Bright lights of the local gym cast a stark glow upon the wrestling mats. The place was unusually quiet tonight, reserved for a different kind of workout. Two thirty-nine-year-old women face each other. Emily swings her blonde ponytail slightly as she bounces on the balls of her feet. Alexandra’s dark shoulder length hair hangs loose. Both women wear form-fitting athletic gear that showcase their dedication – every muscle defined, their midriffs exposed to display taut, well-conditioned abdominal muscles. Emily VanCamp is about an inch taller than her gym pal Alex Daddario, but they are otherwise similar in build. Alex has slimmed down rather dramatically in the last few years. Nice boobs still, but not the traffic stoppers from 10 years ago. Emily remains fit and shapely with wider hips than the brunette and killer legs still.
It turns out that both women are CrossFit enthusiasts at this gym. They are not close, but friendly enough. And they are fiercely competitive. Tonight is a challenge born of a somewhat heated banter and a shared desire to push their limits.
"Ten minutes," Alex stated, her voice calm. "Most submissions wins. No strikes, obviously. Tap out, it’s a point. Got it?"
Emily’s eyes narrow, a glint in her eye. "Got it. May the best gal win… or at least the one who can hold her breath longer," Emily teased, lifting her boobs and squeezing them together just a bit. What—a subtle threat?
A fitness trainer at the gym, Gail, stands by with a stopwatch, looking a little nervous but mostly amused. "Alright, ladies. On three. One… two… three!"
The whistle blows, sharp and sudden.
Neither woman lunges. They circle, eyes locked, reading each other’s subtle shifts in balance. Alex moves with confident power, her weight low. She relishes combat. Long legged Emily seems to glide gracefully, seeking an opening.
Emily made the first move, dropping low and shooting for a single-leg takedown. She catches a leg but fails to drop her target. Their legs intertwine as they tangle on the feet, grabbing, shoving, twisting. Alex wraps her arms around Emily and pushes hard. Oh, she also grabs that ponytail and yanks. Emily yelps. They tumble to the mat but quickly are back up on their feet.
“So hair pulling is alowed?” Emily queries.
“Why not, unless you can’t take it” Alex retorts.
They circle again. Each throws an arm around the other’s head. Hips bang together, they tip forward and back, feet jockey for position as they struggle. For a solid minute, it is a rotating battle of strength and leverage. Emily appears to enjoy the dance. Alex is all business, almost snarling. Her face betrays her frustration as Emily counters her moves. This is tiring for both, but only Alex is breathing hard at this point.
Emily nearly spins the brunette to the mat, but Alex recovers and is quickly back up on her feet. They remain locked together. Emily starts to spin Alexandra around in faster and faster tight circles.
“You are going down, you hair-pulling brat,” Emily jeers as she continues to spin Alex around.
“Do you think you can toy with me,” Alex spits back.
Alex finally gets her feet braced enough to stop being spun around. She shunts her weight to the side, and then, with a sudden burst of energy, she uses Emily’s momentum against her. Emily finds herself knocked to her back. Alex immediately drops a knee heavily on the blonde’s belly. Her hand reaches out to grab VanCamp by the throat.
"Damn!" Emily grunts, gasping as she pushes against Alex’s knee and claws at the hand on her throat. “You’re such a cheating bitch.”
Alex, seeing an opening, the brunette pulls Emily off the mat and onto her knees as she snakes an arm around her neck, going for a head-and-arm choke. Alex, also on her knees, leans in hard on her foe. Emily’s eyes tear up. She arches her back, desperately trying to create space, her obliques screaming in protest. Her hands claw at Alex’s wrist but to no avail. Just as the pressure became truly unbearable, Emily pops a fist into Daddario’s belly, then powers herself up and pushes Daddario away. The blonde is winded but not broken.
Three minutes had evaporated. No submissions yet.
They re-engaged, more aggressively this time. The initial caution gives way to a fierce determination. Emily takes the fight to the ground. She feigns a level change, then explodes forward, driving Alex backward. Alex stumbles, and Emily capitalizes, throwing her body fully on top of Alex. Emily’s ankles lock up her opponent’s legs. Alex tries to pull her legs free, but Emily wins that battle. The blonde pumps her shoulders down, driving Alex flat to the mat.
"Gotcha," Emily mutters.
But Alex was already bridging her narrow hips up, trying to roll Emily over. Emily holds tight, pressing her boobs down into Alex’s chest, trying to flatten her. The blonde spots an arm exposed and seizes it, quickly moving to isolate the limb, twisting hard at the wrist. Alex’s face contorts, her taut core muscles straining as she tries to pull her arm back and free her legs. The brunette bridges up hard, causing Emily to slip to the side. Before Alex can escape, Emily locks her legs around Alex’s torso while she twists the captured arm into a painful armbar.
“Give up or I’ll break it,” VanCamp commands.
Daddario finds herself out of options. The pain is too great. Alex let out a sharp gasp, her hand slapping the mat just once. Tap!
"Point!" Gale calls out, glancing at the stopwatch. "Four minutes, twenty seconds. Emily, one point!"
They reset, both breathing heavier now, a sheen of sweat on their foreheads. Alex gave a curt nod. Inside, she’s ready for murder.
"Good one. Punch me again and I’ll beat you like a drum and leave you for dead" Alex threatens.
The next exchange is more frenetic. Alex pushes the pace. She executes a double-leg takedown, driving low and hard. Emily tries to side-step, but Alex is on-target, hitting her fast and strong. The blonde hits the mat with a thud, Alex immediately trying to pass her guard. Emily, however, has a solid half-guard, her legs like steel, preventing Alex from advancing.
For almost two minutes, they battled in this dance of legs and hips. Alex tries to knee-slice through. Emily’s inner thighs burn as she clamps down. Alex attempts to step over, but Emily adjusts. The air is filled with grunts and soft squeak of skin on mat. Finally, Alex finds an angle. She postures up, then explodes through, passing Emily’s guard and quickly securing a brutal scarf. Alex sets her feet wide apart, tightens her grip on Emil’s neck and presses her head down close to Emily’s.
“I own you, bitch,” Alex hisses.
Emily struggles, trying to turn her head, but Alex’s grip is like iron. Alex then transitions, expertly sliding to Emily’s back, securing both hooks in. Emily knows what’s coming. Alex locks in a rear-naked choke. Emily defends as best she can, tucking her chin, trying to pull Alex’s arm away. But Alex is as strong as she is relentless, adjusting her grip, cinching it tighter. Emily fights with every fiber of her being, but the world begins to dim at the edges. With a desperate, choking sound, she taps out..
Tap! Tap!
"Point!" Gale yells, her voice rising in excitement. "Seven minutes, fifty seconds! Alex, one point! It's one-one!"
Less than two minutes remained. Both women are exhausted, their chests heaving, sweat dripping onto the mat. Their movements are now less fluid, more ragged, but the intensity is still palpable.
They stand, facing each other, not circling this time, but moving straight into action. Alex, sensing Emily is not fully recovered, bursts forward, attempting another takedown. Emily, anticipating, drops her weight and spins, throwing an elbow at Alex's head. The blonde spins around, trying to take Alex's back. Alex twists right around and they ended up in a scramble of limbs and torsos, both trying to gain the upper hand. Creating space, Alex slams both palms hard into Emily’s boobs, then backhands her across the face.
The clock read 8:45. Ninety seconds left.
Enraged, Emily lunges, securing an ankle. Alex hopped, maintaining balance, but Emily was persistent, driving forward. They tumble, Alex lands on top momentarily, but Emily has her leg isolated. She turns Alex onto her back as she works to secure a leg-lock. Alex grunts under the pressure, her face tightening as Emily stands up to apply more pain. The brunette fights to roll out, but Emily just twists harder on her leg. Emily leans in to apply still more pressure. Alex digs deep. She rips her leg free and kick Emily in the face as she escapes.
Emily is knocked down to her knees. Alex tries to stand, but her leg isn’t ready. She kneels as well. They face off their knees, panting, staring at each other.
Eighty-six seconds on the clock. They slam their bodies together, locking together in a clinch. Emily arms are tight and high around Alex, squeezing her hard enough to elicit a yelp from Alex, as tries to bull her down. Alex slips an arm up in between Emily’s grip and slams her palm up, jarring Emily’s face. As the blonde’s grip loosens, Alex grabs hold of her ponytail and jerks her head back. Daddario slams her forearm across Emily’s boobs.
“You bitch,” Emily shouts.
The match` timer beeps, sharp and final.
Both women freeze, still locked in a clinch, their boobs squashed together, chests heaving. Gale lowered the stopwatch. "Time!" she announces, a wide grin spreading across her face.
"One-one! A draw!"
Glaring at each other, they break apart slowly. Emily leans forward, hands on her knees, taking deep gulps of air. Alex does the same, her blonde ponytail plastered to her neck. After a moment, Alex straightens up, her eye shooting daggers at Emily.
That was… intense," Emily murmurs, “I need more time to finish you off,” she pants.
"You're a bitch Emily, I know that now" Alex counters “Thought I had you with that choke-- next time I’ll choke you out permanently,” she hisses.
They stand there for a moment, two haggard, fit, agile and determined women, utterly spent but knowing that their competition is nowhere near done.
"Rematch?" Alex askes “but no time-limit or sissy rules,” she states, with a challenge in her voice.
Emily wipes sweat from her brow. "Wouldn't miss it. I will so own your skank ass."
