hadn't expected this, and defended far too late. The crowd roared with delight as her right breast bounced freely. She didn't seem to care. Besides, her attack had worked - she had pinned LaRouge beneath her. LaRouge struggled and strained but there was no way she was getting away this time. Chloe watched the scene with a strange fascination. She tried to imagine being topless in front of so many people, to have all these people cheering at her half-naked body. Somehow she doubted that her meagre breasts would get people quite as excited as the Wolf's bouncing bosom, but still. She blushed just thinking about it, and it made her feel... strange. The Wolf was clearly playing the crowd, mocking her helpless opponent and making lewd gestures at LaRouge's ass, which was currently sticking up in the air. She shouted something inaudible, most likely asking LaRouge if she gave up. She shook her head. So, the Wolf started spanking her. She could hear Kirsty cheering with everyone else, and even Diana giggled guiltily next to her. Again and again the Wolf slapped LaRouge's ass, and not exactly gently. Just twenty seconds later, the helpless girl tapped out and the Wolf was once again declared the winner. Chloe let it all wash over her - the triumphant Wolf jumping up and down in victory (completely unbothered that her breasts were still exposed and bouncing up and down with her), the drunken catcalling of the audience, the surreal awarding of a trophy (she supposed the money must come later). Everyone seemed to take this in their stride. Again and again she kept imagining herself in the same position until she could almost feel all the eyes staring at her, and the deafening sound of the audience directed at her. She felt dizzy. "I'll meet you in the bar," she said to Diana breathlessly, and hurried away. It was ten minutes by the time her friends came through, by which time she had had a drink and calmed down somewhat. "There you are," said Paul. "You alright Chlo?" "Sure - just needed a drink!" she replied in a bid to sound chirpy and cheerful. Kirsty had apparently abandoned her attempt at making Paul jealous, and now seemed to be stuck to his side. This did nothing to cheer Chloe up. Nor did the inevitable conversation that followed about the show they'd just seen. Chloe zoned out a little as they all sat with their drinks, as everyone replayed what they had just watched. Everyone seemed to agree that it was a lot of fun. She looked at Paul - was the reason she felt so uncomfortable because he'd just paid more attention to some half naked slut in a wrestling ring than he was ever going to pay to her? "I think I'm gonna head off," she announced suddenly. There were the usual perfunctory "no no stay!"s, but eventually she said her goodbyes and left. No doubt they were already agreeing that boring, plain Chloe shouldn't have come, that this was obviously not her thing. No wonder Paul was never going to look twice at her. She was going to get a taxi, but she found herself walking. It would be good to clear her head with a little walk before she called a taxi, she supposed. The cold made her shiver, but still she walked, left alone with her miserable thoughts. She thought of Kirsty, and how easy she found it to get guy's attention. She thought of the girls in the wrestling ring, and how every guy (and a lot of the girls) in the room had cheered them on. Suddenly she found herself jealous even of that. And with a final dejected sigh, she realised she had left her phone back at the bar. What a stupid way to end the night. Probably just as well that she hadn't gotten a taxi - she was only a ten minute walk from the club. It felt like longer. Already the bar was much emptier now. Apparently people didn't hang around once the show was finished. Understandable, she supposed. Her friends had seemingly gone too - the table they had sat at was one of many empty ones now. She was both relieved and annoyed to see that her phone was still there, alone on the bench. Could no one have picked it up for her? Only as she went to leave for a second time did she realise that her friends had not, in fact, left at all. Or at least, two of them hadn't. Paul and Kirsty were at the bar, but they were paying no attention to her, or to anything else for that matter. They seemed entirely focused on forcing their tongues down each other's throat. Oh, thought Chloe to herself, coldly. She watched them impassively for a second, before turning mechanically on the spot and walking out. Well, there we go. She was still processing what she's just seen when she walked straight into a man outside the building. "Oh, I'm sorry," she mumbled to the guy, who looked a little ruffled but otherwise didn't really give her a second glance. He did look familiar though. "Hey you're the referee!" she blurted out. He turned and smiled. He was indeed the same man who'd just overseen the two fights. "You like the show?" he asked, with the same big toothy grin. She recalled all the scathing things she'd said to Diana about it, all the things she'd been thinking while watching, the way it had driven her friends away from her. But when she opened her mouth to answer she found herself saying something completely different. "Are you still looking for wrestlers?" she said, before blinking slightly. The referee studied her closely, as though unsure of what she was asking. Even she wasn't sure what she'd just done. Where had that come from?! "Are you asking for a friend here, or..?" he said. Chloe took another steadying breath. What on Earth was she doing? "No, for me." The referee looked her up and down with a new scrutiny, but also with a new look in his eye that wasn't there before. It was as though he was really seeing her for the first time. Chloe blushed slightly, and cursed herself silently for doing so. Eventually the big grin returned. "Yeah, as it happens. We do what you might call 'amateur matches' Saturdays and Sundays. You come along tomorrow night, about seven o' clock - maybe we can get you in." Chloe's heart was racing. Somehow she hadn't really thought this was going to happen and suddenly it felt a bit too... real. "C-could I wear a mask?" she asked. This was met with laughter. "You nervous?" Chloe said nothing. Her face probably answered for her, but she also did not back down. "Sure. You bring a mask if you want, should be good for a laugh anyway. What's your name girl?" "Chloe. Chloe Bentham." "Ok Chloe, you can call me Jonas. If you haven't lost your nerve by tomorrow night, you'll want to be here, at seven PM. I'll tell the bouncer to let you through." Seven PM. She had a whole day to back out if she wanted to. She could do this. "I'll be there," she said, before scurrying away. "Oh and Chloe?" "Yes?" "You'll need a stage name." Saturday Chloe awoke unusually early the next morning, especially given how long it had taken her to fall asleep the night before. Almost as soon as she woke up, the same futile cycle of thoughts that she'd gone through over and over in her mind last night all returned. This is crazy, what was I thinking? But I'll be wearing a mask, it'll be fine. Yeah but I'll still be half naked - what if I lose my top like those other girls? Well, maybe I'm a little curious as to what that would feel like... But I'm not a slut! I don't do things like this! Yeah and where has that got me? Nowhere. But this isn't going to fix anything, or make Paul lose interest in Kirsty. This is crazy! What was I thinking? But I'll be wearing a mask... She got out of bed at noon. She had no texts from the others, or anyone at all. In all the turmoil of her strange decision to sign up for an underground sordid wrestling match, she had almost been able to forget what she'd seen a minute before that. But every so often, unbidden, the image of the two kissing in that darkly lit bar entered her mind, and her stomach would twinge. Maybe actually going through with this would be a welcome distraction. She had seven hours in which to decide. One thing was certain though, if she did go, she was definitely going to wear a mask. She couldn't risk anyone recognising her, no matter how unlikely that might be. And that was going to require shopping. And so, Saturday afternoon found her walking along the high street looking for, of all things, a wrestling mask. She looked in a few stores, but 'masks' were sort of a specialty item, and the only things she saw were just comical, like Hallowe'en stuff. It was only when she tried a few sports shops that she saw what she was looking for - a ski mask. Black, lycra, and with a single horizontal strip for her to see out of. It only looked a little ridiculous, which was probably the best she could hope for. Standing in line to pay, she tried to conjure up an image of herself actually wrestling in this thing, but she just couldn't. It all seemed so ludicrous! And yet, she'd just bought it. Even back home, with less than four hours to go, she still couldn't decide if this was a good idea, or insanity, or both. Mostly she was horrified by the thought of a crowd of drunken hecklers seeing her topless, even if a small part of her actually felt a guilty thrill at the idea. Whenever she realised that she was dwelling on such an image with pleasure, she would blush and return to the same cycle of useless thoughts - back and forth, back and forth... At five o' clock she took a shower, feeling oddly self-conscious of her own nakedness as she did so. When she emerged, she took a long, hard look at herself in the mirror, scrutinising her wet, naked body. She knew she wasn't unattractive - far from it in fact. She was slim, blonde, people had called her pretty. Her breasts were small, it was true, but they were perky as well. She looked at them now, glistening pink nipples and all, and tried to imagine a crowd of people seeing them. It was dizzying. And then there was... down below. She guessed she didn't have to worry about that as much, since the wrestlers only seemed to get topless, but still... she didn't exactly keep things as 'maintained' as she did when she was twenty. In a fit of paranoia, she decided to trim back what little bush had built up. It was then, mid-way through shaving her vagina, that she realised she must have made up her mind. Why not try it, just the once? She was half expecting the bouncer to laugh her away when she turned up at seven o' clock, jittery and softly spoken, but he just smiled meaningfully and let her pass. She had no idea where she was going - Jonas hadn't really said - so she headed for the bar again. It seemed to be empty, until... "Chloe! I didn't think you were gonna show!" Jonas was sat in the corner, beer in front of him, chatting to a patron. He said something to the guy, shook his hand, and then beckoned Chloe over as the man headed for the bar. She took the vacated seat, perched stiffly on the edge. "Nervous?" "No! I mean, well, yes," she squeaked. Jonas laughed, a deep throaty laugh. "Don't be! You look wonderful," he said. Chloe relaxed only a little. She had been so paranoid about what to wear, and whether she was wearing too much makeup or not. Which, she had to admit, was laughable. No one was going to be looking at her makeup and she certainly wouldn't be wearing the smart outfit that she'd decided to wear tonight. "Can I still weak my mask?" she asked. This was the main thing. She'd managed to convince herself to try this, only as long as she could be anonymous. Jonas asked to see it, and she produced it from her bag. She'd tried it on at home, and it fit well. She'd even managed to cut a little hole at the top, so she could have a sort of pony-tail emanating from it. Her sleek blonde hair was one of the few things she was quite proud of. Jonas laughed again when he saw it, but said it was fine. "Did you come up with a name then?" he asked. Chloe turned red. How stupid! She hadn't even thought about a name. "Errm... I guess..." but it was no use, she couldn't come up with one on the spot. Jonas seemed to understand. "Slipped your mind huh? How about 'The Masked Avenger?'" "The Masked Avenger?" she repeated incredulously. She couldn't imagine anything cheesier. "Isn't that a little... melodramatic?" "Trust me, the audience love shit like that. They're gonna love you!" Chloe grinned despite herself. Maybe this was going to be OK. Then Jonas got to the point - the waiver. Chloe had to sign a document saying that she consented to be in the ring, she consented to whatever might happen there, that the club wasn't liable for anything... that sort of thing. It also mentioned the prize... "Five hundred dollars?" she said, astounded. "I get five hundred dollars if I win?" She honestly hadn't even thought about any money. Did this make it better or worse? Obviously five hundred dollars was five hundred dollars, but didn't this make her sort of... a stripper? It was a bit late to start being prissy about things like that. "Standard prize money for an amateur match," Jonas said, as Chloe scribbled her signature everywhere she was asked to. "Now come on, I'll show you to the changing room and take you through how it works." It was actually pretty simple, it seemed. Two girls go into the ring - two amateurs in tonight's case, girls who hadn't done it before. The ring would be slippery and lubricated. The first person to get the other girl to tap out, or say she gives in, wins. No physical injuring was allowed, but everything else was fair game. What could go wrong? Chloe had never been a violent person. When she got angry, she usually just stayed frustrated for a day, or ranted to a friend, but never violent. And now she realised that she'd been so caught up in worries about managing to keep her clothes on, that she hadn't even given thought to the idea that she also had a wrestling match to win. She didn't know anything about wrestling! What would her opponent be like? That question was answered soon enough. Jonas led her not out to the seats that she had sat at the night before, but around that whole enormous room to a makeshift changing room. It wasn't exactly the standard you'd get in a gym - it looked old and worn, even for a room that must surely have been right in the bowels of the club. But, it did at least have a set of metal lockers, and a door that appeared to lead to some showers. Sitting at the opposite end of the room, already dressed in the tiny lycra T-shirt and shorts she'd seen yesterday, was another girl. "Hey," she said, looking up from her phone almost bored. She looked to be a tall and lanky girl, probably around Chloe's own age, mid-twenties or so. She had very pale skin, natural red hair that she'd tied back, and lazy green eyes. This was going to be her opponent. Weekend Wrestling "Chloe, this is Lara. Lara, Chloe. You'll be putting on our first show of the night together!" he said with relish, clasping his hands. There was a slightly awkward silence. Chloe smiled at Lara, but said nothing. Her stomach felt very fluttery now - Lara was thin, but also tall and kind of wiry. Was winning even feasible? "Well I'll leave you girls to chat. Chloe I've left your outfit in the locker at the far end, the one with a key in it. I hope you don't mind but I made an educated guess on your measurements. I've gotten pretty good at that!" Chloe pretended she didn't mind. "When you're ready girls, you can wait out in the entrance corridor if you like - it's a bit more exciting that a changing room. And remember - just the T-shirt and shorts, nothing else!" Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but Jonas headed her off. "Yes Chloe, the mask is fine too. See you out there," he said, and with one last toothy grin, departed. "You're wearing a mask?" asked Lara tonelessly. It was hard to tell if she was being scathing or curious. "Yeah," said Chloe, shuffling her feet. The girl looked back at her phone. That seemed to be the end of that conversation then. She made her way over to the locker Jonas had indicated. Sure enough, on a wire hanger inside was a white T-shirt and pink set of shorts. Hung up like that they seemed even tinier. "Well, I'm gonna wait out in the corridor," said Lara with a sigh. Chloe, who had secretly been dreading trying to make awkward small talk (and the even more awkward inevitable silence) for the next forty minutes, was only too glad to be left alone in the changing room. She mumbled a goodbye, and turned back to her outfit. Well, she'd better get to it. She pulled off her top, and unclasped her bra, looking around sheepishly as she did so. It seemed stupid to be worrying about seen here of all places, but she was feeling very aware of her own nakedness at the moment - just as she had in the shower. She quickly pulled on the T-shirt. True enough, Jonas had indeed guessed the size well enough. It might not have made her breasts look any bigger, but it was very tight-fitting, and left her navel exposed. She supposed that was intentional. Even quicker, she slipped out of her jeans and panties, and slid the shorts on. They barely covered her upper thighs, and might as well have been bikini bottoms. She had considered leaving her panties on, but Jonas had been quite clear about the clothing rules. She tucked her clothes away in the locker, and examined herself in the mirror one last time. Here she was, wearing the same slutty outfit she'd been so judgemental of last night. She had to admit though, it made her look pretty hot. The tight-fitting nature of the tiny outfit really showed everything off quite flatteringly - her butt looked more toned than it ever had before, and even her chest looked noticeable in this T-shirt. She suddenly felt the strangest urge to giggle. But then she was faced with the prospect of leaving the safety of the changing room, and the awful nerves came back. She sat down. She had half an hour after all, she could have a quick rest here. It would probably help her performance. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. She couldn't put this off any longer. Five minutes until she was meant to be walking out into the ring. Oh God, this was it. Mask on, pony-tail protruding, time to go. She took a deep breath to steady herself, took two more, then set off for the entrance corridor that Jonas had told her about. As soon as she left the changing room she could hear it again - that low, rumbling din of lots of people being heavily muffled. Every step she took, every corner she turned, it grew and grew and grew until she thought she was going to be physically sick. The floor felt very hard and cold against her bare feet, which somehow made her feel all the more exposed. She was on the point of turning back when all of a sudden, Jonas and Lara were there before her, and the entrance to the ring was just beyond them. "Cutting it a bit fine Chloe," said Jonas, speaking loudly over the din of the audience. He looked less calm now than he had when it was just the two of them. She supposed he must get a little nervous too, but she had exactly zero space in her mind to worry about his nerves right now. Lara watched her hurry toward them with apparent disinterest. "Are you both ready?" he asked. They both nodded. Chloe sneaked a glance at her opponent. She still seemed calmer than Chloe did, though even she was eyeing the large crowd somewhat ominously now that they were here, and wasn't looking her way at all. "OK, come out on my cue," he said, and stepped into the ring. More shouts and cheers greeted him - he was obviously very popular with the regulars. Chloe wasn't really listening to what he was saying. A lot of it was lost to the roar of the crowd anyway, but even when it wasn't she found she couldn't really focus. She didn't even hear the cue - it was only when Lara suddenly started bounding out onto the ring that she realised it was time. She followed Lara unthinkingly, trying to catch up. The roar was immediate and completely overwhelming. She could feel every set of eyes in the room latch onto her, looking through her as though she were already naked. She had to fight a very real urge to cover up with her arms. That would probably be an embarrassing start. Even more embarrassing would be to slip, which she now thought was a very real possibility. The surface of the mat was soft and padded, but it was also absolutely lathered in some kind of lubricant - something like baby oil. It felt strange between her toes, and she focused hard on keeping her balance. "Two newbies! Two prime slices of fresh meat! I give you... THE LIONESS..." here he grabbed Lara's arm and lifted it into the air, to fresh cheers, "...aaaand THE MASKED AVENGER!" Chloe's arm was thrust into the air, and she couldn't help it, she blushed. She knew no one could see through the mask, but still, embarrassing. For the first time the whole room was cheering and shouting and whistling at her and her alone. "One round, winner takes all, GO!" There was a deafening whistle blast that briefly drowned out all else, before the shouts and catcalled returned. Chloe was off balance straight away - she'd expected a bit more beforehand but all of a sudden it had just... started. What should she do? What could she do? How had she got into this mess? Lara showed no such indecision. She was already pacing Chloe, watching her intently with an unfriendly, determined stare. As far as she was concerned, Chloe must have been nothing more than a barrier between her and five hundred dollars. Chloe backed away to the opposite end, deciding to mimic Lara's circling motion. She tried to ignore the crowd, but that was laughably impossible. Every so often she would make out a single sentence that someone shouted down to them, like "show us them titties Lioness!" or "why don't you lose that mask, sweet cheeks!" Chloe was distracted by one such comment when Lara made her move, lunging across the centre of the ring toward her. Chloe jumped, so alarmed and jittery that she lost her footing and slipped in the oil before Lara even got to her, landing face first on the padded mat floor. This actually posed a slight problem for Lara, who ended up barrelling over her slightly and stumbling herself. Chloe crawled desperately away, all thoughts of counter-attack gone from her mind. She just had to crawl away and she'd be fine. Lara was in no such mood. As soon as she had recovered she dived again, landing on Chloe's back and trying to pin her down. Chloe's heart almost leaped out of her chest, and struggled savagely. Lara loosened her grip for a second and Chloe was able to dart away to the far end of the ring, breathing heavily. In the heat of the moment, in all the adrenaline, the crowd had almost disappeared from her mind, but now they were back and it was obvious they'd sensed weakness. The jeers and catcalls were unmistakable directed at her now. "What's the matter small-fry? You scared of a little lion?" "You gonna get that cute little ass handed to you blondie!" There was no blocking that out. Was she really being so pathetic? Lara apparently sensed weakness too. With a self-satisfied grin, she ran at Chloe. This time Chloe tried to withstand it and grapple with her, but Lara was very strong, it turned out. They went down together, Chloe pinned beneath the fiery redhead. They tumbled and rolled around, Chloe resisting furiously and just barely avoiding being trapped in a permanent hold by Lara. Her whole body felt like it was dripping with the oily substance now - it must be glistening - but once again the heat of the struggle was the only thing that blocked out the crowd's voices. At one point she even managed to get on top of Lara. But this minor victory was short-lived. Instead of pushing her off her, Lara instead grabbed the hem of Chloe's flimsy white T-shirt, and pulled it apart with all her strength. It stood no chance. The T-shirt ripped completely in half and within two seconds it was nothing more than two shreds of fabric in Lara's hands. No no no no no! thought Chloe desperately. Acting on instinct she brought her arms up to cover her naked chest, but everyone had already seen it. The room was filled with raucous catcalls and jeers. Lara took the opportunity to push Chloe off her, but still Chloe didn't move her arms. All she could think of was that hundreds of strangers had just seen her naked breasts, and she couldn't process anything else but that, and the crowd's lecherous comments. They mustn't see! They mustn't look! Why had she agreed to this? Why did she think she would enjoy this? She saw Lara's next attack barely in time, but she could only jump to the side of it. Again and again, she could do nothing but scurry backwards around the ring, avoiding Lara's lazy attempts to grab her by the narrowest of margins. She had no plan whatsoever. Even the crowd were getting frustrated. "Come on slut, show us them cute little titties!" Before she lost her mind completely, she slipped and fell in the oil, and this time Lara couldn't fail. She pounced on Chloe, and Chloe could only slide backwards a few feet so that instead of landing on top of her completely she grabbed her legs, preventing her from retreating further. It was over, any second now she'd have to tap out. What a relief... But Lara wasn't after a submission. Deprived of the chance to pin down Chloe's upper body, she went for the only thing in reach. She lunged for Chloe's shorts. Chloe's mind seemed to go blank, and time slowed down to a crawl as the awfulness of what was about to happen detonated in her brain. Lara had grabbed the hem of her shorts. She was pulling at them. No, no this couldn't happen! The shorts were sliding down, her pelvic bone was exposed. No! Girls didn't get completely naked in this! Before she even knew what she was doing, she grabbed Lara's wrist with animal speed and yanked it away, pushing her away with such a force that she surprised even herself. Then, the adrenaline-fuelled mist cleared and she was on her feet. The crowd was going wild, and it took a few seconds for Chloe to realise that there was nothing covering her boobs anymore, hence the audience's jubilation. Her face flushed, but no longer with gut wrenching embarrassment. This was something else, something exhilarating. Suddenly she didn't want them to be covered. They're all cheering for me... They like what they see. It was eerily uplifting to be cheered on by so many people, to have her half-naked body exposed to the scrutiny of so many and to hear their roars of approval. She couldn't help it, she smiled to herself. Then she remembered how close to complete humiliation she had almost come, and the danger she was still in. She looked down at her shorts, which were still uncomfortably far down and almost certainly showing her butt crack. She pulled them up. Had she been so naïve to think that there was some sacred rule against fully stripping your opponent, when everything else was fair game? Based on two matches she saw? Lara was getting to her feet again too. She looked annoyed at having been denied her humiliation, and was no doubt planning some move to just get this over with. But the audience's cheers were still echoing though Chloe's head, and she was filled with a sudden rash confidence. She couldn't let Lara carry on taking the initiative. Lara was completely unprepared for Chloe's attack and so, feeble as it was, she went down hard. Chloe tried to pin down her arms, but Lara pushed her off with ease. She really was strong. Before she could stand, Chloe attacked again, grabbing her waist and twisting her around. Lara managed to keep her balance, but only just. The crowd's shouts were still omnipresent, but they weren't so terrifying anymore. Every time she ran her breasts bounced a little, serving as a constant reminder that everyone could see them and which was now giving her a real thrill. Why not try something really bold? Lara had her back to her as she once again tried to get her balance back, and this time Chloe didn't just charge her, she jumped on her opponent. Small, lightweight and fast, Chloe launched herself onto Lara's back and clung to her shoulders. "Wha-" gasped Lara, confidence evaporating at this sudden attack from behind. She remained upright - Chloe was light and she was strong after all - but she couldn't shake off Chloe's grip. Chloe could feel herself slipping nonetheless, but she still had one last trick. As she finally fell backwards off of Lara, she grabbed her opponent's T-shirt and pulled it down with her. At first it seemed it would drag Lara down with her, but then came the familiar tearing sound and by the time Chloe landed on her back, a very shocked Lara was staggering forward with her large, pale breasts bouncing free in front of the audience. Chloe had never been especially attracted to girls, but there was something extremely thrilling about seeing Lara's fleshy white boobs and dark pink nipples exposed. The usual catcalls and jeers roared down from the audience, this time at Lara. She didn't look mortified like Chloe, or even thrilled as Chloe had eventually been. She looked furious. Gone was the casual indifference to her pushover opponent. She looked ready to kill. Chloe was ready too. She stayed where she was when her topless opponent dived down to her, and rolled to the side at the very last minute, letting Lara slide forward into the oil. With agile speed, she was able to get around and grab her arms while she was still face down, lifting them into the air to hold Lara in place - just as she had seen yesterday. Lara struggled and cursed, but eventually the impossible truth dawned on Chloe - she'd actually pinned down Lara properly, she might actually do this. "Do you give up?" she shouted, her voice infused with her new-found confidence. "Like shit I do, bitch," she heard Lara shout back. Well, so be it. All she could think of right then was how that woman from yesterday, The Wolf, had spanked her opponent into submission. Yesterday it had seemed horrific, but right now it seemed just the right amount of naughty. She grinned as she brought her hand up, relishing in the delighted anticipation of the audience. But then another image came to her - that of Lara trying to pull down Chloe's shorts with that satisfied grin... The crowd gave their loudest roars yet, cheering and shouting lewd comments down at them. Even Lara gave an astonished gasp. Chloe had slid Lara's shorts down with her left hand, just enough to expose Lara's milky white butt cheeks to everyone in the audience. And then she brought her hand down to slap them. "Now do you give in?" asked Chloe. Smack. Smack. Smack. Rhythmically and with some force, Chloe's hand slapped Lara's buttocks, making them jiggle for the grateful audience. Lara refused and refused, and only when her ass cheeks were red from the spanking did she finally tap out. Pure, unfettered elation washed over her. She'd done it! She'd actually won! She didn't notice Jonas leaping back into the ring to declare her the winner, she barely noticed Lara getting sullenly to her feet and pulling her shorts back up, or when she slunk off out of the ring. She didn't even care that her boobs were bouncing up and down as she jumped for joy in front of everyone. The rush only slightly diminished once she too had returned backstage. The adoration of her crowd was still playing on a loop in her head even if she wasn't physically in front of them. It didn't even occur to her to hide her naked breasts from view. Never had she experienced such a thrill as this. If she was being totally honest, it was more than just a thrill - she'd never been so turned on by anything before. The naughtiness, the decadence, everything that had horrified her about this yesterday - now she had experienced it for herself, all those things were what attracted her to it. She reached the changing room just as Lara was leaving. She was stood in the doorway, fully dressed, as Chloe came to open it. There was a brief, tense silence. "Congratulations," she mumbled sullenly, before looking away. Chloe tried to smile conciliatory, but Lara just pushed past her and left without responding. Well, she had come very close to winning... Some of the madness faded somewhat as she put her clothes back on, and removed the mask. She was Chloe the runner again now, not 'The Masked Avenger.' But she was still wearing the same big grin when Jonas strode into the room five minutes later. "How was I?" she asked, beaming. Jonas was grinning too. "Girl, you really pulled something outta nowhere. You're a natural!" He pulled something out of his pocket, a slip of paper, and handed it to her. Chloe looked down, confused for a moment. It took her a few seconds to work out why he was handing her a cheque. "I forgot about this!" she said, to Jonas's surprise. She could have burst. On top of everything else, she got to go home with five hundred dollars! "Can I do this again? Do you have any more amateur matches soon?" she blurted out. She supposed she'd know this was what she wanted ever since she was declared the winner. "Got the itch huh?" asked Jonas, not hiding how pleased he was. "As a matter of fact we have one tomorrow - two amateurs versus one old pro. It's usually a pretty good time. You up for that?" "Yes!" said Chloe. She didn't even have to think about it. Sunday Chloe awoke the next day, dimly aware that something was making a noise. She groaned, for a few seconds aware that there was something big she had forgotten. Then the events of the previous night came rushing back, and she smiled guiltily. Something was still making a noise. It was her phone, still lying in the middle of the floor where she'd left it last night as she's made her way to bed, exhausted. "Hello?" she murmured, withdrawing back under the covers. It was far too early for a Sunday. She could make out Diana's excitable voice on the other end. "Hey Chlo! I didn't get a chance to talk to you at the end of the wrestling." Chloe sat bolt upright, suddenly wide awake. "What? What do you mean?" "On Friday? You left so suddenly..." "Oh. Friday, right," said Chloe. Of course she'd meant Friday. She must be still tired, for some reason she'd been filled with of a vision of Diana sneaking in to watch Chloe's performance last night. How mortifying. "So - what did you think?"