Best Two Out of Three

Part 20

Saturday, August 22, 2020
Daily's Place – Jacksonville, Florida

"So I kind of want to try something new tonight."

Callie bounced on the balls of her feet as she and Britt stood in the middle of the ring at Daily's Place. She had a match that night—a Dark match against Penelope Ford—and she was both excited and a little bit nervous. It was the first match she'd had in two-and-a-half months, since her match against Alex that she'd lost by disqualification. Knowing that, she felt like showing off a little.

"Oh yeah?" Britt asked. "What were you thinking?"

"Well, I've been wanting to show that I can be more technical than just throwing hard punches and kicks, and I don't really have a submission move in my arsenal... so I was thinking of trying out the octopus hold?"

"Oh yeah!" Britt proclaimed. "That's a good one. Have you worked on it at all? Because I honestly haven't tried it."

She nodded. "A little. But it's been a while." She stared at the mat, her thoughts growing distant. It had actually been Alex who'd shown her how to do the octopus hold, back when they'd first started becoming friends. Callie wasn't sure how Alex would take it if she used it tonight. But she also didn't really care.

"Well, I'm down to try it if you're comfortable," Britt said. "Just tell me what to do."

Callie shook her head, bringing herself back to the present. "Okay, cool. It's actually pretty simple for you. All you need to do is pick me up like I'm going for a tilt-a-whirl. But instead of swinging through for the takedown, I'll keep one leg behind your head and lock the other around your leg."

Britt nodded. "Alright. Sounds easy enough. You want me to just stand here?"

"Yeah, I'll run at you."

"Okay."

Callie took a breath to ready herself, and then she rebounded off the ropes and ran at Britt. Britt picked her up just like she was supposed to, and Callie locked her legs around her head; but when she swung around and tried to hook her left foot behind Britt's left leg, the momentum caused Britt to lose her balance and they both went tumbling ungracefully to the mat.

"Whoa!" someone suddenly shouted. "What the hell was that?"

Callie looked toward the entrance ramp as she and Britt untangled from each other. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment when she saw who it was. Matt Jackson.

"It was supposed to be an octopus hold," Britt said as she pushed herself to her feet.

"Ah," he returned. "Well, that's a relief. I thought it was a terrible attempt at a hurricanrana."

He leaned against the ropes and sent Callie a teasing smirk. She narrowed her eyes at him. "If I wanted to learn how to do a hurricanrana I'd ask Nick, not you."

Matt clutched dramatically at his chest. "Ouch, Callie. That hurts. But, lucky for you, I'm feeling generous today." He ducked through the ropes and walked toward her. "Plus, I know you know I'm a better teacher than Nick."

He offered her his hand, that cocky smirk of his still in place. She pursed her lips; but she slid her palm into his and let him pull her to her feet.

"Well then what did we do wrong, Professor Jackson?" Britt asked.

"Finally, some respect," Matt commented. Britt and Callie both ignored it. "Well, if that was supposed to be an octopus hold, you need to catch her as she's coming around," he explained. "It looked like you didn't do that, which is why she pulled you down to the mat."