I'm giving it my all.

You do everything possible to win at least one game of this idiotic sparring session. If nothing else, you need to earn some brownie points with Half-Gob so she sees you as a valuable member of Scarlet’s rag-tag team of misfits.

When Half-Gob jumps you, you grab her and twist her off of you, successfully directing her away from you. She tries again in rapid succession, and when she does, you dive into her mid-section and end up in an awkward entanglement on the mat, which you barely manage to avoid getting into another arm lock.

Once you get Half-Gob in a position to lock her, she quickly taps out, knowing it’s better to conserve her energy rather than trying to break out of it. You’re much stronger than her, and trying to break free of your grip would take considerable energy. All she does is curse in her language when she returns to her feet. You can’t help but think she looks a little flustered suddenly after you’ve given her her first defeat…

“Alright,” you pant, thinking of what to ask her to remove, but she doesn’t give you the satisfaction of requesting which article of clothing to remove. Instead, she removes her crop and throws it to join your shirt on the floor. You stare, transfixed on her slender form as she flaunts it without meaning to. “Take… off your…shirt,” you trail off, staring.

Unlike you, she doesn’t appear to be damaged. No scars are racking along her back or sides. There aren’t any signs of surgeries or patchwork field efforts. Half-Gob looks at you, looking not in the least modest but looking slightly awkward as she’s now topless in front of you. However, she doesn’t shy away or try to cover herself.

There’s some kind of child-like wit wanting to come out of your mouth, but before anything can be said, you’re again on the defensive, and you aren’t given nearly enough time to get ready for her third onslaught and fail miserably to keep her from getting the advantage of you. Are you embarrassed? Kind of.

It’s challenging to keep your mind focused on something supposedly serious when you’re not in a life-or-**** situation against a stunning sparring partner as attractive as Half-Gob, especially when your forearm is rubbing against her open chest. You try to break out of her lock and manage to get to your feet with her legs wrapped around your neck, but when you open your eyes, you see Half-Gob’s mounds, and it breaks your concentration.

As soon as you try to get her off of you, you feel her weight shift, and then the mat is suddenly inches away from your face as you hear yourself and Half-Gob huffing in the struggle. You slap the mat to indicate that you’re yielding, but instead of letting you go, you feel Half-Gob already yanking off your pants.

“What are you doing?” You nearly shout.

“Departing your pants from you,” Half-Gob says, in no particular rush. “What’s it look like?”

“Why??”

“Because you lost!” She shouts, throwing your pants to the side. It falls to the other defeated threads of your ongoing battle. You roll to your knees to voice your protest, but as usual, Half-Gob offers no rest. She jumps on top of you and wraps her legs around your waist, digging her heels into your sides while she throws every pound she has backward, sending you right where you were seconds earlier.

Despite getting caught off guard (and being a little lightheaded,) you break free of her grip and straddle Half-Gob, pinning her legs down and holding her wrists above her head. Again, the sight of her beneath her while being half-naked and sweaty and kind of off-puttingly erotic, but just like the last time you beat her, she forfeits so she doesn’t expend any energy needlessly…

However, as you remember… She took off your pants….