See who’s hitting the heavy bag.

You wander over to the line of punching bags set up along one wall. The closest one to you is taken by a slim, wiry blonde who’s slamming her fists into it with clean, precise strikes. She’s accompanied by a friend, a curvy brunette who seems a little bored as she holds the bag from the other side.

You wave cautiously as you approach them. The brunette immediately perks up with a smile, while the blonde turns to you with annoyance written across her round face.

Noticing her expression, you wonder if you should just leave them alone. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?”

The blonde opens her mouth to reply, but her friend speaks over whatever she was about to say. “No! No, you’re fine. What’s up?”

“Uh, you might have heard that the ECL recruited a new fighter recently,” you say. “Well, that’s me. I’m John, and I was just trying to get to know some of the other fighters.”

“Oh, that’s awesome!” The brunette’s cheer is infectious, and you start to crack a smile as she grins at you. “Always great to get some new blood around here. I’m Amanda, and sourpuss over here is my girlfriend, Sophia.”

“Nice to meet you both,” you say, shaking Amanda’s hand.

Sophia folds her arms stubbornly, but Amanda shoots her a reproachful glance. “Sophia, play nice.”

With a put-upon sigh, Sophia uncrosses her arms and shakes your hand. You’d be surprised at her grip strength if you hadn’t seen her working out. “We shouldn’t be fraternizing with the enemy,” she grouses.

“Um, hello? We’re ECL fighters. Fraternizing with the enemy is, like, our entire job,” Amanda points out.

Sophia rolls her eyes, but concedes the point.

Your interest is piqued. “You two are fighters? Do you have gimmicks?”

“We have a gimmick, actually,” Amanda corrects. “Our stage personas are Greek goddesses.” Mimicking the announcer’s dramatic tones, she calls out, “The perfection of the divine, given human form! Come down from Mount Olympus to grace this very ring! Athena”—she points to Sophie—“and Aphrodite!” She gestures to herself.

“Pretty badass,” you say approvingly. “Are you guys a tag team?”

“Yep,” she says, nodding excitedly. “We might even be booking a tag-team match soon.”

You sense an opportunity. “Maybe I could help you with that?”

“Only if you can find a partner,” Sophia says. “With your lack of experience you might have trouble taking us on even then, let alone in a handicap match.”

“I’ll look into it,” you say with a nod.

Sophia seems satisfied, but quickly switches gears. “Cool. Can we please get back to training now?”

“But this stuff is so boring,” Amanda groans. “Who wants to beat up on a punching bag for hours and hours when there are new people to meet?”

Sophia shoots her a long-suffering look. “Hours and hours? We’ve been here for ten minutes.”

You chuckle a little at Amanda’s mock-horrified look.

“I kind of had to drag her along to come here. There’s only one kind of physical activity Amanda really enjoys,” notes Sophia.

Rather than take offense at this, Amanda just shrugs. “I picked the love goddess for a reason.”

You raise an eyebrow at her. “A sexually promiscuous woman in the Erotic Combat League? Words cannot describe my shock.”

Amanda seems to be warming up to you, but Sophia quickly gets back to business. “Okay, Amanda, your turn.”

Amanda pouts. “Are you sure we can’t keep talking for just a couple more minutes?”

“If you do, don’t blame me when he holds you down and fucks your ass ‘till it’s raw because you weren’t strong enough to get away,” Sophia tells her.

“Oh, that’s nonsense. John would never do that! Would you, John?”

You feign offense. “Absolutely not! I would never! The refs lube you up before you fuck someone anally. It wouldn’t be raw at all,” you say with a wink.

Your little joke draws a giggle from Amanda and even a half-smirk from Sophia, but you figure you should leave them to their own devices. “I think I’ve taken up enough of your time. Good luck with your training, and maybe I’ll see you in the ring sometime soon.”

“Maybe,” says Sophia skeptically.

Amanda waves goodbye before turning to the bag, and as you walk off you can hear the sound of fists against leather again.