Cornered: On the Ropes

Chapter 6

Liv scoffed. "Do I look like Charlotte?" She paused on the apron, wiping her feet out of habit before she ducked under the top rope. The setting was completely different than any arena, but the ring felt comfortably familiar. Just by looking around, Liv knew where the ropes would hit on her shoulders if she ran against them. She gave a little test hop just to hear the give in the mat. The faint smell of sweat tickled her nose, but not in a bad way. Work gets done here, she reminded herself. People change here. She knew because she had been one of them, on the cusp of a career transformation before the releases started.

As Rhea stepped into the ring, Liv climbed up to one of the top turnbuckles and sat down. "How's the view?" Rhea asked, going to the opposite corner and leaning back.

"Gorgeous," Liv smiled. "So how do you think we should start?"

Damian slapped the apron as he and TJ walked over to the weightlifting area. "Why not start with some power bombs? Pretty sure Liv's still used to having her thighs on your shoulders."

Rhea mimed stomping on his fingers until he pulled his hand back. "Sounds like someone has a little bit of envy, Priest...."

"Don't make me find a referee shirt," TJ warned. "I'm sure there's one around here somewhere."

"Not my kind of roleplay," Rhea replied, turning back to face Liv. "So... clotheslines, maybe?"

"Sure."

It almost felt like her Performance Center days all over again, running drills with a more experienced wrestler, but here there were no bosses critiquing her performance, no cameras recording every move to be analyzed later. In some ways, practising with Rhea was even more nerve-wracking. Liv had already respected her opinion before—she was younger, yet had already accomplished so much—but now that they were together, she didn't want to disappoint her, especially not after Rhea had vouched for her with Hunter. "Your footwork's still good," Rhea remarked. "I'd even say a little bit better. Must be all the dancing."

Brushing some hair out of her face, Liv grinned. "It does keep you limber. Maura said some people even take up ballroom dancing as a form of exercise."

"I'll stick to weights, thanks." Rhea came up to her and kissed her. "What next? Slams? Aerial stuff?"

"Why don't we try a match," Liv suggested, "and you can call the spots? We'll see how much I remember." Rhea was incredible in the ring, and Damian and TJ were still in the Dungeon, so Liv knew help was at hand if she screwed something up.

"Sure. But you know that has no bearing on tonight, right?" Rhea winked. "You don't get to boss me around later just because I'm calling the shots now."

Liv grinned. "We'll see. So how do we start?"

Rhea started off slow for her, calling a pretty standard match beginning before she began peppering in transitions and more difficult moves. Liv had just kicked Rhea into a corner when Damian and TJ returned to the ring. "Looking good, Liv," TJ said encouragingly. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," Liv replied, rolling her shoulders to loosen them. "Not quite rusty, but... something like that. I guess part of me never expected to wrestle again, so it tucked all my knowledge away and now I'm having to dig it back out."

"It'll come back quicker than you think," TJ assured her. "You haven't been out of action that long. Some people are out longer with injuries and they can't start even working out for six months, let alone get in the ring." He patted the bottom rope and added, "Do you feel comfortable trying Oblivion, or would you rather work up to that?"

Liv paused. She loved her finisher, but she knew a lot of people thought it looked awkward and slow. A return to action might be the perfect excuse to try incorporating a new finisher into her arsenal. "I think I'll work my way up to it," she replied. "The drills are feeling good today."

Damian leaned on the apron and grinned up at Rhea. "Maybe you should practice pinning. You know, like Rhea's high stack."

Rhea rolled her eyes. "She's got that one mastered, trust me."

"Do you mind if we watch you two work?" TJ asked. "I could call some spots and you could improvise in between. Take it slow to start. It's not a race."

"Sure. Sounds good." When it had just been Liv and Rhea in the ring, Liv felt okay, but a wave of self-consciousness suddenly swept over her. If I can't wrestle in front of two people, she thought grimly as she and Rhea went to the centre of the ring to await TJ's instructions, how the hell am I going to be able to wrestle in front of THOUSANDS?

But TJ was true to his word, choreographing a simple match on the fly, letting Rhea do most of the power moves but making sure Liv had chances to counter and attack as well. By the time he called for her to do Oblivion, Liv was so in the zone that she didn't even realize until she was rolling out of the move and Rhea had hit the mat. "Great job, ladies!"

Damian clapped loud enough for it to echo throughout the Dungeon. "Good job, Liv. Barely any ring rust." Then he reached into the ring and shook Rhea's shoulder. "I'm sure you can stack her tonight."

"You can keep teasing, Priest," Rhea muttered as she stood. "You're never going to get to watch, so don't bother."

Before Liv could reply, Natalya came back in. "Hey, guys. Jenni's done filming for now, but she wants to try out a new recipe. Anyone feel like being a guinea pig? I thought you might have worked up an appetite by now."

Liv glanced over at Rhea. "Sure. Give us twenty to clean up?"

"Clean up," Damian echoed mockingly, wagging his tongue at Rhea.

Natalya rolled her eyes. "That would be fine, Liv. Go ahead. I'll start helping her." Then she smiled. "And since Damian's so tall, he can grab down my mixing bowls so I don't need to get the stool."

Now it was Rhea's turn to stick out her tongue, though Liv pulled her away before she could make a retort. "That's what the bastard gets for being so tall," she muttered, draping an arm around Liv's shoulders. "So how do you feel? Better?" She planted a kiss on Liv's cheek. "I could tell you were hesitating a bit in there."

"Yeah. I just... insecurities, I guess. Remembering all the shit people used to say about Oblivion and whatever. I know a lot of fans sent nice messages when I left," Liv added, "but there were a lot that were happy I was gone."

"Fuck them," Rhea said simply. "So they don't like you. They don't matter. You're not coming back for them. You're coming back for you."

And you. Liv didn't trust herself to say it, not quite yet. Their relationship was still so new. "And maybe those power bombs Damian was talking about. I'd come back for those."

Rhea laughed. "No comment." Once they reached the guest house, they stopped in front of the door. "Because you know you can have that any time you like. You just have to ask."

"Maybe I'll get really buff," Liv countered, "and then I can power bomb you."

"Let's work on the basics first." Rhea opened the door and motioned Liv inside. "So... twenty minutes, huh? If we're going to be practising again after," she mused, "there's not much point to a full shower, so that would probably give us about fifteen minutes...."

Liv pulled Rhea down into a kiss. "Make it ten. We'd still have to get dressed and get back to the main house, you know."

"Fine. But not too much more practising today," Rhea demanded, pushing Liv's shorts and underwear down over her hips. "I don't want you to be too sore tonight."

"Like that would stop me." Liv stepped out of her shorts and underwear and braced herself as Rhea hoisted her up and buried her face between her legs. "Mmm. Best power bomb ever."

"Not yet. I haven't even got you on the bed."