Crushing It
Author’s Note: Still new to writing wrestling moves so any constructive feedback is good! And overall, I feel pretty good about this story, but even the non-wrestling parts need some constructive feedback. Hope you enjoy!
Everyone gathered outside of the ring, Coach Autry in the middle. I drummed my fingers against my thigh, ready to get back in the ring. If I followed the calendar correctly, it would be my turn to loosen the ropes and that meant extra practice time for me. I wasn’t sure who my partner would be, but I hoped they weren’t in a rush to get home.
“Great work, everyone. Keep it up! Aria, Cade, you’re on rope duty tonight. Anyone have any questions? Concerns?”
Coach glanced around and people shook their heads. Cade locked eyes with me and smiled. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I gave him a small smile to make sure I wouldn’t grin like an idiot. We hadn’t been paired together before so I wasn’t thinking it could be him. Taavia’s words replayed in my mind: “Being around him is only a big deal because you make it a big deal.” She was right. I looked over at her. She was grinning like an idiot, her eyes wide. Here she go. Making it a big deal. I smiled and shook my head.
“Alright. Y’all are free to go. Coach Mac is staying behind to lock up. I’m heading out.”
Taavia moved closer to me as everyone shuffled toward the locker room. I pulled on the end of my white t-shirt, plain in the front, cut up in the back. I had a black camisole underneath, matching my black tights and black boots.
“How are you feeling?” Taavia asked.
“What happened to not making it a big deal?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“I’m not the one who had a dream about sparring with you-know-who that ended in a makeout session. And now you have the opportunity to spar with him.”
“I’m not gonna spar,” I said, trying not to smile. “I’m just gonna…practice some moves.”
“Update me later?” Taavia asked, holding out her pinky finger.
“Promise,” I said, linking my pinky finger with hers.
She let go and headed back to the locker room. We’ve been in wrestling school for three months. We became fast friends on the first day of class and have had each other’s back since, both in and out of the ring. She’s the best.
I looked over at the ring and Cade was already inside, running the ropes. I attempted to smooth the front of my hair. It was pulled back into an afro puff ponytail. I hadn’t felt like slicking down the front earlier knowing I was gonna sweat it out. Now I wished I had. The butterflies fluttered, then frenzied the closer I got to the ring. I wiped my feet and slipped in the ring. As Cade slowed down and looked at me, I replayed Taavia’s words in my mind. Coach’s warning popped up as well: wrestling school is not your dating pool. But I wasn’t worried about dating drama. That required mutual interest. As far as I knew, Cade was not interested. I was in wrestling school to learn and anything not for the love of wrestling should be avoided. Cade would probably agree with me on that.
“Wanna spar?” he asked.
His eyes were possibly the brownest brown I’d ever seen. Beautiful and bright. He ruffled his curly hair, looking at me expectantly. Oh yeah.
“Um, no. I just wanna practice some moves.”
He smirked. I bit my lip.
“Scared?” he asked.
“Please,” I said. I rolled my eyes. “I’m just focused on some high flying moves right now. Although, I guess I could practice some submissions.”
I walked across the ring to the corner, my back to him. I grabbed the top rope, getting ready to climb up.
“You could practice some high flying moves on me,” he said.
I swallowed hard and hoped he didn’t hear it. I cleared my throat as I gripped the rope a little tighter.
“I’m good. The dummy’s still here.”
Translation: if our skin touched, I might short circuit.
“You sure you not scared? I’m not gonna hurt you, Aria.”
My heart pounded like he had never said my name before. I wanted to roll my eyes. Get a grip, girl! I turned to face him, the concern on his face calming my nerves. I wasn’t trying to make him feel bad. I just didn’t want him to know I had a crush on him.
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes, pretending to study him. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, his chest and abs still shined with sweat from class. He had on black tights and black boots. I looked into his eyes and ignored the feeling in my stomach.
“Fine. I wanna do a moonsault, swanton bomb, corkscrew moonsault. I’ve only done a swanton bomb and corkscrew moonsault once so you might wanna pull out the dummy for those,” I said.
He smiled. “Bet. Moonsault first?”
I nodded. He laid down in the ring, a little closer to my corner than the middle. I checked the distance. I had to focus and not think about landing on him and feeling his sweat and smelling his cologne, something woody and spicy, up close and personal. I nodded again. He gave me a thumbs up and flashed a beautiful smile. I grinned. I could do this. A moonsault was just a backflip after all and I had been doing backflips since I was a kid jumping on trampolines. I turned around, grabbing the top rope. I leaned down, as far as I could go while holding the top rope, and sprung up to the middle rope. I climbed up to the top rope, one foot on one side of the turnbuckle, the other foot on the other side. I got some cheers from some classmates on their way out. Taavia had the biggest grin on her face and gave me two thumbs up. I smiled, shaking my head. I bent my knees and flipped, keeping my arms outstretched. I landed it beautifully and he did the subtle catch well, his hands brushing my stomach. My skin tingled at his touch. I stood up a little quicker than I normally would and stumbled backward. Smooth, Stanton, smooth.
“You good?” he asked, standing up.
“Yep,” I said quickly.
“That was good,” he said, smiling. He wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing one of his elbows.
“You good?” I asked, smirking.
“Yeah, light work,” he said. “Swanton next?”
“Yeah. And let me know what you want to practice,” I said, needing a distraction.
“Got you,” he said.
Another group of classmates, probably the last of them, headed out as I climbed up on the ropes. I was facing the ring this time. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes as he laid down in the ring. Heat flooded my body. He licked his lips and a smirk settled on his face. I exhaled slowly.
“Wait, you were supposed to get the dummy,” I said.
“I trust you,” he said.
“Cade,” I said sternly.
“Aria,” he replied just as stern.
I huffed. “Fine.”
I focused. I was about to jump when Cade spoke.
“Hold on, Aria,” he said, sitting up. “Hey Mike, you need some help?”
I followed his gaze to the front door. Our classmate Mike always had a lot of bags. He was in wrestling school AND club soccer. He refused to give up one for the other. And here he was struggling to open the door. I stepped down to the middle ropes and jumped on the mat. I could keep myself balanced up there for a while, but didn’t want to tire my legs out. Tired legs equaled sloppy jumps.
“Uhh, yeah,” he called out. “If you don’t mind.”
Cade slid out of the ring and jogged toward the door. And my heart fluttered. I bit my tongue to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Cade wasn’t just attractive, he was helpful. All the time. If there wasn’t a schedule for the ropes, Cade would be the first to volunteer. He demonstrated moves and offered the best critique. I won’t even get into how adorable he is with kids during the kids class. He was a third coach, low key. He had been at the school for about a year and a half. He would be making a name for himself in the indies soon.
He jogged back to the ring and I climbed back up. He laid down and gave me a thumbs up. I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling. I jumped, starfishing in the air before flipping forward and landing flat on Cade again.
“Nice one,” he said, his voice low and way too close to my ear.
“Thanks,” I said, making the same mistake of looking into his eyes. I paused before getting off of him. His eyes flickered down and then back to my eyes. Was he looking at my lips? I sat up and shook my head. Nope. No way.
He cleared his throat as he stood up. “Corkscrew?”
I nodded. “If I kick you in the face, that’s on you.”
He laughed. “I can handle it.”
I climbed up on the top rope again. I looked at him and he nodded. He was lying down again. I jumped and did a twisting flip, landing on him on my side.
“Aria, you did great with all of these moves.”
I shoved down the thoughts of how perfect my name sounded coming out of his mouth. His voice was smooth and deep, but not too deep.
“Thanks,” I said, standing up.
I held out my hand and he took it. I pulled him up. I was all of five feet. I didn’t think he would tower over me only being eight inches taller, but there he was towering. It’s funny. He always says he’s so short to be half-Samoan and half-Black. Our eyes met again. I smiled. He smiled at me, his eyes shifting from looking to studying. He seemed curious. What in the world could he be curious about? I didn’t even realize we were still holding hands until he let go and backed up quickly. Too quickly. He cleared his throat and clapped his hands together.
“Umm, I-I have some submissions I wanted to work on i-if…that’s cool?” he said.
Cool Cade? One of the best on the mic, stammering? Could he…no. No way. I pushed that thought out of my mind.
“Yeah. Which ones?”
He grabbed his chin and looked me up and down, his brow furrowed. I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. He was about to say something slick.
“You’re a little short for the standing crucifix, so maybe let’s go to the arm bar.”
“Haha,” I said dryly. “Isn’t that used as a pin anyway?”
“You can use it as a pin, but it doesn’t have to only be used as a pin,” he said.
“Got it,” I said.
“Let’s work our way into it,” he said. “How ‘bout I do a big kick, you fall back, and then I do the arm bar?”
“Sounds good,” I said.
We got in the middle of the ring.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” I nodded.
He grinned. He did a big kick. His boot tapped my chest and I fell back. I exhaled and grimaced, practicing my selling. He slid down to the mat and wrapped one arm around my wrist, tightening his hold with his other arm. He squeezed my upper arm between his thighs. I tapped his leg and he released me.
“Nice,” he said, standing up. He held out his hand.
“Nice yourself,” I said, taking his hand.
As soon as I planted my feet, he lifted me up with ease. And a little too much force. I bumped into him and I steadied myself by putting my other hand on his chest. Our eyes met and I felt his heart pound. I raised my eyebrows, but didn’t look away from him. He smiled. The curious look on his face shifted. Now, he looked a little nervous mixed with something else. But what was it? He licked his lips and then it clicked. He wanted to kiss me. Cade Anesi wanted to kiss me?! The longing on his face was undeniable now. Feeling confident, I leaned in. My chin almost touched his chest. His breath hitched, but that didn’t stop him from leaning in, his eyes focused on my lips.
“Y’all alright?” Coach Mac asked, practically yelling.
We separated and whatever tension had been building dissipated. We looked at Coach Mac, who was standing outside of his office.
“Uh yeah,” Cade called out. “We’re good. R-right, Aria?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we’re good, Coach. Almost done.”
“Good. I’m heading out in ten. Y’all might wanna hit the lockers,” he said, glancing between us. Knowing. My stomach turned.
“Yeah, we’ll do that,” Cade said. “T-thanks Coach.”
He looked between both of us again. I decided not to wait until he went back into his office, just in case he was waiting for us to get out of the ring. I went over to the side, stepped through the ropes onto the apron, and slid down to the floor.
“We gotta loosen the ropes,” Cade reminded me.
I sighed. I slid back in the ring and started removing the cover from the bottom turnbuckle. Cade started from the top in another corner. I twisted the metal rod until the ropes had some slack. We worked silently, but I could feel him looking at me every so often. I glanced at Coach Mac’s office and noticed him pausing every so often to look at us. I smiled. Coach Mac was known to be a little more lenient about wrestling couples. I was more worried about him telling Coach Autry.
I headed toward the locker rooms without waiting for Cade. I could finally process what happened. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with feelings. Did he have a crush on me too? Those looks, that lean-in, didn’t feel in the moment, but I tended to overthink. I felt him look at me before I disappeared into the women’s locker room. I sighed and covered my face with my hands. What would Coach Mac even tell Coach Autry? That we almost kissed? I shook my head and dropped my hands. I stripped out of my clothes and boots and tossed them into my duffle bag. I put on some purple Soffe shorts, a black tee, and black sneakers. I sipped water from my water bottle. I sighed.
Just go out there and be normal, I thought.
We stepped out of our locker rooms at the same time. Our eyes locked and I froze.
“Umm, can we talk outside?” he asked quietly, tightening his grip on his duffle bag.
I nodded. He looked me up and down and then headed to the front. I followed him, keeping my distance. Coach Mac was coming out of his office. He locked the door.
“Y’all have a good night.”
“Thanks for waiting, Coach,” Cade said.
“Thanks Coach,” I echoed.
Coach Mac smiled. “No problem. Get home safe.”
“You too,” we replied.
Cade went out first and held the door for me.
“Thank you,” I said quietly. I looked at him, but didn’t linger, quickly shifting my eyes away.
I headed toward my car. I unlocked it and opened the trunk, setting my duffle inside.
“Hey,” Cade said.
I looked over at him. He was a few cars down. I looked at the door. Coach Mac was turning off the lights. Coach Mac’s truck was parked in front of the school. He wouldn’t come into the parking lot with us. I sighed.
“What’s up?” I asked, closing my trunk.
He closed his trunk and jogged over to me. He rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish.
“Uhh about what happened…in the ring…” he started. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I’m usually a professional, but I guess my feelings got the best of me.”
“Feelings?” I asked. “And you didn’t make me uncomfortable.”
“Yeah…I kind of have a crush on you,” he said, looking away from me. His hands fidgeted in his pockets. His car keys jingled.
“I…kind of have a crush on you too,” I said, smiling.
He looked at me, his eyes wide. “Forreal?”
I nodded and it was my turn to look away. I looked down at his beat-up Converse, the white shell-toe covered in black marks.
“Can I give you my number? You can text me if you want,” he said.
“Yeah,” I said.
I unlocked my phone and handed it to him. He put in his number. He handed my phone back and I called him. His phone vibrated in his pocket. I ended the call.
“Now, you can text me if you want,” I said.
We grinned at each other.
“Can I hug you?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, walking toward him.
We hugged, holding each other tightly.
“Let me know when you get home,” he said quietly.
“I will,” I said, trying not to memorize the feeling of his arms around me.
We separated and our eyes lingered on each other.
“Y’all ain’t leave yet?!” Coach Mac yelled, exasperated.
We looked at each other and then Coach Mac. We burst out laughing.
“We’re leaving now, Coach!” I yelled.
“Goodnight, sir,” Cade said.
I got in my car and locked the door. I laughed again as I started the car. I called Taavia.
“What’s up?” Taavia asked.
“I’m heading home,” I said, backing out of the parking spot.
“So…what happened with Cade?”
“He likes me too.”
Taavia squealed. “Oh my gosh! What?! So y’all kissed?”
“Almost,” I said, grinning. “Coach Mac interrupted.”
“Wait! Tell me everything. From when I last saw you until now. Go.”
Cover photo by Parker Johnson on Unsplash
