Too Easy

“C’mon, Hellcat, call it a day! Don’t make me break your neck!”

The lovely brunette clawed at the thick thighs locked around her neck and choked out, “My name... is Julia... damn it!” With new energy, she began bucking her hips and legs into the air, determined to get her head free of the vise-like hold.

Maureen wished she’d kept her mouth shut. The girl had been slowing down, but now she was fighting even harder than before. After at least 15 minutes of wrestling, Maureen was feeling every day of her 40 years and was drenched in sweat. Julia was likewise drenched from the exertion, but she seemed to have bottomless reserves of energy. Maureen was putting everything that she had left into keeping her legs locked together, but she could feel her legs beginning to tremble from over-exertion.

She knew she was in trouble when Julia kicked her legs one last time, throwing them up over her head. With a violent twist and pull, the brunette popped her head free and ended up on her hands and knees. Maureen had maybe one-half of a second before she was forced face down on the mat with the girl on her back, reaching around Maureen’s chin and pulling back hard.

Maureen couldn’t even hope to escape. Julia was straddling her shoulders and pinning her arms as she wrenched Maureen’s head up and to the side. “What was it you said? Oh, yeah. Call it a day. Don’t make me break your neck!” Maureen kicked and tried to get her legs under her, but after about a minute, she tapped out and conceded the match to her young opponent.

Julia got off of her immediately and jumped around the ring with her arms over her head. At ringside, her friends Becky and Beth were whooping it up for her, not to mention three or four other girls who were clapping for the young girl.

Maureen rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows. She really wanted to say something like, “Not bad, kid, but you wouldn’t have done that a few years ago.” Looking at Julia, though, she wasn’t sure it was true. The brunette was about Maureen’s height, 5’9”, with a dancer’s body. Her breasts were high and firm, probably a C-cup, her stomach was flat enough to iron on, and her arms and legs were toned and strong. Maureen herself was in good shape, avoiding middle-age spread as much as possible, but she’d never been as firm as the 18-year-old that had just beaten her. Maureen figured that she had about 15 pounds on Julia, and it hadn’t helped her a damn bit because she never got the chance to use it. She resigned herself to saying, “Good match, Julia. Give me a hand up and let’s hit the showers.” At least the teen was a good sport. She walked over and held her hand out to pull Maureen up and held the ropes open for her to leave the ring.

The Sportsman’s Club’s manager, Mark, got up from his seat and walked over. “Damn, I wish we had an audience for that match! You two really went at it in there!”

Julia and Maureen looked at one another. Julia was in a blue athletic bikini, and Maureen was in Lycra tights. Considering the usual attire for a club match was topless, Mark had to be impressed to want to have his customers around. Maureen watched Julia smile at the compliment as Mark went on.

“You still okay for an amateur tonight, Julia? I’d understand if you want to back out.”

“No, I’ll be okay as long as it’s still that blonde you pointed out to me.” Mark nodded. “She’s a lollipop. Unless she’s some wicked black belt, I’ll take her down in under the five minutes. Just do me a favor, would you? Get Ricky to stop calling me ‘Hellcat.’ I feel really stupid when he does that.”

“I’ll try Julia, but don’t expect much. Since he called you that after winning the battle royal, it’s really caught on. A lot of the regular customers are walking in and asking if the Hellcat will be fighting. You’re getting to be a star around here.”

Julia smiled and sighed and headed for the dressing area with Maureen following her. Mark went to the other girls to set up the other matches for the night.

In back, Maureen watched Julia as she stripped off the damp bikini and walked into the shower. The girl didn’t even look tired, and Maureen could feel her muscles getting stiff already. Walking into the shower stall next to Julia’s, Maureen couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “Where’d you learn to wrestle, honey? I was a pro for years, and after I retired, I was lucky when I got this gig teaching moves to the girls here. You don’t need me. You already know more than anyone in this place.”

It was quiet for a moment before Julia’s voice came back with, “My friends know how to wrestle, too.”

“Not like you. Becky’s not bad, and Jess could be mediocre if she didn’t try to grandstand every time she did a successful move. Beth... you know better than I do that she knows enough to look sexy as she loses, and she likes it that way. Mark likes it too because the rubes drool over her. You could cream all three of them together. Who taught you?”

“Okay, my cousin Ted is a pro wrestler. He went to college on a wrestling scholarship, then he went to wrestling school, and now he’s in Japan. He’s really good, and he’s taught me and my friends some wrestling moves. I know more because I live with my Aunt Kay, his mom.”

“She know you work here?”

“Yeah, I don’t hide stuff from her. She took me in when my folks died, and she’s really supportive. A lot of people think she’s flaky, but I know she just is the free-spirit type. Born in the Sixties and still under the influence, you know?”

“Hey, I was born back then, too. You planning on going pro like your cousin? I know some people if you’re interested. You’re not going to get much competition around here.”

The shower in the next stall shut off and Maureen heard Julia’s voice behind her. The brunette was toweling off as she said, “I’m sure this place will keep me challenged for a while. There seem to be a few girls here that can kick some ass.”

Maureen shut off the water and grabbed her own towel. “Not like you. Oh, a few are gunning for you. After all, you’re the new gunslinger in town. But I can only think of one or two that could give you any trouble.”

“Let me guess, Sasha and Samantha.”

“Not by a long shot. Roxanne and Cheyenne. Sasha wouldn’t stand a chance, and Samantha’s only threat to you would be if she fell on you.”

Julia looked surprised at that. Maureen looked around and saw that they were alone. She motioned for Julia to sit down with her and started to get dressed. Julia asked, “How could that be? Roxanne was in that battle royal that I won, but Sasha was the favorite to win, according to everyone I’ve talked to about it. And Samantha is supposed to be undefeated around here.”

“Okay, that’s all true, but there are reasons you don’t know. Samantha is undefeated, true. She’s 200 pounds and has never faced anyone that could deal with that. The only girl that comes close is Roxanne, but she’s all brute force and got tired out when she tried to take Samantha. Sasha was the favorite in that battle royal, true. The reason for that is Roxanne would have taken a dive for her. Sasha is a pampered brat. She likes to be the prom queen around here, and Roxanne is her old buddy and bodyguard. Nobody expected you or anyone else to put Roxanne over the top rope. It was supposed to come down to Sasha and Roxanne, and the big girl would have jumped out of the ring for her blonde boss.”

“So, Sasha and Roxanne are after me? Because I ruined their plan?”

“Roxanne is, but Sasha is the one telling her to do it. Sasha’s probably still aching from the beating you gave her. And like I said, Roxanne is one of the girls that might be able to give you trouble. From what I’ve put together, she’s been Sasha’s muscle since elementary school. I know she went to wrestling school for a short time. She either dropped out or was dumped when it became obvious that she’d never be more than a tanker. You know what that is, right?”

“Yeah, a big wrestler who has a lot of strength but only minor skill. They take a lot of punishment and make the good wrestlers look even better.”

“Bingo. Sasha started working here for the opportunity to pump up her ego, and she brought in Roxanne to make sure no one ruined it. Around here, a tanker can be a star.”

“What about Cheyenne?” Julia had on shorts, a tank top, and thick-soled sandals now, but she was listening to Maureen with rapt attention.

“Great legs. She’s walking on some dangerous weapons. Your friend Jess found that out when she started talking trash and got kicked in the head. And once she’s got you down, she doesn’t let you up again. Only girl here with that kind of killer-instinct.” Maureen was dressed now and putting her stuff away in her gym bag.

Julia stood and grabbed her own bag. “Thanks, Maureen, I’ll remember this. At least now, I know who to keep my eye on.” With a smile and wave, she walked out to join Becky and Beth and go for lunch.

Maureen watched her go and said quietly, “I give you a month, honey. These girls won’t keep you interested after that.”

“Okay, boys, it’s time to watch some of these sexy ladies get rough and rowdy! In our first match tonight, we’ve got the Sportsman’s Club’s tiny tigress, Toni!” The crowd whistled and howled as the tiny blonde walked and flirted her way to the double-padded ring in her tiger-print panties. Toni was barely 5 feet tall and weighed maybe 100 pounds after a big meal. The customers loved to watch her in the matches, though, because she made up for her small size by being a nasty little bitch. There was more cat to her than just the panties.

Once Toni was in the ring, the DJ, Ricky, went on and announced her opponent. “Okay, you lucky, lucky men, her opponent tonight is still trying to get her first win, but we all love her anyway! Let’s hear it for buxom, bouncing Beth!” From her spot in back, Julia watched her friend and love bounce out to the ring in a miniscule red thong with her big D-cup breasts dancing on her chest. She had an inch or two on Toni and maybe ten pounds, mostly in her full breasts and lush curves. Beth’s long blonde hair was loose and shined in the ring’s lights as she slipped through the ropes, bent way over to show off her gorgeous heart-shaped ass. Ricky was right about the customers loving her. They were cheering so loudly at the sight of Beth that the DJ couldn’t be heard over them, even with the help of the amplifiers.

Toni took advantage of the noise and Beth’s characteristic habit of not watching her opponent to attack from behind. She ran up behind Beth with her hands combined into one big fist and hammered it down between Beth’s shoulder blades, knocking her forward so her breasts hung over the top rope. Toni grabbed her larger opponent from behind and managed to pick her up in a reverse-bearhug and shake her back and forth, setting Beth’s whoppers in a wild dance.

After shaking her for a while, Toni stopped and let Beth’s feet down again to catch her breath. The smaller girl couldn’t hold Beth in the air for long. Beth was shaking her head a little, trying to clear some dizziness, so Toni had time to set herself for her next move. With a grunt, she lifted Beth again and pulled her over backward, similar to a belly-to-back suplex, but at the last minute, Toni had to turn her body so Beth hit the mat instead of landing on Toni.

The air rushed out of Beth in a loud whoosh, and she lay spread-eagle on the padded mat while Toni got to her feet. Smiling wickedly, the girl in the tiger panties backed up to the ropes and jumped onto the bottom one to use it like a springboard. Toni came down in a full-body splash onto Beth’s lush frame, her small, pointy boobs stabbing into Beth’s round melons as the air was driven out of her again.

Now, Toni let her nasty streak show. She tied up Beth’s legs in a grapevine, the two young beauties’ crotches mashing together as Toni’s legs entwined themselves with Beth’s. With Beth trapped beneath her, Toni’s hands locked around the alabaster throat, and her thumbs dug into her opponent’s windpipe. Beth grabbed at Toni’s wrists to try to pull them free while she arched her body against Toni’s and threw her head back to let air slip past Toni’s grip.

Luckily, Mark had made a little change after Beth and her friends had joined the club and breathed new life into the wrestling nights. Maureen, who had only taught her wrestling classes once or twice a week, was now the referee on every wrestling night. As soon as she saw Toni choking Beth, she moved right in and ordered Toni to release her. With a smirk, Toni did as she was told but immediately locked in her grip again as tightly as before. The smirk disappeared when Maureen picked her up by the hair and tossed her to the mat away from Beth. With a frown, Maureen stood over Toni and told her clearly, “Don’t try that shit with me girl! If I tell you to break, do it!”

Toni got to her feet slowly, warier now that Maureen had put her in her place. She didn’t need to hurry anyway. Beth, the perfect lovely victim, was still lying on the mat on her side, sucking in deep breaths and massaging her throat. Toni only had to walk over, kick Beth onto her back, and drop down with her combined fists into Beth’s slightly rounded belly, she had control of the match back. She quickly put Beth between her legs and locked in a waist scissors from behind to squeeze the air out of her victim. For added effect, Toni managed to pull Beth into a sleeper/choke as well. Beth struggled erotically in the combination hold, her breasts heaving on her chest and her legs spread and kicking on the mat.

Her struggles didn’t last very long, and shortly, Maureen was moving in to see if Beth was out cold. Toni released the holds, letting Beth fall over on the mat. She arranged Beth on her back again and sat down on Beth’s belly, facing her legs. Giving her wicked smile once more, Toni picked up Beth’s legs and spread them, pushing down on Beth’s creamy thighs in a leg-split submission. Beth bucked a bit and cried, getting MAJOR sympathy from the rubes, and finally choked out her submission. Toni strutted around the ring and went out to the customers to get her “victory tips,” and Maureen “helped” Beth into the back, the poor, beaten sweetheart.

Julia met them and gave Beth a quick kiss before she ran off to clean up a little. Julia had to smile. No one here would try to really hurt Beth because she made everyone look good with her easy defeats. Not to mention the fact that she was such a sweet person. In 10 or 15 minutes, Beth would go out there, “recovered” from her beating, and the customers would comfort her by stuffing their paychecks into her thong, receiving in return the privilege of having her sweet butt on their laps for a minute and maybe a nibble on the ear.

Now, it was Julia’s turn. Mark was quick to give her the amateurs because she had quickly shown him that she could not only beat them, but she did it without hurting or humiliating them so they might come back another time. That was a big help for bringing in customers.

Ricky called out her opponent. “Hey, gentlemen, we have a brave amateur taking the Sportsman’s Club challenge tonight in our second match! Give it up for Andrea, boys!” Julia watched her opponent go out there in a pink string bikini. Like she said, Andrea was a lollipop. She made Ally McBeal look beefy, and Julia half-wondered how she was keeping the bikini up. She was cute, though, with strawberry-blonde hair in a ponytail and an all-over blush when the customers cheered and whistled.

“She’s got her work cut out for her tonight! She’s up against the Sportsman’s Club’s newest star! Come on gents, you know you love her, the Hellcat!” Julia closed her eyes and for just a second considered staying in back until Ricky called her out by her name. It would be useless, of course, because the patrons were chanting “HELLCAT! HELLCAT!” and raising the roof waiting for her to come out. Giving in to the inevitable, she ran out to the ring in her silver, high-cut bikini bottoms and jumped into the ring as the cheers drowned out the amps again.

She managed to wave them down, which seemed to reassure Andrea a bit. She looked real nervous across the ring. Ricky reminded her of the rules. “Okay, Andrea, the Hellcat’s gonna try to pin you, knock you out, or get a submission from you in under five minutes. If you last all five, you win the prize money. If you can beat the Hellcat, you get double the prize money. You okay?” Andrea looked across the ring at Julia, leaning calmly back in the corner, swallowed, and nodded. Julia smiled at her, trying to look friendly so she’d relax a little. “All right! Go to it, ladies!”

Julia jogged to the middle of the ring, moving lightly on her toes, and waited for Andrea to come out to her. It took her a moment to realize that she had to leave the corner. The brunette didn’t want to freak the blonde out so she didn’t charge after her in the corner, but she couldn’t let Andrea have too much time. There was a time limit, after all.

Julia waited until Andrea was about half of the distance out of the corner and went after her, reaching for Andrea’s arms. The lollipop jerked back, trying to avoid her. Shaking her head, Julia went in a lot faster, getting a bearhug around Andrea’s ribs. With an easy squeeze, Julia pulled her in and lifted her off of the mat while Andrea pushed at her arms to try and make them release. Not a chance. Though only an inch or two shorter than Julia, Andrea felt like she was lighter than Toni. Julia didn’t even have to squeeze hard to get her gasping for breath.

This could be finished in about a minute, if that long, but Julia wasn’t out to embarrass the girl. She held Andrea for about 30 seconds and released the hug, but before Andrea knew what was happening, Julia had scooped her up with an arm between her thin legs and had Andrea hanging over her right shoulder, with Andrea’s legs in front. Andrea screamed as Julia started spinning around in place, making her dizzy. A few moments of that, and Julia pulled down on Andrea’s legs as she leaned forward, letting the girl fall to the mat with a thump that sounded a lot worse than it was.

Standing over Andrea, Julia dropped down on her, holding out her elbow like an elbow-drop but really catching herself on it so she didn’t hit Andrea’s chest too hard. As it was, Andrea’s breath rushed out in a loud grunt, and she was all but limp beneath the Hellcat. Julia decided to end the match, rolling Andrea over on her stomach and whispering to her, “I’m going to put a camel-clutch hold on you, Andrea. You won’t be able to get loose, and I don’t want to knock you out. Just say you quit when I lock it in, and no one will think any less of you for losing that way.” Not waiting for an answer, Julie sat herself on Andrea’s back and hooked Andrea’s arms over her knees. Reaching forward, she laced her fingers across Andrea’s chin and pulled back slowly and easily, letting Andrea feel just a bit of pressure build up in her neck and spine.

For a few seconds, Julia was worried that she’d have to give her some more because Andrea began kicking and trying to pull her arms free like she wanted to fight her way out. Luckily, just before she upped the pressure, Andrea cried out, “I GIVE! I GIVE!”

Julia quickly leaned forward, letting her head down gently and got off of her back, standing over Andrea with her hands raised to accept the cheers. Then, she reached down and helped Andrea to her feet, rubbing her neck a little and telling her not to feel bad. “They didn’t put me in here because they wanted you to win the prize.” Andrea smiled and nodded and left the ring while Julia went out among her fans to collect her tips for the win.

While she was doing that, Ricky brought out the next match. This one took a little while as Maria faced Raven. Maria was a hot Latin bombshell, full hips and breasts, but she was also very firm and a decent wrestler. Raven was the club’s main “vampire-chick,” thinner and pale with dark makeup, and she acted nastier than Toni in the ring, liable to bite and choke and pull hair. She tried all three on Maria. In between dirty moves, she ran and made Maria chase her around the ring. Unfortunately, Maria let Raven’s tactics get to her and got sloppy, running into Raven’s knee in the corner. Maureen couldn’t do much about it. Maria ran in and jumped to squash Raven. Raven raised her knee, and Maria landed on it crotch-first. Maria squealed and fell over on her back, making it easy for Raven to fold up her legs and sit on them for the pin.

Maria was a friend, as was her lover Carlotta. Julia and Carla helped Maria into the shower while Beth went to the bar and got some ice from the bartender. With Carlotta clucking over her girlfriend, Julia and Beth made her an ice-pack for her aching crotch. “You let her get under your skin,” Beth said as she handed the ice to their friend.

Anyone else that said that would probably have gotten an argument. To Beth, Maria replied, “Well, I know that now. Muy estupido, huh? I know better than to chase someone around and lose my temper. Kiss my boo-boo?”

Beth laughed. “Carla will do that as much as you need.”

While they were helping Maria, Becky had been called out for her match, taking herself to the ring in her electric blue bikini bottoms. Her opponent was Cheyenne, the tall, lean Native American girl with the killer legs in buckskin bikini panties. Now their attention was caught by the action in the ring because Becky started screaming like her hair was on fire. Beth and Julia ran to the door of the dressing area and saw Cheyenne pouring everything she had into a figure-4-leglock while Becky cried out her submission over and over. Maureen was trying to force a release of the hold, but anytime it looked like she was making headway at untying Cheyenne’s legs, the dark-skinned girl would suddenly put more pressure into the hold and increase Becky’s suffering. “Why is she doing this to Becky? Becky’s never done anything to Cheyenne.”

Julia had a good idea about the reason. Cheyenne was looking straight at them, at her. “Fine, if that’s how she wants to play...” Julia ran out to the ring with Beth running along behind her, confused. “Let her go, Cheyenne! If you’re looking for a fight with me, you only had to ask!”

“What makes you think I give a damn about you? Maybe I just want to break this blonde bitch’s leg.”

“Then you’d be watching the leg, and not looking up at the dressing room for me to come out.” Julia climbed to the ring apron and stood there. “I’m up for another match tonight. Let Becky go and show me what you’ve got!”

Cheyenne smiled and released the pressure, letting Maureen untie their legs and help the sobbing blonde to the side of the ring where Beth was. Keeping her eyes on Julia, she backed to her corner. Keeping her eyes on Cheyenne, Julia used the top rope for a boost to jump over the ropes into the ring.

Maureen, Mark, Ricky, and the customers were all confused as to what was happening here. Was Cheyenne really going to break someone’s leg just to get Hellcat into the ring? That wasn’t how things were done here. The girls came out and wrestled to win, but no one got hurt! One thing was certain. The two girls in the ring were looking at each other with blood in their eyes. By unspoken agreement, they came out of their corners and started circling each other in the middle of the ring.

“Hurting Becky wasn’t necessary. If you’d asked, I would’ve wrestled you.”

“I DID ask! Mark said no! Then, I got your bimbo friend, and all it took was a few kicks to the chest to get her down and leg trauma to get you in here with me. I keep hearing how beautiful and tough you are, Hellcat. It’s pissing me off!” Cheyenne suddenly swept her leg around in a whip-quick kick at Julia’s head.

Julia was waiting for it. Maureen had warned her about those legs. Hell, Cheyenne just did the same damned thing. She let Cheyenne talk and kept her eyes on those legs, so when the kick came, it passed harmlessly over Julia’s head as she ducked and dove into Cheyenne’s other leg, making it buckle and bringing Cheyenne to the mats. Completely surprised and off-balance, Cheyenne went down face first into the mat with Julia lying across her legs, wrapping up the left one with a painful ankle-lock.

“What the fuck are you doing, bitch?” Cheyenne had her question answered as Julia gripped her foot and twisted it about 120-degrees to the side. Suddenly, it was Cheyenne who was screaming and slapping the mat and trying to free her legs without success. After a minute of feeling her foot being turned around the wrong way, Cheyenne was desperate and grabbed the ring rope. “I’m on the ropes! I’m on the ropes! Break! BREAK!”

“Oh, NOW you want to follow rules? What if I just want to break your leg?” Julia cranked up the power on the trapped leg as Cheyenne screamed “BREAK!” again and again. Then, Julia released the pressure and stood, still holding Cheyenne’s foot. “Let’s get you off of the ropes and see if that shuts you up!” Using the foot, Julia gave a big pull while Cheyenne held onto the ropes. In a second, Cheyenne was suspended off of the mat, but it didn’t last long as Hellcat kicked her in the belly to make her let go. Cheyenne fell to the mat and got dragged on her tits to the middle of the ring, where she was dropped face down and holding her gut.

Julia wasn’t done with her by a long shot. She slammed the heel of her foot into the back of Cheyenne’s head so it bounced off of the padded mat, and her hands came away from her stomach to cover her face. Perfect. Hellcat dropped her butt into Cheyenne’s back and pulled back her arms over her knees. She locked her hands around the girl’s chin and pulled back on a camel-clutch. This was nothing like the hold she put on Andrea. The customers watched wide-eyed as the muscles stood out on Julia’s toned arms, and Cheyenne’s head and neck were hauled back until she was looking at the ceiling.

Cheyenne had been dancing and wrestling at the Sportsman’s Club for almost two years. Julia was giving her more pain at this moment than she had felt in the whole two years before now. “Still think it was a good idea to call me out by hurting my friend?” Cheyenne just whined in agony.

Maureen moved in to try to get Julia off of the obviously beaten girl. “You’ve proved your point, Julia. She’s learned her lesson.”

Julia let go of Cheyenne’s chin so her face slammed down into the mat again. “Why fight it? Call me Hellcat. As for her, this isn’t a match. She would’ve broken Becky’s leg. She’s not done paying for that.” Julia got to her feet with a handful of Cheyenne’s long, straight, black hair to pull her up as well. She lifted her until Cheyenne was face-to-face with her and slammed her knee up into Cheyenne’s stomach.

Cheyenne bent over as the air rushed out of her, and Hellcat grabbed her around the waist. With a growl of exertion, Julia lifted the girl up over her shoulder, facing the ceiling. Cheyenne felt her spine bending in half over Julia’s shoulder while Julia held her by the chin and walked around the ring. The customers went wild for the incredible domination by the brunette. After a full circuit around the ring, Hellcat dumped Cheyenne off of her shoulder so she landed on her back.

Maureen tried to raise Julia’s hand, but Julia pulled it away from her. “Don’t worry, Maureen. Here comes the big finish.” Julia grabbed Cheyenne’s feet and lifted them, wrapping them around her own leg. The dark girl put up no resistance. Not even when Julia turned her over to lock in the “Sharpshooter” Boston Crab. She just started screaming again as her spine was bent by Hellcat leaning way back into the hold to take Cheyenne to the breaking point.

By this time, Mark was getting really worried and was bringing a few of the bouncers to the ring. He didn’t exactly blame Julia for being pissed, but he didn’t want anyone getting hurt. He reached the ring at about the same moment that Cheyenne lost consciousness, and Julia let her go. She never intended to cause an injury, just make her point.

The bouncers carried Cheyenne away gently, and Julia soaked up the cheers of the patrons, as well as their tip money. She headed back into the dressing area as the dancers took over the entertainment.

She was greeted by mixed stares. Becky, Beth, and her other friends applauded and gathered around her to cheer their hero. Most of the rest of the girls joined in too, figuring that Cheyenne had gone too far and gotten what she deserved. But a few were scared. Julia walked up to two special girls in this last category. Maureen and Mark just watched.

“Hey, Roxanne. Hi, Sasha. There’s a rumor that Roxanne wants a piece of me, too. Want to ask Mark to set us up together next week?” Roxanne took a step back, shaking her head. “Too bad.” Julia turned back to Mark. “How about giving me a title shot with Samantha? That could be fun.” Mark just nodded and watched Julia walk back toward the shower with her arm around Beth.

Under her breath, so no one could hear, Maureen muttered, “I think I was wrong. It won’t even be a month.”