Lexi
As soon as her back hit the mat, she knew she was in trouble.
Not just from the pin, but from Grayson himself.
He fought like a demon; who the fuck wouldn’t stop when their shoulder was out of the socket?
It was sick, and some part of her loved it.
She tried to tuck her knees up as soon as she hit her back, but it was too late.
Grayson’s body covered hers, and he held his weight in only two places.
His pelvis dug into hers, where his legs covered the length of hers.
The second point was his forearm, which was almost the length of her entire torso.
Positioned straight down her sternum, he rested his hand gently on her neck. Dammit, he was heavy.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the panic; the chills that came with being pinned down. She was caught. Trapped.
“Open your eyes,” he told her in a soft but strained voice.
She felt rather than heard Eddie slap the mat and call something out, but she couldn’t hear what.
Grayson caught her eyes, and all she saw was …waiting. He had to be in pain; he had to be straining himself, but his face was calm. Her entire body relaxed in response, sinking into the mat with him on top of her.
All of a sudden, his weight didn’t feel restrictive and overbearing.
Her panting slowed, and as she stared into his eyes, she felt a weightlessness.
Her willpower slid away from her; it left her and he took it.
She watched his eyes flare brighter in triumph.
Those bright green eyes held her in a trance, but she heard shouting.
Then Grayson was gone, and Eddie was in his place above her.
“Lexi! Talk to me! Was she out long?” Eddie yelled at Grayson, who had rolled up onto his knees, notably using his uninjured side after being thrown off of her by Eddie. Without weight pressing her down, Lexi took a huge inhale.
“She wasn’t out at all. She was just waiting for me to get off of her without injuring myself any more, thank you very much.”
Confused, Eddie looked back at Lexi - into open, alert eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Are you alright den, Baby?” he asked, pulling her up gently behind the neck.
She could have kissed him. She could have killed him.
Was she alright? She wasn’t sure. Hurt? No - well, except for her split lip, which she confirmed by taking out her mouthpiece.
But she was in much better shape than Grayson, who had beaten her after she’d dislocated his shoulder.
Which Eddie seemed to realize only after Lexi was standing upright.
“Christ man, why the hell didn’t you tap out?!” Eddie yelled.
His voice had gone from demanding to shrill along the length of the single sentence, and Lexi smiled.
“He d-” Lexi’s voice died, and she cleared it to go on. “He didn’t need to.”
She stood, rolling her shoulders and bending various joints to make sure everything was in its place.
While Eddie sprayed down their mat with antiseptic, he muttered to himself about stupid shit crazy white people did.
She smiled, wincing when her lip welled with blood.
She licked it off, tracking Grayson’s gaze.
Grayson’s assessing eyes met hers again, and she forced herself to look away.
She wasn’t sure whether she was alright, or whether Grayson’s shoulder would be, but he had just crystallized two things for her.
One, that he could indeed protect what was his, and two, she was undeniably submissive.
She just wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
GRAYSON
“Are you heading to a hospital den, man?” Eddie asked him, after they were back at the front of the gym. It seemed like Lexi couldn’t help herself from playing with her swollen lip, and it was driving him crazy.
“You don’t have someone here who can just put it back in?” he asked, honestly surprised.
Eddie frowned. “We don’t get a lot of dislocations here, and when they happen, they should be treated by medical professionals.”
Lexi rolled her eyes, sharing a conspiratorial wink with Grayson.
“Eddie, you and I could both do it. We’ve done it before.”
Eddie eyed her from behind the main counter.
“And what would the boss say about that, hm? Your boy here never even signed de waivers. And would you take an ice pack, for Christ’s sake? Your lip is blowing up. Honestly, did you have to land on her face with all of your weight, man?”
Seated next to Lexi, Grayson wasn’t listening, instead testing out his arm.
It was definitely out of the socket, but beyond that nothing felt pulled, which was good.
He’d had a similar injury years ago playing hockey, and it had been fine a few days after putting it back in.
For now, he cradled it with his right. He thought he knew which buttons to push.
“Look, if Lexi can do it for me, it’s fine.”
With a shrug, Lexi went to stand.
“Sit down, girl! Ice pack, on. I’ll do the stupid white boy’s shoulder.” As predicted, Eddie jumped to help Lexi, coming right around from the other side of the counter.
“Up against the wall or on the floor, tough guy?” he asked, placing his hands on his hips. For the first time, Grayson wondered if Eddie was into men, but changed his mind right back when Eddie’s gaze lingered on Lexi again.
“Wall,” he decided, for the first time feeling the exertion of the fights. He’d fought five matches and lost three of the five. He still considered it a win since he knew with absolute certainty two things: one, Lexi was going to fight for him. She had to.
Second, Lexi was unequivocally submissive, whether she gave in to it or not. He just wasn’t sure what she was going to do about it.