Larry was dumbfounded to see the thick sinews running through Margo's forearm.Larry was dumbfounded to see the thick sinews running through Margo's forearm. He looked up at her face and saw that she was watching him intently. Larry stared into Margo's gray eyes like a bird hypnotized by a snake. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off hers. Dominique took both their right hands and ordered them to grip each other's thumbs, with the wrists crossing. Larry finally looked away from Margo's stare and concentrated on getting a good grip on Margo's hand. He couldn't help noticing that her forearm made his look small, and her hand was much larger than his was. When they were both satisfied with the grip, Dominique took their clasped hands in both her huge ones and twisted them until she had them perfectly straight. Larry tensed his muscles and readied himself to slam Margo's arm down. Dominique looked at each of them and said, "Ready?" Larry and Margo both nodded. Dominique released their hands, calling, "GO!" Larry put all his power into his right arm, trying for a quick pin, but Margo's arm didn't budge. Sweat broke out on Larry's forehead as he tried to force her arm to the table, while Margo stood as still as a statue, showing no strain at all from holding his arm vertical. For what seemed like an eternity Larry kept up the pressure until his arm trembled from the exertion and he began to pant. Margo waited until he looked into her eyes again, and then, with a slight smile on her lovely face, she slowly began to force his right arm down. Sweat was running down Larry's face, and his hand was sweating as well, but Margo retained her grip and was forcing his arm down a millimeter at a time. Larry tried to hold her back, but it was like trying to hold back an avalanche with a toothpick. Slowly, inexorably, Larry's arm approached the table until it was pinned firmly down against Margo's left arm. She held it there for several seconds while she mockingly smiled at Larry's embarrassment. "THE WINNER!" called Dominique, "in forty-three seconds." Margo released Larry's sore arm and allowed hers to be raised in victory. "Margo leads, one to zero!" There was a large chalkboard on the wall behind the ring with both Larry's and Margo's names printed on it. Margo walked over and put a mark under her name. |