r arms or legs, you always wear long

sleeves and pants, and you always work out in an oversized sweatsuit."

"and you've never seen me lift weights, either. on the other hand, i've

seen your arms and legs, skinny. i've got a pretty good idea of your

strength." a smile touched margo's lips briefly. "so let's go on the

evidence you've got."

"well, you're a couple of inches taller than i am," larry mused. "you've

got a pretty athletic build, from what i can see. but i still can't believe

you're stronger than me."

"what would it take to convince you? do you want to see who can lift

more weight?"

"weightlifting's no good, technique means as much as strength." larry

thought a second. "i used to be a pretty good wrestler in college. why

don't we wrestle to see who's stronger?"

margo laughed again. "you think the stronger wrestler always wins?

you've admitted you know something about the sport, what if i don't?

i'd say that would give you something of an advantage, wouldn't you?"

she shook her head, sending drops of perspiration to the floor. "boy,

talk about trying to stack the deck in your favor." margo stepped closer

to larry, forcing him back a step. "however, it does give me an idea. a

contest with five parts." margo poked a finger into larry's chest as she

ticked off the different tests. "arm wrestling, leg wrestling, a tug of

war, simultaneous bear hugs, and simultaneous head scissors. the

winner of three of the 'tests of strength' is declared the stronger, and the

loser has to be the winner's servant for a month."

"well, i'm not sure..."

"what's the matter, big talker, losing your nerve?"

"you're on, margo," said larry angrily. "where are we going to do this,

and who can we get to referee?"

"i know a private gym, and the owner will be glad to act as referee.

when?"

"how about tomorrow night?"

"eight o'clock?"

"you're on! see you then." larry headed off to the showers.

margo smiled. "yeah, larry, see you then," she said softly. she bent

down and picked up the racquetball in her left hand. with a slow, steady

increase in pressure she squeezed the ball until it split. margo laughed,

then dropped the mutilated ball to the floor and headed to the locker

room.

larry's telephone rang the next morning. "hello," he said.

"hi, sweetie, guess who?" margo's voice purred.

"yeah, margo, what's up?"

"here's the address of the gym for tonight's little contest. ready?"

"margo, are you sure you want to do this?"

"what's the matter, getting cold feet?" the voice taunted. "chicken..."

"just give me the damn address," he snarled. larry grabbed a pen and

paper and wrote the address down. "eight o'clock, right?" he said.

"right you are, babe. don't be late," margo warned. "by the way, i've

invited some friends along to watch. is that okay with you, or will you

be too embarrassed to get beat in front of a crowd?"

"bring along whoever you want, big talker. i just hope they won't be too

disappointed when you lose," larry retorted.

"my, aren't we confident!" teased margo. "see you later." larry slammed

the phone down. "bitch!" he muttered.

larry arrived at the designated address at a quarter to eight that

evening. he parked his car in front of a square, run down two story building.

a sign above the door read "dominique's amazon gym - members only".

a tall young black woman dressed in a sweat suit and smoking a cigar

leaned against the wall next to the door with her arms crossed. "you

larry?" she asked.

"yeah."

"come on in. everyone's here." she tossed away the cigar, then opened

the door and motioned larry through into a hallway that smelled of

leather, liniment, and sweat. "sorry there's no men's locker room, never

needed one," the woman continued. "we cleaned out a utility closet for

you." she indicated a door on the right. "hope it's big enough."

"it'll do. thanks, uh..."

"name's dominique." as the woman stuck out a large paw and shook

larry's hand, he noticed that her shoulders were exceptionally wide and

she towered above him by a good seven inches. "when you're dressed,

just walk up those stairs at the end of the hall. good luck, larry."

dominique turned on her heel, and he thought he heard her mutter,

"you'll need it." she walked off with long, confident strides.

larry changed to shorts and a tee shirt. he tied his sneakers tightly and

did a couple of knee bends in the cramped space of the small closet. he

was beginning to regret that he had ever gotten into this, but was too

stubborn to back down now.

larry walked down the hall and climbed the stairs. he didn't know

exactly what he had expected, but it was nothing like what met his eyes

as he reached the upper floor. there was a large room, probably the

entire upper floor of the building. inside larry could make out several

punching bags, both speed bags and heavy body bags. along one wall

was a large collection of