章 24: 24

A cool night breeze passed over Albert and Rayne as they stood on the raised canvas platform and prepared to attack one another. It was after midnight and they had purposely waited until the rest of the campus had gone to bed to come and practice. They had already stretched and limbered up, now it was time to prove who was better. The timer on Albert's phone beeped and the two of them bounded toward each other and locked arms.

"You just messed up," Rayne said into Albert's ear just before she flipped him onto his back.

Albert got a nice view of the starry sky as Rayne tightened the headlock she held him in. He tried to pry open her hands unsuccessfully for a few seconds, before giving up and tapping on the mat in surrender.

"You gave me all the leverage I needed to beat you. Don't do that again," Rayne said before letting go of him and standing back up.

Albert stood up and moved his head side to side, trying to soothe his hurting neck. They locked arms again, this time Albert watched where he stepped, assuming that was his mistake the first time.

"Wrong again," Rayne said and flipped him again.

This time his feet dangled over the side of the mat. Rayne let him go and he toppled to the ground outside the ring.

"That's a ring out, right?" Albert asked as he climbed back onto the mat.

"You damn right it is," Rayne said and patted his butt.

Albert shook his head slowly as he tried to figure out what he was doing wrong. She always flipped him after telling him he messed up. So it had to be something in the way he locked up with her. He usually went inside, around her collar. Was that the problem? This time when they locked up he went outside. He learned immediately that that was a bad idea. His arms were positioned outside of hers. As he tried to figure out what to do next, she slipped her arms around his.Before he knew what was happening, she had flipped him over her head. He landed flat on his back and she slipped the headlock back on him.

"You know you fucked up again,right?" she asked him as she tightened the hold.

"Yeah, I got that," he said before tapping the mat.

They stood up again. Albert was already exhausted, but Rayne looked fresh. Like she could do this all night.

"How are you not exhausted, no offense but I'm in far better shape than you are," Albert asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"That is a smart question. Honestly its just because I'm always on top of you. Yeah, you're in better shape than me as far as our bodies are concerned, but how long do you think you can handle suddenly weighing as much as we do together? Everytime I land on you that's what your body feels, both of our body weight impacting just you. I'm fine because I'm using you to break my falls," Rayne said before gripping both of his nipples over his shirt.

Albert screamed and waved his hands in the air frantically.

"Now apologize for saying what you said," she said and twisted her hands.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean any insult by it. I love your body," Albert said frantically.

Rayne let him go and got ready to lock up with Albert again. Albert rubbed his nipples as he considered his strategy. There was no way he could out grapple her, it was just that simple. If they locked arms she had him. He wasn't sure why, but he had to accept it as a fact. So the only option that left him with was to avoid it. He stood as if he was about to lock up with her, but when she came forward to grab him. He pushed her arms away and tapped her on the cheek before retreating backward. He smiled as he backed away, thinking about his strategic success, until Rayne's fist slammed into his chest and sent him crashing to the mat. She had the headlock on him in seconds.

"That was better, but don't drop your guard like that again," she said after he tapped out.

The timer on Rayne's phone beeped this time and signaled the end of the round. The two of them sat down on the edge of the platform and lay down.

"How are you so good at this?" Albert asked as he crept his fingers between hers and interlocked them with hers.

"I grew up in an MMA gym. My dad was an amateur fighter," Rayne stared out into the night sky as she spoke.

"Oh that must've been fun. Was he good?" Albert asked, turning onto his left side to face her.

"He was so good. Everyone thought he was gonna be a champion in his weight class one day," she said, nostalgia filling her voice.

"Oh wow, so why did he never go pro?" Albert asked, her story had intrigued him.

"Subdural Haematoma," Rayne said as a tear spilled from her eye and rolled toward her cheek.

Albert didn't know what that meant, but it sounded medical. So he assumed her dads health became an issue.

"It's when blood collects between your brain and skull, my dad got it from his bitch of a wife. She threw a lamp at him when he walked in on her cheating on him," Rayne said as anger took the place of nostalgia on her face.

"Oh, so that probably messed up his career huh?" Albert asked and gently wiped the tear from her cheek.

"It killed him, that cheating bitch killed my fucking dad," Rayne said and buried her face in Albert's shoulder.

Albert held her tightly as she wept against him. He had no idea what to do or say next. It was crazy to him how a story that started off so positive could end so badly. Then the question hit Albert like a charging bull.

"Rayne, when you say she was your dad's wife, do you also mean she was your..," Rayne's hand on his lips cut him off.

"Don't you dare call that thing my mom, all it ever did for me was push me out," Rayne said, her words were full of hate.

They both sat up and looked down at the edge of the mat in silence for a few awkward seconds.

"I'm sorry for bringing the mood down like that," Rayne said slowly. As she fiddled with her fingers.

"I probably shouldn't have pried," Albert said and pulled her closer to him.

Rayne laid her head on his shoulder and interlocked her fingers in his again.

"Albert, even if this thing between us fizzles out and we go our separate ways. I will always be thankful to you for reminding me what it feels like to be happy," Rayne said.

Albert felt his heart begin to pound. Her raw feelings were so deep, he was completely at a loss for a response. He wanted to make a joke and reassure her they would always be together, but it felt juvenile. Maybe he didn't have to respond, maybe she just needed to be heard. He simply listened and held onto her tighter.

"That doesn't mean I'm letting you get away without a fight though," She said and kissed him on the cheek.

"You know what's crazy, I can't imagine a future without you. So you're stuck with me," Albert finally said, meaning every word he spoke.