A down on his luck man who lets people punch him for money navigates the murky waters of romance after a strange request comes from a client who was once his High School crush.

SYNOPSIS:

Arlo (30, male) wears a red tie and smart but creased trousers. He walks to the suburban house of a couple arguing about the TV remote. A husband opens the door and lands a punch in his stomach. The wife then joins and afterward, money is dropped at Arlo's feet. This is another day in the office as his job is to literally let people punch him. The location, strength, and style of the punch are discussed before the service is given. His next client is a returning customer and is only one more punch away from filling up his loyalty card and earning one free hit. The pair talk and it is discussed that Arlo is living in cheap motel rooms due to a recent break-up with a long-term girlfriend (Linda) who has already moved on to someone else. She despised Arlo's tendency of swearing so he is trying to replace profanity with random words like "son of a knee slapper". The customer offers Arlo a job at a stag do, the catch is that he is not allowed to wear protective pads.

Arlo accepts and takes the punches from the many men. On a rest break, Arlo talks to the caterer who, due to the unique birthmark on her hand shaped like the outline of Italy, he realises is someone he had a crush on in school. Her name is Gabby and the pair connect and awkwardly fail to flirt. The next day, as Arlo licks his wounds Gabby phones him and places an order with his business. Meanwhile, Arlo listens to a voicemail from Linda who gloats that she needs him to move his house plants out of her apartment soon because she and her new boyfriend are going to travel to Asia.

Arlo arrives at Gabby's house and attempts to talk and get to know her. To his disappointment, she is cold and only wants to use his business services. She hits him and feels better after releasing some of her frustrations. Arlo gets Gabby to open up and offers her advice on getting through tough times.

A couple of days later, Gabby places another order and Arlo returns. This time she wants to be the person who is being hit. The whole situation is unnatural to Arlo, but wanting to help Gabby who claims that she needs the adrenaline rush, accepts the job and punches Gabby in the mouth and then upon special request, the boobs. Arlo realises the new line of revenue punching people will bring him and Gabby is addicted to the feeling of power. The pair want to do it more. Time (day and night) changes as Arlo and Gabby hit one another in a way that it appears that the two are fighting rather than only hitting each other once. Inside the motel room, the scene is like a boxing match, outside - through the blinded back-lit window - they are silhouettes of bodies being hit across the room. Elbows, feet, and fists are all weapons, and stomachs, arms, and faces are all targets with or without protective padding.

After their 'fight' the pair lay on a bed with bruised faces when Arlo asks Gabby on a date. She says yes and they have a joke-filled date at a posh restaurant. On the way out, they bump into Linda with her new boyfriend. Linda passively-aggressively bullies Arlo. Gabby doesn't like this and brings Linda up on her behavior. Embarrassed, Linda slaps Gabby in return. Arlo slaps Linda, and Linda's boyfriend slaps him. The group is thrown out of the restaurant. Linda resumes bullying Arlo when he swears at her, now feeling empowered by Gabby and released from Linda's grasp for the first time in years. He walks away from her knowing that he is worth more than she tells him he is.

Arlo takes Gabby home when Gabby remarks on how she is feeling pumped up and could do with punching someone. Arlo offers his services and Gabby sweetly declines. She doesn't need that anymore, Arlo by her side is all she needs. Arlo takes her hand and the pair walk into her house.

"Stage 32 Logline of the Day"