The crowd around the cage goes crazy.
Alex tries to shake me off but it only helps me sink the lock deeper. I wrap my legs around his chest and squeeze.
I don’t let up, not even when I feel his sweat dripping on me.
Gross.
Alex starts to go down, and through the noise I hear Chase screaming, “You have to let go, Christy!”
Relaxing my arms, I hear Alex suck in a shrill breath.
Did I mess up? Did I hurt him?
I relax my arms a little more and loosen my legs.
He reaches back, grabs me by the sides and flips me over his head.
My back hits the floor hard and all the air in my lungs is painfully pushed out of me.
Chapter Thirteen
Alex
Fuck! Shit! Fuck and ass!
Looking down, I see Christy performing a classic imitation of a fish out of water. Her mouth is gasping open in the shape of an O as she tries to pull air back into her lungs.
“Christ, Beast, what the fuck did you do?!” Dale yells at me.
Ignoring the noise around me, I grab Christy by the arm and slide her across the space between us and the wall. Sitting her up against the cage, I grab those long muscular legs and push them up under her chin.
Getting her into position, I hold her by the sides of her face.
“Your diaphragm muscle just took a shock, Christy. It’s temporarily having a spasm. I have your legs pushed up like this so we can get your stomach muscles and diaphragm to relax,” I say soothingly.
The panic is still there behind her eyes but it starts to lessen as she begins to suck in huge breaths of air. Raspy breaths, to be sure, but at least she can breathe now.
It’s a nightmare for anyone to have the air knocked out of them. It’s like someone’s wrapped a vise around your chest and suddenly you have no air. You can’t breathe in, the air is just right there in front of you, but your lungs simply will not draw in the breath.
Back in the first days of my training, I had it happen to me and it scared the shit out of me. Mine happened though when I was punched right in the gut.
“Deep breaths, Runt, deep breaths…” I say before I’m yanked back by Dale.
He glares at me first before he bends down in front of Christy. “You okay, String Bean?”
She nods her head, and he says, “Then get back up, quit lazing about. I gotta look for another partner for you.”
Her eyes go wide at his words and I can see the outline of a smirk on his devilish face. He stands back up as she works her way up the cage wall.
Turning to me, he shakes his head. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Shaking my head, I back away from them. “She’s got a fucking mean chokehold. The way she sunk it in makes me think her opponents are going to be fucked.”
“Get your big oaf ass out of my cage. I’ll be seeing to your training soon enough.”
Nodding my head, I’m almost hesitant to give my back to her again. She really does have a mean fucking chokehold.
Checking with her, I ask, “You gonna try and choke me out again if I turn my back to you?”
Her mouth turns into a mischievous grin as she nods. “You bet. If I see your back, you’re going down, big guy.”
Dale gives a loud laugh while slapping her on the back. “That’s my girl!”
Taking her seriously, I make sure I’m far enough away that I can safely turn around. No need for me to take a nap today. Little brat is getting good though. She’s got good head movement and speed, she just needs the confidence to be the aggressor.
“Mark, get your ass over here. Time to quit hanging around,” Dale yells out across the gym.
Chase follows Mark over to the cage and stares at me with some deep anger.
Fuck, this might be a longer day than I thought.
Stepping out of the cage, I step aside to let Mark in.
I raise my hands up in a shield at Chase. “She’s got a good fucking hook, and those arms of hers are going to be deadly if she can get someone’s back.”
I can see pride briefly flash across his eyes as he hears me out. “Did you really have to toss her?”
Nodding my head, I say, “Fuck yeah, I did. Dude, she would’ve had me out pretty quick. Like I said, she can sink the choke under the chin. You must have taught her exactly where to hold it because she did it. I tossed her because it was that or take a nosedive. Just make sure she knows to keep them legs locked around the waist. Get her to twist her feet together.”