[Janine teaches Rachel how to swim. And, they both begin to learn how to wrestle.]
My frustration with wrestling, or should I say lack of wrestling, began at about age 14, when I started shooting up in height. Although I didn't feel very intimidating, none of the girls I used to horse around with would have anything to do with me, as far as wrestling was concerned. By age 22, I finally stopped growing, my final height being about 6'1". I didn't really think this was too tall, but I just didn't have any luck at attracting any matches. Sure, I kept in good shape, but I certainly wasn't that strong and couldn't have looked it, either.
So, it seemed like endless frustration ahead. Plus, by now, I was out of practice, not that I ever knew that much about wrestling, anyway. The only persons interested in wrestling with me were guys, and that isn't what they really wanted to do, anyway. So, that didn't work out either.
Therefore, I was practically a complete rookie by the time I met Janine. I had joined the nearby “Y” so that I had a place to jog during the winter. But after a while, jogging seemed a bit boring, and swimming seemed like another good way to exercise. But, I was a ‘rock’ when it came to swimming, so I signed up for evening lessons as a beginner. As it turned out, Janine was a part-time swimming instructor at the Y, teaching adult beginning and intermediate swimming. And that is how we met.
From the moment I walked into the pool area for my first lesson, I realized that Janine could be a great wrestling opponent. She was nearly as tall as me, maybe an inch shorter at most, and about the same age and build. She had short, sandy blonde hair and a friendly smile. Plus, she was fit as a fiddle, with some obvious strength through the legs, probably from swimming. There was no way that I would intimidate Janine. In fact, I admit to being a little intimidated by her, which actually increased my interest in getting her to wrestle with me.
Not wanting to be too obvious, I took some time to befriend her. We went out for pizza a few times after lessons, and eventually went to a few parties together. By the time of my last ‘beginner’ swim lesson, we had become good friends. It was at this point that things finally got interesting.
Upon my graduation from swimming class as a ‘guppy’, we decided to celebrate by going to a local sports-bar. We were enjoying the food and a few beers, glancing at the wide screen TV from time to time. At one point, Janine noticed that pro-style wrestling was on the tube. I was horrified when she said that the sport was stupid, and “how could anyone do that?”
I couldn't believe it. Here was my ideal wrestling opponent bad mouthing the sport. I jumped in quickly and said, “You know that isn't the real sport of wrestling. That stuff is just male soap operas with too much violence. Real wrestling isn't about hurting your opponent. It's really just a contest to see who can use their skill, strength and stamina to defeat their opponent. And, it can be just for fun.”
I could see that Janine was taken aback by this, but she surprised me when she said, “You sound like you've done some wrestling… is that true?”
My heart skipped a beat, but all I could say was “Not really. I used to do a little when I was a kid, but nothing since then. But, it seems like it might be OK, if done just for fun. How about you? Have you ever wrestled?”
I think Janine was a little surprised that I would ask, but this was my best opening for getting my little secret out in the open. However, I was really disappointed when Janine replied “No I haven't ever done that.”
Unfortunately, the waiter appeared with the check, which interrupted this promising conversation - frustration again! We got up to leave without discussing it further, although Janine suddenly told me I was making great progress with swimming and really should sign up for intermediate lessons.
So, I did just that. And, it wasn't too long before Janine brought up the subject of wrestling and I realized that she must have had an ulterior motive for telling me to take more swimming lessons.
One evening, after the first intermediate swim lesson, Janine explained to me that she now had the added responsibility of clearing the building of people and locking up. She suggested that we go out for pizza, so, as usual, I hung around with her after swimming. As we wandered around to be sure that everyone had left, we entered the gym. As always, there was a large exercise mat in the middle area. I was quite surprised when Janine said, “That sure is a nice large mat. I bet it would be a great surface for a couple of women to wrestle on.”
I was a little startled, but recovered quickly, “I wasn't sure you were interested, so I didn't want to bother you about it any further.”
Janine responded “Well, I wasn't certain at first, but then I felt that wrestling was a fairly natural thing to do, and that it might be fun, too. Plus, I bet that it’s great exercise!”
I said, “I'm sure it is! You know what I find intriguing is the close-up competition against someone equally determined to beat me.”
“Yes, that does sound cool,” said Janine.
“So, are you up for a wrestling battle? Are we going to wrestle here tonight?”
“Not tonight, but how about next week after swimming?” said Janine. “That will give us a chance to talk it over and figure out the rules first.”
“Sounds fine”, I said, so we finished locking up and headed out for pizza.
After ordering, we started discussing the rules. Janine started by saying, “You know, I'm not sure how to make up the rules fairly. I'm only interested in wrestling now because of how you said it could be just for fun. I'm not interested in hurting anyone, or being hurt, either.”
“I totally agree.” I replied. “Let's make up the rules with that in mind. But, how do we decide upon rules fairly?”
“How about we take turns making up rules, and the other person has veto power?” Janine said excitedly. “That way neither of us gets an unfair advantage. Let's limit ourselves to two rules each tonight and only one more rule each on the night of the battle.”
“OK!” I said. “You go first since you’re the one to actually make the challenge.”
Janine replied, “OK. The first rule is that this is a fun style match. There will be no hitting, kicking, scratching, biting, and so forth.”
“I accept your first rule,” I said. “My first rule is that a person can win a round only by pin, with submission holds not allowed. And, a pin is holding the other person's shoulders down to the mat for a slow count of 10.”
“That's sounds good to me,” Janine said. “I can see you've been thinking about this. Now for my second rule,” she said nervously. “We’ll wrestle in our swimming suits. I think they will fit closely and comfortably, and not get in the way.”
I was a little surprised by this rule, although I could see the sense in it. But I also wondered what other alternatives Janine may have considered, growing a little uneasy with my thoughts. I shook it off.
“OK,” I said somewhat hesitantly. “The last rule for tonight is also in the spirit of a fun-style match. Standing up on one's feet is NOT allowed. Kneeling is as high up as a person is allowed. That way we don't have very far to fall.”
Janine replied, “That sounds OK for now, but I think that if we wrestle again sometime, I’d veto that rule.”
I could hardly believe it. Janine was already thinking about future wrestling matches. This was too good to be true. “Sure, we can figure it out then,” I replied excitedly.
We talked and laughed for a while longer about other things, but just before leaving the talk again turned to our upcoming ‘Wrestling Battle,’ as we now were calling it.
Janine said, “You know, one of the best things about this battle is that we are both rookies. I don't think either of us has an advantage. That makes it easier for me to accept the idea of wrestling, because I probably won't get creamed.”
“Don't worry, I'll cream you!” I laughed.
“Not likely!” Janine interrupted. “You'll be the one on bottom.”
“Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?” I replied trying to unnerve her a little. “But anyway, for me one of the most interesting things in this battle is that we are about the same height and weight. I think it will be a pretty fair contest from that standpoint.”
“But you're such a wimp!” she said. “I'll overwhelm you easily.”
“Not likely!” I interrupted this time. “I'll do the overwhelming.”
We laughed about it some more as we left. It was clear that Janine was looking forward to the ‘Wrestling Battle’. And, so was I. A week seemed like too far away.
I could barely contain my anticipation as the big day of the Wrestling Battle finally dawned. I flew through the day oblivious to all else. I daydreamed about how the battle would go, and spent a fair amount of time thinking about my final rule. And, I wondered quite a bit about what Janine would choose for her rule.
It was finally time for swimming and I eagerly walked over to the Y. I had my favorite 2-piece ‘Day- Glow’ orange swimsuit in my duffel bag. It would be just right. The suit was kind of skimpy and very form fitting. I told myself that I chose that suit because it stayed on very well, and not because it was kind of sexy. And, the suit would allow freedom of movement and not be any sort of hindrance.
I was quite surprised to walk out to the pool area and see Janine in a 2-piece suit, too. She had always worn 1-piece swimsuits in the past. The suit looked new, another sign she was taking the upcoming battle seriously. It was seriously purple, and even less modest than mine - cut high on the thighs, and a little more cleavage on top. She looked very confident, and I could see that she was psyched.
As I approached, Janine said mockingly, “Ready to be overwhelmed?”
I just replied, “Only if you're ready to be creamed.”
We just smiled and giggled a little. The lesson seemed to take forever, and clearing people out of the place seemed to take longer than ever. Finally everyone was gone and we had the place to ourselves. We went over to the gym and sat down on the mat to discuss the final rule each was to propose.
I said, “You know, I have been nervous as a cat waiting for today. I think it will be great fun.”
Janine replied, “Me too, and that really surprises me since as little as 2 weeks ago, the thought of wrestling, let alone wrestling with a good girlfriend, had never occurred to me. I think it will be both hard and easy to wrestle against you. I mean you are my friend so it will be hard to attack, but at the same time I am comfortable with you, too.”
“I know what you mean,” I answered. “But let’s not waste any more time. What is your last rule?”
Janine said, “I have another rule designed to add some spice to the match, while helping to prevent injuries. I propose that pins are allowed only if the person's shoulders are on the mat. The rest of you can be off of the mat, but both shoulders must be on the mat to count. Plus, anytime a person's shoulders leave the mat, we break and re-start in the middle area.”
I was impressed with the amount of thought behind the rule, and, also a little bewildered about Janine's reasoning behind it. But it seemed OK so I replied, “That will be fine.” I had given a lot of thought to my rule, as well, so I said, “My rule is that we will wrestle for a set amount of time with short breaks between rounds. The person with the most pins at the end of the time limit wins. If a round is in progress at the end of the time limit, the round will continue until the pin.” I figured that one of us would probably dominate the other and that a tie match was unlikely.
Janine replied, “How long did you want to wrestle and will there be any rest time between rounds?”
“How about 30 minutes of total time and a 1 minute rest between rounds?” I suggested.
“I'll accept the 30 minutes total, but with 30 second rests,” replied Janine.
I agreed and we got up on our knees, moved to the center of the mat and faced each other. I definitely had Goosebumps, and I think Janine did too. IT was actually going to happen.
Chapter 5 - The Wrestling Battle (Finally!)
Janine looked great across from me as we sized each other up. We were both still wet from swimming and our suits clung snugly against our bodies. I’ll admit Janine looked pretty strong and determined, but she was wearing this big, friendly smile. I knew then that everything would be fine. I noted that the time on the wall clock was 10:30pm and told Janine that the match would be over at 11:00.
[10:30] On our knees, we circled each other on the mat for a little while, unsure how to begin. Our wet swimsuits left a trail on the mat as we moved. I laughed a bit and said, “We really are rookies - can’t even get the match going. Why don’t we start by locking our hands together?”
Janine agreed and we clasped our hands together and started to push at each other to gain position. I seemed to be stronger here and forced her down on the mat. I assumed that I could just roll on top of her and pin her. But she continued the roll and then some. We were rolling around like a couple of schoolgirls, giggling all the while, but serious about winning nevertheless. I managed to halt one of the rolls and climbed onto Janine’s back. I knew I had to roll her over onto her back, but she was squirming toward the edge of the mat. It was then that I figured out why she had made her final rule. I taunted her a little, “It looks like I’m overwhelming you, doesn’t it.”
[10:34] She responded by squirming all the more saying, “No way, you haven’t got me yet.”
However, her renewed squirming allowed me to finally flip her over and get on top of her. I have to admit it felt great to be holding her down. I thought I would win easily now. I was lying on top of her with my legs out to the side so she couldn’t roll me over. I was struggling with her for control of her arms, but she wasn’t going to give in easily.
[10:36] I finally got hold of Janine’s hands and trapped them over her head. However, we were only a couple feet from the edge of the mat by this time, and Janine kept squirming. She was really hard to control, and a 10 second pin seemed out of the question. So, I managed to slide up a little bit on her so that I was sitting on her, straddling her stomach. However, when I did, Janine managed to slide closer to the edge of the mat. Nevertheless, I had her pinned beneath me and it felt very satisfying. I counted, “1... 2... 3... 4... 5... ” She wriggled a bit, getting her shoulder up and moving towards the mat edge a little more. I had to restart the count, “1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... ” Janine got her left shoulder up again. I had no way to keep her in place, plus she had too much energy. Janine soon had us over the edge of the mat and said with a smirk, “Too bad - have to break and start again. Maybe I’ll get you down this time.”
That made me mad and I said, “No way! You’re going down for the 10 count this time.” The way she eyed me, I don’t think she agreed.
I don’t think either of us was a bit tired at this point, as we moved back onto the mat. Clearly, we were a couple of novices, but it was still fun and exciting. I noticed the water ‘tracing’ from our wet swimsuits on the mat. Janine pointed it out, too, saying excitedly, “This is great. It’s like a recording of our battle.”
I replied, “Yeah, here’s where I got on top of you.”
Then Janine said, “And this is where I wriggled us off of the mat.”
[10:39] We moved back towards the middle of the mat, and I made certain we were exactly in the center for the restart. I didn’t want Janine escaping again, if I could help it. Before starting, I said, “I’m really having fun. How about you?”
Janine replied quickly, “Me too. Let’s start!” This time we quickly clasped our hands together and began struggling for dominance. Janine used her arm strength to force my hands downward. She was stronger than me! I panicked and she forced me down saying, “I guess its time to cream you.”
[10:41] This time it was me on bottom and I wasn’t sure I liked it very much. Janine just kept smiling at me, enjoying the view from on top of me. She was now the one sitting on MY stomach. All of a sudden, it was “1... 2... 3... 4”, but I managed to roll a shoulder up and over so that I now faced the mat. But Janine was still on top of me, and very determined.
[10:44] I managed to roll quickly to the side and she fell off of me. I quickly pounced on her and we were locked face-to-face rolling all around again. I’m not sure what I liked better - the rolling around or the smile of pure joy on Janine’s face. I think I must have looked the same to her, as I was smiling, and giggling, too.
[10:47] I finally was able to hold her down, but we were near the edge of the mat again. I decided to go for it anyway and managed to straddle her stomach once again. I was determined not to let her squirm away, “1… 2… 3...”. “Not even a count of 4”, I muttered to myself as she squirmed and rolled her way off of the mat.
[10:50] Janine smirked again and said as we got up, “I know this isn’t a rest time, but how about we take a one minute break?”
I was now tiring, too, and countered with, “Let’s just do 30 seconds.”
Janine agreed and we moved onto the center mat area for a short rest. She said, “I sure know how to make up rules.”
I replied, “There’s no way I’ll let you have this ‘shoulders off the mat’ rule again!! I’ve had you cornered twice and you got away both times!”
Then Janine said, “Does that mean you want to wrestle again sometime?” But before I could answer, Janine continued, “Don’t forget that I had you cornered once and you got away, too. Clearly we are missing something here. Neither of us is able to pin the other. We’re a hapless pair at wrestling!” However, I could see she was thinking something over, or at least trying to figure something out.
[10:51] The rest time lapsed to 1 minute, but I don’t think either of us cared. We restarted with our usual handclasp. Big mistake!! I was too tired to remember how poorly that had worked last time. Janine quickly got me down and was trying to climb on top. I managed to capture her left leg between my legs and hold her off for a while. But I was still in a bad spot. Janine grinned at me as if she were really enjoying my predicament. Then I realized that I was enjoying it, too, and we maintained this hold for a while to gather our breath.
[10:56] After a while, I managed to roll her off, or so I thought. As I rolled over her, Janine continued to roll so she was now fully on top of me. I tried to continue to roll further, but she was able to stop. I was far worse off now because I no longer had control of her leg. I started bucking, trying to get her off of me. But this just allowed her an opening to slide up and straddle my waist. She managed to grab both of my hands with hers, which she had failed to do the first time she had me down.
[10:57] I was confident I could still roll out of this. I wouldn’t let her pin me! But then she shifted position, and moved her waist forward so she was now sitting astride my breasts with her knees over my shoulders! And, Janine was wearing a big grin. I think she figured it out before I did. I was helpless in this position, especially because she still controlled my arms. I tried to arch my back and flip her off, but she just rode on top of me as confident as can be. I tried twisting and turning whenever she started counting, but all I did was reset the count. And now, I was getting tired from all the squirming, and she sat there on top of me not working hard at all to control me. I looked up at Janine, her thighs now quite close to my face, not sure about the sensation I was feeling. It was very exciting and I kind of liked it more than I wanted to admit. Janine looked very, very dominant up there on top of me, holding me down!
I looked at the wall clock and decided that I was not going to escape this new hold of Janine’s. Even when time ran out, she would just stay on top of me until she got the ten-count. I decided it would be better to give up on this round, and not wear myself out. There was still time to start another round. Janine counted, “1... 2... 3... ...8... 9... 10. The winner of the first round is Janine by pin over Rachel!!”
[10:59] I let her have her fun and didn’t grumble. After all, she had discovered this devastating hold and I had had no chance of escape. Besides, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. I could now use the same hold on her. However, I was really tired and wasn’t sure how I would do in the next round. Unfortunately, Janine looked fresh, like she could do this indefinitely. So, I said, “I see we have enough time to start another round. I had no idea that a wrestling round could last that long. I know we agreed to 30 second rests, but how about a 1 minute rest, even though that puts us past the quitting time?”
Janine replied, “That’s fine with me, even a little longer is OK. I mean it’s a lot of fun and I wouldn’t want to quit just yet.”
Thank goodness, I thought. Then, I said, “I think that last round was more fun for you than it was for me. But it was well fought and you beat me fairly. Wherever did you learn that devastating pin?”
Janine answered, “I don’t know. During the last rest break, I was thinking about the problem we were having with pins, and I just figured it out. I wasn’t sure at the time whether that type of pin would work, but you saw the results. Once I tried it, it seemed pretty natural. I bet this type of pin is used a lot.”
As I planned my revenge, all I could say was, “Yes, I bet it is.” We continued talking about the previous round as we rested. I told her, “You have no idea what it’s like to be caught in a hold like that. I got such a helpless feeling, and you looked so dominant sitting on top of me looking down!”
Janine seemed to be thinking about it, and I’m sure she got the idea. She looked very confident, maybe too confident.
I finally started feeling more energetic and said, “I’m rested now. Ready for round 2?”
[11:04] We got to our knees and again faced each other. I was determined to win this round. I couldn’t let her skunk me 2-0. Janine said, “No more rest periods, OK? We go until one of us wins the round.”
I agreed. We moved toward each other, reaching out for our usual handclasp. But this time, I remembered what had happened before and had a new plan. At the last second, I ducked under the handclasp and clamped Janine in a bear hug. She managed to clamp a bear hug on me as well, but not as strongly. Here we were, face-to-face on our knees struggling for control. I have to admit it felt so good that I didn’t want to throw her down, but I had to if I wanted to win. She landed hard on her back with me on top of her. I heard her yelp a little bit as we landed, but she started fighting back immediately, so I wasn’t too concerned. I think, though that this may have evened out the playing field a little because now we were both acting pretty tired. I tried hard to convert this turn of events into a pin, but Janine clamped her legs around my right leg, and I couldn’t move up on her. Now, where had she learned that, I thought to myself as I remembered using it on her earlier. Janine used this opportunity to catch her breath, and so did I as we lay there clamped together tightly. I taunted her by saying, “Ready to be overwhelmed, yet?”
She smiled back and said, “It doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere soon.”
[11:07] Finally, we got moving again. We rolled back and forth over the mat for some time, trying to gain the upper hand. It was the ultimate, face-to-face competition, trying hard to defeat your opponent. It had a primal feel about it as we rolled around and I finally got on top of her back and held her down. We were both very tired now, gasping for air.
[11:10] I got my left arm under hers, and pried Janine over onto her back. I jumped onto her and straddled her waist with my legs before she could roll away. This time it was me smiling down at Janine. I quickly grabbed her arms to control her twisting motions. I think she knew what was coming, because she rolled hard to the side. But she was too tired to flip me off. As I controlled her roll and brought her shoulders back to the mat, I worked my way up her body so I was now straddling Janine’s breasts. I then worked my knees up over her shoulders.
[11:12] This time, the feeling of domination was mine. Even though she was still struggling, Janine looked very helpless beneath me. And, I have to admit that I liked it that way, too - top or bottom… both were very interesting. Janine still smiled, but it wasn’t her usual big grin. I called out, “1... 2... 3... 4... 5”, but Janine hadn’t conceded defeat yet and got her shoulder up for a moment. She tried to squirm her way to the edge of the mat, but it didn’t work in this position. The end was inevitable now. Janine raised her shoulder a few more times to stop the count, but she was tiring badly in that position. Even if she got loose, she would be too tired to beat me.
[11:17] Finally Janine stopped struggling, and I said, “1... 2... 3... ...8... 9... 10. The winner of the second round is Rachel by pin over Janine!!” I rolled off of her and we just lay there exhausted.
Eventually we caught our breath and started talking. Janine said, “That was an awesome battle, well fought right to the end. You sure were effective using my own hold against me. There was no way to escape! You’re right! It is a helpless feeling being on the bottom that way, but not really a bad feeling. And yes, you really looked dominant as hell up there while I was trying to get loose.”
We had a big hug, and congratulated each other on a hard fought battle. However, I said, “You know that we are now tied at one apiece. I’d like to continue the battle and declare a winner, but not tonight. We’re both too tired.”
My heart jumped as Janine said, “I agree. I’d like to continue also. Maybe we should meet for wrestling every week or so. It certainly has been good exercise. But I’m sure I’ll ache all over tomorrow.”
Then, I said, “You were right earlier when you said we were both hapless. I think we should try to study up on wrestling before the next match.”
We got up, showered and dressed. I tried not to stare at Janine as we did, but couldn’t help it. I caught Janine looking my way, too. ‘What did it mean?’ I asked myself somewhat uncomfortably. But then we went our separate ways for a much-needed night’s rest, vowing to meet again in a week for a rematch.