Thirty-Seven

"Fuck!"

"God damn it, Celina, would you fucking concentrate?"

"I'm sorry - Jesus Christ!"

They were standing in the ring, Celina on her knees on the mat, hands on her hips in frustration. Lisa was there to be her sparring partner. "If you don't fucking concentrate, then Michelle's going to fucking beat you, and you know you don't want that!"

"Mark, I'm fucking trying! Cut me some slack!"

"You think Michelle's going to cut you some slack?" he raged. "No! She's going to do whatever she can to fuck you up in that ring."

"Mark..."

"Celina, get your head out of the clouds or my foot's going in your ass!"

She scowled at him, one of the most evil, demonic scowls she had ever given him. He looked at her, his eyes just as hostile. "Lisa, Celina, try that again," he barked. Lisa nodded, helping Celina to her feet. Lisa set her up for a Last Ride powerbomb. Getting her up in the air, Celina wrapped her legs around Lisa and hit her with a hurracanrana, this time landing it right. "There you go," Mark said, his tone patronizing and sarcastic.

"Just because you haven't gotten laid in a month doesn't mean you can be a total prick, Mark," Celina snapped back. Mark flushed with embarassment.

"Lisa, do you remember how to do that Wings of Love move Michelle does?"

"Of course."

"Celina, I want you to try and counter this move," Mark replied. "I don't fucking care how - just counter it."

"Thanks for the encouragement," she bit back. He threw his arms in the air, exasperated.

"You weren't all for my encouragement a few minutes ago!" he snapped. He stalked off to get himself a coffee. "Fucking women!" he barked, storming out of their vision. Celina rolled her eyes.

"Fuck's his problem?" Glen inquired.

"IMS," Celina replied.

"IMS?"

"Irritable Male Syndrome." Glen and Shelton laughed. Lisa set her up for the Wings of Love.

"Remember, Celina, every finisher has a counter." She hooked Celina's arms. Celina pushed her arms out of the way and threw Lisa onto her back, flipping over her into a bridge pinning position.

"And of course, Mark isn't here to see this," Celina mused.

"He's just off having a tantrum," Glen replied with a smirk. "Don't worry about it."

Mark came in. Lisa smiled. "That was good, Celina. Try to toss me over now." She put Celina into the position again, but Celina moved her arms and tossed Lisa over her shoulder, sending Lisa crashing down to the mat. Mark clapped.

"Thank you! There's having your head on your shoulders!"

"Mark, quit being such a dick," Glen replied. Mark shook his head.

"She wanted fucking encouragement, I'm giving her fucking encouragement and now I'm getting snapped at? What the fuck?" Mark snapped. Lisa and Celina laughed. Glen just shook his head. Mark sipped his coffee, his green eyes blazing like emerald wildfires. "Fuckers," he murmured. Celina couldn't contain her laughter as she leaned over the top rope and smiled down at Mark.

"Someone's cranky," Celina pointed out. He flipped her the middle finger.

"Just shut up and get back to work," he told her. "You're nowhere near ready and your match is in two weeks."

"You said I was a quick learner!" Celina protested.

"You may be a quick learner, but that isn't going to mean shit against someone who's had four years of training behind her."

"Then why the fuck am I here?" she snapped, frustrated. Mark smirked.

"Now who's getting cranky?"

"Fuck off." She shook her head; sometimes he was such a prick.

"Keep going!" he barked. "I'm not stopping you." She took a deep breath and she and Lisa went over everything that she had learned over the last week. Shelton was watching her with some encouragement, but Mark was watching her with a scornful eye. She knew that he would be her toughest critic, but he really was a tough critic of hers.

When she finished, her body was in pain and she found herself almost crawling out of the ring. Shelton helped her out. Mark cocked an eyebrow and Shelton smirked.

"You okay, baby?" he asked. Mark just about choked on his coffee. Celina stared at Shelton in surprise. He winked and motioned to Mark with a slight nod of his head. She nodded.

"I'm fine, sugar," she replied sweetly. Mark bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as he struggled to sip his coffee. She fought the urge to laugh. "I'll just go fix myself up and we can head back to the hotel." He nodded and she and Lisa went into the women's change room. Mark shook his head and looked at Glen, who was fighting the urge to contain his laughter. Mark just glared daggers at Shelton, who retreated into the men's change room to clean up.

Celina and Lisa emerged. "We're going out tonight, Celina - you should come with."

"I think I'm going to go back to the hotel with Shelton and nurse my wounds with an ice pack." Lisa laughed. Mark cocked an eyebrow. She looked over. "You okay, Mark?"

"Never been better," he answered gruffly, sipping his coffee.

"Mark, Lena, Eve and I are going out tonight. You want to come with?" Lisa asked. "Glen, that means you, too."

"Sure," Glen replied. "What's the game plan?"

"Dinner and maybe a late movie," Lisa replied. "Come on, Mark...you know you want to."

"None of that chick flick shit," he murmured.

"I promise, no chick flicks," she replied with a smile tugging at her lips. He nodded and took a deep breath.

"I'm in. Celina, why don't you and Shelton come along?"

"I'm going home to relax," she answered. "You're going to be a fucking drill seargant tomorrow anyway. I need all the rest I can get." He laughed and she made her way over to him, giving him a hug. "Thanks for all your encouragement," she laughed. He chuckled.

"I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Shelton and Celina left together, arms linked. Mark, Glen and Lisa watched in amusement.

"Well, I wonder what's going on between those two," Lisa laughed. Glen followed suit in his laughter.

Mark sipped his coffee.