Letting Him Win
We’d been doing this more and more since that night in Josh’s basement.
At first it was just the two of us again, like before. Then Landon started showing up after his shifts, still half in uniform, gym bag slung over his shoulder like he couldn’t wait to get out of it. He’d change in the car and jog down the embankment already grinning, like he knew we’d still be there. Most nights we were.
It was different with three of us. Louder. More competitive. Landon talked a lot — about high school wrestling, tournaments he’d won, holds he used to hit on guys twice his size. Josh let him talk. Sometimes he even played into it, letting Landon work for positions he could’ve escaped easily. I noticed. My first thought was it didn’t mean anything, that Josh was just being Josh, winding him up. But after a while I started to wonder if he was also getting something out of it himself.
I didn’t mind the wrestling itself. If anything, I liked it more than I expected. Landon was stronger than he looked, and he knew what he was doing. When he caught me in something, it felt different than when Josh did. Less personal. More like being worked over by someone who enjoyed showing off. I hated how much that got to me sometimes.
Josh knew it too. I could feel him watching when Landon had me pinned, like he was filing it away for later.
We didn’t talk about it much. Not directly. We just kept meeting up at the track, the three of us rolling around in the grass like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Tonight was no different. We’d been at it for almost an hour when Landon’s phone started ringing from where he’d left it on his gym bag. He groaned, rolled off Josh, and jogged over to answer it, wiping sweat off his face with the bottom of his shirt.
Josh stayed where he was, lying on his back in the grass, breathing hard. He turned his head and looked at me.
“You looked good out there with him tonight,” he said. His voice was low, casual.
I glanced over. “Yeah?”
Josh nodded, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “I like watching you wrestle him. He’s got some good stuff. Gives me ideas.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Ideas?”
“For later,” Josh said, his eyes flicking down to my mouth and back up. “Things I can try on you when it’s just us.”
Heat crept up the back of my neck, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable kind. I shifted on the grass, suddenly very aware of how close he was lying.
I hesitated, then said it anyway. “You let him catch you sometimes.”
Josh didn’t deny it. He just kept looking at me, that same small smile still there.
“Yeah,” he admitted. “Sometimes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged one shoulder, easy. “I don’t know. I like the way he gets when he thinks he’s winning. Makes him talk more. And…” His gaze held mine. “I like watching you watch.” He paused, then added more quietly, “I like that he wants you too. Even if he doesn’t say it out loud.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything.
Josh pushed himself up onto one elbow, still watching me. “It’s not a big thing,” he said, voice softer now. “I just like how it feels when it’s the three of us. It’s different. In a good way.”
I nodded slowly. I was starting to understand what he meant.
Josh reached over and gave my wrist a light squeeze, his thumb brushing once across the inside of it.
“Break time’s over,” he said quietly, just for me. “Try not to enjoy it too much when he puts you in something nasty.”
Then he stood up, brushing grass off his shorts, and turned to face Landon like the moment between us had never existed.
Landon came jogging back over a minute later. He wiped his hands on his shorts and rolled his shoulders, looking between us.
“All right,” he said. “Who’s next?”
Josh didn’t even hesitate. He jerked his chin toward me.
“Kyle’s been sitting out too long. Go ahead.”
I shot Josh a look, but he just gave me that lazy half-smile and stepped back, hands on his hips like he was settling in to watch.
Landon didn’t need to be told twice. He came at me quick, and I met him, locking up collar-and-elbow. He was wiry, but there was real strength and technique behind it. We circled for a few seconds before I shot in on a single leg, reaching for his right leg.
Landon sprawled hard, stuffing the shot. Before I could circle out or recover, he hooked his leg over mine from the outside, grabbed my far ankle, and rolled through.
The next thing I knew, I was on my back with my legs yanked wide apart, knees pushed toward my shoulders, everything exposed. The spladle. I’d never been put in one before.
“Fuck—” I gasped, face burning instantly.
Landon laughed, settling into the hold like he’d done it a hundred times. “Told you I used to hit these in tournaments. You’re flexible, man. That’s good.”
I couldn’t even answer properly. My legs were spread wide, hips lifted off the ground, and I could feel how ridiculous I must have looked. Worse than that — with the blood rushing to my chest and the sheer intensity of the stretch, I could feel myself getting hard. The fabric of my shorts pulled tight, putting everything on display in the dark. I prayed to God it wasn't obvious.
Landon adjusted his grip, smirking as he focused on his technique. “See, if you try to roll out, I just pull the ankle tighter. Completely locks the hips.”
For a second I caught myself noticing how steady and sure his hands were, and how easily he seemed to enjoy having control.
I turned my head and caught Josh watching.
He wasn’t smiling anymore. His eyes were darker, focused. He was staring right at me — at the helpless position I was in, and then lower, locking directly onto the unmistakable outline straining against my shorts. When our eyes met, something flickered across his face. Not quite jealousy. Something hotter. Hungrier.
Landon shifted his weight, tightening the hold a little more to show off, and a low, involuntary sound slipped out of me before I could stop it.
“Jesus,” Landon muttered, half-laughing, riding the high of the hold. “You really are flexible.”
“All right, all right,” I managed, tapping the grass. “I’m done. Let me up.”
Landon released me and stood up, then reached down and hauled me to my feet like it was nothing.
“Good one,” he said, patting my shoulder. “You almost had an escape there for a second.”
Josh stepped forward before I could say anything.
“My turn,” he said.
They went at it harder than before. Josh was moving faster, more aggressive than he’d been earlier. For a minute it looked like he was actually trying to shut him down. He passed Landon’s guard once and nearly took his back, but Landon managed to scramble free.
Then something changed.
Josh started giving ground.
It was subtle at first. He let Landon work his way behind him instead of fighting to stay in front. He didn’t scramble as hard when Landon got an underhook. I watched it happen in slow motion — Josh letting Landon’s arm slide under his chin, letting him sink in the grip, letting himself be dragged down.
Landon didn’t waste the opportunity.
He rolled through smoothly and locked his legs around Josh’s head in a tight figure-four headscissors, the real amateur wrestling version. One of his legs hooked over the other, trapping Josh’s neck between his thighs while his hips stayed heavy and low. It was clean. Controlled.
“Got you,” Landon said, voice bright with satisfaction. He adjusted his angle slightly, squeezing. “This is the one, man. This is how we used to put people out.”
Josh was on his back, face already starting to flush. He bridged once, testing it, but he didn’t fight the way I knew he could. His movements were slower, more deliberate. For a second, his face softened and his eyes went half-lidded, like he was letting himself relax into it.
Landon kept talking.
“See? Once I get this locked, there’s not much you can do. This one used to be my money move back in high school. Once I really lean into it, you’ve got maybe fifteen, twenty seconds before you start seeing stars.”
Josh made a low sound — somewhere between a grunt and a short laugh — but he still didn’t tap.
I stood there watching, arms crossed tight over my chest. A strange, complicated heat moved through me — not quite jealousy, but close.
Josh was letting him do this.
He could have escaped. I’d seen him get out of worse positions with me, and I knew he was better than Landon technically. But he was staying in it. Breathing through it. Letting Landon squeeze and talk and show off.
Landon arched his back into the hold, clearly enjoying himself.
“Tap or you’re going to sleep, bro. Your choice.”
Josh’s eyes flicked over to me for half a second. There was something in his expression — not quite a smile, but close. Like he knew exactly what this was doing to me.
He finally tapped Landon’s thigh twice.
Landon released him and shifted onto one knee, looking pleased with himself. He reached down and offered Josh a hand, pulling him up.
“Told you, man,” Landon said, rolling his shoulders, riding the high of the win. “Four years of high school wrestling, four days a week. Once I get that figure-four locked on the neck, it’s over. You did great, bro, but it's all coming back to me now.”
Josh rolled his neck once, then glanced at me over Landon's shoulder. This time the look was completely transparent. He wasn't rubbing his neck because he was hurt; he was checking to see if I’d felt the weight of what he’d just done.
“Yeah,” Josh said, his voice easy. “All that amateur stuff is too good. You broke me down there — I had no answer.”
Landon laughed and shook his head, giving Josh a light punch on the arm.
I stood there watching them, arms still crossed tight over my chest. My heart was still beating a little too fast, and my shorts were still uncomfortably tight from the aftermath of the spladle, but I felt steadier than I had a few minutes ago.
I was starting to understand the game.
Josh wasn’t letting Landon dominate him because he wanted to lose. He was feeding the energy. Keeping Landon feeling good and talking big, while giving me a front-row seat to his surrender.
A second later, Josh caught my eye again. There was no wink — just a slow, heavy-lidded look that lingered a beat too long. A little spark of pure mischief, letting me know he knew exactly what this was doing to me.
I felt my face get hot, but I didn’t look away this time. I held his gaze and gave him the smallest, quietest nod, just enough to let him know I’d caught it.
Josh’s mouth curved, barely. Then he turned back to Landon like nothing had happened.
“All right,” Landon said, clapping his hands together. “One more? Or are we calling it?”
Josh didn’t answer right away. He was still looking at me, that same small, knowing smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
“Kyle’s up again,” Josh said casually.
Something in me had shifted. This time, the rush of it didn’t unsettle me. It felt like part of the way things worked between the three of us.
Author’s Note:
I’ve added a new earlier chapter to the story. It takes place after “Just Us” and before the previous Chapter 7. I’ve also added a short scene with Josh’s mother to the end of "Just Us" and made some small revisions to the openings of Chapters 2 and 8 for better flow. Thanks for reading.
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