If anything, Michelle is the polar opposite of icy, possessing an effervescence that is nearly palpable, a smile that lights up a room and a passion for life that literally seeps from her pores. Michelle and Scarlett were like day and night, Yin and Yang; in short, perfect opponents! The match was held at an orange ranch in the valley, the weekend home of an LA publisher, and the crowd of spectators, as always, was drawn from the crème de le crème of West Coast society.
Michelle was introduced first and literally bounded into the room in a baby blue tankini, long brown hair tied back into a ponytail but with the look of steely determination on her face mitigated by an eager smile. Scarlett came out in a rather conservative white one-piece, but with an air of aloofness akin to boredom. More than one observer thought a good word for the blondes appearance at that moment would be ‘regal.’ In her right hand, Scarlett held a leather collar with silver studs, which she set on the marble fireplace mantle. Michelle hadn't been thrilled at the prospect of being collared when she was told of her opponent's predilection, but she knew if she insisted there be no collar it would send the message she thought she was going to lose and that would give Scarlett a psychological edge even before the fight began.
When the command was given and the match began, both young women circled, the blond almost casually, while Michelle's body was a study in controlled tension; her hands clenching and opening as she searched for an opening. Then, as if she couldn't wait a moment longer, Michelle lunged at Scarlett, reaching out to grab her. But Scarlett was quicker and grabbed Michelle by the left wrist and spun her own body so that she was facing away from Michelle. A half-second later, Scarlett expertly launched a backkick, her heel striking Michelle full in the belly. Then Scarlett another one hundred and eighty degrees facing Michelle, still holding her arm and twisting it. Michelle grunted from the kick and moaned softly from the armhold, slapping at her shoulder to dull the pain.
Michelle had stupidly left herself wide open for an attack, and now she was paying the price. But she wasted no time on self-recriminations...instead, her mind raced with possibilities for a counterattack. She pressed the palm of her free hand against Scarlett's chin, forcing her head back. With Scarlett focused on that, Michelle lashed out with her foot, sweeping the unsuspecting girls legs from under her. Scarlett lost her hold on Michelle's wrist when she tried to break her fall as she tumbled to the carpet.
Yet even as Michelle reached down to grab her, Scarlett brought her knees up to her chest, then shot both feet straight out, slamming them into Michelle's belly and sending her crashing to the floor. Like a jungle cat, Scarlett pounced, pinning Michelle while grabbing her right leg. She bent and yanked the trapped limb, seemingly intent on breaking a bone, then for extra measure, she grabbed Michelle’s toes and twisted, adding to the howling brunette’s anguish.
Standing up still holding Michelle's ankle, Scarlett drove several kicks to the tender flesh of Michelle's inner thigh, then dropped her knee flush on Michelle’s groin. The beleaguered brunette let out a piercing cry, but also took advantage of that brief span of time when the self-satisfied blonde's own defenses were down as she smugly surveyed the damage she had wrought. Ignoring her pain, Michelle threw a fist that connected with Scarlett's nose. Startled and stunned, the blond drew her hands up to her face as she fell backwards.
Despite the pain she was feeling, Michelle still had gallons of adrenaline pumping through her body and she called on it now, scrambling to her feet and roughly tackling Scarlett. They hit the carpet with a THUD and began rolling back and forth, but now the momentum had clearly shifted to Michelle. The two came to rest with Scarlett flat on her stomach and Michelle sitting on her back. Cupping her hands beneath Scarlett's chin, Michelle began hauling Scarlett's head backward. Scarlett gritted her teeth and refused to give Michelle the satisfaction of hearing her cry out...at first! But eventually, the blond couldn’t hold back her whimpers of pain as her neck and spine were bent further and further back.
But Scarlett wasn’t about to submit meekly and she struggled to her knees. She was poised to push herself up and throw her attacker off when Michelle suddenly shifted her weight, release her chinlock and snaked her wiry legs around Scarlett's middle. Scarlett mewled as the vice tightened around her ribs, her breathing growing labored. Years of ballet training had honed Michelle’s muscles to the point they were perfectly designed for crushing a curvy victim trapped between them.
For the first time since the fight began, Michelle smiled. She knew the battle was far from over, but she was clearly in command and as long as she kept the pressure on, Scarlett could be beaten. Scarlett knew it too, which was why she was intent on breaking Michelle’s hold and regaining the upper hand. With great effort, she managed to twist her body far enough that she could grab the brunette’s ponytail and pull her head back with one hand; her other hand she flattened out and used a finger thrust to stab into Michelle's exposed throat.
Michelle gasped and hacked, releasing Scarlett’s chin to bring her hands up to protect her throat...leaving herself wide open for a second finger thrust, this time up under her right breast. Scarlett's stabbing blow dug deep into Michelle’s soft breast tissue, causing her to yelp in pain. It also made her inadvertently loosened her scissors enough that Scarlett was able to pry her legs apart and roll away.
Scarlett massaged her aching ribs as she got to her feet. Michelle also stood up and the two once more warily circled until the blond suddenly lunged, feinted and then slammed a palm blow under Michelle's jaw, snapping her head back so violently, a shower of perspiration sprayed from her hair. Scarlett continued with her martial arts offensive, whipping a chop to the base of Michelle’s neck, then snapping a kick to Michelle's face as she staggered.
Still, Michelle was far from ready to admit defeat! With a roar, she lashed out with a roundhouse punch that caught the blond hard on the chin, then as Scarlett’s knees buckled, Michelle buried her fist in the blonde’s belly. Grabbing Scarlett by the throat with one hand, Michelle shot her fist into Scarlett's face, then another and another! But as Michelle drew back to deliver a fourth punch she paused and allowed herself a brief moment to savor the situation…an instant later, Scarlett slammed both her fists to the sides of Michelle's head, boxing her ears and Michelle stumbled away, stunned and reeling, holding her ringing ears with both hands.
Wasting no time, Scarlett jumped on Michelle’s back, wrapped her legs tight around Michelle's waist and while using one arm to choke the brunette, she used the other to cover Michelle's eyes. Michelle was blind and dazed, and now her exhausted body was forced to carry her rival’s weight as well. As Scarlett’s chokehold robbed Michelle of precious air, unable to see only added to her confusion and sparked a sense of panic. Scarlett’s combination tactics quickly sapped Michelle's remaining strength and she crumpled to her knees, then toppled forward on all fours on the floor...precisely as Scarlett planned.
The blond continued to apply her body scissors for a while...as much a case of 'anything you can do, I can do better', then released Michelle who moaned, but her body scarcely moved. Victory was at hand for Scarlett…yet instead of pursuing it, she decided to take care of another little task first. Michelle had given her a harder fight than her previous opponents and it was something Scarlett wanted to punish Michelle for. So she walked over to the mantle and grabbed the collar she’d placed there before the match.
Kicking the brunette over onto her stomach, Scarlett dropped her butt on Michelle's back and wound the leather strap around her neck, then she began to lock the buckle in place. Suddenly, with an animal roar, Michelle reared up and rammed an elbow back into Scarlett's jaw, sending her sprawling on the carpeted floor. Scarlett shook her head trying to clear the stars...and when she looked up, she saw the enraged Michelle standing over her and she was a terrifying sight to behold!
Michelle’s ponytail had come loose and now her dark hair framed a face twisted into a mask of fury, her lips curled in a vicious snarl, her entire body tensed with her anger. Before Scarlett could react, Michelle unleashed a furious attack, landing kicks and stomps up and down the length of Scarlett's curvy torso; her foot hammering away at Scarlett's head, chest, belly, even her crotch!
Scarlett whimpered as she cowered under the devastating barrage, yet, despite the punishment, she wasn’t entirely helpless! Using her arms, Scarlett warded off some of the kicks, then, acting at just the right moment, she grabbed Michelle’s foot and gave a twist! Michelle's own momentum send her spiraling to the floor with a loud CRASH!
Willing her aching and battered body into action, Scarlett sprung on her fallen foe, diving atop her back and wrapping one arm around Michelle's throat, choking her. Michelle gasped and gurgled as her precious air was shut off from her burning lungs, but still, her fighting spirit refused to allow her to relinquish the battle. As Scarlett leaned in close for better leverage, as if using her sixth sense, Michelle snapped her head back at just the right instant, her cranium smashing the blonde square between the eyes with enough force to snap Scarlett's body awkwardly as she flopped to the carpet on her back.
A dazed groan escaped Scarlett’s lips as Michelle, the room spinning for her and a gray haze threatening to overwhelm her mind, forced herself up on all fours, then crawled over to her barely-moving enemy. There, Michelle used her hands to cover Scarlett's mouth and pinch shut her nose. Scarlett's eyes snapped open moments later, panic filling them; but her feeble thrashing was too weak for her to escape and quickly she was reduced to the verge of unconsciousness.
But instead of sending Scarlett over the cliff and plunging her into the darkness of defeat, she first had a little message of her own to deliver! Taking off the collar, Michelle began affixing it around the neck of her foe. More than a few spectators, by now accustomed to these two staving off certain defeat at the very brink, expected Scarlett to suddenly rally, spring to life and resume her attack. But Scarlett didn’t move a muscle as Michelle buckled the leather collar in place at her throat. Then Michelle began roughly slapping Scarlett’s flushed face until her eyes fluttered open. As realization sank in, Michelle grabbed Scarlett by her matted hair and hauled the weakened blonde up on hands and knees.
Then, in a voice hoarse with exhaustion and ache, Michelle snapped, "Bark!"
Scarlett needed no explanation. After all the degradation she’d heaped on her previous victims, it was now her turn to suffer the wrath of the victor.
"Arf!" the blond sobbed. "Arf! Arf! Arf!"
"Roll over!" commanded Michelle gruffly. But when Scarlett didn’t comply fast enough, she helped her with a swift kick to the ribs. As Scarlett lay gasping on her back, Michelle hissed, "Now...beg bitch."
"No more...please,” Scarlett whimpered. “I give up."
The tired words coming from the beaten blonde's mouth, no more than a whisper, were a plea for mercy; but the look in her eyes made it plain that, even now, she still didn’t consider Michelle her superior and that this was only a pro forma plea. In Scarlett’s minde, there would be a day of reckoning for this humiliation!
Michelle briefly considered another kick to Scarlett's head, just to wipe that smug expression from her face, but she was just too tired. Besides, it didn't matter...she’d won and in doing so she’d humbled the arrogant blond. That was more than enough to be proud of. Except that the look on Michelle's face wasn’t one of pride, but rather pure, unadulterated rage. Gone was the sweetness, the effervescence, the sassy glee; all replaced by the hardened features of a warrior who’d been bloodied...and taken blood in return. Michelle was no longer the sweet young woman who’d entered the room at the start of the match, that girl had been to a very brutal place...and now all she wanted was to return there, soon and often!