I gasp before stammering.
“Well, that’s not that weird. In olden days, I know gladiators used to wrestle nude, so it’s not like it’s never happened before. But the wrestlers are wearing something, right? Some type of spandex suit like what we have on now?”
He nods before slowly turning it into a shake of his head.
“Sort of. Not really. The women wear panties only. Just like that first day when we were in the locker room together. So you’ve got nothing on but a tiny scrap of lace.”
I gasp.
“The women’s boobs hang out?” I ask incredulously. “But isn’t she pressed up against the guy? Isn’t he basically … um, feeling her breasts?”
Shaft’s expression doesn’t change.
“He is,” my lover confirms. “He’s absolutely feeling her breasts.”
That stupefies me and I sit there, blinking for a moment.
“Really?” I whisper. “What else happens? What else is there to know about Battle Bang?”
Shaft clears his throat before speaking again.
“Well, it’s called Battle Bang for a reason,” he says in a low voice. “It’s a battle because there’s wrestling, and it’s bang because each match ends with a bang.”
“Like going out with a big climax, right?” I asked, confused. “Bang like a big, dramatic ending, right? Or are there actually fireworks or gunshots or something?”
A smile quirks at the corner of his mouth.
“I love the way you think, sweetheart, but you’re too innocent. No, I mean bang as in a sexual kind of bang. Not as in fireworks or gunshots, although a climax is pretty much a given.”
I stare at him.
“You mean bang as in … bang, bang?” comes my disbelieving voice.
“That’s right,” he rasps, his voice inflectionless. “Bang as in cock in pussy, sliding in and out. That kind of bang. That kind of climax.”
I’m absolutely speechless, the words unable to form. Finally, I croak out a sentence.
“Can’t be,” is my dry rasp. “People are having sex in the ring?”
Shaft doesn’t blink an eye.
“That’s right, sweetheart. The male and female competitors wrestle, their limbs tangling with one another. And then at the end of the match, the female is subdued and gets cock in her pussy.”
I gasp out loud then, and a few gym goers turn to look at me, gazes curious.
“You can’t be serious,” is my low gasp.
“I’m completely serious,” is Shaft’s low growl. “We have matches once a month. In an undisclosed location, obviously.”
I’m still so dumbfounded that my mind spins. Finally, I manage another sentence.
“But why? Why would anyone do this? What’s the point of sex wrestling?” is my stammer.
Shaft’s obviously prepared for the question.
“Why does anyone participate in Fight Club?” he asks rhetorically. “Why does anyone let themselves get bloodied and beat-up in some dirty underground lair? Because it’s human nature, that’s why. And Battle Bang’s exactly the same. Humans have the urge to fuck, just like they have the urge to be social. So Battle Bang was born, and it’s been going on for a couple years now.”
“Oh my god,” I whisper.
“That’s right,” says Shaft smoothly, trailing one finger up my arm. “And I think you’d like it sweetheart.”
My mouth gapes open like a fish out of water.
“I would? No, I wouldn’t,” is my quick retort. “I don’t know how to wrestle. I’m horrifically unathletic, and this whole sex thing? Well, you know I’m new to that.”
A smile quirks his lips again.
“I know,” he says smoothly. “But that’s my point exactly honey. I think you’d like it, which is why I haven’t taken your virginity yet.”
Because yes, Shaft and I have done everything short of full penetration. And suddenly the reason’s startlingly clear. It’s not because he’s been going slow out of respect for my virginal sensibilities or because he’s the type of guy who likes to go slow. In fact, the opposite. Shaft is the kind of guy who takes, and suddenly, I know why.
It’s because he wants me to do Battle Bang.
He wants me to lose my virginity before a circle of spectators, submitting to the giant man as our limbs glisten in a tangle under the lights.
I’m horrified at first.
“I can’t,” is my quick reply. “This is wrong, not to mention fucking weird. Who does this?”
He shakes his head, now trailing one big finger slowly up my arm.
“More people than you think,” he says in a low voice. “People whom you’d never guess.”
“Name one,” I say quickly. “I have to know.”
But Shaft shakes his head regretfully.
“I can’t tell you,” he says slowly. “Not until you participate in your first match. It’s the rules of Battle Bang. Full discretion all the time, no exceptions. But if you participate, then you’ll see for yourself.”
“Wait a minute,” I gasp. “This sex wrestling happens in front of a crowd? Can’t be,” I say. “It must be illegal.”
But Shaft merely shrugs again.
“Why does Fight Club happen in front of other people?” he says rhetorically. “That’s part of the fun. You’ve got people watching you get down, and it adds to the thrill.”