Shark Tank

"Maybe. It doesn't have to be a cage, necessarily. There are a few ways we could go about it. It could be a cage or maybe we just put security around the ring or some mutually agreed upon and-or neutral lumberjills. All stipulations could be agreed in the deliberations."

Mercy relaxed again as Allison spoke. She was surprised by the blonde's words, both about Jocelyn and her stress. "Mm. You seem so poised all the time. It must be tough to keep that up. I guess no one else would really understand."

Mercy leaned back and closed her eyes. "It's not a hard job but there's a lot of hours and I have to deal with psychotic roided up meatheads." Mercy paused. "Uh, no offense. Plus, all the stuff that's been going on. It's like I can never escape AFW, even at home. I do Zumba and yoga but, I don't have time for much else."

Mercy sighed pleasantly. "This is really nice. I really appreciate it."

Allison smiled. On the surface, a placid, pleasant curl of her lips, but it went deeper, into places Mercy could never see.

"I'm so glad," she purred.

"That's why this place exists, though, isn't it? For beauty and respite, and deeper understanding. I think you can only really know yourself by what you've experienced, and many people never experience something quite like this... It's exclusive, I'll admit, and it's that way by design. To do this at all, I knew it had to be the very best, and that doesn't come without proportional costs. But I do so love when I can give what I have to people that can appreciate it."

She stretched out her arms over the edge of the pool and extended her crossed legs under the water, and gazed at Mercy. "It's the very worst thing, isn't it? When you give someone something of value, that costs your time and your soul, things you can never get back, and they don't appreciate it?"

Mercy sank into the water and let her pink curls float on the surface like sea foam until she finally submerged completely. A few bubbles later she appeared and squuezed the water out of her hair before relaxing.

Mercy nodded along with Allison and was smiling by the time she was done. "I know. So many people just don't understand the need for perfection. Every I needs to b fitted and T crossed. If we aren't perfect in law, we lose and it could cost people their livelihoods."

Mercy rolled her eyes. "Clyde never understood that. It's always emotion and posturing with him. He was always trying to tell me I was in trouble. Everyone's in trouble in his eyes. I told him he needed to stop this. It's never going to end as long as egos ate involved. I'm soooo sick of men."

Mercy shrugged. "Women, us, sure, we're crafty and backstabbing but at least we're not pigs. Plus, way hotter and not stinky."

Allison's smile grew into something bigger than before, with a twinkle in her eye. "Oh, Mercedes. Shall I take that as a compliment?"

Now that Mercy had told her that she had dated Clyde, and that it was now apparently over, Allison did not need to keep up the pretense that she was unaware of their relationship.

"If you don't mind my saying, I don't see how you were ever together. You're a beautiful, intelligent, strong woman. A treasure. What is that proverb about a gold ring in a pig's nose? Surely, Clyde Gastin could never understand you, much less appreciate what you have to give. I think we all just want somebody... who understands."

"Oh.. why, yes, of course!" Mercy beamed. However, she turned her head quickly when Allison asked how they could ever be together. She asked herself the same question all throughout their time together.

" I-It's complicated!" She stammered. "I know... I know. Who wouldn't want me? I'm super smart AND super sexy any guy OR girl would want me. He just wanted to treat me like a doll. I mean, I liked the attention but he was soooo cheesy! And, frankly, it was a bit stifling."

Mercy huffed. She had a deep furrow in her brow. "But.. it wasn't ALL bad... I guess..."

"Women like us should never have to settle for anything less than what we deserve."

Allison stood up and climbed the few stairs out of the pool, water cascading down her sleek body, and walked back to the bar. She collected the bottle of white wine she had opened, her glass, and a second for Mercy, and then returned to the pool. She was just as graceful and surefooted without any hands to steady her as she walked back into the water.

She found a place next to Mercy, and filled her glass. She raised her own, and toasted "To finer things."

"That's right!"

Mercy nodded firmly. She watched Allison get bout and smiled, once again found herself staring at the lovely blonde. She watched as Allison stepped back and sat next to her. Mercy flushed a bit at the closeness but took the offered glass.

"To the finest things!" Mercy tapped Allison's glass gently and took a deep sip of wine. "So... why does a classy woman like yourself want to be in such a beastly profession as wrestling?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

Allison drank deeply of her wine, and wore a smile like that alone was Mercy's answer. She tilted her head to the side as if considering what to say.

"I was only a girl when I began. It was a way to make all the boys want me. I did it in clubs, in mud and oil and all sorts of things that thrilled me at the time, despite anything else.

"And I loved the contact. The physical struggle, the combination of athleticism and will and ferocity and sensuality, and competition. I went pro when I was eighteen.

"I learned very quickly what is required just to hold your own in this business. You simply can't be a pretty face, a passive young girl taking what is given. You have to be willing to do what's necessary, or else people won't think twice about breaking you down, abusing you, making you into a poor, teary-eyed fool.

"And so I learned how to fight. When I perform, my art is all the things you find here. It's theater. It's violent and unyielding, which may give many people the wrong impression, but I love it. We should all be so fortunate as to find something we truly love to do."

She took another drink of her wine, and then set it down at the edge of the pool behind her. She reached over and touched Mercy's damp, pink hair. "I do adore your hair. And you have such distinct eyes, they're quite striking. And the shape of your ears..." She traced a finger over the edge of Mercy's ear. "We could do wonderful things for you here. You're already so beautiful."

She breathed a laugh, and withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry if I'm being too forward, but I am so very passionate about this."

"Oh.. ahhh..." Mercy couldn't help but think about Allison rolling around in oil with another girl. That thought alone made her tingle a bit. The alcohol helped. "I understand, actually." She said. "I'm not going to pretend I'm a physical person but I believe that physicality isn't the only way to deal with problems. I made sure early on that I would have a way to deal with any obstacles that were set before me and maybe there isn't much difference between rolling around with a girl in a pool of oil and pouring over volumes of legal records for hours, but I'm pretty sure that the looks on the faces of those we have vanquished have the same delicious resemblance."

Mercy's eyes widened. She could picture it. That look when someone who was so smug came into a courtroom and was caught in a web of their own creation. The way that smugness melted into a hopeless pallid look. Mercy had seen it on wrestlers' faces before and it was one of the few things about the brutish business that she could relate to.

"I guess i don't really look at the theatrics though. I'm not really interested in making something beautiful. I only want to assert myself and to take what I deserve."

She stopped her words when Allison complimented her hair and batted a coy eyelash at Allison's welcomed compliments. She purred when her ear was touch, her cheeks flushing deeply as she took in their closeness.

"Y-You're not." Mercy said and smiled softly. "I... like it when you say those things." She said. "You're a stunning woman yourself so... you would know. And, I'd love to see what you might have in mind for me..." Her words were breathy and light and she hid them behind another drink of wine, making her head feel even lighter. "To see... your passion..." Mercy lowered her head instantly and blushed hard at her own words. She wanted to put them back in her mouth but instead she just stared at her wavy form under the gentle ripples of the water.

Allison laughed again, another delicate, breathy strand. "I'd love to know what you think of it..."

She tilted her head at Mercy, looking to the side at her, and pushed back her short, blonde hair with a wet hand. "In England, no one says what they mean. No one shows what they feel. In wrestling, you have no choice but to show everything." She reached out, her fingers brushing Mercy's shoulder and settling daintily on her jaw.

"I could be an utter fool," she said. "But... may I kiss you?"