Feelings are not something that can be put on the line

[skip-stop]

"No luck, huh..." Astrid sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry, but all the single saunas are really occupied," the receptionist said after checking the schedule again. "But we have several collective saunas." After carefully running her eyes over the monitor, she raised her index finger up. "Both women and men can use the collective saunas, but now sauna number four is completely free."

"So this is my option," the blonde replied with a nod. "Thank you."

"Have a nice rest."

Well, it's better than nothing. Astrid really hoped to spend some time alone, but in any case, they had nothing against collective saunas. Besides, it is far from a fact that anyone will join her while she is there. So it was really not the worst option.

Entering the locker room, she chose the nearest free locker and began to take off her clothes. She was lucky that no one was in the locker room at that moment because she clearly felt that her movements were very constrained. The reason was simple. Not much time has passed since her Apex match and some bruises on her body still gave her discomfort.

After getting rid of her clothes, she put on her bikini. After closing her things in the locker, she took a quick glance at the mirror. The corners of her lips lifted slightly. She paid very little attention to clothes, preferring, as they say, to wear the same clothes until holes appeared on them. But not so long ago, Charlotte and Nerissa dragged her to the shop, forcing her to buy a new bikini. And now, looking at herself in the mirror, she couldn't deny that it was a good purchase.

Astrid Arvidsson

In fact, today she had the opportunity to train with her best friends. Right now Nerissa and Charlotte were several floors down and most likely beating the shit out of each other in sparring. But, despite all the desire, the blonde decided to take some time to rest. She felt a catastrophic need to relax after all the recent events.

Therefore, she left the locker room without remorse and walked straight to sauna number four. When she opened the glass door, hot air immediately hit her face. Oh, it was a damn unusual, but more than pleasant feeling. Astrid entered the sauna and closed the door behind her.

As the receptionist said, there was no one here. And although Astrid would hardly complain, she was pleased that she could spend at least some time alone today. Drops of sweat had already begun to appear on her skin, so the blonde hurried to climb a little higher in order to lie on the top bench face up.

"By Gods..." she muttered as she felt the wooden planks lightly burn the skin on her back.

She couldn't even remember the last time she visited a sauna. But she was certainly glad of the opportunity to give her body a rest. A lot of very different events have happened recently. She has faced many outstanding women both in the ring and outside of it.

Many rightly considered her a LAW rising star, although Astrid herself did not like to think about it. Popularity is a very dangerous side of business. Many people here are used to hanging different labels on each other. But the Norwegian woman herself is used to talking in a different way. She preferred to use her fists instead of words. Words can be false. But fists never lie. That's why everyone knew that she never throws words to the wind. She didn't need it. If she says something, she is always ready to confirm it with her fists.

However, today wasn't the day she wanted to think about it. Today, she intended to just take a break from everything she had been through since signing the contract. Closing her eyes, Astrid enjoyed the heat with a slight smile, which certainly had the most pleasant effect on the muscles of her body.

[Teenwrestler]

Ever since he had made the decision to leave home and LAW federation, there was only one person in his mind. The woman that he met in the USA from his school days, Belinda Northman. The two were friends but nothing more than that because the Danish male did not have the courage to step up and ask the blonde out. He was short of confidence, he was not the strongest, smartest or funniest guy around. When they parted and he returned back to Norway, all he could think about how he could impress her. He had known that she wanted to try out for wrestling and perhaps that was a route towards feelings but she was always a competitive woman and if wrestling was the key to her heart than he would have to be the best at it.

Thus he trained to be a wrestler, he trained hard and eventually found his way to becoming a pro-wrestler until he was scouted by LAW and was at the same promotion as Belinda. The day came when he met her after all these years, it took years of built up courage and conviction to finally step up and let his feelings know to her especially considering the fact that he had gone into wrestling just to impress her. However, his meeting with her was not the flowers and rainbows he thought it would be. He got to know that the blonde did not see him as a love interest, hinting that perhaps that there was someone else- another woman.

Devasted, the Dane was forced to rethink his career. Was there any point in staying at LAW anymore? Especially because he may have to see Belinda's face every now and then while knowing that they could never be a thing. He was ready to pack his bags, call it quits and leave LAW. There was no point in staying anymore until he got tipped off on the woman that stole his love from him.

Astrid Arvidsson.

So that was his new purpose, one last reason to stay at LAW before calling it quits. If he were to stay at LAW, then Astrid could not. So the task ahead was simple, he was going to face her, challenge her.....for Belinda! He had been keeping tabs on Astrid, she was quite the wrestler, quite the competitor. Apex contender, gunning for the title. Lucas did not care, he was fighting for something greater than recognition and titles. He knew that Astrid was schedule for a Sauna session and that was the only chance he could get to find her alone.

Shower

Taking a shower in the locker room knowing it was going to get hot and sweaty, he would step out and then towel himself off. There was not much time, he quickly changed into a pair of red wrestling briefs and nothing else before making his way towards the glass door. He entered and he could feel the heat and the humidity in the air due to the steam. He looked around for a bit before spotting the blonde woman, laying flat on her back on one of the wooden benches. This was the moment of truth.

Main Wrestling Attire

He approached her, standing next to the bench. He cleared his throat, there were only two questions that he had for her right now. "My name is Lucas Anderson. I just want to know two things from you. One, are you Astrid Arvidsson. Two, what is your relationship with Belinda Northman" he said with a stoic look on his face.

[skip-stop]

For Astrid, it was a real pleasure. She was one of those who is constantly on the move. She spends most of her time either in the ring or in the gym. Even bars and other similar places faded into the background for her. Because of this, she began to forget how pleasant it can be to just relax. Yes, loneliness is not what she wanted in this life. But, lying on the wooden bench in absolute silence, the blonde was just having pleasure.

Unfortunately, nothing can last forever. Literally ten minutes after Astrid entered the sauna, the glass door opened again. For a moment, the Norwegian woman pursed her lips. She hoped she could spend more time without anyone's company. However, it was unfair to complain about it. She understood that any federation fighter had the right to come here.

However, this did not mean that she intended to react to it in any way. Therefore, the blonde did not even open her eyes in order to see who exactly came. There was more than enough space. And so Astrid saw no need to interrupt her rest. Yes, her skin was already profusely covered with sweat, but this was clearly not enough for her. She wanted her muscles to get a well-deserved rest.

Apparently, the one who entered the sauna had a different opinion on this matter. At first Astrid heard footsteps approaching her, and then a man's voice broke the silence. Two questions. And if the first question was not something strange, because thanks to her recent successes she became quite popular, then the second question was absolutely not what she could have expected to hear.

Slowly opening her eyes, the blonde turned her head to the side in order to look at the guy who introduced himself as Lucas Anderson. She for sure had never seen him before. Astrid's eyes ran over him from top to toe. Well. Okay. This guy was a handsome one. Well built and so on. However, it didn't really matter to her.

"As for the first question," she said in a pretty flat voice. "Yeah, that's right, I'm Astrid Arvidsson, huh."

After introducing herself, the blonde took a sitting position and turned to the side, placing her feet on the bench level below. She had nothing against telling her name, because in the end it wasn't some kind of secret and the blonde saw no reason to be rude because someone contacted her in order to clarify her name. But...

"As for the second question," she said, after which a fire seemed to run through her lavender eyes. "It's not your damn business."

The Norwegian woman slightly tilted her head to the side, once again glancing at the white-haired guy. Who is this guy? What did he want from her? And what does Belinda have to do with it? There was no doubt that this meeting was not accidental. It was obvious to Astrid that he had taken some time to catch her alone. But if he expected her to just lay out her entire personal life on the table, then he was very mistaken. You jumped on the wrong bull, cowboy.

[Teenwrestler]

He did not see himself as the bad guy in this situation. The Dane had taken a huge leap of faith in moving to this country and attempting to join LAW, just to gain the attention of one person. The woman he had a crush on since he was young but it turned out that his whole motivation to come here and even to pick up wrestling was all a waste because Belinda did not see him the way he saw her. In fact, she hinted that perhaps there was already someone that interested her. There was no confirmation but what was certain was that Belinda was not looking to accept Lucas's feelings. After digging some information, it turned out those feelings may or may not have been for the woman before him right now.

She was strong and beautiful but Lucas did not care, perhaps if he could beat her then maybe Belinda would think differently of him. Even if she did not, he simply had to let his frustrations out on the woman who stole his love from him. Astrid would confirm that she was indeed who he thought she was before sitting up and facing him, not really interested in answering his second question as she believed it was not his business to ask her that. He would remain stoic, a bead of sweat dripping off his forehead onto the bridge of his nose and then to the floor.

"I believe it very much is" he was quick to respond right after she finished. "I've known Belinda since a long time....I've had feelings for her since we were young. I finally had the courage to make that decision to tell her that, to take up wrestling just to prove to her...and to myself that I can be with her." he said before taking a deep breath.

"The whole reason I took up wresting and came here was because of her. Now I find out that you and her.....Tch, I won't accept defeat again. Tell me, do you like her? he would ask, clenching his fists tightly as it was clear he was getting a bit heated up talking about this topic.

[skip-stop]

Astrid didn't like it. At all. That was exactly what she was going to make Lucas understand by answering her last question that way. Given the circumstances, she could characterize the white-haired guy with just one word. A stalker. Fair or not, this guy probably spent a lot of time trying to figure out that Astrid had some relationships with Belinda. After all, absolutely no one knew about it.

But despite the fact that the Norwegian woman gave a more than clear answer, this didn't stop the guy. He believed that this was his business. Astrid didn't really care much about his thoughts on this. And perhaps the best solution would be to just go down from the top bench and get out of the sauna, forgetting about this meeting. But Astrid wasn't in the habit of running away from problems. She preferred not to run away from problems, but to solve them. In most cases, radically.

So the blonde decided to stay. In addition, the white-haired guy, apparently, decided to explain what was the matter. Literally immediately after he began his story, Astrid's left eyebrow lifted slightly. Perhaps someone would consider this story romantic. But she had other thoughts about it.

She just made several conclusions. Lucas and Belinda have known each other since childhood. He was in love with her all the time, but he didn't have the courage to tell her about that. He started pro wrestling in the hope of impressing Belinda. But when, after many years, he arrived in Japan in order to fulfill his dreams and win Belinda's heart, it turned out that he was too late.

Did Astrid empathize with this guy? No. That was exactly what she was going to tell him. The train left. And if you've been hoping for so many years that Belinda, not knowing about your feelings, will be waiting for you, then you have obvious problems, buddy. Astrid even opened her mouth to say it, but suddenly she got another question.

She and Belinda only had one real date. But this date was more than enough for Astrid to realize how wonderful Belinda is. Every time the Norwegian woman recalled the time they brought together, her heart was filled with warmth. Next to Belinda, for the first time in a long time, she felt not like a warrior, but a woman. Therefore, the answer to Lucas' question was very simple and this time Astrid did not see the need to hide it.

"Yes, I do." She said in a somewhat softer voice, which was undoubtedly influenced by the memories of the time she spent with Belinda.

However, this weakness lasted no longer than a second. The blonde got to her feet and took a step down, descending from the top bench to the bottom one, after which she took another step down, descending to the wooden floor. Because of her movements, drops of sweat began to roll down her muscular body much more actively. But, nevertheless, she found herself face to face with Lucas, looking into his eyes without any hint of fear or anything like that. Her voice became hard again.

"What now?" She asked.

[Teenwrestler]

It was obvious why Belinda had chosen to go on a date with the woman before him. She was beautiful, looked strong and from what he could gather, possessed a strong resolve to stand up to the things she believed in. Lucas would let his past be known to her, not afraid to let her know of his own shortcomings, his reasoning to take up pro-wrestling and his confession for the woman he liked. In contrast, Astrid remained firm and only had a few choice words for him. He could sense the softness in her tone when she admitted that she liked Belinda, an admittance which made him clench his fist and grit his teeth in trying to suppress his own anger.

When Astrid rose to her full height, face to face with the Dane, Lucas felt as if they were two Alpha's human beings not willing to back down from the feelings they had towards Belinda Northman. Equally so, Lucas was not ready to let this go even if it meant having to fight his way to Belinda's heart. She answered his question again, but this time also had a question of her own. Lucas did not think too much on this, what next was clear to him because only of them could have what both of them wanted.

"What now? I think it's pretty clear what must happen now" he would say, face to face with her without showing any signs of flinching. "I've come too far and waited too long for you to be in my way and make no mistake about this, I am in your way as well. I respect that you have feelings for Belinda but only one of us can...." he said, pausing before taking a step further so they were pressed head to head.

"I challenge you to a match, right here and now.....for Belinda" he said.

[skip-stop]

The only reason she asked this question was to find out how bad this guy's head was. Because if, after this question, she had heard even the slightest hint of a threat in her direction or in the direction of Belinda, she would not have hesitated. She already started to see this guy as a problem. And if she had really heard something like that, she would have dealt with this problem without remorse the way she knew how best.

But although she didn't hear the threat, her fists involuntarily clenched almost immediately after Lucas began to speak. Literally with each new word, the flame inside her becomes hotter and hotter. And the sauna had nothing to do with it. She understood where the wind was blowing from. Therefore, she remained unshaken at the moment when the white-haired guy took a step forward, causing their foreheads to collide, and her lush breasts to press against his front side.

And when what Lucas thought was going to happen finally came out, a genuine rage ran through Astrid's eyes. At the same moment, she wanted to grab this guy, throw him on the wooden floor, and then start beating the shit out of his head. Her muscles tensed so much that her entire body began to tremble.

"Who do you think you are?" She said, letting out an angry growl on every word.

Barely finding the strength to control herself, the blonde moved forward, putting pressure on Lucas with both her forehead and her breasts. She was furious about it. Astrid has never been known for her complaisant disposition. Sometimes even one wrong word was enough to wake up the dragon inside her. But if there was usually nothing personal about it, now everything was different.

"Think you're the hero of a cheap drama?" She growled. "Think you can come and say something at the level of my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die?" Her breathing quickened and her nostrils began to dilate widely with each breath. "You're just a weak-willed coward who didn't have the courage to confess to her, and when you finally grew the balls to tell her about it, you held a grudge like a whiny baby."

All she wanted to do was hit him. And, judging by her look, she was really ready to do it. So why, instead of throwing her fist into his brazen face, she relaxed her palms and took a step back? Rage is a terrible force. And Astrid knew that if she started this fight, she wouldn't stop. The only thing that stopped her was the thought of Belinda. The Swedish-American woman would hardly be happy if Astrid beat up her childhood friend. Astrid didn't want to hurt the feelings of the other blonde.

"Moron..." she said with undisguised hatred. "Belinda is not a thing, Belinda is not a toy, and you have no right to demand anything from her or from me." A flame once again ran through the lavender eyes. "If this wonderful woman refuses my feelings, then I will disappear from her life, but..." she tried to start breathing evenly, but so far she has not succeeded. "Feelings are not something that can be put on the line." Astrid bared her teeth. "So the only thing I can offer you is to stay here and fuck yourself."

With these words, she intended to take a firm step forward, roughly pushing Lucas shoulder to shoulder. She wasn't going to waste even a second staying here any longer. And so she intended to head for the glass door in order to leave the sauna. She had nothing more to say to this idiot, who decided that they had returned to the Middle Ages, where a woman was just an accessory for those who thought she was pretty enough.

[Teenwrestler]

The reality was that Lucas was not a bad guy. He was usually quite timid and not confrontational but something awakened in him after being rejected by Belinda. He wasn't thinking straight and acted out of impulse, finding the woman who allegedly Belinda was interested in and trying to fight her so that she would back off. When he butted heads with her, she would do the same and would begin to push into him. It caused some tension between the two, their sweaty bodies roughly pushing and shoving against each other. It was clear that a fight was about to break out until suddenly, the blonde would back off.

Despite the anger in her, she tried to calm down but it was an impossible task. She would decline his challenge, instead ranting about how ridiculous the entire thing sounded. She told him off and to be honest, she made sense which made him even more angry. He didn't mind the insult but she was right, Belinda was not a toy that these two should fight over nor should feelings be something that ought to be put on the line. However, he had no choice because it was easy for Astrid to say when she was the one who was not rejected, Lucas came to LAW for one thing only and now it was beyond him. This was his only chance, go big or go home.

When she bumped him shoulder to shoulder, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Just as she was about to leave, he would speak. "Coward huh? The only coward I see here is YOU. You're the one who won't even fight for the woman you love. If your love for her is more than the love I have then you should have no problem facing me but here you are, running away because you are afraid of losing Belinda when I beat you and then YOU will be the one who will be the whiny baby and hold a grudge." he said turning to face her back.

"You're Norwegian huh? Your ancestors would be disappointed in you, the mighty Valkyrie descendants can't even wrestle for someone they love! Hmph. There is no point running away, I will keep coming after you and Belinda again and again until you deal with me. So this is your chance to end things before they begin, Astrid. Wrestle me right here and now. The winner gets Belinda. If you beat me then its over...I'll back off and neither you nor Belinda will ever see me...." he would say, with a fire lit up under his belly.

[skip-stop]

This conversation is over. Astrid decided it, if not for both of them, then for herself for sure. It was insanely difficult for her to resist the urge to punch this guy in the face. Feelings for Belinda were the only thing that held her back. She was sure that regardless of the circumstances, the Swedish-American woman would not be happy if she found out that Astrid started a fight with her childhood friend. So she was going to leave the sauna.

Right until Lucas started talking again.

Astrid stopped. Why? Because words with accusations flew into her back. In Lucas's opinion, she was the only coward here. Trying to suppress the desire to turn around and rush at him, she steadfastly listened to what he wanted to say. She spoke only after the white-haired guy mentioned her ancestors. A subject she wasn't going to let anyone discuss.

"Don't you dare talk about my ancestors." She said in a trembling voice. "My great ancestors had honor, unlike a piece of shit like you."

The blonde turned around to look at Lucas. This time it wasn't a fleeting glint, this time her eyes really looked red. She was filled with anger. More than ever. More than during any match. There were many women in LAW whom she respected. There were several women in LAW that she didn't like. And so far, there was only one woman in LAW that she despised. Now this list has been replenished by the guy standing in front of her.

"If your love is greater than my love..." she repeated the words of the Danish-American guy with disgust. "The words of a true loser." If Astrid had been a little less well-mannered, she would have spat on the floor. "Do you think I don't see, do you think I don't know?" Astrid's lips curled in mockery. "You're wrong, I know why you're so easily suggesting a match with Belinda is at stake." Yes, many believed that Astrid did not have the ability to look into the depths of things, but the truth was that she really knew why Lucas came here. "You already lost, she has already rejected you, and unlike me, you have nothing to lose, because if the match ends with your defeat, then nothing will change for you, because you already have nothing, and if the match ends with my defeat, then I will have to give up Belinda." Astrid paused briefly to emphasize the fact that he had failed to trick her. "You. Already. Lost."

She could beat him up right now. She could turn him into mincemeat and leave him in this sauna. Yes, maybe she wouldn't have left here without wounds and injuries. But she would have done it. However, despite the fact that this guy was made of shit, even though he was trying to deny it, she understood that this was not an option. She believed his words. Even if she beats him up here, he'll come back. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a week, but someday for sure. Therefore...

"Yeah, you'll get this match," Astrid said. "Yet, Belinda won't be a bet, don't even dream about it, do you hear me?!" She took a step towards the white-haired guy. "No one will decide her fate but her." Their foreheads collided again. "But I want you to know, and I will hammer it into your head in this match." Astrid clenched her fists. "She will never be with you because you are not worthy of her."

Feeling that if she didn't leave, she would start the match right now, the blonde turned around again. And this time she reached the glass door. She stopped only after she took hold of the door handle. She had only one thing left to clarify.

"Everything will end where it started," she said without turning around. "A sauna match, wait for the documents from my manager."

With these words, she left the sauna and headed to the locker room. She wasn't going to hide what had happened here. Belinda should know. Therefore, Astrid was going to pick up the phone first and call the other blonde. She knew Belinda wouldn't approve that Astrid agreed to this match. And the Norwegian woman could only hope that Belinda would understand that she did it for both of them.