Old Flames & Old Pains

[ADarlingDucky]

The LAW arena was a big, big place. In addition to being a massive arena, as advertised in the name, the seating that one would need for such a stadium setting, and the main wrestling ring itself that set in the middle, it also contained a fair amount of functions and rooms that the average wrestling fan would never see. There were, of course, the locker rooms, where wrestlers of all skill levels would prepare themselves before their matches. And, depending on how lucky or unlucky you were, where a number of backstage scuffles took place! There were areas like catering, general areas where wrestlers were provided with food and seating, allowing them to take a rest and replenish their strength without needing to leave the arena. Also an area where, again, certain scuffles could take place. And given that this was a place where much physical activity took place, LAW also had quite a large gymnasium, where wrestlers could hone their bodies in preparation for their matches! Yet another place where many scuffles took place!

But in addition to all of that, there were a few private training areas within the LAW arena, specialized areas set to be used by only one or two wrestlers at a time usually, rented out to those who needed them at scheduled times. Unlike the other areas mentioned, it was a rare sight when the private training rooms were the sight of a scuffle between two wrestlers, given their exclusive nature and the system used to rent them. And yet, today might be a day where that rule was tested, as the room was currently occupied by a wrestler who was not scheduled to be there!

Spoiler

Jamie Harper was covered in a very slight amount of sweat, hair starting to become damp enough that it clung to the sides of his face, despite him brushing it off intermittently, and the wrestling attire he wore clung ever so slightly tighter to his skin. That was on account of the rigorous stretching he had been doing for the past few minutes as he awaited the scheduled time for this room to be occupied. He wasn't encroaching on a total stranger, mind, but rather the opposite. He had been surprised to find the name on the sign up sheet, by pure coincidence at that, but upon a quick online search he had found that the woman was exactly who he thought it was. And that was exactly why he was here now, because a meeting like this... well that simply couldn't be missed.

Knowing that she was likely incoming any minute now, Jamie would pick himself up once more and gently brush his hair away yet again, before turning and positioning himself away from the door for his next stretch, which would see the curvy male slowly bend over, until he was pressing his palms flat to the matted floor! His thong didn't leave very much to the imagination at all as he held the stretch, letting his muscles feel the pleasant strain, all while he awaited the arrival of the woman scheduled for this room. Surely she wouldn't be walking through that door at any moment... right?

[RockRye]

Avery’s sandals tapped against the tiled hallway of LAW, her stride steady and purposeful, though her expression carried the faintest edge of boredom. The hallway wasn’t her runway, but the heads turning as she passed might as well have made it one. She’d chosen her outfit with care, a new, striking set of blue designer workout gear, the snug sports bra accentuating the curve of her chest and the toned definition of her shoulders, while her shorts hugged her hips and thighs, leaving little of her big, sculpted legs to the imagination. Her toned, curvy figure looked powerful, alluring, and completely unattainable, all of it framed by the casual confidence she wore so well.

Avery

Her lips curled into a faint smile as she caught the wandering eyes of onlookers. Dressing up, even for something as mundane as training in solitude, had been a good call. It always was, considering the payoff. With that thought, she glanced at her phone, pulling up her bank app for a quick peek. The sight of the climbing balance made her sigh with satisfaction, her abs tightening subtly beneath the smooth fabric of her bra as she reveled in her success. The number wasn’t just money. It was validation. Proof that every look, every comment, every murmured word was working to build her empire. Her father could eat his heart out, quite literally.

Pleased, she began humming a sensual tune, a faint echo of her days defying her father at a particularly lacivious club in Boston, she caught the glance of another blonde, throwing a playful wink that left the other woman momentarily stunned. Her mood brighter, Avery reached the training room door and pushed it open, pausing mid-hum as her eyes widened.

Directly in front of her was an ass. A particularly well-shaped, skimpily dressed ass. Its owner was bent forward, entirely absorbed in their stretch, blissfully unaware of Avery’s presence. Her lips parted to bark out an order, her usual disdain for anyone intruding on her space rising swiftly. "Unless you want to spend the next hour as a squeeze toy, you will want to rem—"

But something about the way that body stretched, the features attached to it but beyond her vision, the hint of familiarity in its shape, gave her pause. Squinting, her sharp eyes traced the figure from head to toe. A memory itched at the back of her mind, tugging insistently as she hesitated, her command hanging half-formed on her tongue.

[ADarlingDucky]

Busily stretching in the private room, it was only very faintly at first, but Jamie heard the tapping of shoes coming his way, different from the others, heavier and far more distinct than the other noises, and with an odd sense of... importance. Fitting, given who he was waiting for. He would feel a wry smile stretch across his face for a slight moment as the noise came right up to the door, though he didn't stop his stretches, instead continuing to bend low and savor the dull ache that a good stretch brought! He'd be positioned like that when the door swung wide open, and while others might have balked when caught in this position, Jamie was not bothered in the slightest! His round ass remained pushed up into the air, large and pale and perfectly shaped, all for the viewing pleasure of the woman who had walked in behind, as he finished up what he was doing!

She had a predictable reaction at first, Jamie could hear the amusement in her tone when she began speaking, clearly not thrown off by the situation itself, which was what he had expected. It was halfway through her words, however, when she suddenly fell silent, that he could tell she had been struck by some form of realization. He couldn't be sure what it was, but knowing that it was likely due to a realization that this was not a stranger standing in front of her, he'd slowly straighten up, before turning around and daintily brushing his hair aside, giving her a light smirk!

"A squeeze toy? Ooh, you know how to threaten me with a good time, don't you. As fun as that sounds though, don't you think we should at least say hello to one another first? It's been so long after all." There was Avery Merritt, exactly the woman he was expecting, standing in the doorway and looking like she had been struck with a realization halfway through her thought. Seems she did recognize him, though the fact that she was struck with a sense of familiarity when looking directly at his ass might have been quite the telling piece of information!

"You know, when I heard you were here in LAW, I couldn't believe it! But here you are, in the flesh, and looking just as good as the last time we saw one another." And oh boy, did she look good the last time he saw her.

"I'm so happy you're here, I needed to come welcome you in myself! Come here!" Jamie smiled, opening his arms up wide as if inviting Avery in for a welcoming embrace between old friends. However, his feet didn't move a single inch, leaving him still standing a few paces away from the big blonde. After all, there was no telling how she'd react to his presence, and in the event that she came charging towards him, he still wanted to leave himself with a good escape route should it be necessary!

[RockRye]

Avery’s sharp blue eyes scanned the figure before her, unraveling the details piece by piece. The thong wedged high against the firm curve of the ass still in the air was, at first, all she could focus on. A rather brazen display, even for LAW. But as her gaze dropped lower, Avery caught sight of something that gave her pause. A telltale bulge in the front of the thong made her eyes narrow, her smirk faltering. For a moment, confusion flickered across her usually impassive face, and her hands dropped to her hips as she tilted her head, trying to piece together the incongruity.

Avery Merritt rarely indulged in visible doubt or confusion, but now she found herself staring openly, the gears in her mind grinding as she tried to reconcile what she was seeing. Her perfectly controlled demeanor cracked just slightly, a fleeting flash of genuine bewilderment passing across her features.

The figure began to rise, and her breath caught. The face that emerged was somewhat effeminate, angular and striking in a way that teased her memory without offering clarity. It tugged at something deep in her mind, a ghost of familiarity that refused to fully materialize, like someone who had changed just enough over the years to wipe away her internal portrait of him. Her brows furrowed, and for the first time in what felt like ages, Avery Merritt looked lost.

Then he spoke, and the words, smooth, casual, almost too familiar, hit her like a lightning strike. Suddenly, the memories surged forward, breaking through the dam of her confusion. A dark room. The soft glow of a video camera. Twined bodies. A bitter-sweet taste lingering on her tongue. Her breath hitched as the pieces fell into place with excruciating clarity.

Her porcelain-like composure shattered, replaced by a wave of fury so raw it left her momentarily speechless. Her body tensed visibly, the toned muscles of her arms and legs flexing beneath her snug, designer workout gear. Her hands clenched into fists, and her chest heaved with the force of her indignation, the once-flawless mask of elegance now gone. She couldn't even remember his name even though she knew precisely who it belonged to. Josh? Jake? James—Jamie.

Summoning his name restored her speech. “YOU!” she finally spat, her voice sharp and cutting as she pointed an accusing finger at him, her manicured nail gleaming under the fluorescent lights. The word echoed through the room, brimming with venom. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks, her rage bubbling over.

“Jamie,” she hissed, his name coming back to her like a curse. Her words dripped with scorn, her voice trembling just enough to betray the depth of her anger. “What are you doing here!? Did you chase me all the way to Japan to—what? Rekindle one of the biggest mist... tactical errors of my life?!”

The emphasis on the word "tactical" was sharp, a desperate refusal to admit she had ever made a genuine mistake. Avery’s tone dripped with disdain, but the undercurrent of panic in her voice betrayed the vulnerability she so desperately sought to bury.

[ADarlingDucky]

Turning and holding his arms out to her, Jamie had posed himself in the most open way possible, giving Avery the opportunity to fully gaze up and down his entire body, face and outfit and figure alike, all in the service of jogging her memory. And as the the look of befuddled recollection suddenly gave way into raw, unfiltered fury, it became clear that Avery Merritt did indeed remember Jamie Harper, and as he suspected, it was likely a good thing he hadn't stepped any closer to her before this moment. Her hand flew out so fast that he scarcely saw it move, and at the very end of it was an accusatory finger pointed directly at his chest, Jamie's smirk remaining despite the sudden fury that had filled the room. His arms dropped slightly after the moment of realization, as it soon became clear that despite her anger, Avery seemed far too baffled at his presence to do anything... yet.

"Me. In the flesh, just as you remember, I hope." His response was cool and casual, far too casual given the anger that was on display in front of him, but he notably kept his eyes on Avery, and the distance between them didn't close at all. Fortunately, Avery didn't seem ready to close that distance either, as the flustered blonde would question him on his presence here, drawing the smallest of chuckles out of the black haired man.

"Actually, I've been wrestling in LAW for quite some time now. When I heard you had arrived here, I actually thought that you had finally chased me to Japan, just so that we could catch up." It was highly unlikely she had even realized he was here, but the insinuation alone would was likely enough to enrage her all over again. Jamie didn't wait for her anger to boil over however, before continuing on, focus shifting to the end of her tirade, his wry smile giving way to a playful pout as he looked across at her.

"But... a tactical error? I hope that's not truly what you think of me... it's certainly not what I think of you. I'd never want to give that kind of feeling..." Jamie could tell that thanks to the panicked undertone in her voice that she had no idea how best to respond to the situation, and here was his opportunity. In a sense, a verbal push to send her over the edge.

"But for the record, I wouldn't consider anything that happened between us a mistake." The sultry tone, the smug look in his eye, all things in his statement designed to call back to that night, pushing as many buttons as he could just for the fun of seeing how she would react!

[RockRye]

Avery’s piercing blue gaze was a weapon in its own right, and as she locked eyes with Jamie, the intensity of her glare was enough to make him feel the sting. If looks could kill, Jamie would already be a lifeless heap on the mat. Yet, as he continued to wear that infuriatingly easy smile and deliver those smooth, honeyed words, Avery could feel her fury simmering beneath the surface.

That effortless charm of his, the disarming innocence he wielded like a finely tuned instrument, was the same quality that had earned him access to her world once upon a time. A world where she, admittedly, had been more open to letting others touch her. But always for a reason. Always for control. Those who called her indulgent, reckless, or addicted back then simply didn’t understand the grand plan she had been building. Jamie, of all people, had never been a part of that plan. He was an error. A deviation.

And now here he was again, with that damned voice, so sweet it made her teeth ache.

She took a deliberate step forward, her posture rigid with controlled anger. "If I’d known you were here," she hissed, her voice low and venomous, "I would’ve ensured we stayed on opposite ends of this campus. Preferably opposite continents."

Of course, she didn’t mean it. Deep down, she knew that if given the chance to erase him from this narrative, she wouldn’t take it. Not yet, unless he gave her a reason, and he certainly might. But Avery Merritt would never admit aloud that she did not feel quite as much hatred as she directed at him.

"You," she continued, each word dripping with disdain, "don’t get to stand here and act as though you didn’t slither into my bed back then with your own little schemes in mind. I don’t believe for a second that it wasn’t your plan all along to cozy up to someone like me so you could do precisely what you did and have your moment in the sun."

[ADarlingDucky]

The greeting that he received from Avery was, to be honest, not entirely unexpected. Jamie and Avery had shared quite a bit, but something that they hadn't shared was the fallout of their meeting when it was made public, as the consequences had been drastic for Avery, and it made perfect sense that she ended up a bit touchy about the subject. Jamie, on the other hand, was already somewhat of a known quantity, and it was nothing that anybody who knew him wouldn't expect anything different, so the reaction to his appearance in the viral video had been somewhat tepid! In fact, it might have been because of it that he was quite as well known as he was now! Still, Jamie did at least understand where the vitriol came from, even if he continued to smile in the face of her hissed words and furious scowl, pushing past them as if they weren't even there!

"Schemes? I haven't the faintest idea of any schemes." While it may have been true back then, today would certainly have qualified as a scheme. After all, he had specifically intruded on a space reserved for her with the intent of running into her once more! "Come on, you know me. I was as honest back then as I was now. And I mean about everything I said back then as well." He wasn't totally sure he could remember all of what he said back then, but a few choice phrases certainly remained.

It was clear she was frazzled, but Jamie was mischievous at the best of times, and so he'd continue to push buttons here and there, curious to see whether she'd storm off or storm at him, or at a certain point, just stand there and storm!

"All I did was share my love of wrestling with someone I felt a connection with. And clearly it worked, given that you're here wrestling in LAW now! Honestly, if I didn't know any better I'd say you followed me here." THAT one was sure to get her angry, but he wondered if it would fluster her as much as the next line, Jamie tilting his head back as he reminisced!

"That night though... it was... magical, if you'll forgive me sounding like a sap. You didn't know hardly anything about wrestling, but you seemed so... eager to learn. And god, did you throw yourself into it. The holds that I got you in... the look on your face as you experienced them for the first time... honestly, I've never seen someone so surprised, pained... and turned on at the same time. It was truly impressive." And there was the one he fully expected to tip her over the edge.

[RockRye]

Avery was visibly bristling, her composure fraying with every word Jamie let fall from his lips. His insufferable attempts at charm were giving her every reason to erase him from her world entirely. Her finely honed muscles seemed to tighten with each syllable, veins popping in her arms and neck as the mere sight of him, coupled with the audacity of his claims, pushed her fury into dangerous territory.

When he had the gall to suggest that she had followed him to LAW, her vision practically blurred with anger. But it was his casual mention of how he’d run her through a gauntlet of sexual wrestling holds that turned her expression into a vivid portrait of indignation, her cheeks flushing so deeply that it looked as though she might summon a bolt of lightning to strike his head if she had the power. His smug remark about how she had been so turned on was the final straw.

Avery took another step toward him, her imposing presence making Jamie’s casual stance seem like an even greater insult. Her dreaded finger rose sharply once more. But behind her fury lay an undeniable kernel of truth. She hated that Jamie's words dredged up memories she had buried: memories of how she had allowed herself to be vulnerable in that moment, ideas it had sparked for her session career, and the lingering sting of her own... mistakes. Miscalculations.

That truth was something she could not acknowledge, not even to herself. It had to be denied, obliterated.

The Queen of Diamonds straightened to her full height, her icy voice cutting through the air with deadly precision. “Honest?” she sneered, her lips curling into a sharp, derisive smile. “The only thing honest about you, Jamie, is how pathetically small you are. Do you remember what you said back then? That I’d remember what we did for the rest of my life?” Her tone dropped into a venomous growl, each word punctuated like a blade. “I do remember. But not for your self-flattering reasons. I remember because I swore in the aftermath that I would never again give up even a sliver of control to anyone. Least of all to some insignificant little blemish in my past.”

She stepped closer, her eyes narrowing into shards of ice that pierced through him. “That’s all you are, Jamie. A blemish. One of a series of faceless fools I was young enough to waste my time on, when that time could have been better spent on something far more valuable. Like beauty sleep.”

Her voice crescendoed, the menace in her tone unmistakable. “So let me make this perfectly clear. I had better never see you in my sphere again. Because if I do, I’ll show you precisely what I’ve learned since.”

The threat hung in the air, heavy and electrified. Avery’s glare lingered on Jamie for a long, cutting moment before she turned, stomping toward the door with heavy steps.

[ADarlingDucky]

Oh, Jamie was pushing buttons alright. Judging by the expression on Avery's face as he spoke, she was somewhere between shutting down due to overwhelming rage, or snapping and charging him the very next moment, with neither option truly being that surprising! The latest comments that he had thrown at her had turned her face an entirely new shade of crimson, and Jamie was potentially considering taking another step back in the event that she were to actually explode, when she straightened up and flashed a rage-filled smile. Now that, that smile, was by far the scariest thing that she had done so far, a complete and total about-face from the expression of baffled anger that she had shown up until now! But not without reason, he would find, as Avery had finally mustered the words that she wanted to say, and was ready to let him hear it.

And oh boy, did she let him hear it.

The tirade she proceeded to level at the pretty boy would have been considered legendary in several circumstances had anyone but the two of them been around to hear it, designed to target the pride and bruise the ego of the man receiving it! It was impressively articulate and each new sentence would be a different weapon looking to take him down a peg, Avery's venom even pushing her physically closer as she delivered it! If Jamie were the type to let words affect him, he might have even been close to getting his feelings hurt!

Unfortunately for her, Avery was leveling the wrong weapon at him, and so his easygoing smile never faded throughout the entirety, even with her ending smirk, and after that, she was gone! Hearing her walking down the hallway, Jamie would finally take a few steps forwards and gaze out after her, watching her thick rear end jiggle and shake with her angry movements as she left. As they said, hate to see her leave, love to watch her go. And while he might have been wiser to leave things there, a part of him simply couldn't resist one last little comment!

"So, I take it you don't want to stretch with me then?" Jamie called, half expecting her to whirl around and charge! However, it seemed that she had been content to leave things there, and he'd watch her disappear to another area! All in all, it wasn't an unexpected ending, and Jamie had felt his curiosity satisfied by the fact that he had managed to meet with her again! Still, while being a big place, LAW wasn't that big, and so who knew? Perhaps these two hadn't seen the last of one another yet...