Chapter 2: Dom's Life
It was a regular Saturday at the new gym I had been going to. After moving into my new
apartment and getting acquainted with the demands of grad school, I was finally getting back
into my daily routine of hitting the gym.
The curriculum can be tough sometimes, but the gym is my therapy and man do I always feel
better after a session. There weren’t many people there as usual on a Saturday afternoon. I
assumed most people were recovering from their night out as there were a lot of bars in the
area.
I had just finished a set when I noticed this giant I had never seen before. Being 6’4 and over
220 lbs, usually, I’m the one at the gym people stare at, but this guy definitely had me beat.
It was after I finished another one of my sets that the giant came up to me...
“Hey kid, do you know Derek *my dad’s last name*?” he asked.
“Ohh yeah, that’s my dad. Do you know him?” I responded trying to be polite.
“Haha I knew it, you look just like him! I’m Mark *last name*, I actually played football against
your dad in high school.”
“Oh really, nice to meet you, sir,” I replied again.
We ended up talking for a few minutes. He asked me about my dad and then what I was doing
in the gym. He told me to come by one night for dinner and that his house wasn’t far away. I
was gonna clear it with my dad first, but honestly, I was starting to get tired of chicken and rice
every day and I was also trying to save as much money as possible in the meantime, so the
proposition sounded pretty good.
I got up with my dad later that day and told him about Mark and he remembered the guy right
away. Their stories lined up and he said they used to play against each other in football.
Apparently Mark went to a faraway university on a full-ride scholarship and they lost touch. I told
my dad how huge he was to which my dad responded that he used to be a powerhouse back in
the day, which wasn’t very hard to believe.
A week later I had gotten a text from Mark asking about my day, to which I said I was only
gonna work out and didn’t have anything else going on. He took this opportunity to invite me
over and said his wife and daughter would be out of town, but he was really wanting to make
steaks and asked if I was interested.
Granted a steak is something I could never say no to, so I asked what time would be best to
come over.
Around 7 o’clock I had arrived at Mark’s place and the second he opened the door I could smell
the steaks on the grill….
“Dominik! Good timing! The steaks should be ready in a few more minutes! Please make
yourself at home.” Mark said enthusiastically.
“Thanks for having me, sir!” I said genuinely.
“Aw, you can just call me Mark, Dominik. We can save the formalities for later.” Mark said.
The steaks Mark prepared were probably some of the best ones I’ve had. Apparently he used
some kind of spice blend he made himself and a fancy sauce. All I know is that he could put
some steakhouses out of business. We started talking about my dad and then I asked him
about his life in college. Apparently he had plans to go pro in football, but got hurt right before
his junior year and had to give it up. He picked up a hobby to fill the void, which is when the
conversation really got interesting to me…
“So as I was coming out of rehab, my physical therapist recommended staying in shape or I’d
gain a lot of weight. I told him if I could do any contact sports since that’s really the only physical
activity I enjoyed and he suggested wrestling. It sounded fun and I really enjoyed it a lot more
than just tackling a guy.” Mark explained.
“Oh that’s really cool, Mark! I actually wrestle a lot with my friends! I used to wrestle with my
roommate but he moved back home so it’s been a while.” I said.
“Oh really? You think you could take me on some time, little man?” Mark asked. I could hear the
challenge in the question.
“Aw, you’re already pretty old; I wouldn’t wanna break ya, haha,” I responded jokingly.
“Ooh funny kid, don’t worry though, I could handle two of you and still not break a sweat.”
“Well anytime you wanna go, old man, I’m ready,” I said.
“Alright, then kid, how ‘bout tomorrow around noon?”
“I can make time for that.” I was thinking about my plans for tomorrow and honestly, wrestling
sounded a lot more fun than getting ahead of my projects and I could always do them later.
“Great! See ya here tomorrow then, little man.” Mark smirked.
It was 11 the next day and I had just finished breakfast. I was honestly pretty excited about
getting to wrestle against Mark, not only had it been a while, but he’d be the first opponent I’ve
fought against that was bigger than me. I was always the tallest among my friends and thanks to
football I always had to keep weight on. When it comes to wrestling though, I do like being the
bigger guy. Wrestling my friend KC is always fun as he’s a pretty easy guy to dominate with our
differences in height and weight.
I actually was missing him a lot lately. It had been a few months since I had last seen him and
my new roommate and I weren’t really close. But I had to think of how to go against Mark. You
could tell from one look that he was a powerhouse. He told me he was 6’6 ½ (almost 6’7 but
never got there) and 265 lbs. Finally reaching 220 the other week still put me at a 45 lb weight
disadvantage, but I could handle that. I figured I’d go against him like any other opponent, by
starting off slow and wearing him out right before the kill. I could feel my grin coming on. I was
really looking forward to this...
I had knocked on the door and a second later Mark opened the door in his gym attire, shorts,
and a tank, he looked pretty pumped up. I guess he had a morning lift. Just looking at the beast
got me nervous, which was weird as I’m usually the goliath that intimidates everyone, but I
guess not today.
“So you showed, boy? Sure you can handle all this?” Mark said as he flexed one of his biceps.
“Psshh, I could handle more than that in my sleep, old man. I hope you’re ready to get your butt
handed to you by a guy half your age.” I said cockily. If there’s one thing I was good at, it was
trash-talking. I just hope I can put my money where my mouth is…
“Alright then kid, follow me and I’ll show you my little setup.” Mark motioned me inside.
He took me to his garage where he had a pretty nice layout. One side of it was clearly for
working out with a power rack and some free weights, while the other had padded mats for
grappling and wrestling. He had a couple of big mirrors on each side.
“Nice place you got here,” I said respectfully.
“Thanks, kid. It took a while to get it this nice, but I’m proud of it.” Mark responded. “So how do
you wanna do this?”
“Well, when I’m with my friends we usually go to whoever taps/submits 2 times out of 3 loses
and we also like to wrestle in our underwear, but we don’t have to do that part, Mark,” I
explained cautiously. Hearing myself say that out loud was kind of embarrassing.
“That’s fine with me. I usually like to wrestle in my underwear too, but how about we go best ⅗?”
Mark replied.
I was relieved with his response. “Sounds good, old man. I just hope you can keep going.” I said
smugly.
“Oh don’t worry about me, little guy. I won’t even break a sweat.” Mark replied.
I kind of liked our back and forth banter. Normally it’s easy for me to intimidate my opponent, but
Mark’s different. This time he’s the one with the size advantage, which is why I was so nervous.
We both undressed to our underwear. I was sporting my trunks, while Mark had on some briefs.
His physique was really impressive. He didn’t have a six-pack, but he was still pretty massive,
almost like a mountain. A mountain I was gonna be conquering soon…
We started to lock up and at first, we seemed to be evenly matched, which was good since I
was only going at half capacity. I decided to make a move and swiftly get behind Mark and
locked him in a full nelson. I added some pressure and he started to groan clearly becoming
uncomfortable.
“Not bad kid, but you’ll have to do better than that,” Mark said. He then grabbed my arms and
began to pry them apart, but I made him work for it. This had me thinking if I kept this going long
enough then I could tire him out and go in for the kill.
I quickly changed tactics and grabbed Mark in a bearhug. He was pretty big, but I could still
wrap my arms around him. I applied a lot of pressure which had Mark groaning, after a few
seconds I dropped him on the floor….right, where I wanted him.
While he was catching his breath I flipped him over and got him in a camel clutch.
“Arggghhhh, you’re pretty good kid. Much better than some of the runts from the gym who think
they can take me on.” Mark said.
“Can’t say the same for you old man. I’ve fought guys half your size who put up a better fight.” I
said. I began to turn up the pressure, flexing my arms and pulling Mark’s neck as far as I could
get it.
“Awwwwrrrggghh,” Mark began to cry out. I thought I was about to get a submission out of him,
but he elbowed my side and knocked me off balance and onto the mat.
“Alright boy, my turn,” Mark said as he quickly caught me in a bodyscissors with his tree trunk
quads and began to apply pressure. “Did a few heavy leg presses this morning and can still feel
the pump, how bout you Dommy?” He taunted as he flexed his quads.
“Arrrrwwwwgghh,” I responded. His legs weren’t no joke, but no way am I gonna let him get the
first submission. I grabbed each of them and began to use my strength to pry them apart. After
a few seconds of struggling, I was finally able to break free. “Not bad gramps, but I got a better
idea for your legs…” I said as I turned Mark over and began to squat, tucking each one under
my arms and began to apply pressure.
“Rrrrrrggghhh,” Mark said, clearly my boston crab made him rethink his choices.
He began to beat the floor out of pain. “You submitting gramps?!” I yelled.
“Grrrrr no way!” Mark yelled back and suddenly he forced his legs forward, causing me to fall
onto the mat again.
I quickly got up, not wanting to let him get the drop on me. Mark began to get to his feet,
breathing a little heavier than normal. My plan was working..now to finish the first round..
“Alright, old man. See if you can handle this one!” I said as he charged at Mark and began to lift
him up into a bearhug again.
“AHHHHHH,” Mark began to scream. I was using a lot more power in this hug than the first. It
was hard having to apply a lot of pressure like this. Mark is a much heavier guy than what I’m
used to. I can’t afford to use so much energy early on, but I had to seal this round.
“Alright, kid I give!!” Mark said as he tapped me on the shoulder. I released the hold and set him
down. We both began to catch our breath.
“That’s one, gramps.” I snickered, happy with how things were going.
“Enjoy it Dom. you ain’t getting no more out of me.” Mark said sternly.
“Thought you’d be more of a challenge given your size, but you’re just a big pushover,” I said
condescendingly.
“Keep talking little man, you’ll get what’s coming to you.”
A minute later we began round two and locked up again. This time I grabbed one of Mark’s legs
and lifted him into a torture rack. Although it was harder than what I was used to, I was able to
hold him and began applying pressure.
“Gaaaahhhhrrrrr,” Mark began to groan in pain. It was getting hard to balance him so I dropped
him on the mat. A loud thud reverberated in the garage, he definitely felt that one.
Mark surprised me though by immediately grabbing my legs and pulling them right from under
me, causing me to fall on the mat too. He then grabbed one of my legs and one of my arms and
placed both of his feet directly in the middle of my back and applied pressure.
“ArrrrrGGHHH,” I groaned. I wasn’t used to this move and man did it hurt. I tried to break out,
but Mark was playing hardball and began to use his heels to dig deeper into my back.
I began to muster up my strength and roared until I was able to break out of his hold. I tried to
hide my fatigue, but I couldn’t hide the fact that I had to end things before Mark could make a
comeback…
We both stood to our feet and then Mark lifted up both in his hands and opened his palms. “How
‘bout a test of strength, kid?” He said challenging me.
I didn’t know if I should, but I couldn’t seem weak so I said, “sure old man!”
We locked our hands together and began fighting for dominance. Mark began to get the upper
hand and was able to get me on one knee, but I wasn’t about to give up. I gathered my strength
again and turned the tables.
“GrrrrrRRRRAAAAAAHHH,” I roared as I was able to overpower Mark and force him on both of
his knees… ”where’s all that muscle at now, old man, haha?” I taunted.
I then pushed Mark onto the floor and got on top of him. Enjoying myself, I started to flex and
taunt him some more. “Come on, gramps! Still wanna take on all this?! You ain’t got nothing
compared to me!!!”
Mark tried to roll me over, but I pinned his arms down forcefully.
“Time to wrap this one up, big guy! ONE…..TWO…..THREE!!!” I counted. Mark struggled, but
my position was secure and wasn’t about to let it go.
“That’s two, old man,” I said calmly as I got off of him.
“Not bad Dominik. You’re pretty tough.” Mark said as he started to get up. The way he was
talking felt kinda weird…
“One more and I win, gramps or you can just quit now.” I began to taunt again.
“Nah I’m good, how ‘bout we start round 3 now?” Mark said calmly...something was definitely
off. I was honestly still catching my breath from that last round but he looked fine.
“Uhhh, sure. Let’s end this.” I said, not wanting to give away my concern.
“Alright, let’s have another test of strength,” Mark said as he lifted his hands again.
“Psshh, fine. No big deal for me.” I said locking my hands with his again.
At first, it was even and then he began applying force and had me on one knee again. I could
feel myself losing my stamina, but I almost had this one, plus if I gain the upper hand here then
it’ll be over in no time.
I gathered my strength again and began to roar. “GRRRRRRHHHHH,” I said as I started to
stand back up.
“Feeling okay little man? You’re not working too hard are ya?” Mark asked calmly.
‘What?’ I was thinking in my head. ‘Isn’t he tired? Why’s he talking like that??’
“Yeah, I can tell your battery’s gettin’ low. Just what I wanted. This is how I like to do things.
GRRRRRRHHHHHHH!!!” Mark said as he began to roar. He started applying a lot more force,
which I couldn’t handle….he was way stronger than just a minute ago...he forced both my knees
on the ground and kept going to my discomfort...I began to moan in pain as I thought he was
gonna break my wrists...
“Ahhhhhhhnnnngg,” I let out in pain.
“Yeah kid, that’s where you belong. On your KNEES!!!” Mark said as he applied even more
pressure and now my wrists were really hurting…
“AhhhhHHHHHHHHH,” I started to cry out. There’s no mistaking it. Mark was just playing with
me until now. Sizing me up until he could start destroying...just like how I wrestled with KC the
first time….
“AHHHHHH OKAY I GIVE!!!” I screamed out.
“You give what?” Mark asked undaunted.
“AHHH I GIVE SIR!!!!”
“That’s more like it, boy,” Mark said as he released me. I knew exactly where this was going. I
was reeling from his punishment and I could tell I was getting spent, but he seemed to be just
fine. He didn’t even look like he was tired from the previous rounds...I was in big trouble.
“That’s one for me, boy. You ready for the next round?” Mark asked a couple of seconds later.
“Hey give me a minute!” I said
“Haha, sure kid. I just thought you’d be able to keep up with an old man like me.” Mark said as
he flexed his biceps.
“So you were playing with me?” I saaskedid unamused.
“Haha, a little bit. You’re the toughest guy I’ve wrestled with in a while Dominik, but kids like you
burn out pretty quickly.”
He was right. I put a lot of power into that test of strength and he still easily pushed me down. I
wasn’t gonna be able to put up a fight anymore. I rested for a couple more seconds before
getting back to my feet.
“Alright Mark, I’m ready to go,” I said.
“Haha, what happened to all that tough talk, kiddo?”
I knew that I was beaten. I’ve used the same strategy on my friends, so I wasn’t gonna keep up
the charade.
“Just don’t hold back, Mark. Whatever you’ve got. I can handle it.”
“Whatever you say, boy...it’s your funeral.” Mark as he smiled maliciously...this was gonna hurt.
We started to lock up and then Mark lifted me into a painful bearhug. The worst one I’ve ever
felt.
“Grrrrhhhh, how’s my hug feel, boy?!” Mark asked. “Figured I would return the favor from
earlier.”
“Arrrrggghhh,” I was trying to hang on, but I felt like my ribs were gonna collapse soon. I tried to
push against Mark, but he just squeezed even tighter, causing me to cry out in pain even louder.
Mark suddenly let go and dropped me onto the mat. “Wanna know how much power I put into
that hug boy?” Mark asked. I just looked up with a grimace on my face, still in pain. “About
80%.” he continued. I can’t believe he wasn’t even going full-out and I still couldn’t take him. I
guess this is how most of my friends felt against me.
“Here, since you asked for it, I won’t hold back on this one,” Mark said as he got behind me and
lifted me into a reverse bearhug.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” I cried out. I was in so much pain and all the air in my lungs was
getting wasted as I screamed, but screaming was all I could-
“GRRRRR HOW YA FEELING LITTLE MAN?” Mark yelled in my ear. I hated that. I’ve always
been pretty tall. I’ve never been the little guy. So I hated being in this position. Being the little
guy. The mouse at the mercy of the cat.
“Come on boy, do you give?!!” Mark asked.
“AHHHHRRGGGHHHH NO!” I yelled back.
“Wrong answer, boy,” Mark said as he flexed his solid arms. I could feel his biceps digging into
my side.
“AHHHHHGGGGGGHHH, OKAY I GIVE,” I said, finally complying.
“What do you say?” Mark said condescendingly.
“URRRGGHH, I GIVE SIR!!!” I said and suddenly Mark stopped squeezing so hard but still was
holding me in the air. Although fresh air was starting to come in my lungs, so I couldn’t
complain.
“That’s two, boy,” Mark said, still holding me. “You’re pretty tough. Usually, everyone passes out
when I go that hard in my hugs.”
“Ungh, guess you’re not as strong as you think you are,” I said coughing a little. “You wanna let
me go now?”
“Nah, I’m good. How ‘bout you flex those arms for me, boy?” Mark said as he applied a little
pressure, signaling that it was a request he was asking for.
I did as I was told and gave a double-bicep flex, but my face couldn’t hide the amount of pain I
was in.
“Yeah, not bad little man!!” Mark cheered. He had us both facing the mirror so I could see the
smug look on his face. Even though he was complimenting me, gosh I hated how inferior I was
to him. He finally released me and I was having trouble balancing myself.
“One more round to go, boy. Think you can keep going?” Mark asked with a grin.
Honestly probably not, but this was almost over with and I didn’t wanna cop-out. “Ready when
you are, old man,” I replied.
“Good, then here we GO!!!” Mark shouted as he slammed my chest with his meaty forearm. His
clothesline move caught me off guard and consequently had me fall over in a loud thud on the
floor. I was out of breath again and the pain in my back was a lot more prominent. I tried to
move but Mark got down on the floor too and positioned me in a body-scissors and also a
chokehold. I was struggling to breathe and my lower half was getting crushed by 2 tree trunks,
not as much fun as it sounds…
“Aw, I just love getting to show off these puppies, Dominik! Nothing like squeezing the life out of
a cocky punk like you with my quads.” Mark said.
I was starting to lose air and was in too much pain to put up a fight. To make matters worse,
every few seconds Mark alternated between pulsing his quads and bicep so I became even
more uncomfortable than I already was.
“This has been pretty fun, kid. I think I’ll see how much more you can take before I finish this.”
Mark said. I didn’t like the sound of that. Whatever was coming was about to hurt.
He let go and then stood us both up. I was a little out of breath as he put a hand on my thigh
and arm and began to gorilla press me into the air.
The quick movement had me even more dizzy than I already was, but I could still make out
Mark’s cocky face...he knew exactly what he was doing..
He dropped me into a cradle position and started to taunt me even more.
“You’re a big guy Dominic, but all guys are little guys to me,” Mark said with a smirk and after
finishing his sentence he dropped right onto the mat.
Just to add even more insult to injury, he placed his foot on top of me and began to flex as he
looked at himself in the mirror.
Over this, I tried to get his foot off of me, but that just led to him putting me into a schoolboy pin.
Still flexing, Mark asked, “how’s the view champ?”
Exhausted, all I could was groan and pathetically try to move this mountain on top of me.
“You fought hard little man, so why don’t let you rest a bit.” Mark said.
With that he adjusted his position and moved back, placing his knees on top of my arms and
then both of his hands on my mouth and nose. Just like that, it was hard to breathe.
“Yeah sorry kid, I like to end this with this move. I love seeing helpless guys like you struggle
right before they pass out, hahaha.” Mark said sadistically.
He had my arms pinned and was placed directly on top of me so there was nothing I could do
except struggle to stay awake.
Things were starting to go black...all I could was the evil grin Mark had on his face as I was
losing consciousness…’cocky punk..i'm supposed to be the dominator’...the last thoughts I had
before blacking out.
I must not have been out for more than a minute because I woke up to Mark now off of me and
tapping my face.
“Hey Dom, you okay little guy?” He asked concerned.
*sigh* “Yeah. *cough* I’m fine.” I responded.
“Good, because that’s three, hehe.” Mark snickered as he helped me to my feet.
“Alright, big man. I admit it, you got me.” I said.
“You used to winning, Dominik?” he asked
“Yeah, can’t even remember the last time I lost to my friends one-on-one.” I said.
“Haha, that doesn't surprise me. You were pretty good. Definitely the biggest challenge I’ve had
in awhile. Most of my buddies can’t handle me at full capacity as well as you can.” Mark said.
“Thanks Mark, even though I lost, it was fun. Haven’t gotten to do that in quite a while.” I said
appreciative.
“Well I’ll tell you what little man. How bout you come over about twice a month and I’ll give you a
few pointers. I’ll even give you some grocery money.” Mark said.
“Aw that’s nice Mark, but you don’t have to do that!” I reassured him.
“Nah, it’s no problem! I need a guy like you to keep me in check so I don’t slack and I don’t mind
giving you a reward for it either.
“Hmm, well if you’re offering, then I guess I’ll do it, Mark!” I said.
“Alright!” Mark extended his hand. “Now one more thing,” he paused.
“What’s that?” I asked, shaking his hand.
His grip went from firm to painful in a second. “I won today so you gotta respect me little boy.
Got it? No more, ‘Mark’.
“Ahhhh, yes sir! I’m really sorry sir! It won’t happen again, I promise sir!” I said pleadingly.
“Good! Then I’ll see you in a couple of weeks boy.”
For more stories from KC (id 13877), please click here