It had been more than a month since the federation had hosted it's last wrestling card in which Maggie won the championship from Marisol, and the wrestlers were growing concerned. To make matters worse, no other shows were planned and there had been no announcements to any of the wrestlers as to why not. Though none relied on the money they earned from wrestling for a living, (even the most popular wrestlers only made a pittance) for most of them, the extra income was a nice supplement to other sources of income. But it was obvious that none of the wrestlers were in it for the money. Each woman had their individual reasons for wrestling which ranged from the athletic competition, to the opportunity to "perform" in front of an audience, to simply the chance to "fight". But for each of them it was a part of their lives which they enjoyed and wanted to continue.

The federation was a small, local outfit which relied solely on receipts from the live wrestling shows it hosted at it's small arena. They did no marketing, sold no products and arranged no endorsements. In other words, no one was getting rich from this operation, not the wrestlers, not the promoters and not the owners. In order for the outfit to stay afloat, it required near capacity attendance to every show, and the fact that the crowds had begun to dwindle in the past few months made the financial demise of the organization imminent. But the wrestlers were not aware of this and wanted answers. They were about to get them.

Fire came home from the gym and grabbed the mail out of her mailbox on her way in. She sifted through it without really looking, her thoughts were somewhere else. She threw the handful of bills, catalogs and one letter down onto a pile of other mail which had built up on the coffee table before she sat down on the couch. It was obvious that she hadn't paid much attention to her mail lately judging by the size of the pile, in fact Fire seemed to pay little attention to anything these days.

As the holiday season approached, she spent most of her time reflecting on the events of the past year. It had been a difficult one for her and she was not looking forward to her first holiday as a divorced woman. She thought back to her feud with Helen, the resulting break up of her marriage and her recent tribulations in the wrestling ring. She knew that she had to make some changes, especially in the ring, and the past couple of weeks had been a time of introspection. Fire had been disqualified in her last two matches and she knew that if she kept that up, wrestling would no longer be an option for her. Her recent disqualifications had grown out of anger which had built up inside of her from her divorce and everything associated with it. She had let that anger take over, but now it had begun to subside as the holidays approached, replaced with a sense of loneliness and despair.

With her wrestling career put on hold, Fire had much more time on her hands, which is exactly what she did not need. She was eager for her next match to be scheduled so that she had something to focus on and look forward to, but like everyone else, Fire had no idea when, or if, that would be. What she did not realize however was that the letter which she had tossed onto her coffee table with the day's mail held the answers.

To keep herself busy, Fire had begun to frequent the gym even more than she had in the past. It helped to keep her mind off of things, since other options did not exist. Most of her friends were "couples" friends and they lost touch with Fire after the break-up. Her single friends had given up on her since she did not return their calls for months. But at the gym a few weeks ago, Fire ran into another wrestler named Ravishing Rikki, and the two began to occasionally work out together. Rikki was a very kind-hearted and outgoing woman and she befriended Fire, which is exactly what she needed. In fact Fire seemed to perk up whenever she spent any time with Rikki.

Ravishing Rikki had even wrestled briefly in the federation before deciding it wasn't for her. She now wrestled solely in private matches, preferring their intimacy over the spotlight of the pro circuit. But one of the intriguing things to Fire about Rikki was that in her only match for the federation she had beaten Helen, the cause of much of Fire's problems.

Rikki was very attractive, very sociable, and also lesbian. She did not hide that fact, though she also did not flaunt it openly either. But the time Rikki and Fire spent together at the gym were not spent discussing sexuality. They talked about almost everything else though, from wrestling to clothes to work and even about Helen. Rikki was aware of the history between the two, she had heard bits and pieces and put it all together. She was very sympathetic and even explained to Fire that Helen had dominated her in the past by intimidation. Intimidation was a big part of Helen's wrestling and Fire had fallen victim to it three times before, so she listened intently when Rikki discussed the subject. Rikki had obviously conquered Helen's intimidation, and Fire was anxious to learn how she did it.

The history of the two rivals was storied, and Fire hated what Helen had done to her. She hated that Helen slept with her husband, humiliated her in front of him and played a part in the break-up of their marriage. But Fire also knew that the real reason her marriage had broken up was the creep she had married. Sure, Helen played a part, but she wasn't the reason. In fact, though Fire hated what Helen had done, she did not hate Helen. There was something about Helen that made Fire feel uneasy. Fire remembered when she wrestled with Helen as a tag team partner. They got along fairly well, and even thought much alike. But the one feeling that Fire had buried deep within herself, never sharing with anyone, was how attractive she found the vicious brunette. She had often caught herself subconsciously staring at Helen in the locker room on several occasions. But since Fire was happily married at the time, she never paid much attention to it. Her discussions with Rikki however forced those feelings to resurface.

Rikki looked at things much differently than Fire. She had a very positive attitude and an amazing insight into what made people tick. Fire even found herself growing quite fond of Rikki. She had never thought of herself as having the potential to experiment with her sexuality, but the confusing events of the past year had left Fire embroiled in personal conflict. Especially over the past few days, she thought a great deal about Rikki, in fact she dominated Fire's thoughts. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, she had to finally admit that she was attracted to Rikki.

The next day at the gym, Fire again met Rikki and the two women had a long and exhausting work-out together and their conversation flowed even more easily than normal. Fire also noticed that Rikki seemed to go out of her way to touch her. Oh it was nothing lewd, barely even noticeable, but it existed. Rikki would place her hand on Fire's shoulder, or put her arm around her after a tough set and even grabbed her hand as they walked into the aerobics room. Fire thought it was all very innocent, but she had to admit that she kind of liked it. And finally after more than two straight hours of vigorous exercise, Rikki and Fire headed for the locker room. Rikki could tell that Fire was not looking forward to going home alone again, so she invited her back to her apartment for a drink. Fire hesitated at first, but then willingly agreed. In fact, they decided to skip the showers and just leave right away.

It was only a short ride before the two women entered Rikki's apartment, a beautifully decorated place. Rikki escorted Fire to the living room and invited her to sit down. There were two fluffy, white, love seats facing each other in the middle of the living room so Fire sat herself down on one as Rikki walked into the kitchen. Fire looked around and was impressed at how nicely decorated the place was. As she took it all in, Rikki switched on the stereo and put a Marvin Gaye CD on before walking back into the living room carrying a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

Rikki sat on the love seat opposite Fire and poured them both some wine before settling back and folding her legs in front of her. Fire was surprisingly comfortable as she also sat back and sank into the love seat. They chatted for awhile, Rikki filling the glasses as they emptied. After about 30 minutes or so, Rikki put her glass down. "I don't know about you, but I'm drenched!" she said. Both of them had worn heavy sweatshirts and sweatpants to the gym, and were still wearing them. Due to the intensity of their work-out, they had perspired quite heavily. Since the two were now relaxed, Rikki pulled her sweatshirt up and off before tossing it into the corner. She then stood up and, wiggling her hips, slid her sweatpants down past her thighs before kicking them into the corner as well. Rikki always wore baggy clothing to the gym which hid her body, but now, with only a JogBra and panties left on, she was on display for Fire. Fire felt her mouth get dry as she stared at Rikki's well proportioned form. She was shocked at how shapely and yes, sexy Rikki's body was. "Does this make you uncomfortable?" Rikki asked politely. Fire hesitated, and then replied, "No. Not at all". Rikki then took it one step further. "Well then, go ahead, you must be uncomfortable in those sweaty clothes!" Fire was a bit startled, but eventually found herself tossing her sweatshirt and pants into the corner with Rikki's.

Fire was wearing a fairly provocative black lace bra and panties, not what you would expect a woman to wear to the gym. Rikki smiled, interpreting that to be a positive sign. In a sense she was right. Fire had worn the seductive lingerie with the thought that Rikki might get to see it, and Rikki delighted in the display. Fire's body looked great, not quite as fit or tone as Rikki's, but more soft and feminine. She seemed a bit shy at first, but as the two women then continued their chat, Fire grew more at ease until eventually the bottle of wine was empty.

With both women now completely relaxed, the conversation somehow turned to Helen. "I have to admit, she does have SOME body on her!" Rikki exclaimed to Fire's surprise. Fire had to admit that she agreed completely, but chose not to comment. "And there is just something about her you know? Yeah, she's a bitch and all, but you know, I'll bet she would be great in bed! And I'm pretty sure that she would be willing to try it too! " teased Rikki, now feeling a bit more playful but not realizing the effect her comments would have on Fire. Fire sat and listened, but didn't say much. Helen was an enigma to Fire. Here was this nasty, evil, bitch who had slept with her husband and tortured her. Her common sense told her that she should hate this woman with every ounce of her being, and yet she could not help being physically attracted to her. Fire was now faced with a rush of feelings she had hidden for a long time, and it showed on her face.

Rikki noticed that Fire was distracted, and made a suggestion. "I know the history between you and Helen, so it's okay! I know what she did to you. But you LET her do it to you Fire." The last remark got Fire's attention. "What do you mean?" Fire asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Don't get mad, here, let me show you." With that, Rikki got up off of the love seat and pushed the coffee table to the side, clearing an area between the furniture. Then she got down on her knees. "Come on, come over here", Rikki urged. Fire looked back at her quizzically, but finally decided to follow Rikki's lead. She was feeling whimsical from the wine, and enjoying Rikki's company. She trusted her too, and so she got down on her knees across from Rikki.

"Okay!" exclaimed Rikki, a wide smile on her face. The two lingerie clad woman now stared each other in the eye as Rikki went on. "Now grab my hands" Rikki suggested as she raised her arms up and out on front of her. Fire hesitated again, but then clenched her fingers between Rikki's as the two were now in position to begin a test of strength. "Wrestling is as much mental as it is physical." preached Rikki as she began to struggle mildly with Fire. They were each giggling and laughing as they slowly begin to struggle playfully. There bodies pitched from side to side as the intensity gradually increased, but still only to a very playful level. This went on for a couple of minutes, both girls enjoying the kittenish struggle. Fire began to feel the sensuality of the struggle as she watched Rikki's firm form bob back and forth. She began to feel aroused and this new experience was not discomforting at all, in fact it felt quite natural.

"Okay Fire, now you feel comfortable, right?" asked Rikki. Fire laughed and nodded as she continued to giggle. "So go ahead, make your move". Fire again giggled, but then instinctively grabbed Rikki's wrist and spun her around, placing her in an armbar. Rikki was kneeling with her back to Fire, who kept the grip just tight enough to keep Rikki at bay. "Very good Fire!" said Rikki encouragingly. This is a great hold, you've really got me trapped!" congratulated Rikki. Fire giggled again, proud of herself. She moved closer to Rikki so that her breasts were pressed up against Rikki's shoulder blades. Fire felt a tingle run through her body and she smiled, but Rikki meanwhile was reaching up across her shoulder with her free arm. She then quickly grabbed Fire by the hair and pulled her forward, sending her tumbling over her shoulder and landing on her back.

Fire was startled. Though it did not hurt her at all, the quick move left her stunned as she laid on her back with her arms stretched over her head. Rikki then did a somersault and landed with her knees straddling Fire, her butt lowering rapidly toward Fire's midsection. But just as Rikki's butt made contact with Fire's stomach, she pulled up so that only a meager amount of pressure was placed on Fire's abdomen. Rikki gyrated it back and forth a bit as she reached forward and pinned Fire's arms to the floor. Although stunned, Fire again felt a tingle as Rikki's butt rubbed across her stomach while she stared down at her.

"You see what I mean? I distracted you, and then you let me pin you!" Fire looked up a Rikki and giggled. "You let me control the situation, so I did" she concluded.

Rikki looked Fire in the eyes and smiled seductively. Though Fire's arms were pressed over her head in a schoolgirl pin as Rikki sat on top of her, Fire was enjoying it. Rikki then slid forward on Fire's body until she was able to place her knees down onto Fire's arms, pinning them. She lifted her arms and looked down at Fire, who grimacing slightly from the pressure on her arms. "Am I hurting you?" asked Rikki sweetly. Fire shook her head, though the pressure of Rikki's knees on her arms was a bit painful. But she was enjoying the action so much that she was afraid to admit that Rikki was hurting her. Rikki then raised her arms and pulled her bra up and over her head before tossing it into the clothes pile. She was now completely topless as she sat perched upon Fire, whose eyes had widened.

The playfulness of the wrestling had now taken on a completely different meaning, and yet Fire did not protest. She remained on her back as Rikki began to lean forward, pulling her knees off of Fire's arms and replacing them with her hands. Rikki pressed Fire's wrists to the floor and pushed her arms up further over her head as she slowly lowered herself down closer and closer to Fire. Finally Rikki's mouth got so close, that Fire could taste the red wine on her breath. Rikki puckered her lips, but Fire turned away, not yet ready for the next step. Rikki pulled back but remained perched atop Fire. "Is this making you uncomfortable?" Rikki asked. Fire looked back up at her and paused for a few seconds. "No" she replied meekly as she playfully bit her lip. Rikki then smiled and again lowered herself closer, slowly nearing Fire's lips. Fire's eyes widened as Rikki moved just inches away. Again Fire could taste the red wine on Rikki's breath as her lips lowered onto her own. Fire felt the soft pressure of Rikki's lips press onto hers. She tasted the salt on Rikki's lips and felt her body press against her own. She didn't resist.

It was not what she expected, though she wasn't sure what to expect. It was definitely not like kissing a man. It wasn't better, it wasn't worse, just different. Rikki was very tender, very caressing and Fire felt those warm feelings as they continued to kiss. Finally Rikki backed away and again knelt upright on top of Fire. She took her hands off of Fire's wrists, but Fire kept her arms pinned to the floor anyway. Rikki then moved her hands down towards Fire's bra and placed them on the clasp in the front. Fire felt her heart start to beat uncontrollably and for the first time, she started to squirm uneasily. "Do you want to stop here?" Rikki asked sensitively. Again Fire paused, but this time nodded her head to indicate that they had gone far enough. Rikki smiled and slowly pushed herself up off of Fire. She then helped her to her feet and the two hugged. "I'd better go." Fire said softly, before she walked over towards her clothes and slowly slipped them on. Rikki looked on admiringly as Fire got dressed. "Give me a call sometime." Rikki asked as Fire finally finished dressing and walked out smiling.

It was about 4 miles to her apartment, but Fire decided to walk. She needed to think about what had just happened, and walking would be the best way for her to do that. She was surprised at how she felt about the whole incident, she was kind of happy that it happened. She could still taste Rikki on her mouth, which made her smile. But despite the fact that it had been a pleasant experience and Rikki was very attractive and very sweet, Fire still did not feel a "connection" with her. She was glad Rikki was the one who she had shared her first kiss with, but she knew that it would probably go no farther than that.

But as Fire continued walking, her thoughts surprisingly turned to Helen. It was not intentional, and she didn't know why it was happening, but she couldn't shake it. Fire kept imagining back to the locker room and seeing Helen standing across from her. How could she disdain this woman so much on a personal level, and yet feel such an overpowering physical attraction to her? Fire kept imagining Helen in the same position as Rikki had just been, and was torn between anger and arousal. She thought about it the entire way home. Had she really had this feeling all along and just ignored it, or was there something else going on? Fire couldn't believe that after all that had just happened to her, the only thing she could think about was Helen all through her long walk home.

She finally reached her front door and went inside. To take her mind off of everything she grabbed the pile of mail which had built up and began to sift through it. She came upon the letter from the wrestling federation and opened it eagerly. She had hoped that it would provide a distraction, and it did. The letter announced a mandatory meeting for all of the wrestlers, tomorrow night. "Anyone who does not attend will be suspended indefinitely!" it threatened. "Big shit!" Fire muttered as she placed it down on the table and then got up and took a long, hot shower. She then changed into a nightshirt and tried to get some sleep.

The night lasted an eternity since Fire didn't get a wink of sleep. The day however passed quickly and Fire arrived at the arena just before the scheduled start of the meeting. Most of the women had already arrived by the time Fire walked in. She was not the most popular woman amongst the wrestlers, as evidenced by the reaction she received. Maggie sat in the front row smiling from ear to ear at being the new champ, unfazed by Fire's arrival despite the fact that they had a vicious match which ended in Fire's disqualification upon choking Maggie and leaving her lying on the mat in agony. . Barbie Doll sat a few seats away, and though she waved to Fire, she still felt some resentment at Fire's performance in their tag team match. Heather and Stacey sat a few seats away, as usual, dressed to kill. They both stared Fire up and down with angry expressions on their face. Fire had attacked Stacey before the bell in their singles match, again leading to her disqualification, and Heather had promised retaliation for her friend. Jo sat a few seats behind them, as did Marisa and ToniAnn, not paying any attention to her. There were a few other women scattered about the first few rows as well. Fire found her seat, the first in the row, a few back of everyone else. She could feel some of the angry stares as she anxiously looked for the one woman who was as hated as she was, but did not see her.

Marisol then came hobbling in on crutches. Her ankle was taped to protect the strained ligaments she suffered as a result of her loss to Maggie. She walked up front and took a seat in the row behind the new champ, almost trying to intimidate her. Now everyone was present accounted for, everyone but Helen. It had been a few months since Fire had seen Helen, and it was not exactly under the best circumstances. But based on the events of the past night, Fire was anxious to see her old nemesis, especially to see how she would react. But before that question could be answered, the meeting began.

A well built young man walked to the front of the group and began to speak. "Ladies, we've called you all here tonight to let you know what is going on." he began. There was nervous tension in the room as he went on. Fire found herself looking over her shoulder for Helen's arrival as the meeting continued. He went on to introduce himself and explain how the old federation had been doing very poorly financially and that the owners had agreed to sell. The buyer was a young entrepreneur who wished to remain anonymous, but they were told that he owned a very successful technology company in addition to several small cable television stations and a handful of magazines.

Just then the door in the back of the arena burst open and Helen came strutting down the aisle toward the group. She walked forward until she reached Fire's row, and then squeezed past her to get in. She moved a couple of seats away from Fire before sitting down. The speaker, obviously annoyed, continued his presentation. "Don't worry though," he added, "there are going to be some changes, and they are all for the better. First of all, since the new owner also owns some small television stations, he plans to occasionally broadcast a live wrestling show featuring all of you. In addition, he will dedicate a section of one of his magazines to updates on all of you with interviews and pictures. You will also get an increase in pay which, unlike the flat fee you received in the past, your pay will be incentive based. Your ranking, the ranking of your opponent, the popularity of the match and the pre-paid attendance will all be part of the equation. All of these changes will be discussed further with each of you personally in the next few weeks, so please hold your questions right now."

The women started to whisper, an excited undercurrent replacing the nervous tension which existed at the start of the meeting. "Oh, and one more thing, the liberal rules which have been such a big part of this federation will remain unchanged. The only difference will be that an in the ring referee will enforce them. There will be more information on that in the near future too. The first televised card will be in about a month or so, but you'll all be given a personal appointment within the next week. We'll be in touch with you to schedule. So that's all for now, than you for coming down." The ladies began to rise, chattering about the recent developments. "Oh, and could I just have Helen, ToniAnn, Jo and Fire stay behind for a minute please? Thank you ladies, and good luck."

There were millions of questions, but it was obvious that they were not going to be answered tonight. The ladies began to file out of the arena, smiling and laughing as the four women who were asked to stay were lead into the office. Jo was the first to go in, and her meeting lasted only a few minutes. She came out of the office visibly upset and obviously crying. ToniAnn, Helen and Fire all sat in the waiting area outside of the office nervously looking at each other as Jo left the building. The three women were far from friends, but this incident oddly enough drew them together. They were called into the office next and as they each sat in one of 4 chairs on the other side of the desk, Sunshine walked into the office and sat in the other. "What the hell is she doing here?" ToniAnn shouted as she stood up. "She's banished!" Sunshine smirked at ToniAnn as she took the empty seat and waited for the matchmaker to speak.

"Ladies, under the new owner you are all starting from scratch." he started. "You 4 have the potential to be our best wrestlers, but we need to set the record straight. This federation needs to have a new tag team champ, which will be crowned during the first televised show. The Pretty Girls are the number one contenders so they will be one of the teams wrestling for the title. Now we need to get them a worthy opponent." All four girls new what was coming next, and the only who seemed even remotely happy about it was Sunshine. This was her chance to get back into the federation. But ToniAnn spoke up first. "No way, I'm not doing it!" she declared. "Okay ToniAnn, we'll take you first. You are a beautiful woman, an excellent wrestler and a former champion. But in the 6 months you were champion, can you please tell me how many title defenses you had?" ToniAnn's face turned red and she clammed up. "Obviously we would love to keep you as a member of this organization, but if you only wrestle once every 6 months, what's the point? So I am not ASKING you to wrestle with Sunshine, I'm telling you. The Golden Girls will be re-united, at least for one match. Any questions?" ToniAnn sat silently and Sunshine shook her head.

"Well forget her, I ain't doing it!" blurted out Helen next. "Ah Helen, an even better story!" he continued, turning his attention to the voluptuous brunette. "Another beautiful woman, vicious wrestler and former champ. Let's see, you lost your last three matches, the fans are turning against you, you're not in a position to be making demands." he concluded. Helen looked angry, but did not say anything. "If you want to wrestle in this federation, your first match will be with Fire here, or not at all! The Black Angels will wrestle the Golden Girls, winner wrestles on the first televised show against The Pretty Girls for the vacant Tag Team Title!" he declared. "And what about you Fire, anything to say?" he asked sarcastically. Fire decided it was better to leave well enough alone and simply shook her head.

So within minutes, the two tag teams comprised of now bitter enemies were re-united. "Tomorrow night, here in the arena, the Black Angels will wrestle against the Golden Girls. No crowds, no television, just straight, hard wrestling. Winner gets a big payday and a television appearance against the Pretty Girls. Be here at 7:00. Any questions?". The four women all shook their heads, none of them smiling. He then got out of his seat, thanked them for coming and escorted them to the door.

It was ironic that two of the best tag teams in the federation's history were re-uniting, but not by their own choosing. Helen and Fire's feuding was epic, as was ToniAnn and Sunshine's. But now the two teams were forced to re-unite and face each other, which promised to make for an interesting evening. They each walked out separately, Fire lagging behind and catching a glimpse of her old, ...er... new partner as she strutted up the aisle and out of the arena.