Fanfic Update! Hip Check: One (Whip It, Babe Ruthless/Iron Maven)
TITLE: Hip Check
SERIES: Whip It
AUTHOR: Dreiser
EMAIL: dreiser7@yahoo.com
YAHOO ID: dreiser7
MY WEBSITE: http://www.dreiser.org/
CONTENT: F/F romance. F/F sex. Babe Ruthless/Iron Maven. Third fic in the Versus and Pace Line series. I can't seem to quit writing. It's problematic.
SUMMARY: Babe Ruthless thought roller derby was a lot like life, just when things are going good you're hit with a hip check.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my enjoyment for taking naps.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you've read the book version of Whip It please don't get confuzzled. Malice In Wonderland in this fic is an original character and has nothing to do with the book version of Maggie Mayhem. I just had to use the name since it's so good. If you want to hear Maven's fictional taste in music and some good Johnny Cash songs download this.
Hip Check
By: Dreiser
Part One...
The arrival of Bliss’ twenty first birthday brought a lot of things with it in the following months. There was her graduation from college, her start of a new job as a nurse at a 24/7 free clinic, and the one and a half year anniversary of her relationship with Iron Maven. Technically Bliss was still roommates with Rosa Sparks, she had half her possessions at their apartment, she paid rent, and her name was on the lease. But in reality she spent most of her time at Maven’s loft where the other half of her possessions were and where she slept over almost every night. Bliss had wanted to move in with Maven for several months now but she didn’t know how to go about broaching the subject or even if it was really appropriate for her to bring it up.
Her mother had raised her to have impeccable manners, after all, and inviting yourself to live with another person wasn’t exactly the most polite thing to do. There was also the fact that she didn’t know for certain if Maven would want to live with her. The only thing she did know was that Maven wouldn’t want to leave her loft. The rent on it was seventy percent cheaper than any other place like it in Austin and she only had to walk downstairs to get to work. Besides that, it was only two blocks from the free clinic where Bliss worked. All in all, it was the perfect place for the both of them to live but it was Maven’s place and Bliss somehow couldn’t wrap her mind around telling Maven she’d like to move in with her. Mostly because she was afraid of Maven saying no.
It was two thirty in the morning and her shift had just come to an end. They had three cases of the flu, a mysterious rash, and a broken toe during the last three hours of her relatively quiet shift. Sitting down in the employee break room, Bliss removed her tennis shoes and placed them in her backpack then pulled out her roller skates. After putting on her skates and jacket, Bliss went to the patient check in area to say goodbye to her boss and owner of the clinic, Dr. Joshua Gibson.
“I’m heading out, Josh,” said Bliss, smiling as she stuck her head around the corner. Somehow just saying his name put her in a good mood. She had dealt with so many rude and self-important doctors while attending nursing school that the fact that she worked for one who insisted on being called by his first name with his staff and Dr. Josh with his patients was a delight to her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I have you coming in at five o’clock, right?” asked Josh, furrowing his brow, trying to recall the schedule.
“Right, do you need me to come in earlier?” replied Bliss, skating into the front office where Josh was manning patient check in with Denise, his office manager. “Because I can.”
“No, that’s all right. I was just struggling to remember,” said Josh with a wry smile. Pushing up his wire rim glasses, he said, “The new season starts up soon, doesn’t it?”
“Three weeks,” said Bliss, grinning wide. “We have try outs tomorrow. Maggie wants to recruit a new player.” Seeing the goofy look Josh got on his features at Maggie’s name, she laughed and said, “You should just ask her out. She does like you.”
“She thinks I’m a dork,” said Josh mournfully and when Denise laughed at this, he spun in his chair to face her. “She does! I made the mistake of saying I couldn’t go to a party she was having because I’d be at a comic book convention in Chicago. Why didn’t I just lie and say it was for a conference on internal medicine or something? Instead I said comic books! What girl thinks a guy who reads comics is cool? No girl, that’s who. I really should’ve lied.”
“No you shouldn’t, because you’re a good person who never thinks of lying as a natural thing to do,” said Denise, she had a scolding tone to her voice although she wore kind expression as she said this. She had been working for Josh ever since he first opened the clinic twelve years ago and the two often reminded Bliss of a mother and son.
“Just don’t call me a ‘nice guy’ because all ‘nice guys’ are secret assholes,” Josh said, leaning back in his chair and bouncing in his seat. He frowned and looked at Bliss as he continued, “You’re not skating home again, are you?”
“It’s only two blocks,” said Bliss with good humored exasperation.
“Emily wouldn’t like it,” Josh remarked, the frown still on his face. He was one of the few people who met Maven outside of roller derby first and as such, he was also one of the few to speak about her using her real name instead of her rollergirl moniker. He had been introduced to the sport through his relationship with Bliss and her explanation of why she preferred the odd hours she was required to keep as a clinic employee as it gave her plenty of time to devote to the league. “It’s not safe.”
“Again, I repeat, it’s only two blocks and Emily is my girlfriend, not my mother. She doesn’t tell me what to do. Even my mother doesn’t try to do that anymore… much,” said Bliss, doing her best to fight the urge to roll her eyes, and heading out of the office.
“It’s still not safe!” Josh called after her, leaning over the counter top as she left.
“Bye Josh, Denise!” responded Bliss, going outside and waving at them as Josh kept up his warnings.
The trip from the clinic to Maven’s loft was a short one that was well lit and took even less time when she skated, which Bliss liked to do for extra practice. Though she dismissed Josh’s remark about Maven not liking it, she knew he was right. Maven truly didn’t like her skating home at night but Bliss wasn’t stupid, she knew how to take care of herself. Especially after attending the self-defense classes that Kami Kaze gave at her dojo where she taught taekwondo.
In ten minutes, Bliss was at Maven’s loft and she sat on the wrought iron stairs, removing her skates and slipping on her tennis shoes. Going up the stairs two steps at a time, she got the keys from her backpack, pausing for a moment to study them. She knew it was silly but the key to Maven's loft was the best present she ever received from Maven other than her merit badge pendant which she wore a minimum of once a week. Getting this key was almost like Maven inviting Bliss fully into her life and it solidified their relationship in a way that Bliss could never properly explain. Of course, it was given to her in the most nonchalant manner possible, with very few words to accompany the gesture but with Maven it wasn’t words Bliss was concerned about, it was the thought behind her actions, and most of the time the thoughts were incredibly sweet. Unlocking the door and heading inside, Bliss quietly set her backpack down before locking the door and walking into the bedroom.
Taking off her shoes and jacket before placing her socks and scrubs in the laundry hamper, Bliss set her bra onto the dresser and put on her worn Coca-Cola t-shirt. She crawled into bed and laid down in front of Maven, reaching back and placing the other woman’s arm over her stomach, smiling as Maven mumbled and moved into her.
“What the fuck time is it?” Maven asked in a sleepy drawl, burying her face in Bliss’ neck.
“Three a.m.,” replied Bliss with amusement. It seemed to her the more sleepy Maven was the more she cussed.
“Shit,” muttered Maven, groaning and pulling the smaller woman closer into her embrace. “How was work?”
“Good. Josh lectured me for skating home though,” said Bliss, sighing as Maven kissed her cheek. “Said it’s not safe.”
“It fucking isn’t,” Maven grumbled, poking Bliss lazily in the stomach in a form of protest for the other woman’s actions only to allow Bliss to stop her just moments later as she entwined their fingers.
“He also said you’d say that,” offered Bliss, chuckling but feeling herself lulled into sleep by Maven’s steady breathing.
“I knew there was a reason I liked him,” said Maven with a yawn.
Their conversation came to a natural end as both women drifted into sleep, curled together, and soothed by the whirr of the industrial fan in the corner which was perpetually on except in the rare months when it wasn’t all that hot.
--
Bliss woke to the scent of food cooking and the sound of dishes being moved about. Sitting up in bed, she rubbed her eyes and wandered out of the bedroom, not fully awake and glancing at the clock to see it was just past ten in the morning. Her brain not completely functioning, Bliss stood in the kitchen, not alerting Maven to her presence until she asked, “Are you making bacon?”
Most people would have jumped in surprise but Maven just looked over her shoulder with dry amusement and replied, “I will if it matters that much to you.”
“I want bacon,” said Bliss dimly, sitting at the kitchen table and resting her head down on it.
“Baby,” said Maven with humorous affection. “If you’re still sleepy you should go back to bed.”
Releasing a muttering noise of disagreement, Bliss shook her head and watched Maven cook breakfast. After a few minutes, Maven presented her with a plate of bacon which she began munching on before the eggs and hash browns arrived. When a cup of coffee appeared in front of her and she took several long drinks, Bliss felt her cognitive skills finally start to kick in and that’s when she realized that ten in the morning was an earlier wake up time than normal for Maven on a Saturday.
“It’s not noon,” said Bliss, blinking. “Why are you up before noon?”
“Try outs,” said Maven plainly, not even attempting to defend her habit of sleeping late on the weekend. “They start at noon and forced me to get my ass up.”
“Oh yeah,” said Bliss, blinking again. Taking a bite of her eggs, she waited until she swallowed, well trained by her mother’s constant lessons on manners, and said, “You’re trying to get Miss X-Treme skating, aren’t you?”
Snorting at this, Maven pointed her fork at Bliss and said, “Just because her sport’s name is dumb doesn’t mean she’s not a kick ass skater and you know it. I bet those other bitches are going to try and steal her from me once they see what she can do.”
Taylor Barnes, though she didn’t say the name, Bliss knew it all too well. Ever since Maven saw her performance at an x-treme skating competition she’d been fixated on getting the woman to play for the Holy Rollers. Bliss couldn’t entirely blame her, having someone who could easily do flips, jumps, and other endless amounts of tricks would be a boon to any team in derby when you coupled it with how fast her skating speed was. All in all, she was the perfect candidate and when the competition was over Maven had gone to her, flyer in hand for the TXRD exhibition bout featuring the Hurl Scouts and Black Widows, asking Taylor to attend and to give the idea of playing roller derby some serious thought.
Once the exhibition bout was over, Bliss having led the Hurl Scouts to a fifteen point victory, she found her congratulatory kiss with Maven interrupted by Taylor tapping the older woman on the shoulder and saying she’d be at try outs. Although Maven was the one who found Taylor she could easily end up on another team because of the league’s rules when it came to rookies. Namely that if more than one team wanted a player and thought they’d be a good fit then said player got to choose which team they wanted to be on and Maven was convinced once the other team captains saw Taylor skate they’d all want her.
“The Black Widows aren’t recruiting though,” offered Bliss helpfully.
“Which just leaves three other teams that’ll want her,” said Maven sardonically, gathering up the dishes. Bliss followed suit, taking over rinsing them as Maven opened up the dish washer. Leaning against the counter, Maven folded her arms over her chest and asked, “Why didn’t you call me when you got off your shift? I said you could.”
“Because I didn’t want to wake you and it’s only two blocks,” said Bliss patiently.
“It isn’t safe,” Maven enforced, taking a plate from Bliss and putting it away. “I don’t like it.”
“It’s two blocks,” said Bliss, starting to lose her patience, though she knew Maven was just worried about her. Turning to face the other woman, she wore a wry expression and touched her cheek. “I’m not made of glass. I can take of myself.”
Maven frowned and eventually shook her head, releasing a disgruntled noise as she threw up her hands. “Fine,” she drawled. “You don’t want a ride then you don’t want a ride. Just remember if you ever do I don’t give a fuck about being woken up.”
“I’ll remember,” Bliss chuckled, moving in for a kiss and smiling when Maven grumbled at her before hitting her ass lightly and closing the dish washer. Chasing after the other woman and hugging her from behind, she remained attached to Maven as she made her way into the bathroom. “I want to come along and watch try outs.”
“You want to see Miss X-Treme skate?” Maven raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Don’t you always say it’s good to keep an eye on the competition?” questioned Bliss, turning on the shower and watching unabashedly as Maven removed the shorts and tank top she used as sleepwear.
“I do say that,” said Maven in droll tones, holding onto the edge of Bliss’ t-shirt before pulling it over her head. Bliss shimmied out of her underwear before she grinned and followed Maven into the shower. “I just didn’t know you actually listened when I said it.”
“I listen!” Bliss protested, scowling and reaching for the shower gel. Squirting some in her hand, she rubbed it onto Maven’s back as they stepped under the stream of hot water. “You make it sound like I’m a bad girlfriend or something.”
“Did I hurt someone’s feelings?” drawled Maven, turning around and Bliss suddenly found herself pressed against the shower tiles with Maven’s hands on either side of her head as she formed a wicked smile.
“If I say no, will you stop?” questioned Bliss, arching into Maven as she paused in her exploration of the smaller woman’s body. She heard Maven chuckle then lift her head up for a kiss that was hard and deep and when they parted, Bliss said, “I guess not.”
“How do you want it?” Maven’s voice was low and husky in her ear and Bliss trembled as she felt fingers lightly brush over her breasts, teasing the nipples. “Mouth, fingers, or both? I’m taking requests.”
“Lucky me,” Bliss replied, gasping as Maven’s head bent, adding mouth and fingers to her attentions. Tangling her fingers in Maven’s hair, she tried to make her brain work, to tell her what her body needed and eventually she said, “Fingers but don’t stop!” Maven only chuckled and stayed where she was, her right hand trailing down to Bliss’ pussy, trailing over her clit, teasing it as she slid two fingers into the other woman. Bliss exhaled and rose up into Maven as lips covered her nipple, sucking as long strokes accompanied the teasing of her clit and she absently wondered why they didn’t do it more often in the shower. Probably because they were usually never awake at the same time when their showering occurred. “Harder,” Bliss muttered, moving into Maven’s touch and releasing a noise of satisfaction when Maven conceded to her demands. She shuddered and lifted her hips into the other woman, meeting her thrusts, her hands firmly tangled in Maven’s hair, crying her release as she came. Several moments passed before Bliss lifted her head off Maven’s shoulder and took in the supremely proud look the other woman always wore when she knew she’d given Bliss a particularly good orgasm. Blinking and her brain feeling something in a daze, just like when she first woke up, Bliss eventually said, “We’re still not clean, are we?”
Laughing at this, Maven pushed aside several wet locks of hair and remarked, “There are more important things than getting clean and I’m fucking positive that getting you off is one of them.”
“Yay,” said Bliss, happy but thoroughly exhausted, smiling as Maven laughed again and set about washing her hair.
Though the idea of it was definitely invasive and somewhat perverted, Bliss wished her mother and the Hurl Scouts, hell, anyone who judged Maven on first impressions solely and assumed she had to be a horrible person to be involved with had a chance to see her in moments like this. The problem was, Maven liked to present one side of herself to the world in general and a totally different one to those she judged close to her, whom she trusted, and Maven didn’t trust that many people. It was a list that didn’t go beyond her fingers and toes that consisted of Bliss, the Holy Rollers, coach Alonso, her boss Ronnie, and her little sister, Grace, whom Maven was in regular contact with despite the distance as she was away attending Texas A&M’s school of veterinary medicine. Trying to get Maven to open up to anyone other than these select few wasn’t something easily done and Bliss had started to give up on it, though she found it frustrating so few people could see this side to her girlfriend.
She knew Maven could care less what people thought of her but Bliss cared and she hated anyone thinking badly of her, especially for things that just weren’t true. Such as her rumored status as an insensitive romantic partner which couldn’t be further from reality in Bliss’ opinion. Though, Bliss considered, sighing as Maven’s hands slid over her skin, her touch comforting as she applied the shower gel, it was nice in a way too. As if she was keeping Maven all to herself and Bliss was self-aware enough to admit there were times when she very much wanted to do exactly that.
So maybe, all in all, this really wasn’t that bad of a situation to be in.
--
Deciding that she wanted a bird eyes view, Bliss perched herself in the stands to watch the potential rookies gather as Razor began his traditional explanation of what roller derby and the TXRD was all about before they got into the demonstration of how to play the game. Bliss grinned as she watched Maven skate over to the start line with Mazel Tough. She wasn’t sure exactly what Mazel’s problem with her girlfriend was but it was perpetual and Maven was all too aware of it which meant, according to her unique personality, she did her level best to piss Mazel off at every possible opportunity.
The potentials were sitting in the center of the track, eyes wide as Razor blew the whistle and Maven took off like a shot, laughing uproariously and calling out for Mazel to hurry as she rounded the track. Chuckling at this, Bliss leaned back on her elbows and watched Maven easily win their example jam.
“Ruthless,” Smashley’s voice suddenly appeared in her ear and she whirled around to see her teammate wearing a dopey grin on her face as she munched on a pop tart. “What are you doing here? Ogling the girlfriend?”
“I wanted to watch try outs,” replied Bliss, shifting as Smashley sat next to her on the stands. “What about you?”
“Maggie asked me to come,” said Smashley, tilting her head to and fro, eventually sighing when her neck popped loudly. “Said she wanted me to look at the fresh meat and give her an opinion.” She turned to Bliss and formed a wide grin. “You know I did the same for you. I said anybody can learn to take a hit but you gotta have talent to skate fast.” Pausing to frown, Smashley took another bite of her pop tart and continued, “Or did Razor say that? I forget. I told her to get you though.”
“Thanks,” said Bliss with a smile, unable to help the amusement she felt at most anything Smashley said.
“No problem man,” Smashley said easily, kicking her feet up and squinting as they began lining people up on the track. Bliss turned her attention back to the try outs and saw that Taylor Barnes was among the pack of people showing off their skills at skating. Holding back a sigh, she waited for the inevitable ruckus her performance would cause.
Within seconds of the skate being finished and Taylor lapping everyone else on the track several times, when she didn’t pause to skate backwards or do a back flip, Bliss experienced a severe ringing in her ears as Smashley screamed holy shit at the top of her lungs and demanded that Maggie make that blonde chick a Hurl Scout. Releasing her held back sigh, Bliss wondered why she wanted to watch this in the first place. She already knew what Taylor could do so it was hardly a surprise to her. Maybe she wanted to know what team she’d end up with and despite herself, Bliss wasn’t sure she wanted it to be the Holy Rollers or the Hurl Scouts. It wasn’t that the other woman was annoying or abrasive, in fact, Bliss didn't have any real sense of her personality but… Taylor wasn’t even in the league yet and already people were making a fuss over her.
Maven was making a fuss over her and the jealous part of Bliss didn’t like that one bit.
When the try outs were concluded, Bliss followed Smashley down through the stands and into the back locker room which was the most isolated and private part of the warehouse where the team captains held their meeting with the coaches in attendance. Maven was sitting next to Maggie on a bench with Mazel and Axles of Evil across from them and Maven immediately grinned on seeing Bliss, hooking her fingers into the belt loops of Bliss’ jeans and pulling the smaller woman onto her lap. Smashley rolled her eyes and sat next to Maggie and when Maven rested her chin on Bliss’ shoulder, Razor cleared his throat.
“Who wants to start?” he questioned.
“I want #15, Barnes,” said Mazel. At this, Maven snorted. “You got something to say, Maven?”
“Everybody wants Barnes,” drawled Maven, wrapping her arms around Bliss’ waist and giving Mazel a mocking look. She then shifted her attention to Maggie then Axles of Evil. “Or am I wrong?” When they gave assenting nods, Maven returned her focus to Mazel and said, “See? You’re not special. So it’s not about who wants Barnes it’s about who Barnes wants to play for.”
“And let me guess, you think she’ll choose your team,” said Mazel in condescending tones.
“I’m the one that found her,” said Maven simply.
“So what? She’s got your stamp of ownership?” Mazel asked. “That’s not how it works.”
“Maven,” said Alonso, a slight plea in his voice, looking at his team’s captain.
“Barnes will pick the best team,” said Maven, focusing on Alonso and giving him a look that Bliss recognized as the ‘calm the fuck down I’m handling this’ expression that Maven liked to use when people tried to interfere in her disputes.
“You mean the Hurl Scouts? They’ve been league champions three years in a row now,” Mazel said this in a thoroughly snarky voice and Bliss felt Maven’s body tense up then suddenly relax as she was pulled closer to the older woman.
Soft lips pressed against Bliss’ cheek then Maven drawled, “We all know that’s because of Ruthless.”
“Right,” Razor said a little apprehensively. “I’ll go tell her then.”
“You do that,” said Maven sardonically, sliding her hands underneath Bliss’ shirt to caress her stomach. Her gaze drifted over to Smashley and she lifted an eyebrow. “Why are you here, Smash?”
“I’m scouting,” Smashley drew this out with a huge grin. “And watching a wicked verbal beat down.”
Laughing at this, Maven tapped absently on Bliss’ stomach until the other woman stilled her fingers, capturing them in her hold and as soon as she did, Maven sighed heavily and began bouncing her knees. Turning to her girlfriend, mindful of keeping her voice low so the conversation was private, Bliss asked with a quiet humor, “Are you actually worried?”
“No,” said Maven derisively. When Bliss just looked at her and formed a knowing grin, Maven scowled and muttered, “Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything,” remarked Bliss teasingly, her grin growing wider as she kissed the older woman.
“You two are disgustingly cute,” Axles of Evil’s voice broke into their solitary moment. “Quit it.”
“Yeah,” agreed Smashley, squinting at them and leaning back on her hands. “I see enough of that when I hang at your place Maven. Why expose us to more of the cute in public? Not cool.”
“I never invite you over,” said Maven, looking at the other woman pointedly. “That’s Ruthless.”
“Harsh,” said Smashley, putting a hand over her heart. A moment passed then that look of sudden realization passed over her features, causing Maggie and Bliss to immediately become nervous as they knew it was the look of Smashley having an epiphany of some sort. Which was really never a good thing. “Maven,” Smashley said her name with great emphasis, causing her to look at Smashley with a droll expression as Smashley grabbed her arm. “If you get that blonde back flipping chick on your team you won’t be the star anymore, she will. You know that, right?”
Complete and total silence and Bliss halfway wondered if Maven might punch Smashley for saying that. Even if it might be the truth. But when it came to roller derby and Maven’s pride, you really had to tread lightly. Bliss knew that all too well from having to deal with the aftermath of the Holy Rollers losing the league championship two times and not making it to a third.
“I’ll always be a star,” said Maven, wearing that supremely confident look on her face that simultaneously turned Bliss on and frustrated her depending on the situation. “It’s just with her on my team the Holy Rollers will be undefeated again.” Keeping an arm firmly wound around Bliss’ waist, she leaned towards Smashley, crooking a finger for her to come closer. Once Smashley obliged, Maven gave her a friendly slap on the cheek and said, “I’m team captain. Winning’s all that matters.”
“What if she doesn’t pick you?” asked Maggie with honest curiosity. “Do you have a second choice?”
“It’s Barnes or nothing,” said Maven, a stubborn look on her features.
Maggie looked like she was going to reply to this when Razor returned and all the team captains stared at him expectantly. He wore a wry expression then sighed and looked to Maven as he said, “Congratulations. She’s a Holy Roller.”
Instantly Maven released a burst of triumphant laughter, bouncing Bliss in her lap before she promptly flipped off everyone in the locker room and drawled, “It’s a resurrection of the undefeated season, bitches.”
--
Rollergirl names weren’t an easily explained thing. Usually they emerged from the personality of the player and some basis in a pun but they all came from different places. If Bliss hadn’t finished Razor’s sentence during his early critique of her jamming skills, or lack thereof, with the word ruthless it’s quite likely she would have been called something else altogether. For Taylor Barnes, however, all it took was showing up to practice with her chin length platinum blonde hair tied back with a black ribbon and in a pale blue dress for Jackie Daniels to declare she was Malice In Wonderland. The name went over well with Taylor, and the rest of the Holy Rollers found it utterly hilarious, and thus their newest rollergirl was named.
The season was starting in two and a half weeks and the Holy Rollers were anxious to get their newest recruit trained for her first bout, which is why they had arranged a series of practices with all the teams in the league in preparation. First of which was with the Hurl Scouts and that’s why Bliss sat on her team’s bench, watching as Maven and the rest of the Holy Rollers were gathered around the newly christened Malice. They had already done several jams with Malice in the blocker and pivot positions, and the blonde had expressed great excitement and delight at Maven’s victories as a jammer, going up to her after each jam and asking questions, standing far too close for Bliss’ comfort and touching when it just wasn’t necessary. Now it was finally time for Malice to try her hand at jamming and she only had one thought in her head.
“Razor,” said Bliss, keeping her eyes on them. “Let me go against her.”
“This is so thunderdome,” Smashley remarked, clapping her hands excitedly. When everyone looked at her in confusion, she elaborated with wild hand gestures, “Two men enter, one man leaves! It’s totally epic. Ruthless is Tina Turner and that blonde chick is Mel Gibson before he got all bigoted and crazy.”
“Smashley, I told you to stop getting high before practice,” said Razor in long suffering tones.
“I’m nooot!” Smashley wailed, skating around Razor discontentedly.
Ignoring Smashley, as was his habit when he just didn’t believe her, Razor focused on Bliss and said, “You’re up.”
Slipping the jammer’s star over her helmet, Bliss went up the start line and watched Maven talking to Malice. A frown forming as she watched Maven rest a hand on the top of the blonde’s head and give it an affectionate shake before she put the star over Malice’s helmet and directed her to where Bliss was waiting for her. The blockers skated onto the track and as she moved into position and glanced at Malice who was skating on the inside, Bliss had a sudden flashback to her first practice and the jam she had lost to Maven due to her fear of taking and giving a hit. Her jaw set into a hard line, Bliss didn’t have time to really analyze where her sudden fit of aggression was coming from when the whistle sounded and the jam was on.
For the first minute or so things were going fine, Bliss was in the lead, she had passed through the pack and was the lead jammer and that’s when she sensed something, or rather, someone coming up fast. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Malice on her tail and her eyes narrowing, Bliss slowed her pace just enough to let the blonde catch up to her and the instant they were next to each other, she gave the other woman a hard hip check which sent her tumbling off the track. Fighting her way through the Holy Rollers wall with the help of Smashley and Bloody Holly, she called off the jam and skated over to the rest of her team where they all looked at her with varying degrees of amusement.
“Dating Maven really has brought out your rage,” said Rosa eventually, sounding positively fascinated as she said this.
“Thunderdome! Spin the wheel, make a deal!” Smashley declared, skating around all of them, pumping her fists into the air. “It’s fucking awesome!”
Her hands on her hips and bent over slightly, Bliss tried to will herself into not to looking over at the Holy Rollers but she couldn’t help herself. She met Maven’s gaze whose lips quirked up in a grin at this attention. “Living up to your name, huh, Ruthless?” she called out and there was an affectionate humor in her voice before she turned to Malice who was stretching and wearing a wry look on her features. It wasn’t in Maven’s nature to be quiet or demure or anything close to resembling that so Bliss easily heard her girlfriend as she rapped her knuckles on Malice's helmet and drawled, “You see what she did? That’s what you have to do. You take them out before they can take you out. It’s what the military calls a preemptive strike.”
Bliss would have kept eavesdropping on their conversation but she suddenly found herself surrounded by half of the Holy Rollers team which effectively blocked her view of Maven and distracted her in the process. Immediately, the rest of the Hurl Scouts moved around her and Bliss had a strange feeling, like she was in a roller derby version of West Side Story, from how they were facing off against each other. Maggie, ever the diplomat, spoke first.
“Is there something you need from our jammer?” she asked.
“Relax,” Jackie scoffed and at times Bliss wondered who was better at forming ridiculing facial expressions, Jackie or Maven. Sometimes she thought they had to practice with one another, they were so good at it. “We’re not here to start shit. We just want to give Ruthless some friendly advice, that’s all.”
“You guys,” Bliss turned to her teammates, a reassuring look on her features. “It’s all right.” The Hurl Scouts gave the Holy Rollers final looks of warning before skating away and Bliss had to repress the urge to roll her eyes. She didn’t know why things had to be so complicated between their two teams but they just were and she doubted it would ever change as long as they maintained a rivalry for holding onto league championship title longer than any of the other teams. “So,” she began, placing her hands on her hips and anticipating threats of payback. “What’s going on?”
The Holy Rollers exchanged glances before Mary Jane Pain began with, “Everybody gets crushes, Ruthless. It’s like an initiation for joining derby or something. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Yeah,” Princess Slaya agreed, nodding her head emphatically.
“What?” said Bliss rather dimly, blinking at them and wondering where the threats were.
“I mean, you get into something and you really love it and then there’s this person that’s so good at it and, you know, you end up crushing on them, it’s totally natural,” Mary Jane explained patiently.
“What are you all talking about?” asked Bliss, completely perplexed at this point.
“Malice,” said Jackie plainly. “You’re pissed because you think she’ll end up making moves on Maven. We’re trying to say not to worry, it’s no big thing. This happens all the time and eventually she’ll get over the hero worship.”
“She definitely will,” Smother Theresa chimed in. “I did.” At this, the other Holy Rollers burst into raucous laughter and Theresa blushed dark red and shouted, “Shut the fuck up! I did get over it!”
“After six months,” chortled Jackie before she looked over her shoulder and saw Maven had noticed their impromptu conference. “We gotta get back to business,” she said, returning her gaze to Bliss. “But we just thought we’d tell you not to get your panties in a twist because really it’s nothing.”
“The captain is nuts for you anyway,” Mary Jane offered. “She won’t shut up about you. Pisses us off.”
“Ruthless, Ruthless, Ruthless!” the Holy Rollers chanted, laughing mockingly as they skated over to Maven who demanded to know why they were conspiring with the enemy.
Chuckling at Jackie’s loud retort, questioning if that was better or worse than sleeping with the enemy and Maven’s response that her way got you more orgasms, Bliss shook her head and went back to the other Hurl Scouts. With that one conversation the ever present feeling of anger and annoyance she had been experiencing since the practice started suddenly dissipated and she felt like herself again. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t give Malice another hip check during their next jam.
Because, really, what else could she do? It was part of her job.
--
She was sure her mother would be horrified that Bliss considered an early night home from work to be eleven p.m. but that was the truth of the matter and she honestly enjoyed the odd hours working at the clinic provided her with. Maven hardly had a normal nine to five schedule as a tattoo artist and freelance designer and her job allowed them to spend more time together. When her shift was over, she slipped on her skates and made her way to Maven’s loft in record time and as she rounded the corner, a familiar row of cars met her gaze. Changing into her tennis shoes and running up the stairs, Bliss opened the front door and was met with the sight of the Holy Rollers gathered in the living room watching television.
“Ruthlessssss,” the Holy Rollers sing songed, laughing and holding up a variety of beer bottles in salute. The only exceptions to this were Malice, who gave a hesitant smile and waved at her, and Maven who grinned at her and blew a kiss.
“You all are drunk, aren’t you?” said Bliss wryly, placing her backpack down on the floor and walking over to Maven who grabbed the drawstring of her scrubs, using them to pull her closer. Releasing a huff of air as she was deposited onto the older woman’s lap, Bliss took the beer she was holding and had a drink. When she was done, Bliss laughed at the impatient look on Maven’s face and leaned down to give her a thorough kiss. When they parted and several Holy Rollers made rude remarks in response to their display, Bliss wrapped a lock of Maven’s hair around her finger and asked, “What’s with the party?”
“Baby,” Maven drew the word out slow and sensuous, her hands sliding up to rest flat against Bliss’ stomach, causing the other woman to shiver with desire. “We don’t need a reason to party.”
“Sure,” said Bliss indulgently. The responsible adult part of her knew she shouldn’t be so charmed by Maven when she was intoxicated but the other part, the one that loved how it seemed to release a more gregarious side to her girlfriend, just wanted to enjoy the effect alcohol had on her. Shifting on the other woman’s lap, she peered around Malice at Jackie who raised an eyebrow at her. “You’ll tell me what’s up, won’t you, Jackie?”
“Nancy Drew is on the case,” said Maven in a stage hush, holding up her hand to her mouth, turning to Malice who laughed.
“Isn’t there a blocker in Vegas called Nancy Lewd?” asked Princess Slaya, turning around on the floor.
“Nooo,” Mary Jane Pain interjected. “Her name’s Nancy Screwed.”
“Nancy Crude is better,” Maven declared, taking another swig of her beer.
“Jackie,” Bliss said her name again and the other woman focused on her, an amused look on her features.
“Maven’s telling the truth, we don’t have a reason to party,” said Jackie simply, giving a smirk. “Besides being us.”
“That’s plenty reason,” Smother Theresa enforced, focusing on the television and shouting at what she saw. “Shit, Malice! How did you jump that and not break your neck?” she demanded, whirling around and pointing her beer bottle at the tv set.
For the first time, Bliss looked at what was playing on the television and saw it was an x-treme skating competition, very much like the one she and Maven had attended a few months ago. Moving her gaze to the coffee table, Bliss saw it was littered with dvds from similar competitions and several videos from Maven’s personal roller derby collection that included a few bouts featuring Ann Calvello over the course of her career. Malice blushed at Theresa’s words and for the first time, Bliss got an actual feel for the blonde’s personality. The rest of the Holy Rollers were very much in line with Maven, they were loud and brash and they didn’t seem to hold anything back and while Malice was like that when she skated, or at least that’s what Bliss could tell from seeing her at the competition and from their league practice, she didn’t appear to be that way the rest of the time. In fact, she seemed undeniably shy and suddenly Bliss felt horrible for holding such resentment towards her.
“Years and years of gymnastics,” Malice said, smiling at Bliss when she noticed her attention. “My mother dreamed of me making it to the Olympics. I was this close,” Malice created an almost nonexistent space between her index finger and thumb for visual emphasis, “to being renamed Mary Lou. She was pretty much devastated when I stopped competing at sixteen.”
“My mother used to make me enter beauty pageants,” Bliss revealed, feeling an odd kinship with Malice.
“No,” Malice said, her eyes going wide. “For how long?”
“Until I was seventeen and discovered roller derby,” said Bliss with self-deprecating humor. “My little sister, Shania, still competes but she actually likes it and wins trophies. I just kind of sucked at it and went along to go along, you know?”
“Don’t listen to her,” Maven ordered, rapping Malice on the top of her head. “I got some pageant photos of her in my room and she looks plenty good at it if you ask me.” Focusing on Bliss, she offered a cheeky grin and drawled, “Pretty as a picture.”
Laughing despite herself, Bliss shook her head and held Maven’s face in her hands before kissing her and murmuring, “You must really want to get laid tonight.”
“I always want that,” said Maven, forming a wicked grin, her voice husky. Her face was blank for a moment, then she turned around to stare at Malice. “How tall are you?” she questioned suddenly.
“4’9”, why?” asked Malice in confusion.
Releasing a bark of laughter and bouncing Bliss in her lap, Maven focused on her girlfriend. “4’9”, did you hear that?” Maven said, a playful taunt to her voice and the brunette squirmed as Maven’s fingers played at her sides, tickling her mercilessly. “We finally found somebody shorter than you and she’s a fucking Holy Roller. How’d you like that?”
“Malice is shorter than Ruthless?” Mary Jane interjected. “I didn’t think anybody was shorter than Ruthless.”
“Apparently I am,” said Malice humorously.
“I did good naming you,” said Jackie proudly, raising her beer bottle in compliments to herself. “The Alice in that story was short, wasn't she?”
“She also was a fictional kid that chased after white rabbits,” said Princess in droll tones.
“Ronnie has this regular who is trying to tattoo every Disney character onto his body,” Maven remarked, finishing off her beer and setting it on the coffee table with an audible clink before reaching into the cooler by the couch for another one. “Last one was Winnie the Pooh.” She focused her attention on Bliss and her lips quirked into a grin. “There’s something disturbing about a four hundred pound biker whose entire body is covered with animated characters.”
“He’s a walking poster,” said Theresa wisely. “They should let him into the parks for free.”
The wandering conversation and drinks went on for another two hours before the Holy Rollers exited Maven’s loft en masse, Malice stopping in the crowd of her teammates to blush and thank Bliss and Maven for a nice time before Theresa wrapped an arm around her shoulder and declared her to be too polite for Holy Rollers standards. Bliss managed to say that she, for one, liked Malice’s politeness and the rest of the Holy Rollers, including Maven, gave a slew of derisive noises and remarks at this as they left. Per usual, they had done a decent job of cleaning up the loft, with only a few stray bags of chips lying on the coffee table as proof a party had taken place, and Maven told her to forget about them as she held Bliss from behind.
“You know,” Maven muttered, kissing Bliss’ neck and sliding her hands underneath Bliss’ scrubs, moving up to cup the shorter woman’s breasts. “If you ever want them gone you can tell them to fuck off. They’d give me shit but they’d understand.”
“I was having fun,” said Bliss truthfully. Although initially she was hit with another wave of jealousy on seeing Malice sitting next to Maven when she entered the loft but as the night wore on and she got to know the other woman she knew the feelings she had were all in her own head. Maven would never cheat on her and Malice, well, she just had a very understandable crush in Bliss’ opinion. Turning her head to look at Maven, she asked playfully, “Did you want to tell them to fuck off?”
Maven chuckled quietly, her voice taking a throaty drawl as she said, “Maybe. Mostly I wanted to fuck you.”
“I knew you were using the sweet talk for a purpose,” said Bliss with a gasp as Maven’s hands changed direction, sliding underneath her panties. Suddenly she found herself bent over the arm of the couch with her scrubs and panties at her feet and Maven’s voice was a soft rumble in her ear, asking if this was all right, did she want it like this. Bliss could only give a jerky nod of her head in affirmation and gasp again as Maven’s fingers entered her while the older woman sucked on her clit. “You weren’t kidding when you told me you wanted to get laid, were you?” she managed to say.
“I never kid about that,” said Maven and Bliss felt a soft kiss at the small of her back. “But baby,” Maven drew the word out slow like honey, washing over Bliss and making her shiver then moan as the fingers inside her retreated to caress her clit then moved back inside again. “You should know that by now.”
If she could get her brain to focus on something other than her body and the way it was flush with desire and trembling, her breath coming in gales as Maven’s tongue replaced her fingers, bringing her close to that edge only to retreat and toy with her, seeing how long she could hold out, Bliss might recognize this as the truth. That there never came a time in their one and a half years together that Maven ever turned Bliss away when it came to any level of physicality. Whether it be hugs, kisses, gropes, or sex in all its various forms, Maven seemed to welcome each and every approach, even craving it to a certain degree and Bliss wondered if that had to do with the older woman being far better at expressing her feelings through actions and not words.
“Stop playing!” Bliss demanded, thrusting her hips into Maven and groaning as the fingers returned, moving deeper inside of her as the older woman chuckled and trailed her tongue over her clit before replacing it with her lips. Several long thrusts and three fingers curled inside of her, causing her stomach to clench and Bliss to swear she saw stars, then she came, falling forward on the couch, ass in the air and face in the cushions, listening to Maven’s self-satisfied laughter and a distinctive smack of her lips. Fingertips trailed over her spine before her scrubs were pulled up along with her panties and rolling onto her side, Bliss peered up at Maven who smirked at her as she licked her fingers in a deliberately sensual gesture. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Mmm,” Maven arched an eyebrow, her smirk growing wider as she pulled the fingers out of her mouth with a pop. “I think that’s been established. Why don’t you tell me another one?”
Releasing a growl, Bliss pounced on Maven, kissing her deep and delicious, taking control and directing them towards the bedroom where she continued the kiss as she pushed the older woman onto the bed, climbing on top of her and holding Maven’s hands at the wrists when she felt them wander. When they parted, she shook her head, a chastising look forming on her features. “Uh uh,” she murmured, laughing when Maven formed something of a scowl. “It’s my turn.”
“Bitch,” accused Maven, her lips curling in a slight snarl, and the way she said this, with a clear affection in her tone, took away any insulting connotation the word might have had.
“I learned from the best,” replied Bliss with a grin, laughing at the fuck you she got in response.
The night went on with each of them taking turns in their game of friendly dominance until they fell asleep in each others arms, exhausted from their efforts and while Maven might not say the words often, Bliss felt the love in her kisses and in her touch and she saw it in her eyes and that’s all that mattered. She knew how Maven felt for her and it was honest and it was real and it was the sort of thing that lasted. Bliss could feel it in her bones, that this is was where she was meant to be, that this was where she belonged, and now all she had to do was work up the courage to say it to Maven and hope that Maven felt the same way about her.
--
“Holy shit, is that a mirage or is my roommate home for once?” Rosa proclaimed, closing the door to their apartment, sporting a huge smile on her features. Plopping down on the couch next to Bliss, who muted the television and grinned in response, Rosa continued, “Why does it seem like it’s been forever and a day since you set foot in this place?”
“Probably because it has been,” suggested Bliss wryly.
“Girl,” said Rosa with a shake of her head and a chuckle in her voice. “Why don’t you just move in with Maven already? If you’re worried about my ass, don’t be. I can find another roomie no problem. Eva’s even been showing interest again.”
Her situation with Malice and Maven immediately coming to mind because even though she knew logically she didn’t have any reason to be jealous of the other woman, it didn’t make those feelings magically disappear, Bliss turned to Rosa. “How do you deal with everybody always hitting on Eva?” she asked honestly. It was a constant thing with Eva Destruction, something that created a steady stream of jokes from others in the league, that all her fans were people who wanted to kiss/date/fuck her and it wasn’t really that far from the truth considering how often she got approached. “I mean, don’t you get jealous?”
“Lord help me,” Rosa chuckled, putting her feet up on their scratched coffee table and leaning her head back on the couch cushions before directing her gaze at Bliss. “If I got jealous every time somebody put it in their mind to hit on Eva then I’d never have time to feel anything else.” Shaking her head, she said, “It doesn’t matter what those people do. I know Eva and Eva knows me, so what’s to get jealous about when I know I’m the one she’s got a thing for in the end?”
“So you never get jealous,” said Bliss skeptically, somehow not believing this, because she’d seen Rosa’s expressions when some of those fans put the moves on Eva and it wasn’t nearly as calm and collected as she was making it out to be.
“I can’t lie, I get pissed. I’m human and that’s my girl,” said Rosa, stretching her arms over her head. “I just do my level best not to let it get to me.” Rosa focused on Bliss and frowned. “Why are you asking me about all this anyhow? You having some kind of problem with Maven? A jealousy causing problem?”
Turning red, Bliss started to deny it but saw the look of utter knowing in Rosa’s eyes and sighed, deciding not to even try. “The new jammer,” she began wearily.
“Malice,” supplied Rosa, her frown staying in place until her eyes gleamed and a laugh burst from her lips. “No!” Rosa proclaimed, her laughter increasing as she hit Bliss on the thighs. “You’re jealous of that? Maven doesn’t give her a glance!”
“Does Eva give glances to all those fans that go after her?” asked Bliss in rather snippy tones.
“You want my advice then need to quit the attitude,” Rosa declared, giving Bliss a look and waiting for the other woman to apologize before she continued. When Bliss mumbled her apology, Rosa rolled her eyes and said, “I get your point. You know Maven’s not going to give that girl any thought just like I know Eva’s not going to take up with every fan that says she’s got a nice ass but it doesn’t stop the jealousy, does it now?”
“What am I supposed to do about it?” Bliss questioned, trying not to sound impatient but feeling utterly so.
“Anytime I start to feel myself getting really worked up about it, I just move on up to Eva and do things with her those fans only wish they could get away with,” said Rosa, giving a wide and gleaming smile, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Why don’t you go and give that a whirl with Maven and see how it goes?”
Laughing at this, Bliss shook her head and said, “That’s why I spent all last night sitting in her lap at a Holy Rollers party.”
“See then!” Rosa pushed Bliss’ leg, grinning at her. “It works, doesn’t it? Nonverbal version of bitch step off, that’s my woman.”
“Something like that,” said Bliss humorously. Releasing a groan and resting an arm over her eyes, she said, “I hate feeling this way, Rosa. It sucks and I was being really mean to Malice for no reason. I mean, she just has a crush on Emily. It’s not like she’s going after her or something. And I understand having a crush on her. I had a crush on her!”
“I think everybody on that team but Jackie had a crush on her at some time or another,” revealed Rosa, smirking when Bliss lifted her arm to glare at her on hearing this. “What?” asked Rosa innocently. “You don’t think I go through the same shit with Eva? Those damn Black Widows worship her like she’s some sorta derby deity. I blame it on those corsets she wears.”
“Our lives suck,” said Bliss somewhat mournfully.
“No, our lives are fine, it’s the having sexy girlfriends that suck,” corrected Rosa. Several moments passed then they looked at each other and wore incredulous expressions as they processed what they just said before erupting into laughter and clinging to one another. When the laughter died down, Rosa shook her head and said, “This is such a bullshit thing for us to be bitching about, isn’t it, Ruthless? Maggie would give such a smack down if she heard us going on like this.”
“It is pretty sad,” Bliss agreed, sighing and looking at Rosa wryly. “It doesn’t change anything though. Does it?”
“Nope,” said Rosa. She paused to release a humorous snort then suggested, “We could always break up with them.”
Giving an exasperated noise, Bliss buried her face in a pillow and laid down in Rosa’s lap, looking up at her as she pulled the pillow away from her face. “I want to move in with her,” she confessed. “But I’m too scared to bring it up.”
“You got issues,” said Rosa wisely. Tapping Bliss on the forehead as she continued, “In here.”
“I know that,” said Bliss in altogether whiny tones, hating how her voice sounded and her inability to make herself just get over herself and ask her girlfriend what she’d been wanting for months now. “I’m just freaked she’ll say no.”
“Can’t help you there, honey,” murmured Rosa. “Fear’s something you got to get over all on your lonesome. But I do have to say that Maven doesn’t seem to have a problem with you being at her place almost 24/7 for how many months on end which is pretty much like you living with her already. And didn’t she buy you furniture?”
“A desk and a dresser, yeah,” said Bliss, peering up at Rosa. “You think that means something?”
“Means she’s okay having your stuff at her place,” Rosa replied with an encouraging smile. “And that’s plenty.”
Another moment of silence then Bliss looked at Rosa and she asked, “If you love Eva why don’t you all stay together? I don’t think I could stand seeing Emily with other people. I’d probably quit the league first.”
“You would not,” said Rosa, pushing Bliss on the side of her head, scoffing at the other woman. “Eva and me, we’re not like you and Maven. Don’t get me wrong, I think Maven’s the same obnoxious bitch as ever on the track, but I know how she is with you and it’s not like that with Eva. We get along fine but it’s not some sort of fairy tale romance, Ruthless.”
“Neither is what I have with Emily,” said Bliss, frowning. “We have problems.”
Shaking her head and laughing, Rosa looked at Bliss indulgently then said, “There’s the difference though.” When Bliss stared at her blankly, an expression of clear confusion, she elaborated, “You call your girl Emily and I call mine Eva.”
“That’s not her real name?” asked Bliss, her frown growing deeper, an impish grin forming on her features at the look of complete disdain that Rosa gave her at this. Twisting around to protect herself from Rosa’s sudden pillow assault, Bliss felt a strange bit of relief from having this conversation with her roommate. Somehow knowing she wasn’t the only one with these problems made things seem not quite so bad but it still didn’t help her figure out how to get past her irrational jealousy.
Short of engaging Maven in a make out session whenever Malice was around, that is.
ONTO PART TWO
SERIES: Whip It
AUTHOR: Dreiser
EMAIL: dreiser7@yahoo.com
YAHOO ID: dreiser7
MY WEBSITE: http://www.dreiser.org/
CONTENT: F/F romance. F/F sex. Babe Ruthless/Iron Maven. Third fic in the Versus and Pace Line series. I can't seem to quit writing. It's problematic.
SUMMARY: Babe Ruthless thought roller derby was a lot like life, just when things are going good you're hit with a hip check.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my enjoyment for taking naps.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you've read the book version of Whip It please don't get confuzzled. Malice In Wonderland in this fic is an original character and has nothing to do with the book version of Maggie Mayhem. I just had to use the name since it's so good. If you want to hear Maven's fictional taste in music and some good Johnny Cash songs download this.
Hip Check
By: Dreiser
Part One...
The arrival of Bliss’ twenty first birthday brought a lot of things with it in the following months. There was her graduation from college, her start of a new job as a nurse at a 24/7 free clinic, and the one and a half year anniversary of her relationship with Iron Maven. Technically Bliss was still roommates with Rosa Sparks, she had half her possessions at their apartment, she paid rent, and her name was on the lease. But in reality she spent most of her time at Maven’s loft where the other half of her possessions were and where she slept over almost every night. Bliss had wanted to move in with Maven for several months now but she didn’t know how to go about broaching the subject or even if it was really appropriate for her to bring it up.
Her mother had raised her to have impeccable manners, after all, and inviting yourself to live with another person wasn’t exactly the most polite thing to do. There was also the fact that she didn’t know for certain if Maven would want to live with her. The only thing she did know was that Maven wouldn’t want to leave her loft. The rent on it was seventy percent cheaper than any other place like it in Austin and she only had to walk downstairs to get to work. Besides that, it was only two blocks from the free clinic where Bliss worked. All in all, it was the perfect place for the both of them to live but it was Maven’s place and Bliss somehow couldn’t wrap her mind around telling Maven she’d like to move in with her. Mostly because she was afraid of Maven saying no.
It was two thirty in the morning and her shift had just come to an end. They had three cases of the flu, a mysterious rash, and a broken toe during the last three hours of her relatively quiet shift. Sitting down in the employee break room, Bliss removed her tennis shoes and placed them in her backpack then pulled out her roller skates. After putting on her skates and jacket, Bliss went to the patient check in area to say goodbye to her boss and owner of the clinic, Dr. Joshua Gibson.
“I’m heading out, Josh,” said Bliss, smiling as she stuck her head around the corner. Somehow just saying his name put her in a good mood. She had dealt with so many rude and self-important doctors while attending nursing school that the fact that she worked for one who insisted on being called by his first name with his staff and Dr. Josh with his patients was a delight to her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I have you coming in at five o’clock, right?” asked Josh, furrowing his brow, trying to recall the schedule.
“Right, do you need me to come in earlier?” replied Bliss, skating into the front office where Josh was manning patient check in with Denise, his office manager. “Because I can.”
“No, that’s all right. I was just struggling to remember,” said Josh with a wry smile. Pushing up his wire rim glasses, he said, “The new season starts up soon, doesn’t it?”
“Three weeks,” said Bliss, grinning wide. “We have try outs tomorrow. Maggie wants to recruit a new player.” Seeing the goofy look Josh got on his features at Maggie’s name, she laughed and said, “You should just ask her out. She does like you.”
“She thinks I’m a dork,” said Josh mournfully and when Denise laughed at this, he spun in his chair to face her. “She does! I made the mistake of saying I couldn’t go to a party she was having because I’d be at a comic book convention in Chicago. Why didn’t I just lie and say it was for a conference on internal medicine or something? Instead I said comic books! What girl thinks a guy who reads comics is cool? No girl, that’s who. I really should’ve lied.”
“No you shouldn’t, because you’re a good person who never thinks of lying as a natural thing to do,” said Denise, she had a scolding tone to her voice although she wore kind expression as she said this. She had been working for Josh ever since he first opened the clinic twelve years ago and the two often reminded Bliss of a mother and son.
“Just don’t call me a ‘nice guy’ because all ‘nice guys’ are secret assholes,” Josh said, leaning back in his chair and bouncing in his seat. He frowned and looked at Bliss as he continued, “You’re not skating home again, are you?”
“It’s only two blocks,” said Bliss with good humored exasperation.
“Emily wouldn’t like it,” Josh remarked, the frown still on his face. He was one of the few people who met Maven outside of roller derby first and as such, he was also one of the few to speak about her using her real name instead of her rollergirl moniker. He had been introduced to the sport through his relationship with Bliss and her explanation of why she preferred the odd hours she was required to keep as a clinic employee as it gave her plenty of time to devote to the league. “It’s not safe.”
“Again, I repeat, it’s only two blocks and Emily is my girlfriend, not my mother. She doesn’t tell me what to do. Even my mother doesn’t try to do that anymore… much,” said Bliss, doing her best to fight the urge to roll her eyes, and heading out of the office.
“It’s still not safe!” Josh called after her, leaning over the counter top as she left.
“Bye Josh, Denise!” responded Bliss, going outside and waving at them as Josh kept up his warnings.
The trip from the clinic to Maven’s loft was a short one that was well lit and took even less time when she skated, which Bliss liked to do for extra practice. Though she dismissed Josh’s remark about Maven not liking it, she knew he was right. Maven truly didn’t like her skating home at night but Bliss wasn’t stupid, she knew how to take care of herself. Especially after attending the self-defense classes that Kami Kaze gave at her dojo where she taught taekwondo.
In ten minutes, Bliss was at Maven’s loft and she sat on the wrought iron stairs, removing her skates and slipping on her tennis shoes. Going up the stairs two steps at a time, she got the keys from her backpack, pausing for a moment to study them. She knew it was silly but the key to Maven's loft was the best present she ever received from Maven other than her merit badge pendant which she wore a minimum of once a week. Getting this key was almost like Maven inviting Bliss fully into her life and it solidified their relationship in a way that Bliss could never properly explain. Of course, it was given to her in the most nonchalant manner possible, with very few words to accompany the gesture but with Maven it wasn’t words Bliss was concerned about, it was the thought behind her actions, and most of the time the thoughts were incredibly sweet. Unlocking the door and heading inside, Bliss quietly set her backpack down before locking the door and walking into the bedroom.
Taking off her shoes and jacket before placing her socks and scrubs in the laundry hamper, Bliss set her bra onto the dresser and put on her worn Coca-Cola t-shirt. She crawled into bed and laid down in front of Maven, reaching back and placing the other woman’s arm over her stomach, smiling as Maven mumbled and moved into her.
“What the fuck time is it?” Maven asked in a sleepy drawl, burying her face in Bliss’ neck.
“Three a.m.,” replied Bliss with amusement. It seemed to her the more sleepy Maven was the more she cussed.
“Shit,” muttered Maven, groaning and pulling the smaller woman closer into her embrace. “How was work?”
“Good. Josh lectured me for skating home though,” said Bliss, sighing as Maven kissed her cheek. “Said it’s not safe.”
“It fucking isn’t,” Maven grumbled, poking Bliss lazily in the stomach in a form of protest for the other woman’s actions only to allow Bliss to stop her just moments later as she entwined their fingers.
“He also said you’d say that,” offered Bliss, chuckling but feeling herself lulled into sleep by Maven’s steady breathing.
“I knew there was a reason I liked him,” said Maven with a yawn.
Their conversation came to a natural end as both women drifted into sleep, curled together, and soothed by the whirr of the industrial fan in the corner which was perpetually on except in the rare months when it wasn’t all that hot.
--
Bliss woke to the scent of food cooking and the sound of dishes being moved about. Sitting up in bed, she rubbed her eyes and wandered out of the bedroom, not fully awake and glancing at the clock to see it was just past ten in the morning. Her brain not completely functioning, Bliss stood in the kitchen, not alerting Maven to her presence until she asked, “Are you making bacon?”
Most people would have jumped in surprise but Maven just looked over her shoulder with dry amusement and replied, “I will if it matters that much to you.”
“I want bacon,” said Bliss dimly, sitting at the kitchen table and resting her head down on it.
“Baby,” said Maven with humorous affection. “If you’re still sleepy you should go back to bed.”
Releasing a muttering noise of disagreement, Bliss shook her head and watched Maven cook breakfast. After a few minutes, Maven presented her with a plate of bacon which she began munching on before the eggs and hash browns arrived. When a cup of coffee appeared in front of her and she took several long drinks, Bliss felt her cognitive skills finally start to kick in and that’s when she realized that ten in the morning was an earlier wake up time than normal for Maven on a Saturday.
“It’s not noon,” said Bliss, blinking. “Why are you up before noon?”
“Try outs,” said Maven plainly, not even attempting to defend her habit of sleeping late on the weekend. “They start at noon and forced me to get my ass up.”
“Oh yeah,” said Bliss, blinking again. Taking a bite of her eggs, she waited until she swallowed, well trained by her mother’s constant lessons on manners, and said, “You’re trying to get Miss X-Treme skating, aren’t you?”
Snorting at this, Maven pointed her fork at Bliss and said, “Just because her sport’s name is dumb doesn’t mean she’s not a kick ass skater and you know it. I bet those other bitches are going to try and steal her from me once they see what she can do.”
Taylor Barnes, though she didn’t say the name, Bliss knew it all too well. Ever since Maven saw her performance at an x-treme skating competition she’d been fixated on getting the woman to play for the Holy Rollers. Bliss couldn’t entirely blame her, having someone who could easily do flips, jumps, and other endless amounts of tricks would be a boon to any team in derby when you coupled it with how fast her skating speed was. All in all, she was the perfect candidate and when the competition was over Maven had gone to her, flyer in hand for the TXRD exhibition bout featuring the Hurl Scouts and Black Widows, asking Taylor to attend and to give the idea of playing roller derby some serious thought.
Once the exhibition bout was over, Bliss having led the Hurl Scouts to a fifteen point victory, she found her congratulatory kiss with Maven interrupted by Taylor tapping the older woman on the shoulder and saying she’d be at try outs. Although Maven was the one who found Taylor she could easily end up on another team because of the league’s rules when it came to rookies. Namely that if more than one team wanted a player and thought they’d be a good fit then said player got to choose which team they wanted to be on and Maven was convinced once the other team captains saw Taylor skate they’d all want her.
“The Black Widows aren’t recruiting though,” offered Bliss helpfully.
“Which just leaves three other teams that’ll want her,” said Maven sardonically, gathering up the dishes. Bliss followed suit, taking over rinsing them as Maven opened up the dish washer. Leaning against the counter, Maven folded her arms over her chest and asked, “Why didn’t you call me when you got off your shift? I said you could.”
“Because I didn’t want to wake you and it’s only two blocks,” said Bliss patiently.
“It isn’t safe,” Maven enforced, taking a plate from Bliss and putting it away. “I don’t like it.”
“It’s two blocks,” said Bliss, starting to lose her patience, though she knew Maven was just worried about her. Turning to face the other woman, she wore a wry expression and touched her cheek. “I’m not made of glass. I can take of myself.”
Maven frowned and eventually shook her head, releasing a disgruntled noise as she threw up her hands. “Fine,” she drawled. “You don’t want a ride then you don’t want a ride. Just remember if you ever do I don’t give a fuck about being woken up.”
“I’ll remember,” Bliss chuckled, moving in for a kiss and smiling when Maven grumbled at her before hitting her ass lightly and closing the dish washer. Chasing after the other woman and hugging her from behind, she remained attached to Maven as she made her way into the bathroom. “I want to come along and watch try outs.”
“You want to see Miss X-Treme skate?” Maven raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Don’t you always say it’s good to keep an eye on the competition?” questioned Bliss, turning on the shower and watching unabashedly as Maven removed the shorts and tank top she used as sleepwear.
“I do say that,” said Maven in droll tones, holding onto the edge of Bliss’ t-shirt before pulling it over her head. Bliss shimmied out of her underwear before she grinned and followed Maven into the shower. “I just didn’t know you actually listened when I said it.”
“I listen!” Bliss protested, scowling and reaching for the shower gel. Squirting some in her hand, she rubbed it onto Maven’s back as they stepped under the stream of hot water. “You make it sound like I’m a bad girlfriend or something.”
“Did I hurt someone’s feelings?” drawled Maven, turning around and Bliss suddenly found herself pressed against the shower tiles with Maven’s hands on either side of her head as she formed a wicked smile.
“If I say no, will you stop?” questioned Bliss, arching into Maven as she paused in her exploration of the smaller woman’s body. She heard Maven chuckle then lift her head up for a kiss that was hard and deep and when they parted, Bliss said, “I guess not.”
“How do you want it?” Maven’s voice was low and husky in her ear and Bliss trembled as she felt fingers lightly brush over her breasts, teasing the nipples. “Mouth, fingers, or both? I’m taking requests.”
“Lucky me,” Bliss replied, gasping as Maven’s head bent, adding mouth and fingers to her attentions. Tangling her fingers in Maven’s hair, she tried to make her brain work, to tell her what her body needed and eventually she said, “Fingers but don’t stop!” Maven only chuckled and stayed where she was, her right hand trailing down to Bliss’ pussy, trailing over her clit, teasing it as she slid two fingers into the other woman. Bliss exhaled and rose up into Maven as lips covered her nipple, sucking as long strokes accompanied the teasing of her clit and she absently wondered why they didn’t do it more often in the shower. Probably because they were usually never awake at the same time when their showering occurred. “Harder,” Bliss muttered, moving into Maven’s touch and releasing a noise of satisfaction when Maven conceded to her demands. She shuddered and lifted her hips into the other woman, meeting her thrusts, her hands firmly tangled in Maven’s hair, crying her release as she came. Several moments passed before Bliss lifted her head off Maven’s shoulder and took in the supremely proud look the other woman always wore when she knew she’d given Bliss a particularly good orgasm. Blinking and her brain feeling something in a daze, just like when she first woke up, Bliss eventually said, “We’re still not clean, are we?”
Laughing at this, Maven pushed aside several wet locks of hair and remarked, “There are more important things than getting clean and I’m fucking positive that getting you off is one of them.”
“Yay,” said Bliss, happy but thoroughly exhausted, smiling as Maven laughed again and set about washing her hair.
Though the idea of it was definitely invasive and somewhat perverted, Bliss wished her mother and the Hurl Scouts, hell, anyone who judged Maven on first impressions solely and assumed she had to be a horrible person to be involved with had a chance to see her in moments like this. The problem was, Maven liked to present one side of herself to the world in general and a totally different one to those she judged close to her, whom she trusted, and Maven didn’t trust that many people. It was a list that didn’t go beyond her fingers and toes that consisted of Bliss, the Holy Rollers, coach Alonso, her boss Ronnie, and her little sister, Grace, whom Maven was in regular contact with despite the distance as she was away attending Texas A&M’s school of veterinary medicine. Trying to get Maven to open up to anyone other than these select few wasn’t something easily done and Bliss had started to give up on it, though she found it frustrating so few people could see this side to her girlfriend.
She knew Maven could care less what people thought of her but Bliss cared and she hated anyone thinking badly of her, especially for things that just weren’t true. Such as her rumored status as an insensitive romantic partner which couldn’t be further from reality in Bliss’ opinion. Though, Bliss considered, sighing as Maven’s hands slid over her skin, her touch comforting as she applied the shower gel, it was nice in a way too. As if she was keeping Maven all to herself and Bliss was self-aware enough to admit there were times when she very much wanted to do exactly that.
So maybe, all in all, this really wasn’t that bad of a situation to be in.
--
Deciding that she wanted a bird eyes view, Bliss perched herself in the stands to watch the potential rookies gather as Razor began his traditional explanation of what roller derby and the TXRD was all about before they got into the demonstration of how to play the game. Bliss grinned as she watched Maven skate over to the start line with Mazel Tough. She wasn’t sure exactly what Mazel’s problem with her girlfriend was but it was perpetual and Maven was all too aware of it which meant, according to her unique personality, she did her level best to piss Mazel off at every possible opportunity.
The potentials were sitting in the center of the track, eyes wide as Razor blew the whistle and Maven took off like a shot, laughing uproariously and calling out for Mazel to hurry as she rounded the track. Chuckling at this, Bliss leaned back on her elbows and watched Maven easily win their example jam.
“Ruthless,” Smashley’s voice suddenly appeared in her ear and she whirled around to see her teammate wearing a dopey grin on her face as she munched on a pop tart. “What are you doing here? Ogling the girlfriend?”
“I wanted to watch try outs,” replied Bliss, shifting as Smashley sat next to her on the stands. “What about you?”
“Maggie asked me to come,” said Smashley, tilting her head to and fro, eventually sighing when her neck popped loudly. “Said she wanted me to look at the fresh meat and give her an opinion.” She turned to Bliss and formed a wide grin. “You know I did the same for you. I said anybody can learn to take a hit but you gotta have talent to skate fast.” Pausing to frown, Smashley took another bite of her pop tart and continued, “Or did Razor say that? I forget. I told her to get you though.”
“Thanks,” said Bliss with a smile, unable to help the amusement she felt at most anything Smashley said.
“No problem man,” Smashley said easily, kicking her feet up and squinting as they began lining people up on the track. Bliss turned her attention back to the try outs and saw that Taylor Barnes was among the pack of people showing off their skills at skating. Holding back a sigh, she waited for the inevitable ruckus her performance would cause.
Within seconds of the skate being finished and Taylor lapping everyone else on the track several times, when she didn’t pause to skate backwards or do a back flip, Bliss experienced a severe ringing in her ears as Smashley screamed holy shit at the top of her lungs and demanded that Maggie make that blonde chick a Hurl Scout. Releasing her held back sigh, Bliss wondered why she wanted to watch this in the first place. She already knew what Taylor could do so it was hardly a surprise to her. Maybe she wanted to know what team she’d end up with and despite herself, Bliss wasn’t sure she wanted it to be the Holy Rollers or the Hurl Scouts. It wasn’t that the other woman was annoying or abrasive, in fact, Bliss didn't have any real sense of her personality but… Taylor wasn’t even in the league yet and already people were making a fuss over her.
Maven was making a fuss over her and the jealous part of Bliss didn’t like that one bit.
When the try outs were concluded, Bliss followed Smashley down through the stands and into the back locker room which was the most isolated and private part of the warehouse where the team captains held their meeting with the coaches in attendance. Maven was sitting next to Maggie on a bench with Mazel and Axles of Evil across from them and Maven immediately grinned on seeing Bliss, hooking her fingers into the belt loops of Bliss’ jeans and pulling the smaller woman onto her lap. Smashley rolled her eyes and sat next to Maggie and when Maven rested her chin on Bliss’ shoulder, Razor cleared his throat.
“Who wants to start?” he questioned.
“I want #15, Barnes,” said Mazel. At this, Maven snorted. “You got something to say, Maven?”
“Everybody wants Barnes,” drawled Maven, wrapping her arms around Bliss’ waist and giving Mazel a mocking look. She then shifted her attention to Maggie then Axles of Evil. “Or am I wrong?” When they gave assenting nods, Maven returned her focus to Mazel and said, “See? You’re not special. So it’s not about who wants Barnes it’s about who Barnes wants to play for.”
“And let me guess, you think she’ll choose your team,” said Mazel in condescending tones.
“I’m the one that found her,” said Maven simply.
“So what? She’s got your stamp of ownership?” Mazel asked. “That’s not how it works.”
“Maven,” said Alonso, a slight plea in his voice, looking at his team’s captain.
“Barnes will pick the best team,” said Maven, focusing on Alonso and giving him a look that Bliss recognized as the ‘calm the fuck down I’m handling this’ expression that Maven liked to use when people tried to interfere in her disputes.
“You mean the Hurl Scouts? They’ve been league champions three years in a row now,” Mazel said this in a thoroughly snarky voice and Bliss felt Maven’s body tense up then suddenly relax as she was pulled closer to the older woman.
Soft lips pressed against Bliss’ cheek then Maven drawled, “We all know that’s because of Ruthless.”
“Right,” Razor said a little apprehensively. “I’ll go tell her then.”
“You do that,” said Maven sardonically, sliding her hands underneath Bliss’ shirt to caress her stomach. Her gaze drifted over to Smashley and she lifted an eyebrow. “Why are you here, Smash?”
“I’m scouting,” Smashley drew this out with a huge grin. “And watching a wicked verbal beat down.”
Laughing at this, Maven tapped absently on Bliss’ stomach until the other woman stilled her fingers, capturing them in her hold and as soon as she did, Maven sighed heavily and began bouncing her knees. Turning to her girlfriend, mindful of keeping her voice low so the conversation was private, Bliss asked with a quiet humor, “Are you actually worried?”
“No,” said Maven derisively. When Bliss just looked at her and formed a knowing grin, Maven scowled and muttered, “Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything,” remarked Bliss teasingly, her grin growing wider as she kissed the older woman.
“You two are disgustingly cute,” Axles of Evil’s voice broke into their solitary moment. “Quit it.”
“Yeah,” agreed Smashley, squinting at them and leaning back on her hands. “I see enough of that when I hang at your place Maven. Why expose us to more of the cute in public? Not cool.”
“I never invite you over,” said Maven, looking at the other woman pointedly. “That’s Ruthless.”
“Harsh,” said Smashley, putting a hand over her heart. A moment passed then that look of sudden realization passed over her features, causing Maggie and Bliss to immediately become nervous as they knew it was the look of Smashley having an epiphany of some sort. Which was really never a good thing. “Maven,” Smashley said her name with great emphasis, causing her to look at Smashley with a droll expression as Smashley grabbed her arm. “If you get that blonde back flipping chick on your team you won’t be the star anymore, she will. You know that, right?”
Complete and total silence and Bliss halfway wondered if Maven might punch Smashley for saying that. Even if it might be the truth. But when it came to roller derby and Maven’s pride, you really had to tread lightly. Bliss knew that all too well from having to deal with the aftermath of the Holy Rollers losing the league championship two times and not making it to a third.
“I’ll always be a star,” said Maven, wearing that supremely confident look on her face that simultaneously turned Bliss on and frustrated her depending on the situation. “It’s just with her on my team the Holy Rollers will be undefeated again.” Keeping an arm firmly wound around Bliss’ waist, she leaned towards Smashley, crooking a finger for her to come closer. Once Smashley obliged, Maven gave her a friendly slap on the cheek and said, “I’m team captain. Winning’s all that matters.”
“What if she doesn’t pick you?” asked Maggie with honest curiosity. “Do you have a second choice?”
“It’s Barnes or nothing,” said Maven, a stubborn look on her features.
Maggie looked like she was going to reply to this when Razor returned and all the team captains stared at him expectantly. He wore a wry expression then sighed and looked to Maven as he said, “Congratulations. She’s a Holy Roller.”
Instantly Maven released a burst of triumphant laughter, bouncing Bliss in her lap before she promptly flipped off everyone in the locker room and drawled, “It’s a resurrection of the undefeated season, bitches.”
--
Rollergirl names weren’t an easily explained thing. Usually they emerged from the personality of the player and some basis in a pun but they all came from different places. If Bliss hadn’t finished Razor’s sentence during his early critique of her jamming skills, or lack thereof, with the word ruthless it’s quite likely she would have been called something else altogether. For Taylor Barnes, however, all it took was showing up to practice with her chin length platinum blonde hair tied back with a black ribbon and in a pale blue dress for Jackie Daniels to declare she was Malice In Wonderland. The name went over well with Taylor, and the rest of the Holy Rollers found it utterly hilarious, and thus their newest rollergirl was named.
The season was starting in two and a half weeks and the Holy Rollers were anxious to get their newest recruit trained for her first bout, which is why they had arranged a series of practices with all the teams in the league in preparation. First of which was with the Hurl Scouts and that’s why Bliss sat on her team’s bench, watching as Maven and the rest of the Holy Rollers were gathered around the newly christened Malice. They had already done several jams with Malice in the blocker and pivot positions, and the blonde had expressed great excitement and delight at Maven’s victories as a jammer, going up to her after each jam and asking questions, standing far too close for Bliss’ comfort and touching when it just wasn’t necessary. Now it was finally time for Malice to try her hand at jamming and she only had one thought in her head.
“Razor,” said Bliss, keeping her eyes on them. “Let me go against her.”
“This is so thunderdome,” Smashley remarked, clapping her hands excitedly. When everyone looked at her in confusion, she elaborated with wild hand gestures, “Two men enter, one man leaves! It’s totally epic. Ruthless is Tina Turner and that blonde chick is Mel Gibson before he got all bigoted and crazy.”
“Smashley, I told you to stop getting high before practice,” said Razor in long suffering tones.
“I’m nooot!” Smashley wailed, skating around Razor discontentedly.
Ignoring Smashley, as was his habit when he just didn’t believe her, Razor focused on Bliss and said, “You’re up.”
Slipping the jammer’s star over her helmet, Bliss went up the start line and watched Maven talking to Malice. A frown forming as she watched Maven rest a hand on the top of the blonde’s head and give it an affectionate shake before she put the star over Malice’s helmet and directed her to where Bliss was waiting for her. The blockers skated onto the track and as she moved into position and glanced at Malice who was skating on the inside, Bliss had a sudden flashback to her first practice and the jam she had lost to Maven due to her fear of taking and giving a hit. Her jaw set into a hard line, Bliss didn’t have time to really analyze where her sudden fit of aggression was coming from when the whistle sounded and the jam was on.
For the first minute or so things were going fine, Bliss was in the lead, she had passed through the pack and was the lead jammer and that’s when she sensed something, or rather, someone coming up fast. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Malice on her tail and her eyes narrowing, Bliss slowed her pace just enough to let the blonde catch up to her and the instant they were next to each other, she gave the other woman a hard hip check which sent her tumbling off the track. Fighting her way through the Holy Rollers wall with the help of Smashley and Bloody Holly, she called off the jam and skated over to the rest of her team where they all looked at her with varying degrees of amusement.
“Dating Maven really has brought out your rage,” said Rosa eventually, sounding positively fascinated as she said this.
“Thunderdome! Spin the wheel, make a deal!” Smashley declared, skating around all of them, pumping her fists into the air. “It’s fucking awesome!”
Her hands on her hips and bent over slightly, Bliss tried to will herself into not to looking over at the Holy Rollers but she couldn’t help herself. She met Maven’s gaze whose lips quirked up in a grin at this attention. “Living up to your name, huh, Ruthless?” she called out and there was an affectionate humor in her voice before she turned to Malice who was stretching and wearing a wry look on her features. It wasn’t in Maven’s nature to be quiet or demure or anything close to resembling that so Bliss easily heard her girlfriend as she rapped her knuckles on Malice's helmet and drawled, “You see what she did? That’s what you have to do. You take them out before they can take you out. It’s what the military calls a preemptive strike.”
Bliss would have kept eavesdropping on their conversation but she suddenly found herself surrounded by half of the Holy Rollers team which effectively blocked her view of Maven and distracted her in the process. Immediately, the rest of the Hurl Scouts moved around her and Bliss had a strange feeling, like she was in a roller derby version of West Side Story, from how they were facing off against each other. Maggie, ever the diplomat, spoke first.
“Is there something you need from our jammer?” she asked.
“Relax,” Jackie scoffed and at times Bliss wondered who was better at forming ridiculing facial expressions, Jackie or Maven. Sometimes she thought they had to practice with one another, they were so good at it. “We’re not here to start shit. We just want to give Ruthless some friendly advice, that’s all.”
“You guys,” Bliss turned to her teammates, a reassuring look on her features. “It’s all right.” The Hurl Scouts gave the Holy Rollers final looks of warning before skating away and Bliss had to repress the urge to roll her eyes. She didn’t know why things had to be so complicated between their two teams but they just were and she doubted it would ever change as long as they maintained a rivalry for holding onto league championship title longer than any of the other teams. “So,” she began, placing her hands on her hips and anticipating threats of payback. “What’s going on?”
The Holy Rollers exchanged glances before Mary Jane Pain began with, “Everybody gets crushes, Ruthless. It’s like an initiation for joining derby or something. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Yeah,” Princess Slaya agreed, nodding her head emphatically.
“What?” said Bliss rather dimly, blinking at them and wondering where the threats were.
“I mean, you get into something and you really love it and then there’s this person that’s so good at it and, you know, you end up crushing on them, it’s totally natural,” Mary Jane explained patiently.
“What are you all talking about?” asked Bliss, completely perplexed at this point.
“Malice,” said Jackie plainly. “You’re pissed because you think she’ll end up making moves on Maven. We’re trying to say not to worry, it’s no big thing. This happens all the time and eventually she’ll get over the hero worship.”
“She definitely will,” Smother Theresa chimed in. “I did.” At this, the other Holy Rollers burst into raucous laughter and Theresa blushed dark red and shouted, “Shut the fuck up! I did get over it!”
“After six months,” chortled Jackie before she looked over her shoulder and saw Maven had noticed their impromptu conference. “We gotta get back to business,” she said, returning her gaze to Bliss. “But we just thought we’d tell you not to get your panties in a twist because really it’s nothing.”
“The captain is nuts for you anyway,” Mary Jane offered. “She won’t shut up about you. Pisses us off.”
“Ruthless, Ruthless, Ruthless!” the Holy Rollers chanted, laughing mockingly as they skated over to Maven who demanded to know why they were conspiring with the enemy.
Chuckling at Jackie’s loud retort, questioning if that was better or worse than sleeping with the enemy and Maven’s response that her way got you more orgasms, Bliss shook her head and went back to the other Hurl Scouts. With that one conversation the ever present feeling of anger and annoyance she had been experiencing since the practice started suddenly dissipated and she felt like herself again. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t give Malice another hip check during their next jam.
Because, really, what else could she do? It was part of her job.
--
She was sure her mother would be horrified that Bliss considered an early night home from work to be eleven p.m. but that was the truth of the matter and she honestly enjoyed the odd hours working at the clinic provided her with. Maven hardly had a normal nine to five schedule as a tattoo artist and freelance designer and her job allowed them to spend more time together. When her shift was over, she slipped on her skates and made her way to Maven’s loft in record time and as she rounded the corner, a familiar row of cars met her gaze. Changing into her tennis shoes and running up the stairs, Bliss opened the front door and was met with the sight of the Holy Rollers gathered in the living room watching television.
“Ruthlessssss,” the Holy Rollers sing songed, laughing and holding up a variety of beer bottles in salute. The only exceptions to this were Malice, who gave a hesitant smile and waved at her, and Maven who grinned at her and blew a kiss.
“You all are drunk, aren’t you?” said Bliss wryly, placing her backpack down on the floor and walking over to Maven who grabbed the drawstring of her scrubs, using them to pull her closer. Releasing a huff of air as she was deposited onto the older woman’s lap, Bliss took the beer she was holding and had a drink. When she was done, Bliss laughed at the impatient look on Maven’s face and leaned down to give her a thorough kiss. When they parted and several Holy Rollers made rude remarks in response to their display, Bliss wrapped a lock of Maven’s hair around her finger and asked, “What’s with the party?”
“Baby,” Maven drew the word out slow and sensuous, her hands sliding up to rest flat against Bliss’ stomach, causing the other woman to shiver with desire. “We don’t need a reason to party.”
“Sure,” said Bliss indulgently. The responsible adult part of her knew she shouldn’t be so charmed by Maven when she was intoxicated but the other part, the one that loved how it seemed to release a more gregarious side to her girlfriend, just wanted to enjoy the effect alcohol had on her. Shifting on the other woman’s lap, she peered around Malice at Jackie who raised an eyebrow at her. “You’ll tell me what’s up, won’t you, Jackie?”
“Nancy Drew is on the case,” said Maven in a stage hush, holding up her hand to her mouth, turning to Malice who laughed.
“Isn’t there a blocker in Vegas called Nancy Lewd?” asked Princess Slaya, turning around on the floor.
“Nooo,” Mary Jane Pain interjected. “Her name’s Nancy Screwed.”
“Nancy Crude is better,” Maven declared, taking another swig of her beer.
“Jackie,” Bliss said her name again and the other woman focused on her, an amused look on her features.
“Maven’s telling the truth, we don’t have a reason to party,” said Jackie simply, giving a smirk. “Besides being us.”
“That’s plenty reason,” Smother Theresa enforced, focusing on the television and shouting at what she saw. “Shit, Malice! How did you jump that and not break your neck?” she demanded, whirling around and pointing her beer bottle at the tv set.
For the first time, Bliss looked at what was playing on the television and saw it was an x-treme skating competition, very much like the one she and Maven had attended a few months ago. Moving her gaze to the coffee table, Bliss saw it was littered with dvds from similar competitions and several videos from Maven’s personal roller derby collection that included a few bouts featuring Ann Calvello over the course of her career. Malice blushed at Theresa’s words and for the first time, Bliss got an actual feel for the blonde’s personality. The rest of the Holy Rollers were very much in line with Maven, they were loud and brash and they didn’t seem to hold anything back and while Malice was like that when she skated, or at least that’s what Bliss could tell from seeing her at the competition and from their league practice, she didn’t appear to be that way the rest of the time. In fact, she seemed undeniably shy and suddenly Bliss felt horrible for holding such resentment towards her.
“Years and years of gymnastics,” Malice said, smiling at Bliss when she noticed her attention. “My mother dreamed of me making it to the Olympics. I was this close,” Malice created an almost nonexistent space between her index finger and thumb for visual emphasis, “to being renamed Mary Lou. She was pretty much devastated when I stopped competing at sixteen.”
“My mother used to make me enter beauty pageants,” Bliss revealed, feeling an odd kinship with Malice.
“No,” Malice said, her eyes going wide. “For how long?”
“Until I was seventeen and discovered roller derby,” said Bliss with self-deprecating humor. “My little sister, Shania, still competes but she actually likes it and wins trophies. I just kind of sucked at it and went along to go along, you know?”
“Don’t listen to her,” Maven ordered, rapping Malice on the top of her head. “I got some pageant photos of her in my room and she looks plenty good at it if you ask me.” Focusing on Bliss, she offered a cheeky grin and drawled, “Pretty as a picture.”
Laughing despite herself, Bliss shook her head and held Maven’s face in her hands before kissing her and murmuring, “You must really want to get laid tonight.”
“I always want that,” said Maven, forming a wicked grin, her voice husky. Her face was blank for a moment, then she turned around to stare at Malice. “How tall are you?” she questioned suddenly.
“4’9”, why?” asked Malice in confusion.
Releasing a bark of laughter and bouncing Bliss in her lap, Maven focused on her girlfriend. “4’9”, did you hear that?” Maven said, a playful taunt to her voice and the brunette squirmed as Maven’s fingers played at her sides, tickling her mercilessly. “We finally found somebody shorter than you and she’s a fucking Holy Roller. How’d you like that?”
“Malice is shorter than Ruthless?” Mary Jane interjected. “I didn’t think anybody was shorter than Ruthless.”
“Apparently I am,” said Malice humorously.
“I did good naming you,” said Jackie proudly, raising her beer bottle in compliments to herself. “The Alice in that story was short, wasn't she?”
“She also was a fictional kid that chased after white rabbits,” said Princess in droll tones.
“Ronnie has this regular who is trying to tattoo every Disney character onto his body,” Maven remarked, finishing off her beer and setting it on the coffee table with an audible clink before reaching into the cooler by the couch for another one. “Last one was Winnie the Pooh.” She focused her attention on Bliss and her lips quirked into a grin. “There’s something disturbing about a four hundred pound biker whose entire body is covered with animated characters.”
“He’s a walking poster,” said Theresa wisely. “They should let him into the parks for free.”
The wandering conversation and drinks went on for another two hours before the Holy Rollers exited Maven’s loft en masse, Malice stopping in the crowd of her teammates to blush and thank Bliss and Maven for a nice time before Theresa wrapped an arm around her shoulder and declared her to be too polite for Holy Rollers standards. Bliss managed to say that she, for one, liked Malice’s politeness and the rest of the Holy Rollers, including Maven, gave a slew of derisive noises and remarks at this as they left. Per usual, they had done a decent job of cleaning up the loft, with only a few stray bags of chips lying on the coffee table as proof a party had taken place, and Maven told her to forget about them as she held Bliss from behind.
“You know,” Maven muttered, kissing Bliss’ neck and sliding her hands underneath Bliss’ scrubs, moving up to cup the shorter woman’s breasts. “If you ever want them gone you can tell them to fuck off. They’d give me shit but they’d understand.”
“I was having fun,” said Bliss truthfully. Although initially she was hit with another wave of jealousy on seeing Malice sitting next to Maven when she entered the loft but as the night wore on and she got to know the other woman she knew the feelings she had were all in her own head. Maven would never cheat on her and Malice, well, she just had a very understandable crush in Bliss’ opinion. Turning her head to look at Maven, she asked playfully, “Did you want to tell them to fuck off?”
Maven chuckled quietly, her voice taking a throaty drawl as she said, “Maybe. Mostly I wanted to fuck you.”
“I knew you were using the sweet talk for a purpose,” said Bliss with a gasp as Maven’s hands changed direction, sliding underneath her panties. Suddenly she found herself bent over the arm of the couch with her scrubs and panties at her feet and Maven’s voice was a soft rumble in her ear, asking if this was all right, did she want it like this. Bliss could only give a jerky nod of her head in affirmation and gasp again as Maven’s fingers entered her while the older woman sucked on her clit. “You weren’t kidding when you told me you wanted to get laid, were you?” she managed to say.
“I never kid about that,” said Maven and Bliss felt a soft kiss at the small of her back. “But baby,” Maven drew the word out slow like honey, washing over Bliss and making her shiver then moan as the fingers inside her retreated to caress her clit then moved back inside again. “You should know that by now.”
If she could get her brain to focus on something other than her body and the way it was flush with desire and trembling, her breath coming in gales as Maven’s tongue replaced her fingers, bringing her close to that edge only to retreat and toy with her, seeing how long she could hold out, Bliss might recognize this as the truth. That there never came a time in their one and a half years together that Maven ever turned Bliss away when it came to any level of physicality. Whether it be hugs, kisses, gropes, or sex in all its various forms, Maven seemed to welcome each and every approach, even craving it to a certain degree and Bliss wondered if that had to do with the older woman being far better at expressing her feelings through actions and not words.
“Stop playing!” Bliss demanded, thrusting her hips into Maven and groaning as the fingers returned, moving deeper inside of her as the older woman chuckled and trailed her tongue over her clit before replacing it with her lips. Several long thrusts and three fingers curled inside of her, causing her stomach to clench and Bliss to swear she saw stars, then she came, falling forward on the couch, ass in the air and face in the cushions, listening to Maven’s self-satisfied laughter and a distinctive smack of her lips. Fingertips trailed over her spine before her scrubs were pulled up along with her panties and rolling onto her side, Bliss peered up at Maven who smirked at her as she licked her fingers in a deliberately sensual gesture. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Mmm,” Maven arched an eyebrow, her smirk growing wider as she pulled the fingers out of her mouth with a pop. “I think that’s been established. Why don’t you tell me another one?”
Releasing a growl, Bliss pounced on Maven, kissing her deep and delicious, taking control and directing them towards the bedroom where she continued the kiss as she pushed the older woman onto the bed, climbing on top of her and holding Maven’s hands at the wrists when she felt them wander. When they parted, she shook her head, a chastising look forming on her features. “Uh uh,” she murmured, laughing when Maven formed something of a scowl. “It’s my turn.”
“Bitch,” accused Maven, her lips curling in a slight snarl, and the way she said this, with a clear affection in her tone, took away any insulting connotation the word might have had.
“I learned from the best,” replied Bliss with a grin, laughing at the fuck you she got in response.
The night went on with each of them taking turns in their game of friendly dominance until they fell asleep in each others arms, exhausted from their efforts and while Maven might not say the words often, Bliss felt the love in her kisses and in her touch and she saw it in her eyes and that’s all that mattered. She knew how Maven felt for her and it was honest and it was real and it was the sort of thing that lasted. Bliss could feel it in her bones, that this is was where she was meant to be, that this was where she belonged, and now all she had to do was work up the courage to say it to Maven and hope that Maven felt the same way about her.
--
“Holy shit, is that a mirage or is my roommate home for once?” Rosa proclaimed, closing the door to their apartment, sporting a huge smile on her features. Plopping down on the couch next to Bliss, who muted the television and grinned in response, Rosa continued, “Why does it seem like it’s been forever and a day since you set foot in this place?”
“Probably because it has been,” suggested Bliss wryly.
“Girl,” said Rosa with a shake of her head and a chuckle in her voice. “Why don’t you just move in with Maven already? If you’re worried about my ass, don’t be. I can find another roomie no problem. Eva’s even been showing interest again.”
Her situation with Malice and Maven immediately coming to mind because even though she knew logically she didn’t have any reason to be jealous of the other woman, it didn’t make those feelings magically disappear, Bliss turned to Rosa. “How do you deal with everybody always hitting on Eva?” she asked honestly. It was a constant thing with Eva Destruction, something that created a steady stream of jokes from others in the league, that all her fans were people who wanted to kiss/date/fuck her and it wasn’t really that far from the truth considering how often she got approached. “I mean, don’t you get jealous?”
“Lord help me,” Rosa chuckled, putting her feet up on their scratched coffee table and leaning her head back on the couch cushions before directing her gaze at Bliss. “If I got jealous every time somebody put it in their mind to hit on Eva then I’d never have time to feel anything else.” Shaking her head, she said, “It doesn’t matter what those people do. I know Eva and Eva knows me, so what’s to get jealous about when I know I’m the one she’s got a thing for in the end?”
“So you never get jealous,” said Bliss skeptically, somehow not believing this, because she’d seen Rosa’s expressions when some of those fans put the moves on Eva and it wasn’t nearly as calm and collected as she was making it out to be.
“I can’t lie, I get pissed. I’m human and that’s my girl,” said Rosa, stretching her arms over her head. “I just do my level best not to let it get to me.” Rosa focused on Bliss and frowned. “Why are you asking me about all this anyhow? You having some kind of problem with Maven? A jealousy causing problem?”
Turning red, Bliss started to deny it but saw the look of utter knowing in Rosa’s eyes and sighed, deciding not to even try. “The new jammer,” she began wearily.
“Malice,” supplied Rosa, her frown staying in place until her eyes gleamed and a laugh burst from her lips. “No!” Rosa proclaimed, her laughter increasing as she hit Bliss on the thighs. “You’re jealous of that? Maven doesn’t give her a glance!”
“Does Eva give glances to all those fans that go after her?” asked Bliss in rather snippy tones.
“You want my advice then need to quit the attitude,” Rosa declared, giving Bliss a look and waiting for the other woman to apologize before she continued. When Bliss mumbled her apology, Rosa rolled her eyes and said, “I get your point. You know Maven’s not going to give that girl any thought just like I know Eva’s not going to take up with every fan that says she’s got a nice ass but it doesn’t stop the jealousy, does it now?”
“What am I supposed to do about it?” Bliss questioned, trying not to sound impatient but feeling utterly so.
“Anytime I start to feel myself getting really worked up about it, I just move on up to Eva and do things with her those fans only wish they could get away with,” said Rosa, giving a wide and gleaming smile, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Why don’t you go and give that a whirl with Maven and see how it goes?”
Laughing at this, Bliss shook her head and said, “That’s why I spent all last night sitting in her lap at a Holy Rollers party.”
“See then!” Rosa pushed Bliss’ leg, grinning at her. “It works, doesn’t it? Nonverbal version of bitch step off, that’s my woman.”
“Something like that,” said Bliss humorously. Releasing a groan and resting an arm over her eyes, she said, “I hate feeling this way, Rosa. It sucks and I was being really mean to Malice for no reason. I mean, she just has a crush on Emily. It’s not like she’s going after her or something. And I understand having a crush on her. I had a crush on her!”
“I think everybody on that team but Jackie had a crush on her at some time or another,” revealed Rosa, smirking when Bliss lifted her arm to glare at her on hearing this. “What?” asked Rosa innocently. “You don’t think I go through the same shit with Eva? Those damn Black Widows worship her like she’s some sorta derby deity. I blame it on those corsets she wears.”
“Our lives suck,” said Bliss somewhat mournfully.
“No, our lives are fine, it’s the having sexy girlfriends that suck,” corrected Rosa. Several moments passed then they looked at each other and wore incredulous expressions as they processed what they just said before erupting into laughter and clinging to one another. When the laughter died down, Rosa shook her head and said, “This is such a bullshit thing for us to be bitching about, isn’t it, Ruthless? Maggie would give such a smack down if she heard us going on like this.”
“It is pretty sad,” Bliss agreed, sighing and looking at Rosa wryly. “It doesn’t change anything though. Does it?”
“Nope,” said Rosa. She paused to release a humorous snort then suggested, “We could always break up with them.”
Giving an exasperated noise, Bliss buried her face in a pillow and laid down in Rosa’s lap, looking up at her as she pulled the pillow away from her face. “I want to move in with her,” she confessed. “But I’m too scared to bring it up.”
“You got issues,” said Rosa wisely. Tapping Bliss on the forehead as she continued, “In here.”
“I know that,” said Bliss in altogether whiny tones, hating how her voice sounded and her inability to make herself just get over herself and ask her girlfriend what she’d been wanting for months now. “I’m just freaked she’ll say no.”
“Can’t help you there, honey,” murmured Rosa. “Fear’s something you got to get over all on your lonesome. But I do have to say that Maven doesn’t seem to have a problem with you being at her place almost 24/7 for how many months on end which is pretty much like you living with her already. And didn’t she buy you furniture?”
“A desk and a dresser, yeah,” said Bliss, peering up at Rosa. “You think that means something?”
“Means she’s okay having your stuff at her place,” Rosa replied with an encouraging smile. “And that’s plenty.”
Another moment of silence then Bliss looked at Rosa and she asked, “If you love Eva why don’t you all stay together? I don’t think I could stand seeing Emily with other people. I’d probably quit the league first.”
“You would not,” said Rosa, pushing Bliss on the side of her head, scoffing at the other woman. “Eva and me, we’re not like you and Maven. Don’t get me wrong, I think Maven’s the same obnoxious bitch as ever on the track, but I know how she is with you and it’s not like that with Eva. We get along fine but it’s not some sort of fairy tale romance, Ruthless.”
“Neither is what I have with Emily,” said Bliss, frowning. “We have problems.”
Shaking her head and laughing, Rosa looked at Bliss indulgently then said, “There’s the difference though.” When Bliss stared at her blankly, an expression of clear confusion, she elaborated, “You call your girl Emily and I call mine Eva.”
“That’s not her real name?” asked Bliss, her frown growing deeper, an impish grin forming on her features at the look of complete disdain that Rosa gave her at this. Twisting around to protect herself from Rosa’s sudden pillow assault, Bliss felt a strange bit of relief from having this conversation with her roommate. Somehow knowing she wasn’t the only one with these problems made things seem not quite so bad but it still didn’t help her figure out how to get past her irrational jealousy.
Short of engaging Maven in a make out session whenever Malice was around, that is.
ONTO PART TWO