Protecting Ryan

2: KNEE IN THE BUTT

"KNEE IN THE BUTT, KNEE IN THE BUTT, RYAN!"

Coach's muffled voice echoed past my headgear as I held on to the other wrestler's arms for dear life. I tried to do as I was told so that I could flatten my opponent out on the mat, but my stamina was shot. These wrestling meets were no joke. We got up at six in the morning in order to get to school and travel to tournaments for weigh-ins before the first matches started at eight. That was ten hours ago, and now my arms felt like jelly. I let out a huge sigh of relief as the whistle sounded, but I could see the disappointment in coach's slumped shoulders.

I had won the match by one point, but we needed a pin in order to have enough team points to place first. Still, my teammates congratulated me and welcomed me as I stepped off the mat.

"That was great, Ryan, way to hold him down," Tony grinned, giving me a pat on the back.

"I guess," I shrugged, pulling off my headgear. Tony was one of my best friends. He would have said that even if I had lost.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Ryan," Mason said. "Great job out there."

I couldn't stop the huge smile from overtaking my face, "Thanks, Mason."

Mason smiled at me before heading over the stands to pack up his stuff.

"Thanks, Mason," Tony mocked, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up," I hissed. "He's going to hear you."

Mason was team captain, and an absolute God on the mat. Every time I watched him wrestle I could feel my heart flutter. His baby blue eyes, dimpled smile, and washboard abs didn't hurt either.

"Just go confess your undying love to him already."

I shushed him again, pulling out my hair tie and allowing the wavy strawberry blonde locks to fall down in a frizzy, untamed disaster. I took a few long, hard gulps of water, wiping away the spill with the back of my arm. I scoffed, as if someone like him would be interested in me.

"I can't believe you got beat by a girl!"

I turned towards the opposing team, who was railing on their teammate. I shook my head, it was always the same. Some boys took it easy on me, some refused to even wrestle me. Hell, one time a boy was so nervous he PEED himself during the match. Thank God, I was on top during that time, but still - ew. Now that I was a junior, it was easier to win. There were not that many boys who could stay under 106 pounds, so it meant I had experience over them. I've been wrestling since the start of middle school, compared to some freshmen who were wrestling for the first time.

Tony and I returned to the stands, we were done for the night but there was one more match before we could leave. I grabbed my wrestling bag and headed to the locker rooms to change out of my singlet. Focused on trying to pull my headphones out of my bag, I walked head on into someone, causing them to smash their nachos into their shirt and then drop to the ground.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry. This is so awkward. Oh my god," I panicked, grabbing the closest napkins I could find from the concession stands and trying to wipe the cheese off of his shirt.

"Hey, hey, it's okay."

"It's not okay, oh my god, it's everywhere. I'm making it worse!"

He grabbed my wrists, with my hands that were filled with way too many cheesy napkins. "Take a deep breath."

I looked up for the first time and got lost in the most beautiful, sparkling cerulean eyes that put Mason's to shame. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My throat was suddenly so dry I could feel myself choking. How was it legal to be that goddamn attractive, and why in the fuck did I just throw hot cheese over the cutest boy I've ever seen in my life?!

"You wrestle for Franklin, right?"

I nodded slowly, my mouth still open. Fuck, Ryan, stop being an idiot. Say something! "H-how did you know?"

"It says Franklin on your singlet," he smiled, and such a perfect smile it was.

"Oh. Right. Duh," I laughed uncomfortably like the imbecile that I was.

"And I just saw your match, you were great," he said, releasing my wrists.

"Ryan, who is this guy and why is he covered in cheese?" Tony asked, coming up behind me, already changed.

"Hey, I'm Shayne," he said, extending his hand to shake Tony's. "I'm new at Franklin. I'm interested in wrestling, and I heard you guys had a tournament today, so I had to check it out."

Tony shook his hand reluctantly. "And the cheese?"

"We had a little accident, no big deal," Shayne smiled, throwing me a side wink that made my legs weak.

"Okay, well the match's over," Tony said, turning back to me, "Coach said to pack everything up, we're leaving."

I nodded, trying to find the words. "Um, nice to meet you, Shayne. Sorry, again."

"No problem, maybe I'll see you at school," he smiled, giving me an adorable little wave before turning around and leaving.

Tony sighed, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. "Ryan, are you checking out his ass right now."

"Mhmmm."

"Come on," Tony said, dragging me towards the bus.

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I used to manage wrestling for all 4 years in HS, it's my favorite sport!  There really was a girl on our team who's opponent peed himself during the match 😂😂😂

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RYAN

MASON

TONY