Sometimes the most innocuous suggestions can lead to the most extraordinary events. I had time to think about this as we grappled around on the mat, although most of my thoughts were directed to winning the titanic struggle, a battle that I had suggested in the first place. But I'm getting ahead of myself here - let me back up a little bit.

I had worked with Kassie for about 18 months. She was a great co-worker: funny, smart, and easy to get along with. It also didn't hurt that she was nice to look at. She had the classic athlete's body - strong, long, and lean. We were about the same height, but I had probably twenty pounds on her. I'd like to say it was twenty pounds of muscle, but, alas, it was more like twenty pounds of pizza and ice cream. Kassie and I had gone cycling together a few times. I was always impressed by her endurance - somehow, she usually seemed stronger at the end of the ride than at the beginning. I was to learn more about this endurance firsthand later on.

"Sooo...", she said, finishing her iced tea at lunch that day, "how are we going to decide which one of us gets to go on this perk trip?"

"Well, we could toss a coin or draw for high card or something", I responded.

"Nah, that's too random. We should decide on something more meaningful", she said after a pause. "How about a bike race?", she asked.

"I don't know, Kassie. I think you'd have the definite advantage there. And I really want to go on this trip", I replied. Then, just for a laugh (but with hope), I suggested that we wrestle for it. I was waiting for her to wave off my idea, but I could see her thinking it over.

"Why not - I think we'd be pretty evenly matched. But I'm a girl and my term is your nudity for make our chances equal!", she said. "I've got the keys to the rec room at my condo - it's downstairs, with no windows. There's a whole bunch of mats down there. If we went on a night when there were no aerobics classes, we'd have the room to ourselves. We could decide this without interference. How does Tuesday night at 9:30 work for you?", she asked. I told her that it would be fine and I agree to wrestle naked.

We spent the next few minutes talking over ground rules: no punching, kicking, slapping, hair pulling (although I didn't see her as the hair-pulling type.). We'd wrestle three falls, to be decided by submission, since we'd be alone. Each fall would be composed of three minute rounds, continuing until the fall was ended by a submission. Between each round was a three minute rest period.

"Are all scissor holds legal?", she asked. How did she know about scissor holds?! "Sure", I answered, with a delicious sinking feeling inside. She smiled.

Well, as you can probably imagine, I spent the next few days planning strategy and working out. I wanted to be in the best possible shape for Tuesday. Finally, Tuesday rolled around. We didn't talk about it at all during the day, but we did smile at each other as we passed in the halls. That Tuesday was one of the slowest days I've ever experienced. Finally, at the end of the day, she dropped by my office. "Don't forget - we've got our 9:30 workout tonight. Park in one of the visitor spaces, and go downstairs in building B. Knock on the door, and I'll let you in. Ciao!"

At 9:30 on the nose, I knocked on the rec room door. It swung open, and there was Kassie, resplendent and dangerous in a shiny black leotard and matching boxing boots. "I just wanted you to know that I've been looking forward to our match - I really want this trip and intend to win. I'm not going to hold back at all", she said. Damn, she was good at the pre-game psych-outs. "The winner of this trip may be too tired or sore to enjoy Italy", I lamely replied. We spent a couple of minutes making sure all the mats fit together, while reviewing the rules at the same time. Finally, I have stripped all my clothes down and we were ready to go.

We started out by warily circling each other in a crouch. We both feigned advances, but neither of us took the plunge. Finally, I head-faked left, and sprang to the right, aiming for her left ankle. I got her around the left leg, and tried to get leverage to topple her to the mat. She responded by diving onto my back and wrapping her arms around me to secure a tight grip around my waist. The match was on!

It was a superb, challenging first fall. I purposely held back on applying full power, because I wanted to conserve energy (remembering her legendary endurance) while discovering what her abilities were.

Whenever we were apart, grappling and probing for holds, she was adept at blocking or deflecting my attempts to secure a solid clench. She often used these blocks as precursors to excellent counter-attacks. This how she was able to get in under my defenses, and obtain favorable close-contact positions.

Whenever we found ourselves in close contact, she was skilled at using her speed and flexibility advantages to stay at least partially on top, thereby making me move both our bodies. This turned my weight advantage from an asset to a liability. I was able to counter this somewhat by always keeping one of her arms or hands locked under one of my arms, or pinned up against my body. This was a mostly defensive strategy, designed to prevent her from breaking loose and applying a submission hold. By staying so locked together, I knew she couldn't break free enough to secure a scissor hold.

During the rest period, I began to feel a noticeable sense of alarm about my overall prospects for winning this match. I was beginning to feel a little winded; I could also detect some incipient muscle strain. For her part, Kassie remarked how she always liked "a little warmup". Uh-oh. I decided that I'd need to secure a submission fall in the next round. The problem was that she could probably wrestle like this for hours. My endurance might not hold out that long. A little craftiness of girl in black leotard might just do the trick, however.

As we faced off for round two, I put my hands up for a test-of-strength. Fortunately, she bought this deception. As we linked hands, I quickly pulled my left hand back. I grabbed her right wrist with my now-free left hand, and spun quickly behind her, securing her right arm in a hammerlock, while drawing my right arm across the front of her shoulders. "Damn!!" she shouted, while struggling to get out of the hammerlock. I completed the move by tripping her forwards onto her stomach. We both tumbled to the mat, landing with an ^ oomphh', but the hold stayed on. Now I had a true advantage: a powerful hold, along with a distinct weight advantage. I could feel her struggling beneath me, but to no avail. I would sometimes let her feel like the hold was loosening - she'd try to wriggle forward, but to no avail This led her to expend more effort, and waste more energy.

Finally after about a minute, I figured it was time. "C'mon Kassie, this fall is mine", I whispered into her ear. No answer. I applied a slightly more pressure on the hammerlock; I didn't want to cause any unnecessary pain.

"Kassie, let's call it a fall, OK?" I asked. "Alright".

We separated. She seemed to be breathing a little more heavily. For my part, I was feeling fine - victory does that to you. Unfortunately, I had resorted to subterfuge, which made it less likely that she would fall for something like that again.

I made a foolish mistake as we circled each other at the start of fall two - I kept my center of gravity too high as I lunged for her shoulders. She deftly sidestepped this clumsy attempt, dropped to the mat, and wrapped her legs around my ankles, and started to twist her hips for leverage. I could tell that I'd be hitting the mat soon, so I decided to fall forwards, rather than backwards. Of course, when I was on the mat, she pounced on my back. She was still angry about my hammerlock victory, and I suspected she wanted to win the second fall by giving me a taste of my own medicine. I eliminated any hammerlock possibilities by bending my arms tightly at the elbow, and drawing them up against my sides. "Ok, smart guy", she whispered in my ear, as she dropped her delightful bottom onto the small of my back. She planted both feel flat on the mat, reached both hands under my chin, and began to pull back with all of her strength. This chinlock was extremely effective - she had tremendous strength and leverage, and I knew that I couldn't hold out for long.

I began to squirm on the mat, trying to get the front of my right shoulder under me, so I could rotate around that point and throw her off my back. As I was doing this, I wondered why she wasn't resisting more. I got my answer about 10 seconds later, when I wound up on my back, with her under me. Her long, strong legs entwined around my waist, while one of her arms crossed the front of my throat. This was an extremely vulnerable position for me, and also one quite hard to break.

She really poured the pressure on at this point, both from the crushing body scissors, as well as the cross-throat arm position. I figured out what she was doing - she was going to try to make it so difficult for me to breathe that I'd have to give in. She timed her leg contractions to block me from taking in enough air. To make matters worse, she began covering my mouth with her hand when I was trying to pull in air.

I frantically tried to rock free of this sweet agony, but no matter what I did, she kept the pressure on. Finally, I knew that it was a losing cause, so I gave in. She slowly unhooked her hold, and we rolled apart. It took me a while to catch my breath and get off the mat, while she bounded to her feet. I knew, though, that the last fall had probably taken alot out of her. She had to have pushed those leg muscles to capacity - I knew that I had a good chance of avoiding those scissors for the third fall. At the very worst, I felt that I could break out of them if she clamped them on again.

"Why don't you just submit in advance for the third fall? You really don't want to go on this trip, do you?", she taunted while standing over my baked body in leotard and grinning. For my part, I stayed down, taking advantage of the extra time. I wouldn't have minded if she took an hour to boast of her prowess - I needed the rest. Finally, she moved off towards the timer.

"I tell you what, Kassie - let's sweeten the pot a little. How about the loser of the match gives the winner $500 for souvenirs?", I said while getting up. "Only if I get to change the rules for the third fall", she replied. I asked her what she had in mind. I must admit that I found her idea rather intriguing.

After Kassie's teasing and taunting when she evened up our match at one fall apiece, I decided to raise the tension level by raising the stakes. I suggested that the loser of the third fall give the winner $500 for souvenirs. Kassie agreed, as long as she could change the rules for the third fall. I wondered what she could have in mind.

"Let's make this contest a little more interesting", she began. I watched as she got up, and sauntered across the room. She was a vision of sleek, sophisticated, elegant danger in that shiny black leotard as she slinked over to the other side, returning with her keys. She then strolled to the door of the exercise room, and locked the deadbolt with her key. "Now, there's no way out of here without this key", she said with a smile. "I'm going to put these keys on the floor, in the middle of the room. For the third fall, I propose that the way to win is to get the keys, unlock the door, and step out of the room. The same rules apply as before - no punching, kicking, etc, but there's no 3 minute rounds - it's a fight to the finish. Any kind of takedown is legal, too. And one other thing: there's no submitting in this fall - the only way to win is to get out."

"Sort of like a pro-wrestling cage match, huh?", I asked.

"Exactly, with one important difference", she said, walking back over to the door. She then shut out the lights. We were in absolute darkness. The basement rec room had no windows, so there was no possibility of your eyes adjusting to the dark - there simply was no light. "We'll start out in opposite corners of the room with the lights off. On the count of three, we'll begin." She then turned the lights back on.

"Are you up for it?" she asked.

I thought for a moment. This type of fall could be easy to win, or it could be impossible. We'd probably hook up in the middle of the room, tussling for the keys. Once one of us had the keys, the next step would be to get to the door and unlock it. But, chances are that during the initial struggle for the keys, we'd lose our sense of direction. Where would the door be? That would give the one without the keys an advantage. All they'd have to do is tackle the other and the skirmish would begin again. It could take a long time to get out of there. She'd have a chance to showcase her legendary endurance, too. On the other hand, it probably meant that there'd be alot of struggling and rolling around. That could be fun. Plus, her deadly scissor hold wouldn't have much meaning in that kind of contest.

"I'm up for it, but it could take a long time to decide a winner in this fall", I finally said.

"I know - it'll be a true test of both brains and brawn", she said with a sly smile. I really liked that she was into this so much. I could see us using these kinds of encounters to decide all kinds of things in the future. "So what do you say?" she asked.

"Alright Kassie - whenever you're ready" I answered, "as long as I'm the one to turn out the lights".

She agreed to this, so we went to separate corners on opposite sides of the room. I could reach the light switch from my corner, so I switched it off.

"On your count of three" I said.

She counted to three, and the third fall was underway.

I decided that in the total absence of light, I'd try to use my hearing as much as possible to figure out where she was, as well as where I was. I crept forward, all the while listening for any telltale footsteps. But I heard nothing - where was she?!!

I got my answer about 2 seconds later, when a pair of strong hands encircled my knees, and brought me tumbling to the mat. She had been laying in wait, near the center of the room, and had pounced when she heard me get close. We tangled around on the mats for what seemed to be two minutes. Whenever one of us broke loose and tried to crawl away and regroup, the other would grab an ankle or leg or other body part, and pile back on with renewed vigor. It was exquisite, but exhausting.

After about 10 seconds of this grappling, I completely lost any semblance of a sense of direction that I had. The good thing was that she must have lost her place as well. We were on more even terms now.

During one lull in the battle, while we were locked up but not struggling extensively, I realized that she intended to wear me out, and then leisurely stroll to the door and escape. I also realized that she had probably underestimated what it would take to make this happen; we were both breathing hard, and I could feel both hearts thumping away heavily. I decided a little good-natured taunting might help to chip away at her resolve.

"Bit off a bit more than you could chew, eh Kassie?", I teased.

"I'm just getting warmed up. Besides, we don't see you with the keys, now do we?", she replied.

With that, she ensnared my legs with hers, and we began an intense leg-wrestling submatch. We were on our sides, with our upper bodies locked together, while our legs furiously tangled and struggled for dominance. My quads began to ache as the conflict continued. If this kept up, it would be hard to walk. Finally, Kassie won the leg wrestling battle, and succeeded in getting her legs around my waist. I could hear her grunt with pleasure as she poured on the pressure. But this hold did me no harm (in fact, it felt delightful), so I decided to buy some time and make her waste energy by acting like the hold was a killer. I faked breathing heavily, and reduced the amount of my resistance. I could tell that this hold probably felt good to her also, and she probably was gleeful that she was weakening me. After about two minutes, she unhooked her legs and crawled away. "Let her find the keys, and then I'll take em away", I thought.

I hear the keys jingle as she got to them. I quietly got up, and moved towards the sound. I could tell that she was on her hands and knees, aiming for the wall. Once she got to the wall, I figured, she'd stand up, and feel her way to the door. Should I tackle her before she gets to the wall, or should I let her get closer to the door before resuming the battle?

I decided to let her get close to the door, maybe even turning the key in the lock, before I closed in. It would be thrilling to be frantically wrestling on the door's threshold, where a moment's mistake could lead to a crushing defeat.

After a couple of minutes, I heard her jingling the keys as she tried to find the right one to unlock the deadbolt. I knew she must have been wondering where I was, and when I was going to pounce, which only increased the tension in the room. I heard the right key slide into the lock and turn it, and it was time.

I reached for the sound, and found her lovely hand on the doorknob. Using my weight advantage, I pulled her to the floor, and the combat resumed. There was an tantalizing air of desperation about the engagement as we rolled and contested for the right to stand up and turn the door handle. The only sound in the room was our heavy breathing and grunting as we poured it on. At this point, I knew that the trip to Italy would be an anticlimax to this rendezvous, but I still wanted to win. And I knew that she did, too, which made it all the more exciting.

Ultimately, through strength and skill, she bested me and wound up on my chest, in the classic schoolboy pin. I knew that it was hopeless to try to wriggle out of this position, so I just rested.

"Now I've got you", she said breathlessly.

"Not so fast", I responded. "You've got to get out the door to win".

"Coming up!", she laughed. And with that, she rose up off my shoulders, and leaned far forward to search for the doorknob and victory. The door swung open, and I made my move. I slid out from under her, got to my knees, pivoted, and grabbed her from behind around her muscular flanks. We both stood up, locked together, and used all our might to get out the door first. It's hard to describe the luscious feeling that I had, using all my vigor to get through that damn door first. I could feel my power draining, trying to hold her back.

Finally, when I felt close to meltdown, she snaked a leg around mine, and pushed. Unfortunately for her, she miscalculated our body positions, and we both tumbled out the door at the same time, landing with a thud on the floor outside.

"Damn!!", she panted. "I had you!!"

"Looks like we have a tie, Kassie!!", I laughed. "I don't know if I can continue, though. I have an idea instead. Why don't we each kick in $250, which will pay for the second airfare. We can continue this in Milan, if you're up to it."

"Start packing!", she replied.