Her name was only on two matches tonight, not till after midnight so she did a tab and mud wrestled for a while, warmed up slowly on a diet of the black girl from last week -- she'd already lost the name but the bear claw tattoos, those would stick with her -- and a little bit of a boy from the suburbs. He seemed grateful enough to be between the two of them, panted and moaned and it was over all too quickly.
She danced her way through the house beats, the techno, and the industrial that was pumped into the other dance floors, and it was almost eleven thirty before she actually made it to the main dance hall, sweaty and finally shaking off fatigue. Went down on a girl with short brown hair, and Red again -- there was something about him, cock massive and his hands seemed to find just the most relaxing places on her neck afterwards. He rubbed her neck while they danced, and she was almost ready to fight when B called her name the first time.
The girl was some new up and comer from another club, and Christina sussed her out, let her have the advantage for a little while until she spied Britney in the crowd, J leaning over her protectively and looking concerned. Christina spat, brushed her hair out of her face and knocked the chick out with two punches and in less than five seconds.
~
"what're you doing here?" she said to Britney, being handed a towel and shoved on all sides by the audience. A coy smile at the boys behind her, wiped the blood off her lip and tried not to show how much she was limping to the right. "Thought this wasn't your scene."
"J asked if I wanted to come." Britney obviously had dressed down for this, wearing something more see thru and less classy. She still moved differently from everyone else.
Christina threw the towel down, came up to dance with her. Britney fell into the rhythm willingly. "He's a good guy," Christina mumbled, hands around Britney's waist and fingernails trailing little circles. "he's a good guy. you should just let him go."
Britney was keeping herself pressed up against her, this time, not pulling away and heating things up to a fever pitch, thump thump thump and they were grinding together. "I let him go a while ago."
Christina glanced over to where J and his little boy were dancing and trying to be subtle. It wasn't working. "let's go over there," and she tugged Britney through the dancers, wrapped one arm around J from behind.
"what d'you want?" his boy asked, and J turned around, startled, to stare down into her face.
"you're gonna lose favor quick if you keep this up, J," Christina said, still clutching Britney's forearm tightly. Other hand started stroking him through his shorts. "Don't matter how good you fight. you gotta seem available."
He glared, and had to lean down to whisper in her ear. "I'm bein' discreet, what the fuck does it matter to you?"
She kissed his cheek, gently, and didn't bother to lower her voice. "baby, there ain't nothing discreet about you. if you're gonna appear caught, make sure you give the audience a show for it. Might extend your chances."
"That's not what it's" he started to say angrily, and Britney was trying to pull away from her, but his boy, angry glint too but also staring right at Christina and not J, said, "maybe she's right, showing people something hot might keep you from losing favor."
"If." J's hips were still moving in time, Christina's hand slowly stroking him. she was pretty sure he didn't even realise it. The audience around them, not to mention the bettors in the top seats, had, she could hear the catcalls. The DJ slowed the music down a bit, just enough to have a fucking beat. J pulled away from her, finally, said to his boy, "you'd do that?"
His answer was lost as Christina turned back to the pretty girl she was bruising. It would have to be a yes, or J would be lost, have to go home defeated. "You didn't have to do that to him," Britney murmured.
"I saved his ass for at least a few months," she replied over the noise, the yells and the fervor pitch of the crowd. "Fighters can't look like they play favorites." They slowly made their way across the main dance floor to the hallway leading to the smaller rooms. "our appeal," she said, biting Britney's neck, "is that anyone at any time might be honored by a dance."
Britney's fingers were just barely touching her under her skirt, weaving little patterns on the skin right around her thong. "and J can't look like he cares about anyone, or if he does, that people might get in on that action too?"
"mmmm, right there," Christina said, rolling her head back, and suddenly the hand was gone, Britney was gone and she opened her eyes. Deserted at the entrance to the main dance floor. She leaned against the wall, put her own hand under her skirt even though a dozen people would probably be willing to take care of her. Own fingers, own nails, one hand bracing against the wall and the other slicking herself up. again and again and again and just as she cried out,
opened her eyes and Pink was standing in front of her, sunglasses on and hair messy. Christina took a few ragged breaths. pink said, "they want you back in the ring."
~
"I don't get it," Christina said slowly. She looked up to the top box, B staring down. He looked a bit worried. Pink and red were both biting their lips, leaning on the ropes, Britney had hidden herself away in the DJ booth. "What's goin' on?"
J tossed her hand-wraps over, lips pursed. "They finally figured out that we're the hottest commodities in this joint."
"so, what." She didn't really want to ask it, not two days out of surgery and feeling the strain in every muscle. Not with his boy staring up at them, big green eyes just screaming emotion. Not this way. Not.
"Just accept it, A," he said, and grinned. "We're gonna do something no one else'll top."
She was already unrolling the wraps, her skin was already quivering as the breeze blew across it. Goosebumps. No real way to prepare for this. She glanced around, the audience sounding far away and yet she knew that they were screaming, screaming bloody murder for this because no other way they'd ever have let this happen. B wouldn't have let it, not unless there was serious money on them fighting. "We getting paid for this stunt?" she asked, suddenly. "I could use it."
He actually laughed, though it wasn't really audible over the music. "Be gentle," he mouthed, as they climbed into the ring together. She was grateful he said it so she didn't have to.
The music cut out, just like Saturday's fight but without the effects, nothing but her and J squaring off in the center of the ring, Justin, her fists up and they bumped together with his and then she retreated to her own corner. Crowd silenced itself, and the siren sounded.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the scoreboard flash 'round one'.
~
A handful of fifties. A handful of fifties, and pink had to carry her out of the ring practically, the blond restrained by Britney as Justin limped out, slumped against Red and had to sit down immediately, Christina was gratified to see.
They did equal damage, equal damage and equal cash. Justin, J, Justin, and he'd mumbled "you did good," and she'd punched him lightly for the nerve of it. They were carried to B's office, he insisted on having his own boy, the fourteen year old who wheeled Christina's bike to the ring each week, look at their damage. She never knew he was the med help on standby. she'd never really been this damaged before.
"goddamned high bets, man," B had said. "I should have told you two first, you could have choreographed something like Pink and Red did, put on a nice show and y'all coulda walked out under your own power."
Christina said sharply, "shut up," because neither of them were soft, they could do it, they had. "We can handle it."
"just not again for a while," J interrupted, eyes closed. "Christ."
The boy slathered more sealant on their arms and legs, put the lotion on every patch of skin he could. The clock read three thirty, and Christina sat up akwardly. "I gotta get back out to the floor."
"you're done for tonight--"
"I gotta get back out to the floor," she repeated, standing on her own. A little dizzy, but a tab would fix that, and, "You comin', J?"
He got up, not without difficulty. B let them go. he'd been in the ring, once upon a time, himself.
~
"one last dance?" Christina murmured in Britney's ear. One of her fingernails had been torn off, and was bleeding through the wraps she hadn't bothered to take off her hands, but she was still hot and there was still bass pounding in her head and body.
Britney leaned away from her. "No, not tonight."
"You comin' back?"
Britney smiled at her, enigmatic. "I gotta go." She waved over at Pharrell, who started to make his way over to them. "I gotta go."
Christina leaned over, kissed Britney's lips. The two of them danced together, as Pharrell came over, lips working against each other. Her tongue licked the roof of Britney's mouth, and when Britney pulled away she could see blood from her bottom lip on Britney's. Her lip gloss was cherry flavored. "bye," Christina said.
Britney left.
Five am, and Christina had taken enough tabs that the whole world was floating by, she was just dancing with herself, watching the ceiling tick past. J kissed the top of her head at one point, Red went down on her and it was all just floating. Five thirty, and B came by to make her have another regenerative drink, six o'clock and Pink finally took her hand.