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These stories are entirely fictitious accounts of fights that may have taken place in an alternate universe in the mid-1950's between Hollywood personalities. Contains descriptions of nudity, lesbianism and violence.

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MITZI IN HOLLYWOOD Chapter 16 - "Something About Cyd" - by Kim and Ginny

PROLOGUE.

After seeing Mitzi beat Debra Paget at Frank's Birthday party, former championship contender Cyd Charisse agreed to Ethel Merman's request that she train Mitzi for her upcoming boxing match with Shirley MacLaine. Cyd told Mitzi if she wanted her help she'd have to move into her Malibu Beach cottage and live there while she trained. At first, Cyd was dismayed by Mitzi's lack of any noticeable boxing talent, but once she got the stubborn young blonde to think of it as dancing they began to make good progress.

MITZI IN TRAINING - WEEK ONE

"Step, step, jab, step," Cyd said, poking Mitzi lightly in the cheek as she moved around her, in-out and side-to-side. "Think of it like a dance routine, you'll pick it up in no time."

And she did. After a few days, Mitzi had picked up the rudiments of footwork and was working on developing a left jab. But she was also getting bored by the daily routine. Running on the beach every morning was followed by punching a bag in the gym; then after lunch another run and 'dancing' in the ring.

"When do I get to hit somebody," she whined. "Slapping at that silly ol' bag and dancing with shadows is boring."

"OK," Cyd sneered, her face unable to disguise her disdain, "Show me what you've learned so far."

As Cyd climbed into the ring she slipped on a pair of gloves and gestured for Mitzi to put up her hands.

"Defend yourself."

It quickly got out of hand. Mitzi ignored everything she'd been told and attacked Cyd with both fists, windmilling her arms and flailing away with abandon. Cyd calmly blocked each wild swing and after weathering Mitzi's initial onslaught, used her left fist to jab Mitzi in the face.

"One!" She poked the startled blonde in the mouth.

"Two!" Cyd's fist landed flush on Mitzi's nose which started to bleed as she danced away taunting Mitzi.

"Three!" She stepped in and drove a short, sharp punch to Mitzi's right eye and then slid past her before Mitzi could even cock her hand to throw a punch.

Cyd backed away and left Mitzi standing frozen in shock in the middle of the ring.

"Look at yourself," Cyd said as she took off the gloves. "You're out of breath, your arms are tired and you never even touched me. You've already got a bloody nose and, if I'm not mistaken, you may have a black eye in the morning."

Mitzi's shoulders slumped as she walked to the corner and leaned on the ropes as she dabbed at her nose with a towel.

"Shirley's gonna kill me isn't she?" she sighed. "I'm pathetic. I've got what they call a Chinese chin or something."

"It's China chin, and no, you don't have it. You just don't know what you're doing. Don't underestimate the power of a good jab, not only can it keep your opponent off balance and ducking instead of hitting you, but it sets up the right - that punch you want keep wanting to use. If you can't jab, nobody's ever gonna get hit by a right the way you telegraph it. Go take a shower and think about what happened. When you're ready to listen, we'll start over again."

That evening, as she did every night after dinner, Mitzi took a taxi downtown to visit Adelaide at the Mission for a steam bath and a sensuous rubdown by the wiry masseuse. Like every night, they talked about Mitzi's training. For the most part, she complained about Cyd's methods and how she wasn't having any fun. Adelaide provided a comforting shoulder on which Mitzi could cry, but it was her knowing fingers that Mitzi needed to relieve the stress of having lost Nikki and to soothe her aching muscles after a hard day of training.

"It's too bad there's not any room for me at Cyd's," Adelaide said as she climbed on the table and laid her body full length against Mitzi.

As her strong hands clasped the fighters pink breasts, she buried her mouth between them and murmured, "I'd love to be with you every night. I could give you three, maybe four of these special massages every day. You wouldn't have to spend all that time in those nasty taxi's getting here and back. Heck, I could help out in the locker room too. Remember that luscious shower I gave you when you first came here?"

Adelaide punctuated her question by raking her fingernails lightly down Mitzi's body, cupping her pubic mound and giving it a firm squeeze. Mitzi writhed in pleasure as Adelaide sold her on the idea of how wonderful it would be if they could do this several times a day to, "reduce the stress you're under."

That planted the seed. It took Mitzi three days to talk Cyd into it, but eventually - after several promises by Mitzi to be more serious in her approach to her training - Cyd relented and allowed Adelaide to move into the pool house. Mitzi kept her promise and buckled down to train seriously. Cyd liked that her young student was no longer spending every night away from the house doing who knows what. At least with Adelaide and Mitzi under her roof, she figured, she could monitor Mitzi's activities and make sure she didn't cheat on her diet or training regimen and that she got to bed, alone, at a reasonable hour.

WEEK TWO

Mitzi labored to run through the deep sand, her face flushed and mouth gaping as she breathed heavily. Beside her, Cyd Charisse was jogging as she checked her stopwatch. Ten years her senior, Cyd was running easily while Mitzi struggled to complete the two miles Cyd demanded for their morning "jog." Mitzi hated doing this, but she had to admit she'd let herself go a bit and this was the price you paid for the "good life." Since she'd talked Cyd into letting Adelaide move in to tend to Mitzi's "needs" she realized she had to prove to Cyd she could train seriously. More importantly, she was going to make Shirley and Gretchen regret forcing her into this stupid boxing match.

That evening after dinner, Mitzi was sitting on the deck talking to Cyd about how much she missed Nikki. "I really love Adelaide," Mitzi said, "but Nikki and I had something really special. I can't tell you how much I miss her. That makes it so much more confusing about why she abandoned me for Gretchen and Shirley. I think sometimes she'll never come back to me, but then I miss her so much and I start to pray that she does."

Cyd snickered. "From the noises I hear coming from that pool house every night, you couldn't possible be missing Nikki very much. Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?"

Mitzi blushed deeply, "It's not *just* the sex. Adelaide's great for that, better than great she's wonderful. I've never had another woman touch me the way she does, but with Nikki it was a lot more than mere sex, it was...."

Cyd snorted, "Yeah, a lot more! She had your career so messed up it's a miracle you won any matches. If you weren't such a good athlete you'd probably be out of Frank's league altogether by now. Nikki had nothing to do with it, she probably was holding you back if she had any effect at all."

Mitzi started to argue, but she caught herself and (for once) considered her words before she spoke.

"Maybe, but I still love that blonde. I can't tell you the good times we had, and whether or not the fights I lost were her fault, she was always there to hold me when I cried. That meant a lot to me and I thought it did to her too. I want her back Cyd, no matter what the risk to myself."

Outside in the shadows, Adelaide was eavesdropping. Her lips curled in hatred at the thought of Nikki returning to challenge her position in Mitzi's life.

"Not if I can help it," she muttered as she skulked away to the pool house. She picked up her telephone. "Hello, let me talk to Gretchen. Tell her I've got something important for her she ought to know."

Meanwhile, after Adelaide had slipped away, Mitzi continued her conversation with Cyd.

"I guess you're right about Nikki. I don't think she'll ever come back to me. The smart thing to do is to 'settle' for Adelaide. She's really got a talent for relaxing me after a workout and like you said, the sex is great. Sometimes I don't even think about Nikki for hours on end."

WEEK THREE

After their chat, Mitzi kept her word and trained hard. So hard, in fact, that Cyd was impressed by her effort. The extra weight Mitzi carried was lost slowly at first but now it began to melt away as she increased the speed and distance of her morning and afternoon runs as well as the intensity of her gym workouts. One day Mitzi asked Cyd why she was making her run so much, since she was already in pretty good condition.

"You're in OK shape now, but you're going to be using your legs the entire fight. You're used to dancing for a couple of minutes in a movie, then resting. In boxing you can't take a rest break with some hold like in wrestling. Your legs are your biggest advantage over Shirley. We're going to keep you moving constantly so she can't find that 'China chin' of yours. Your legs have to be in peak condition. I'm going to have you run every morning on the beach and every afternoon in the ring during our sparring. By fight time, it'll feel like a Sunday stroll in the park."

Cyd had finally taught Mitzi to snap her left jab. She'd learned so well that several times they had to stop sparring so Cyd could staunch bleeding from her own nose or lip. Now it was time to start teaching Mitzi to use her right, the one that up to now she'd held high to shield her fragile chin from Cyd's snapping left hooks.

During the afternoon sessions, Adelaide stood in Mitzi's corner, a towel over her shoulders as she watched Mitzi and Cyd circle and throw punches. Cyd landed the majority, but Mitzi had finally learned to jab and use footwork so she was able to move, set and piston her left hand in Cyd's face often enough to avoid real damage. Still, Cyd wasn't totally satisfied and kept after Mitzi, warning her of the many holes in her defense. Now serious about her boxing, Mitzi worked hard and to reward her for her diligence, Cyd let Adelaide shower with Mitzi before her massage treatment after practice.

It was usually during those sessions that Adelaide tended to Mitzi's bruised and red breasts for whenever she would get overconfident, Cyd got her attention by slapping or punching her big breasts. It always got her attention and usually brought a squeal of protest as well. Cyd seemed to delight in it and Mitzi often complained to Adelaide as the big blonde tended Mitzi's aching orbs with one of several ointments designed to soothe and cool them.

At night, Mitzi would slip out of Cyd's house after dinner and spend a couple of hours with Adelaide. They'd make wild, passionate love and then lay together in bed, chatting and talking about the day's activities. Mitzi enjoyed these sessions, not only because after a day of fighting she needed a release for the tension that built up inside her, but it gave her the chance to vent her frustration at how slow her progress was. It was comforting to hear Adelaide's reassurances about her progress and her prediction for Mitzi's success against Shirley MacLaine.

Adelaide was Mitzi's rock. If not for her listening to Mitzi pour out her fears and concerns, Mitzi would surely have gone crazy. What she didn't, couldn't, know was that every night after Mitzi returned to the main house (as she agreed to do, since Cyd insisted she sleep alone to get a good night's sleep) Adelaide would pick up her phone and call Gretchen with a full report on everything that had gone on with Mitzi's training. She paid special attention to Cyd's analysis of Mitzi's weaknesses and the steps taken to correct them. Needless to say, Gretchen was overjoyed at having such a reliable spy inside Mitzi's training facility.

WEEK FOUR

"I got a call from Sammy Davis last night," Cyd told Mitzi during their morning run on the beach. "He's sending a girl over he thinks'd be a perfect sparring partner for you. Her name's Anne."

Mitzi seemed surprised by the news. "Sparring partner? I thought you were my sparring partner."

Cyd shook her head.

"I'm your coach, manager and trainer. But I can't see the whole picture while I'm ducking and throwing punches, that's why fighters use sparring partners. That, and you don't want your manager bleeding all over you, do you? There's one thing that worries me about this girl, although Sammy told me she's one of his best boxers."

"What's that?" Mitzi asked, her voice taking on an edge that hadn't been there before. "What is she, some kind of trouble maker or something?"

Cyd shook her head.

"He says she's a good girl and a great fighter but she used to work for Gretchen sparring with Shirley. He said it was just business and she has no ties to Gretchen, but it seems a bit too convenient if you ask me. It's just the kind of thing Gretchen would do, plant a spy here to keep tabs on you and report back what you're working on. Who better than your sparring partner to do that. I told Sammy we'd talk to her, but I made no promises about hiring her. Agreed?"

Mitzi nodded. "Sounds OK to me. I trust your judgment about her. If you say she's OK, then we hire her, if not, we'll find someone else. But to be honest, I think the fact she's sparred with Shirley could be to my advantage - if she's on the level, of course."

"I agree, that's why I wanted to talk to her and get a look at her in the ring. I know Sammy's reputation for fighters, so when he says she's good, that means she's probably very good. That's what you need, someone to push you in the ring while I stand aside and analyze what you're doing wrong and figure out how to fix it. If she's what I expect, she'll be perfect for us. But I can't shake the feeling something's not right. It's not like Gretchen to take a chance on a fair fight, she was always the one to play the angles and cut corners to get the odds in her favor."

The next morning, Cyd introduced Mitzi to Anne, a tall, angular Black girl with obvious athleticism. At Cyd's suggestion Anne slipped out of her dress which she did. Anne posed for them in just her bra and panties. Mitzi eyed her potential sparring partner critically, the way she might another dancer auditioning for the same part as herself. Anne was slender, with long wiry arms and legs. She said she was just 19, but had been fighting for Sammy for 3 years. From looking at her, Mitzi had no doubt she would live up to Sammy's description of a girl who's quick, has long arms and hits hard. He also said she could take a punch, something Mitzi was eager to test for herself after playing "paddycake" with Cyd for more than a week.

"She's built just like Shirley," Mitzi whispered. "Is that why Sammy sent her over?"

Cyd shrugged, "Not only is she build a lot like Shirley, she used to spar with her. She can be a big help to us in several ways."

Cyd asked Anne about her work with Gretchen and Shirley. She freely admitted working for Gretchen and then Mitzi asked her why she left Gretchen's employ.

"'Cause that Shirley MacLaine is one arrogant bitch, that's why. I tried to give her advice 'bout 'er defense an' she tells me 'Shut up an fight.' After that, she's outta control. She hits in clinches, on da break, after da bell. She spend a lotta attention on dees," she cupped her breasts in both hands and shaking them at Cyd who blushed at her brazen display. "The bitch got her fun hurting people, but she don' try to learn nothin' 'bout boxing. I smack her inna head, she just ignore it an keep hittin' my boobs. She's one crazy momma."

Mitzi laughed and nodded in agreement as Anne continued. "Finally, I get tired oh tryin' to show her how she's leave herself open, so I jus' smack her upside her head a coupla times an' put her on her back. Man, that bitch went wild. She jump up yelling at her manager 'bout how I'm not doin' it right. ME! So that Gretchen, she say, 'That damned Nigger's gotta go.' Before she can say 'nother word, I'm picking up my stuff and getting my Black ass out of there. Those some crazy bitches I tell you. You won't get me to go back dere ever. No sirree."

"What did she say about me?" Mitzi asked breathlessly. Cyd glared at her, but it was already too late to prevent the question.

Anne smiled, "She told Gretchen the reason she didn't need to work on her defense is 'cause you no problem for her. She says she be surprise if'n you show up an if you do, she gonna jus' hit you inna boobs til' you cry for yo momma." She grinned as she eyed Mitzi's bosom. "You're biggern me so she gonna have fun with those. Her punch hurt like hell, I tell you de truth."

Mitzi started to look worried so Cyd snapped at Anne, "Get your clothes back on and let's go out to the ring. I'd like to see how you handle yourself before I hire you."

Anne smiled as she picked up her clothes and tossed them over her shoulder. "Where da gloves, I'm ready to show yur blonde here how to beat dat Shirley MacLaine."

Less than a half hour later Anne was in the ring sparring with Mitzi. She landed punches without difficulty to Mitzi's big breasts, backing her up at will and using them to steer Mitzi around the ring.

"You gotta protect those hon, Shirley love to pound that sweet meat better'n anything."

As if to emphasize her warning, Anne drove a hard right to Mitzi's left breast, staggering the busty blonde and bringing a protest from Cyd.

"Hey, you're supposed to be sparring, not trying to hurt her."

"Dat Shirley wone be takin' it easy on her, dat's fur shure. She wanna beat dat bitch, she better learn how to protect her tits."

As Mitzi leaned on the robes massaging her breast and trying to catch her breath, Anne went over to get water from the bucket in the corner where Cyd was standing.

"So lady, you wan my help or no?"

Cyd nodded. "OK, you proved you can hit, and I guess you know what Shirley's up to, so we'll give you a try. But no more hitting her like that until I tell you. First, we gotta work on her defense."

"Shore nuf," Anne said as she walked back to Mitzi. "Get ur hands up girl, lemme show you what Shirley's gonna do to you an' how to stop it."

As Cyd watched, nervous and tightlipped, Anne stalked Mitzi, slapping her breasts with open gloves and keeping up a running commentary of what she was doing and why Mitzi's defense was so ineffective. Once Mitzi understood, she started to catch on to what Cyd and Anne were saying. She started to hold her arms differently, keeping her elbows against her chest to protect her breasts. Then Anne changed her attack and started to swat the sides of Mitzi's head when she held her hands too much in front of her. It brought a shriek of protest from the erstwhile boxer.

It took most of the week, but finally - even with her quick hands - Anne found she was having trouble landing many blows to Mitzi's bosom or head. It had taken almost half the time before the fight with Shirley, but at last Cyd and Anne were in agreement that Mitzi was no longer a sitting duck for Shirley's attack.

"You still got a long way to go to be a fighter gal," Anne rasped in her husky voice, "but you wone be getting ur tits knocked off so easy now. Looks like it's time to learn how to hit your opponent next. So far all I seen was that little jab of yours, what else you got?"

They spent the afternoon working seriously, with Mitzi finally able to unleash her full arsenal of "punches." Anne wasn't impressed.

"You gotta do more than paw at her with that lef' han' girl and ur right - whew! Dat's one stinkin' right han' you got. Dat all you been able to teach 'er?" Anne asked Cyd. Cyd's face was red as she sputtered to answer.

"Teach her? Hell, the last three weeks I've been in here every day with the two of you, teaching her as much as I can with your help. You know she can't learn all there is to know about how to fight overnight, no matter how much talent she has, and let's be honest, Mitzi's a good dancer, but she leaves a lot to be desired as a boxer. A lot."

WEEK FIVE

For the next week, Cyd and Anne worked on teaching Mitzi how to throw a right hook and a straight right from the shoulder. Mitzi never really got the punches down, but her ability as a dancer enabled her to quickly master the concept of turning her hips as she stepped into a punch to use her weight behind it to add power. Anne was able to block or evade 99% of these, but she assured both Mitzi and Cyd that, "Shirley's nowhere near my ability. If Mitzi throw 'er punches rat, dey'll land. She gwan know she be hit."

Cyd and Anne talked at length about how to tighten up Mitzi's stomach, an area Anne told them Shirley saw as one of Mitzi's "soft spots." They devised some exercises to tighten Mitzi's abdominals and Anne spent the next week paying special attention to testing it in their sparring sessions. Mitzi not only quickly learned how to protect it, she also began to realize that - if she were prepared for the punch - she could withstand quite a solid blow without losing her wind entirely. Nevertheless, she worked hard on her "tummy" and by fight night she was feeling confident.

Finally, less than two weeks before the fight, Cyd started Mitzi working on putting together everything she'd learned, trying combinations of punches and sparring three minutes at a time without a break for corrections or coaching. At the same time, Anne picked up the pace of her own punches, whipping wicked left hooks and right crosses that left Mitzi holding on.

Afterward, Mitzi worried aloud that, "I'll never get this right."

Anne reassured her that she was much faster and would hit harder than Shirley in their fight.

"Don't forget, I've been working with you," Anne said. "I know all your weaknesses and openings. Shirley's not going to have that advantage, she'll spend the whole fight trying to figure out what you're doing and how to attack you. That's your edge, I've been in the ring with her and I've been mimicking her style when we spar. You'll be ready for her and she won't be ready for you. You can beat her, trust me. You just have to keep one thing in mind."

"Just one? What's that?" Mitzi asked as both she and Cyd leaned forward to hear what Anne was about to reveal.

"Shirley is planning to really beat up those big boobs of yours. And I don't blame her. She'll pound you until you lower your hands to protect them, then she'll go for the knock-out. She wants to knock you out or make you quit because of the pain. You've got a good start - your stomach's really flat and hard. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if your waist isn't smaller than your thighs now. You got big, strong legs and Cyd's done a good job of teaching you to use them. Just keep your elbows in and your hands high and you'll be OK. She'll land some to your belly, but you can't protect everything."

Anne's comments were true as far as she knew. Unfortunately, neither she nor anyone else knew Adelaide had been spying on Mitzi's training since the day she'd overheard Mitzi lamenting about missing Nikki. She'd been reporting every aspect of Mitzi's training to Gretchen. She learned what she could spying on the sparring and eavesdropping on Cyd's conversations, but most of what she passed on were things she learned from Mitzi during her massages or as they lay in bed after making hot, passionate love.

WEEK SIX

While Cyd was growing more confident in Mitzi's ability, Gretchen's was having problems with Shirley. Despite her warnings of Mitzi improvement, Shirley disregarded Gretchen's advice and did things her own way. Twice they'd almost come to blows over Shirley's recalcitrance. Shirley wasn't shirking her responsibility to work hard preparing for the upcoming fight, however, she was in the gym twice a day; her tightly taped and clenched fists slamming a large, heavy leather-clad punching bag. Gretchen wanted her to spend more time in the ring sparring, but Shirley concentrated on increasing her power and strength so she could destroy Mitzi quickly and decisively.

"I won't be dancing with her," Shirley told Gretchen. "Once I crack her on that 'china chin' of hers, the fight will be all over. If she gets up from that, I'm just going to knock her down again - and again, if necessary. I'm gonna turn up the heat and melt that blonde like a lump of cheese. I hope she does get up because I want to beat her so badly she quits right there in front of everyone. I know she doesn't have the heart for fighting and I'm going to prove it to Frank and everybody else. Gaynor's not gonna be a problem. Hell, she, probably won't even show up. She's too busy working on acting lessons - as she should - to pay attention to preparing for this fight."

They argued off and on for weeks until, apparently disgusted or simply tired of listening to Shirley's confident bragging, Gretchen began to agree with Shirley that Mitzi wouldn't be a match for her. For one thing, it ended the rancor and for another it seemed to mollify Shirley and let her concentrate on pounding the punching bag - which she did with gusto.

Shirley wanted to humiliate Mitzi and her plan to target Mitzi's chin was a sound one. In every fight when she'd been hit in the chin, Mitzi lost or almost lost. All of Mitzi's defeats had been outside the ring, but now Shirley wanted to make her quit inside the ring so she'd be finished as a threat to her championship plans. Everyone knew Mitzi couldn't take a punch and eventually, Shirley's plan got Gretchen's approval. Gretchen knew if Mitzi quit during the fight, not only would Nikki surely give up any thought of going back to her, but Frank would probably drop her from the league in disgust.

When Gretchen discovered from Adelaide's call that Anne had joined Mitzi's entourage she warned Shirley that Mitzi's technique would improve due to her sparring with Anne. Shirley wasn't impressed. She dismissed Anne's contribution out of hand.

"Hell Gretchen, I ran that Black girl out of here. I don't have anything to worry about that she could teach Mitzi. She might make her a little better, but it won't make her good enough to beat me."

Then Shirley went back to punishing the heavy punching bag, her fists thudding against the leather cover and leaving deep dents in the stuffing as each one landed. The biceps on Shirley's arms were becoming more pronounced as the weeks passed but she kept thumping the big bag. Gretchen had trouble finding girls to spar with Shirley, both of her nieces were too valuable (and somewhat intimidated after each took a severe walloping from Shirley.) Finally, Gretchen hired a Mexican woman from Tijuana who was recommended by one of her contacts. She wasn't as skillful as Shirley, but she hit hard and was able to take the pounding for several days before Shirley broke her rib with a wicked right hook.

Out of desperation, Gretchen begged Sammy Davis Jr. to send over a couple of girls and they worked out with Shirley for the last week before the fight. Both bigger and slower than Mitzi but they were far more experienced than Shirley. They were able to avoid injury and provide a challenge as Shirley thumped away at their stomach, ribs and chest with abandon whenever she could land punches.

Mitzi's Adventures in Hollywood will continue in Chapter 17 - "Weight one Minute"