Tickle Street Chapter 48 – “Dosvidanya”

by Strelnikov
Copyright 2008 by the author


Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance)

Melissa Gabreski
Melissa is attractive with great curves, dark hazel eyes, and long brown hair with blonde streaks. She’s 20 years old and has lived on Tickle Street her whole life. She's super ticklish, and thinks it’s weird to be so ticklish like she is. But it has its compensations...

Nicole Wade
A little beauty, 20 years old, with crystal blue eyes and bright blonde hair, a very trim and shapely body and extremely ticklish feet. Very serious, a first-born overachiever. She and Melissa grew up together on Tickle street – they’ve been friends since kindergarten.

...plus the Usual Suspects – read on!



********************


“There!” Josh Kincaid said, finishing the hogtie. “Get right with God, Melissa, ‘cause I’m gonna tickle you to death!” His accent was pure South Mississippi.

Melissa rolled onto her side, looking up at Josh kneeling beside her on the grass. “Hey, don’t get carried away,” she said, a little apprehensively. She was very attractive: medium height, with dark hazel eyes, long lashes, and dark brown hair with blonde streaks, dressed in shorts and a sleeveless top that showed off her great curves and shapely legs to good advantage.

Josh was a year or so older, with light brown hair, green-flecked hazel eyes and a sailor’s tan on his face and arms. They had started dating after she hired on at his family’s business, the old riverboat Proud Mary. He had asked her to marry him last night, and she had accepted, though they hadn’t set a date.

“Moderation is for monks!” Josh scoffed, and rolled Melissa back onto her tummy. “C’mere, you!” He knee-walked to Melissa’s trapped feet and put a knee on either side of Melissa’s to prevent a roll-over. “Now. let’s see... ” He traced a circle on a heel with a single nail.

“Hehehe!” Melissa giggled. “Quit! That tickles!”

“What’ll you give me if I do?” Josh asked, lightly scratching around the ball of the foot.

“Haheha! I’ll– hehe! –think of– ahaha! –something– hahaha!” It was a game they played – he enjoyed tickling her, and she didn’t mind at all. In fact, sometimes it turned them both on, and then...

“Something, huh?” he said playfully. He gently flicked his nail tips in the arch. “Does this tickle?”

“Hehehe! Yes!”

“As much as this?” he asked, stroking the crease in the center of the sole.

“Haha! You– hehe! –know– hahaha! –it does– hehe!”

“Of course I do,” Josh said. “And this is best of all, right?” he added cheerfully, spider-walking his nails in the back of both arches and onto the heels.

“NOT THAT! HAHAHA! HAHA-HAHEHA-HAHAHAHAHA!” Melissa laughed, squirming and trying desperately to pull her feet away.

“Tickling you is a lot of fun,” Josh said – he spread the little toe apart from its neighbor and tickled in between, forcing a loud burst of helpless laughter. “Great laugh – like music!” He held back Melissa’s toes and tickled side to side under all ten toes – Melissa laughed her head off, tears of laughter running down her cheeks. Josh made a Peace sign and circled the nails in the arches, just behind the sole creases, and Melissa’s laughter went off the scale. Oh ghod how it tickled!

Josh shifted his tickle target, tickling the heels two-handed. Melissa laughed like a maniac as Josh spider-walked his nails up both arches, making little contact but tickling unbearably. Melissa laughed and laughed as Josh tickled both soles, toes twitching and curling. Then drawing fast, looping figure-eight’s around the balls of both feet, and Melissa laughed at the top of her lungs.

“Break time!” Josh announced, and Melissa felt him shift as the tickling stopped. “Break’s over!” he said immediately – she just had time for a deep breath before tickling nail tips flicked her soles again in a guitar-chording motion. Melissa arched her back and howled with forced mirth, helpless to resist the well techniqued tickling. The spider-walk was next, along both sole creases and down the arches – four nail strokes in succession, three times a second. Melissa was in the zone now, red faced and sweaty, unable to move or even form a coherent thought – all she could do was lay there and laugh.

The tickling fingernails shifted – Melissa laughed helplessly while they tickled her heels, around the edges, back to the center, then back onto the arches again. And now the soles got their share of attention, holding the toes back and tickling side to side on the stretched out soles. The tickling sensation had completely overcome her – she was losing it, red faced, eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn’t take much more...

Both arches got it again, zig-zag lines that tickled horribly. Then the heels, two nails tracing circles, squares and other tickling shapes. Finally, maximum tickle torture – tickling two-handed in both back arches and onto the heels behind. Melissa laughed her head off at the top of her lungs, her wild ticklish laughter filling the air. It was more than she could bear – she laughed herself breathless.

“Not too shabby,” Josh said.

“Lots of fun too,” Nicole Wade said. “Though I’m not sure Melissa agrees.” More nail flicks, and Melissa let out another burst of helpless laughter. “Or do you?”

Melissa blinked away tears and squirmed around, gasping for air. Nicole was kneeling at Melissa’s trapped feet, fingernails poised over the upturned soles – she was Melissa’s age, a little blonde beauty with a trim and shapely figure, fair skin, bright blue eyes and delicate china-doll features. Josh sat cross-legged beside Nicole, grinning.

“No... fair... ” Melissa said breathlessly. “That... tickled... so much... ”

Nicole started untying Melissa. “It was supposed to,” she said. “C’mon, we’re burning daylight,” she said as she finished her task. She was dressed like Melissa, barefoot – the uniform-of-the-day for their outing.

Melissa rolled onto her back and shuffled her feet to get the tickle off. “You are so gonna get it!” she threatened good-naturedly.

Nicole gave her a hand up. “Counting on it,” she said, and picked up a canvas tote. “I’ve got enough gear for both of us – see ya, Josh!”

“Have fun!” Josh said. “Love you!”

“Love you too,” Melissa said, and gave him a kiss that was a promise of more to come.

They went out through the back yard, jumped the fence and headed into the woods. They had been best friends since kindergarten, and the friendship had continued all through high school. But Melissa had stayed home and gone to Tieson City College; Nicole wanted to be a doctor, so she had gone off to Commonwealth University’s Pre-Med program. They tried to keep their friendship alive with outings like this on school vacations and holidays. Unfortunately, though, this summer their work schedules hadn’t coincided, so they hadn’t spent much time together.

The wooded area north of Tickle Street wasn’t 100 acres, of course – it was actually about a mile square. But the neighborhood kids had called it the Hundred Acre Wood years ago, and the name had stuck. The area was hilly, rocky, heavily overgrown with second growth forest. Owl Creek entered it from the south before turning northeast between steep banks. An old railroad grade, long disused, crossed diagonally from southeast to northwest.

A trail started a few yards in and ran east-and-west behind the subdivision – it was smooth, hard-packed, easy on bare feet. They followed it to Owl Creek and took the left fork, running along the creek bank, chatting as they walked.

“Coming through!” Kelly McGuire called behind them. Melissa turned, and saw that Kelly was with Angie Fontana, Melissa’s friend and co-worker on the Proud Mary. Kelly had a glorious mane of fiery red hair, Celtic-fair skin and blue eyes so dark they seemed almost indigo; Angie was tanned, with dark hair and dark eyes. Both were former teen models – tall, drop-dead gorgeous, with silky long hair, great shapes and long lovely legs. They were dressed like the others, barefoot.

Melissa and Nicole were in no hurry, so they stopped and stepped aside. “A little eager, are we?” Nicole asked.

“As Morgan would say, there’s feet that need tickling,” Angie said, making tickling motions.

Kelly poked Angie in the tummy – the brunette squeaked and jumped. “Yours especially,” she said.

“Save it,” Angie said. “Congratulations, Melissa,” she added as they passed by. “Jim told me last night.” She was dating Josh’s younger brother.

Nicole raised an eyebrow, and Melissa felt a rush of guilt. “Josh and I are engaged,” she said.

Nicole’s expression changed. “Have you set the date?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Melissa said. There had been a time when Melissa would have called Nicole right away with the good news. Ever since they were little girls, they had planned to be maid of honor at each other’s wedding, but Melissa knew that it wouldn’t happen that way now. “I’m sorry, Nicole,” she said. “I was waiting for the right time to tell you.”

“And this is it,” Nicole said, smiling. She hugged Melissa. “I’m happy for you.”

“Hey, move along!” Stephanie Miklajcyk said. She was with Ashley Curtis, Melissa saw. Stephanie had light brown hair and green eyes, Ashley was blonde and blue-eyed – they were tall and tanned, with the same beauty-queen look as Kelly and Angie.

“Cleared for action, I see,” Melissa said, looking at their bare feet.

Stephanie grinned and wiggled her toes. “Just like you, and everybody else,” she said. “You coming or not?”

“We’ll get there,” Nicole said.

“Well, we’re trying to catch up with Angie and Kelly,” Ashley said.

“And tickle the crap out of ‘em,” Stephanie added cheerfully. “Either of you seen Morgan, or Brittany and Joanna? I owe all three a good tickling!”

“I saw them heading into the woods when I left to go to Melissa’s house,” Nicole said. “I imagine they’re at the meadow already.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Stephanie demanded, and started walking again. “Let’s go get ‘em!” she called over her shoulder.

Ashley shook her head. “She’s turned into a tickle maniac,” she said.

“Like me,” Nicole said. She winked at Melissa. “I got a head start, and warmed up on my friend here.”

“The twins couldn’t’ve done any better,” Melissa said. “My abs still hurt!”

“COME ON!” Stephanie shouted.

“Our public awaits,” Ashley said, grinning.

“OK, see ya!” Melissa said, and they were gone.

They continued on to where the trail branched again and took the right fork, continuing along the bank. Half a mile further on, they came to the abandoned railroad grade and followed it to the old iron bridge across the creek.

Ticklish laughter greeted them – two young women, laughing their heads off. They paused to check it out.

Morgan Ernst was sitting cross-legged on the bridge deck – she was a slender girl, about medium height, with curly brown hair and soft brown eyes. Ashley’s feet were resting in her lap – Morgan tickled with skill and enthusiasm, making Ashley laugh like mad.

Just past Morgan, Brittany Righetti and her cousin Joanna Shaw stood over another laughing girl. Brittany was Mediterranean-looking, with long dark hair, brown eyes, a life guard tan, and curves in all the right places. Joanna wore her dark hair in a page bob – she took after the Irish side of her ancestry, with fair skin, blue eyes and freckles. Their victim was on her back, feet up and gravity working against her – the girls each had hold of an ankle, tickling fiendishly with their free hand.

Morgan spotted them first. “Hey, want some of this?” she called out. Ashley’s feet were off-the-scale ticklish – she was flat on her back, laughing at the top of her lungs, completely overcome by the tickling sensation. Morgan wasn’t even holding on.

“Later, maybe,” Melissa called back. They moved in closer. “Is that Stephanie over there?” she asked, nodding toward the cousins.

“Right the first time,” Morgan said. “Listen to her laugh – she’s almost as much fun to tickle as Ashley.” She never missed a stroke – Ashley laughed and laughed, red-faced, tears streaming from her closed eyes.

Brittany had Stephanie’s left foot, circling a single nail around and on the ball of the foot. Joanna had the right foot – she spider-walked her nail tips from sole to heel, over and over, covering the ticklish flesh with unbearable tickling. Stephanie laughed her head off, red-faced and sweaty, her hair in tangles around her head.

“Brittany and Joanna deserve a good tickling,” Nicole whispered to Melissa. “Want to help Stephanie out?”

“Nah, she can take it,” Melissa said. “And besides, she was gonna do the same to them.” To Brittany and Joanna: “Faster! Get her good!”

“You got it!” Brittany said – she held back Stephanie’s toes and switched to a spider-walk on the stretched out sole. Joanna shifted her tickle target to the ticklish heel, nail tips flying, and Stephanie’s laughter went off the scale.

“Why’d you start here?” Meghan Meyer called from the end of the bridge. “I thought we were gonna gather at the meadow downstream.” She was with Lindsey Thomas, Melissa saw – Meghan was strawberry-blonde with blue eyes and freckles, Lindsey was blonde and blue-eyed with a deep summer tan. They were tiny girls, just 4 ft 11 inches in their bare feet – they weighed maybe 90 lbs soaking wet.

Morgan grabbed Ashley’s big toes and guitar-chorded the arches – the helpless laughter went up a notch. “We’re waiting for Anne and Tiffany,” she called back.

Meghan and Lindsey came closer. “So you’re using the time productively, right?” Lindsey said – it wasn’t a question.

“Of course,” Morgan said. “Right, Ashley?” But Ashley was laughing much too hard to answer, lost in ticklish delirium.

“Ow!” Lindsey said. She balanced on one foot and inspected the sole of the other. “Maybe going barefoot like this wasn’t such a good idea.”

Meghan grinned. “Dirty, too. Like mine,” she added, lifting a foot and flashing the sole. “Want me to get the dirt off?”

Lindsey laughed. “Tickle my feet clean, like Morgan’s doing to Ashley?”

“Hers weren’t all that dirty,” Morgan said, drawing fast, looping figure-eight’s around the balls of both feet – Ashley laughed even harder. “I just love to tickle her – she has such a pretty laugh.”

Morgan eased off, and Ashley dropped back to normal-rated laughter. “Do you want some of this?” she asked. She nodded toward Stephanie, laughing with wild abandon as the tickling fingernails roamed her soft upturned soles. “Or maybe Brittany and Joanna will let you have a turn with Stephanie... ”

“We’ll pass for now,” Meghan said. “C’mon, Lindsey, let’s find Candice and Sara.”

“We’ll come too,” Nicole said. The ticklish laughter followed them as they crossed the bridge to the other side.

The bank had an easy slope here – the girls went down to the water’s edge and headed downstream to the big flat rock that hung out over the stream. Just past the rock was a pool, scoured out by spring snow melt channeled between the bridge abutments. A rope hung from a tree branch – this place had been a swimming hole for generations. Laughter drifted down from the bridge, fainter here but still clear enough.

“Y’all go on,” Melissa said to Lindsey and Meghan. “Nicole and I will be along directly.”

“Listen to her – moonlight and magnolias!” Meghan said, and waded into the shallow water around the edge of the pool, headed downstream.

Lindsey followed. “She’ll start following NASCAR racing next,” she said, and they both laughed as they waded away.

Nicole gave Melissa a very odd look. “You’re starting to sound like Anne,” she said.

“It’s a family business,” Melissa said. “Working with the Kincaids, and dating Josh... I guess I’m starting to pick up the accent.” She sat on the rock, feet in the water. “Sit with me, Nicole.”

Nicole sat beside Melissa. “We’ve had some good times here,” she remarked.

“Yah,” Melissa agreed. “I’m glad we have this chance to spend time together.”

“Thank Candice for that,” Nicole said. “Planning this gathering took some effort.”

“How many d’you think there’ll be?” Melissa asked.

“Mmm...” Nicole said, thinking. “All of us on Tickle Street, and our friends... I guess 15, maybe 20.”

“Wonder if the twins’ll show up?”

“Candice invited ‘em,” Nicole said. “If everybody else shows, they’d make it 22.” She grinned. “Lots of ticklish feet, and I plan to tickle ‘em all! Well, not mine, of course – you’ll have to do that.”

“I think I can manage,” Melissa said mischievously.

“No doubt,” Nicole said. “So tell me about you and Josh. What made you decide?”

“Thought I was pregnant,” Melissa answered. “It was a false alarm, but we decided we kinda liked the idea... just not right away,” she added quickly. “I guess I’ll change my major to Business, ‘cause I’m marrying into a family operation.”

“Any ideas where and when?”

“On Proud Mary, of course,” Melissa answered. “This fall, after business slows down and we can take a honeymoon. It’s short notice, I know,” she added with another flash of guilt. “But we want to keep it small, and it’s not like we’ll have any trouble getting the venue.” A pause. “You’ll come, won’t you?” They had once been like sisters – that she had to ask was proof of how far they had grown apart.

“Couldn’t keep me away,” Nicole said, a little sadly.

“Hey, what kind of devilment are y’all plotting?” Anne Kincaid asked from behind them. Anne was Josh’s younger sister – she was 18, a cutie with a Southern accent, a great body, long light brown hair, long lashes and dazzling hazel eyes.

“Deciding who we’re gonna tickle,” Nicole answered quickly, looking around. “And you’re high on the list.”

Melissa looked too – she saw that Tiffany Kilpatrick was with Anne and the five girls from the bridge. Tiffany was a pretty girl, medium height, with a Rubenesque figure, fair skin, shoulder-length light brown hair and bright blue eyes.

“How about me?” Ashley asked. She wasn’t the least bit upset – getting tickled silly was just a normal, every-day hazard for the young women hereabouts.

Nicole laughed. “Be glad to – I’d like some variety today.”

“No lack of that,” Tiffany said.

“So many ticklish feet– ” Brittany started.

“ –so little time!” Joanna completed the thought, and landed a double rib-poke on Brittany. Brittany squealed and jumped back.

“Not now,” Tiffany advised. “Get in a tickle fight here, you’ll land on this rock and bust your ass.”

“Good thinking,” Morgan said. She stepped off the rock into the stream. “C’mon, there’s feet that need tickling!”

“Yours especially,” Brittany said, following after. The other five newcomers trooped after them, threatening each other good-naturedly, voices fading away as they waded downstream.

Bummer, thought Melissa. A few minutes before, it had seemed like old times again, sitting side-by-side and sharing confidences. But the moment had passed. “You seeing anybody?” she asked to fill the silence, embarassed that she didn’t know.

“I don’t have time for a boyfriend,” Nicole said. “Well, there’s one guy, another Pre-Med. We hook up sometimes, but mostly we study together. Romantic, huh?”

“It’s something, at least,” Melissa said, and immediately regretted it. “D’you see it turning into anything long-term?” she asked quickly.

“Maybe someday we’ll go into practice together,” Nicole said. She gathered her legs under her. “Ready to make me laugh?”

Melissa stood up and grinned. “Of course! Let’s go!”

They waded after the others. The stream bottom here was mixed sand and pebbles, easy on the feet. After another 50 yards or so, the bed widened out and the stream got shallower. Up ahead, two young women were laughing like mad – somebody was tickling them silly.

Melissa paused. “They’ve started already,” she said. “Listen!”

“Big surprise!” Nicole said. “Sounds like Meghan and Lindsey – let’s check it out.”

A few yards downstream, the stream bank leveled out in grassy area where the sun shone through the trees. Nicole waded ashore – Melissa joined her. The grass was soft under her bare feet.

Meghan and Lindsey were on their tummies a few yards away. Candice was sitting on Lindsey facing aft, with Lindsey’s legs trapped in the figure-four leg lock – her tickling fingernails danced on Lindsey’s ticklish soles. Sara had Meghan trapped the same way, guitar-chording the girl’s arches. Meghan and Lindsey laughed their heads off, eyes closed, tears of laughter running down their cheeks.

“Meghan and Lindsey, sure enough,” Melissa said. “Looks like they found Candice and Sara.”

“Candice and Sara found them,” Nicole corrected. “Ambushed ‘em from behind that big willow, probably.” She called out to Candice: “Hey sis, can I have some of that?”

“Find your own!” Candice called back. She was a little shorter than Nicole, and her hair was ash blonde, but there could be no doubt they were sisters – they shared the same bright blue eyes and delicate features. She tickled faster, and Lindsey’s laughter went off the charts.

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Sara added. She was tanned, green-eyed, with long dark hair and a Dolly Parton build – a small girl with a trim waist and amazing upper body development. She switched to nail flicks on the balls of Meghan’s feet, forcing a flood of helpless laughter.

“Better go easy,” Melissa advised. “You’re gonna use ‘em up too fast that way.”

“Plenty more where they came from,” Candice said, tickling at warp speed. Lindsey lost it and laughed herself breathless. “Oops! Too soon!” Candice said.

“You’re too eager,” Sara said, drawing tickling circles on Meghan’s heels – Meghan laughed harder, lost in ticklish delirium. “Next time, pace yourself.”

“Yah, I suppose so,” Candice said. She made a show of inspecting Lindsey’s feet. “I didn’t quite tickle ‘em clean – guess I’ll have to try again. Ready, girlfriend?” and started in on Lindsey again.

“Ple– hehehe! –ease!” Lindsey begged. “AHAHA! HAHAHEHA! HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHAHA!”

“They’ll be at this for a while,” Nicole said. “C’mon, let’s see who else is getting a fingernail foot massage.”

A little further in, a lone oak tree cast a pool of deep shadow. More laughter came from the other side of the tree. “Somebody’s getting tickled back there,” Melissa said.

Nicole listened too. “Is that Anne laughing?”

“Sure is,” Melissa said – these days, Anne’s ticklish laughter was more familiar to her than Nicole’s. “Somebody’s getting her good.”

The girls circled around. Anne was hogtied on the grass – Brittany was kneeling at her trapped feet. She was tickling Anne’s feet two-handed, counter-marching her nail tips from toes to heels, getting great reactions and wave after wave of helpless laughter. She looked up and spotted them. “Hello again!” she said happily. “Are we having fun yet?”

“Looks like it,” Melissa said, raising her voice over Anne’s laughter.

“Nice to have a hobby everyone can enjoy,” Brittany said, grinning. She flicked her nails on Anne’s soles – Anne’s toes twitched as she laughed like mad. “Going barefoot like this was a good idea – saves time.”

“It does indeed,” Nicole said. “Is that all you’ve got?”

“Not hardly,” Brittany said. “Watch!” Still tickling with one hand, she pulled a hairbrush out of a back pocket – the round kind with bristles arranged radially around the handle and plastic knobs on the bristle tips. She rolled the handle between her palms – each little bristle-knob flicked Anne’s heels, tickling like crazy and driving Anne wild.

“You were right, back on the bridge,” Melissa whispered to Nicole. “Brittany could do with a few laughs.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Nicole whispered back. “One, two, three– ”

“GOTCHA!” the girls chorused – they grabbed Brittany, wrestled her down on her tummy and sat on her.

“Th... thanks,” Anne said, breathing hard. “Woo! That tickled a lot!”

“Well, ya got me,” Brittany said cheerfully. “Now what?”

“Three guesses,” Melissa said. “Gonna make trouble for us?”

“Nah, I’d just start off tired,” Brittany answered. “Hogtie?”

“Yup,” Melissa said, and tied Brittany’s hands behind her back. Nicole tied her ankles together, and Melissa completed the hogtie. She kneeled at Brittany’s feet and flexed her fingers over the upturned soles. “Get ready to laugh, ‘cause I’m gonna open a bag of freak on you!”

“Hey, aren’t y’all gonna untie me?” Anne asked.

Nicole kneeled and trapped Anne’s legs between her knees. “Eventually,” she said.

“Shit!” Anne said, disgusted. “OK, get it over– HAHAHA! HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA!” as Nicole’s well manicured nails flicked her ticklish soles.

“Tickle her heels, Nicole,” Brittany said helpfully. “It drives her cra– HAHAHA! HAHEHA! HAHAHAHAHA!” as Melissa got to work, tickling with verve and gusto.

Melissa explored, looking for the sweet spots and gauging the results by the volume of laughter. She tickled between Brittany’s toes, two by two, getting a burst of helpless laughter each time. She held the toes back and tickled side to side under all ten toes. The stretched out soles got it next – she covered them with tiny nail flicks, tickling side to side. She hit gold, a spot in the arch just behind the sole crease, and Brittany went wild, laughing at the top of her lungs. Melissa made a Peace sign and circled the nails in the arch spots, and Brittany’s laughter went off the scale.

I don’t want to tickle her out too soon, thought Melissa. She eased off, looked over at Nicole and Anne. Anne laughed helplessly as Nicole’s nails spider-walked down her arches – tears of laughter ran from her closed eyes, her face was turning red from laughing. Melissa copied Nicole, covering Brittany’s arches with fiendish tickling. The heels were next, drawing overlapping circles and other tickling shapes while Brittany laughed and laughed.

“Amateur!” a female voice said behind Melissa. “She missed the best spot!” Melissa and Nicole quit tickling and looked up, giving their victims a much needed break. Vicky and Veronica Righetti, Melissa saw – Brittany’s twin older sisters, in matching tops and shorts. They were a little taller than Brittany, and wore their dark hair shoulder-length, but the family resemblance was strong – barefoot Mediterranean beauties with summer tans and dark eyes and lashes.

“Show ‘em, sis,” one twin said.

The other twin came closer. “Same tickle pattern as you, dummy!” she said, and reached down to give Brittany’s back arches a left-handed tickle, extending the nail strokes onto the heels.

“VICKIEE!” Brittany wailed. “AHAHAHAHA!”

Vicky quit and backed off. “Don’t let us stop you,” she said, sitting cross-legged to watch.

Veronica joined her. “Yah, Brittany really does have it coming – she got me good last night.”

“OH SHIT! HAHAHAHA! HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA!” Brittany laughed as Melissa spider-walked her nails in her back arches. Anne started laughing again beside her, the happy result of tickling fingernails on ticklish feet.

“Get with the program, you two,” Veronica called, raising her voice over the ticklish laughter. “You’re going easy on them – let’s see how hard they can laugh!”

Melissa switched to two-handed tickling, flicking both back arches with her nail tips and driving Brittany wild. She moved up to the soles again – Brittany’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed like a madwoman. Melissa flicked and scratched the sole creases, drew counter-rotating circles down the arches, forcing a wild stream of ticklish laughter. She held back Brittany’s toes and raked her nails from sole to heel, drawing four parallel zig-zag lines and tickling Brittany to the edge of madness. She repeated the foot rake, alternating between feet, trying to out-tickle Nicole.

“Not bad!” Nicole said. Helpless laughter poured out of Anne as Nicole’s nails flicked her sensitive soles. “Guess I’ll have to try harder.” She gave Anne’s arches another burst of nail flicks – Anne howled with forced mirth. Then a two-handed spider walk on both heels, and Anne’s laughter went off the charts.

“That the best you can do?” Melissa asked. She got on Brittany’s back arches and heels again, tickling at warp speed, and tickled Brittany’s breath away. “Hah! Beat ya!” she said.

“You’re keeping Anne going like that on purpose,” Veronica said. “Go ahead, finish her off.”

“Busted!” Nicole answered cheerfully. “Well, OK,” she said, and speeded up. Anne lost it and ran out of air, too breathless to laugh. “Now I’ll untie you,” Nicole said.

“How’d Nicole and Melissa catch you, Little Sis?” Veronica asked.

Brittany rolled onto her side – Melissa didn’t try to hold on. “They kinda snuck up on me,” she said.

“Then you deserved it,” Vicky said. She freed Brittany’s ankles but left her hands tied. “Move aside, Melissa.”

“OH NOOO!” Brittany yelled.

The twins sat cross-legged, facing each other – each grabbed one of Brittany’s ankles. “Yup,” Veronica said.

“Seems to me– ” Vicky continued.

“ –you need– ”

“ –a lesson– ”

“ –in situational awareness,” the twins finished in chorus.

“PLEEASE!” Brittany begged. “HAHAHA! HAHAHA-HAHA-HAHAHAHA!” as the twins got to work, tickling with skill and enthusiasm. Melissa stood and gave them plenty of room. Nicole had untied Anne – they moved to join her.

“That was mean, letting Nicole tickle me like that!” Anne said. Melissa felt a twinge of guilt – Anne was her friend.

So was Nicole – wasn’t she?

“But I rescued you from Brittany,” Nicole said. “You owed me for that.”

“Sounds like Brittany’s paying for her fun,” Anne observed – she wasn’t really upset. “Listen to her laugh!”

“Serves her right,” Angie said – she had come up behind them. “I owe her some payback for last week. Maybe I’ll– ”

“Better not just yet,” Anne cautioned. “Her sisters are tickling her – they might decide to grab you too.”

“Good advice,” Angie said. “Let’s see what else is going on.”

“Y’all go ahead,” Melissa said. “Nicole and I’ll catch up later.”

“Ditching your friends?” Nicole asked after the others left.

“Not all of them, I hope,” Melissa said.

“No, of course not,” Nicole said contritely. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Forget it,” Melissa answered, knowing that they wouldn’t.

(continued)

Melissa and Nicole moved off, heading toward the sound of stereo laughter from the middle of the meadow. They found Sara and Morgan on their tummies side by side – Candice and her friend Amanda Mason had them trapped in the figure-four leg lock, tickling the upturned feet with skill and enthusiasm. Candice tickled the balls of Sara’s feet, flicking and scratching and forcing a solid stream of wild helpless laughter. Amanda countermarched both hands from Morgan’s toes to her heels and back, over and over, her nail tips not making much contact but tickling horribly.

“That looks like it really, really tickles,” Nicole said admiringly.

“That’s the idea,” Amanda said. She was a little cutie with dark hair, brown eyes and long, dark lashes – she stood an inch or so over 5 ft tall in her bare feet. She tickled between the little toes and their neighbors, getting great reactions and a flood of laughter.

Candice held back Sara’s toes and tickled side to side on the soft skin underneath, extending the nail strokes onto Sara’s soles and driving Sara wild. “Can you imagine?” she said, tickling a little faster. “Sara thought she could beat me in a Tickling Death Match!”

Amanda grabbed Morgan’s big toes and drew fast figure-eight’s on the balls of Morgan’s feet with a single nail – Morgan laughed and laughed, red-faced, hair in tangles around her head. “And Morgan bet me that Sara was gonna win,” she said. “She’s paying for it now.” Amanda tickled down both arches and flicked Morgan’s heels – not quite as good, though Morgan was still laughing pretty hard.

The tickling scene had drawn a crowd as other girls came up to watch – Anne and Angie first, then Meghan and Lindsey, and then Joanna. “You can do better than that, Amanda,” Angie prompted.

“Try this,” Nicole said, bringing a piece of knotted string out of her bag. “Toe floss!”

“Cool!” Amanda said. She pulled the string between Morgan’s right little toe and its neighbor, and Morgan went wild. “Thanks, Nicole!” She tickled her way across between each pair of toes, and was rewarded with burst after burst of helpless laughter.

“Paint brush for Sara,” Nicole said thoughtfully, and handed one to Candice.

“Good idea!” Candice said. She dusted Sara’s arches in a big circle, flicking gently with the bristle tips – Sara laughed her head off.

“Better ease off a little,” Meghan advised. “They’ll last longer that way.” The two ticklers did so, and Morgan and Sara’s laughter went down a notch.

“Wish people would give me a break like that,” Lindsey grumbled.

Brittany came over with her sisters – they must have tickled her out in record time. “Wouldn’t help,” she said – her voice was a little rough from laughing.

“Yah, we can just say “tickle”, and you laugh,” Veronica added.

“Regular way’s more fun, though,” Vicky said.

Lindsey tensed, but Vicky shook her head. “No, you get a pass this time– ”

“ –but no promises later on,” Veronica completed the thought. “Want to play with us, Nicole? You too, Melissa.”

“Pass for now,” Nicole said. “Try Candice and Amanda instead – looks like they’re about finished.” Right enough, thought Melissa – the way Morgan and Sara were laughing, they couldn’t last much longer.

“We’ll do that,” Vicky said. To Candice and Amanda: “Finish ‘em off, you two! You’re just playing with ‘em!”

Amanda stopped string-tickling and spider-walked her nails on Morgan’s heels – Morgan laughed at the top of her lungs. “That suit you better?” she asked cheerfully.

“Well?” Veronica said to Candice.

“Okay, okay!” Candice said – she flicked the brush bristles on the balls of Sara’s feet, side to side then front to back. Sara bucked and squirmed and laughed with helpless reaction.

“Since when do the twins ask before they tickle you?” Melissa asked quietly.

“Since they taught me something about myself last weekend,” Nicole answered. “All that tickling you get from Josh – surely you know?”

Melissa blushed. “It turns me on,” she said. “Sometimes I get off on it.”

“Me too,” Nicole said. “But I don’t have anybody to help me out if I don’t, so I expect your best effort.”

“You and me, Nicole,” Joanna interrupted. “Death Match! But let’s find a quieter venue – it’s way too noisy here.”

“No need for that,” Candice said, and held back Sara’s toes. “Tickle her soles, Amanda!”

“You got it!” Amanda said, and did the same to Morgan. They tickled side to side on their victims’ sensitive soles, four nail strokes in succession, three times a second, and the stereo laughter went off the charts. Morgan ran out of air first – she was almost as ticklish as Ashley – but it was a very near thing.

The ticklers dismounted and sat back on their heels. Morgan rolled onto her back and shuffled her feet to get the tickle off. “You... outdid... yourself... ” she said breathlessly.

“No... shit... ” Sara agreed, propping herself up on her elbows.

Sounds of ticklish laughter drifted from across the meadow in the sudden quiet – Melissa scanned around. Three redheads over there – Julie Budanov tickling hogtied Emily MacDonald and Rachel Griffin. As a left-hander in a right-handed world, Julie was pretty much ambidextrous – her victims were both laughing their heads off at the top of their lungs. Beside them, Stephanie was laughing again, and laughing hard – Julie’s blonde sister Alex was a first-rate tickler. And Kelly and Ashley were tickling Tiffany near the willow beside the stream – each had a foot, fiendishly tickling the sensitive soles. Tiffany laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more.

But Melissa had more immediate concerns. “Sure you’re up for this?” she asked Nicole. “Joanna’s really good.”

“I am too,” Nicole said confidently. To Joanna: “Let’s do it!”

Brittany whispered something to Angie – Angie nodded, grinning evilly. “Oh, Lind-seee... ” they chorused.

Lindsey took off running, with Angie and Brittany in hot pursuit. She didn’t get far – they grabbed her and bulldogged her down.

“OH NOOOO!” Lindsey wailed. “HAHA! AHAHA! Plee– hehe! –ease! WAH-HAHA-HAHAHAHAHA!” she laughed as the two ticklers got down to business.

“Melissa and I’ll bet on Joanna to win,” Anne said quickly. “She did a great job on Angie, back at the bridge.” Melissa didn’t contradict Anne, and felt another flash of guilt.

“So’s Nicole,” Veronica said. “Good tickler, too. OK, we’ll bet on Nicole – usual forfeit.”

“Anybody else?” Vicky asked. “No? How about you, Amanda?”

“Nah, you’ll need somebody impartial to referee,” Amanda said. “Winner gets to tickle me.”

The rules for a Tickling Death Match were simple: one on one, and the last one still tickling was the winner. Nicole and Joanna sat close on the grass, facing each other – they extended their right legs, drew up their left with the bottoms of their left feet flat against their right thighs. Each girl got a firm grip on her opponent’s right foot with her left hand.

“Ready?” Amanda asked. The contestants nodded. “Wait for it– one, two, three, GO!”

Both girls flicked the nails of their right hands on the bottom of her opponent’s trapped foot, fast as they could. Their tickling fingernails flicked and scratched, each covering the other’s foot with fiendish and well-techniqued tickling. Both girls laughed like mad, red faced, tears of laughter streaming down their faces.

Nicole concentrated on Joanna’s back arch and heel, Joanna tickled Nicole’s sole, paying special attention to the crease in the middle. Nicole’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed – it was an added challenge for Joanna, but she was equal to it. They both laughed like madwomen, tickling as fast as they could, as time expanded and the tickling filled their consciousness.

“Joanna to win,” Meghan called out. “Me too,” Sara added.

“We’ll take it,” Veronica called back over the ticklish laughter.

Joanna found just the right rhythm and gained the upper hand – Nicole was laughing harder now, while Joanna’s laughter was mixed with giggles. Joanna tickled faster – her well-manicured nails danced along Nicole’s sole crease, where it tickled unbearably. Nicole laughed her head off, eyes closed, tears running down her cheeks, trying desperately to tickle Joanna out and avoid the same fate herself.

Nicole almost pulled it off – a burst of nail flicks overcame Joanna. The brunette sat there swaying, laughing helplessly, still holding on but not tickling. Nicole giggled as the tickling sensation faded – she shifted her grip, guitar-chorded Joanna’s heel and tried to free her trapped foot. But Joanna summoned up some reserve of strength and covered Nicole’s sole with fast nail flicks – Nicole let out an startled yelp and howled with forced mirth. Her coordination was gone, tickled away – all she got from Joanna was occasional giggles, while her own laughter was off the scale. Nicole lost it and collapsed onto her back, laughing at the top of her lungs.

“Joanna, by a knockout!” Amanda announced. “Now I wish I’d bet on Nicole,” she grumbled.

Joanna quit tickling and let go, leaving Nicole gasping. Melissa kneeled beside Nicole and helped her friend to sit up. “You gonna be OK?” she asked, a little concerned. “She’ll tickle you to death!”

Nicole blotted tears with the collar of her top. “Yah, no problem,” she said. She winked. “Maybe I’ll have a religious experience, if you catch my drift.”

“Assume the position, Nicole,” Joanna said – she had a handful of nylon straps in one hand. Nicole flopped on her tummy – Joanna hogtied her and kneeled at the trapped feet.

“Tickle her soles, right in the middle,” Candice said helpfully. “It drives her wild!”

“Thanks a bunch, Candice!” Nicole said. “WAH-HAHA-HAHA! HAHAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA!” she laughed as Joanna covered her ticklish soles with fiendish and skilful tickling. Joanna speeded up, tickling two-handed, and Nicole’s laughter went off the charts.

“C’mon, Melissa, we’re up,” Anne said, and Melissa turned away. She felt really guilty now, like she was abandoning Nicole. She only hoped that her old friend wouldn’t be too upset.

“We’ve got Veronica,” Anne continued. “Meghan and Sara are gonna tickle Vicky.” The twins were on their tummies already, hands tied behind them – Meghan and Sara’s work. A few feet away, Morgan finished tying Amanda’s hands and sat cross-legged, trapping Amanda’s ankles with soles upturned. Candice had disappeared.

“Ready to laugh, Amanda?” Morgan asked, nail tips poised.

“I’m always ready,” Amanda said. “HAHAHAHA! HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHAHA!” she laughed as Morgan guitar-chorded her soles, both girls loving every second of it.

“You two coming or not?” Sara demanded. She and Meghan sat cross-legged – each trapped one of Vicky’s upturned feet. “There’s feet here that need tickling!”

“That’s Morgan’s line,” Veronica said as Melissa and Anne sat and trapped her like her twin. She wasn’t the least bit apprehensive.

“Oh, hush,” Anne said, flexing her fingers. “All I want to hear out of you is laughing, and plenty of it!” She flicked her nails on Veronica’s arch and heel, tickling with both hands. Melissa started half a beat later – she tickled along Veronica’s sole crease and into the sweet spot just behind. Veronica arched her back and laughed her head off. Vicky joined in, laughing helplessly – the twins’ stereo contralto laughter harmonized beautifully with Amanda’s mezzo and Nicole’s sweet soprano. Payback’s a bitch, thought Melissa, and speeded up. Veronica bucked and squirmed and laughed at the top of her lungs.

Anne tickled up Veronica’s arch to the sole, then spread her toes apart two by two, tickling between each pair. Veronica laughed like a madwoman, tears of laughter running down her face. Melissa held back the toes and scrabbled her nails on the soft skin underneath, then down on the stretched out sole, side to side, over and over. Veronica laughed wildly as Anne drew circles around and onto the ball of her foot. Melissa guitar-chorded Veronica’s sole crease and into the arch, and Veronica laughed like a madwoman, red-faced and sweaty, hair in tangles around her head.

An especially loud burst of laughter came from Vicky, and Melissa glanced over at the others. Sara was scratching between the little toe and its neighbor, grinning ear to ear, savoring Vicky’s wild helpless laughter. Meghan held back Vicky’s toes and spider walked her nails along the sole crease – Vicky struggled and squirmed and laughed even harder. Sara tickled down Vicky’s arch to the ticklish heel, drawing circles and other shapes that tickled like crazy. Meghan tickled Vicky’s sole with one hand, the heel with the other – ticklish laughter flooded out, music to Melissa’s ears.

Concentrate! Melissa’s tickling fingernails flew in Veronica’s arch – she extended the strokes onto the ticklish heel behind. Anne copied her, and Veronica went crazy, bucking and squirming, laughing her head off. Her laughter went off the charts – she lost it and laughed herself breathless.

“We win!” Anne called out.

“Shit!” Sara said, disgusted. “Faster, Meghan!” She picked up the pace, tickling the back arch and heel mercilessly, and Vicky’s laughter went off the scale. Meghan tickled the other heel, scratching in circles and figure-eight’s, then danced her nails lightly up into the arch, not making much contact but tickling horribly. Vicky ran out of air, and mercifully the tickling stopped. Nicole and Amanda kept on laughing, singing a ticklish duet.

“Beat... ya... sis... ” Vicky said breathlessly. “I... held out... longer... ” Already her color was better.

Veronica made a rude noise, then took a deep breath. “I had... better... ticklers... ” She wasn’t upset at all – if anything, she seemed a little eager for more.

Nicole was still laughing – no, laughing again, Melissa saw, because Morgan and Joanna had traded ticklees. Joanna was tickle-torturing Amanda, hairbrush-tickling both heels and forcing a flood of helpless laughter – not that Amanda minded, of course. Morgan was tickling Nicole now, nail tips flicking both upturned soles – Nicole was laughing her head off, red-faced, but the little blonde was hanging in there. She’ll be OK, Melissa thought with another guilty twinge.

Meghan walked over to Joanna and Amanda – she bent down, made a Peace sign and circled her nails on the balls of Amanda’s feet. Amanda bucked violently, and her laughter went off the charts. “She likes that,” Meghan said helpfully.

Joanna swatted Meghan’s hand away, still tickling with the other. “Find your own!” she said indignantly.

She’s right, Melissa thought, more than a little annoyed with herself. “No fair tickling Nicole, Morgan!” she said. “You weren’t part of the bet. Quit it!”

“Oh, all right,” Morgan said reluctantly, and quit with her nails poised over Nicole’s soles. “Just a little more?” she asked hopefully.

“No!”

“Karma... ” Nicole gasped out. “I... had it... coming... for... tickling... you... ” True enough, thought Melissa as she untied her friend – but why do I still feel guilty?

Joanna quit too, and untied Amanda – Sara and Anne did the same for the twins. “Hey Melissa, let’s find Candice and tickle her to death!” Anne said.

“You too, Nicole,” Melissa said quickly, and gave Nicole a hand-up. I’m closer to Anne and Angie than Nicole now, she thought – what happened to us?

Nothing. That’s where the problem lies – we have nothing in common any more.

Nicole winced – her abs must be pretty sore from laughing. “I think Candice went to find Alex,” she said. “We can tickle her too.”

“Tickle who?” Kelly asked from behind them.

Anne whirled. “YOU!” she shouted – she took Kelly down and trapped her in the figure-four leg lock. Kelly was laughing her head off before she quite realized what had happened.

“Wow!” Nicole said. “You don’t waste time, do you?”

“Nope,” Anne said, raising her voice over Kelly’s helpless laughter. “Why should I?” She grabbed Kelly’s big toes, made a claw of her free hand and raked the nails down a foot, drawing four parallel zig-zag lines and applying just enough pressure to tickle unbearably. She tickled a heel with one hand, a sole with the other, then countermarched her hands toes-to-heels and back, making Kelly laugh like a crazy woman. Kelly’s fair skin was flushed – tickled pink.

“She’ll last longer if you don’t overdo it,” Melissa said.

“Anything worth doing is worth overdoing,” Anne said, nail tips flicking at warp speed on the balls of Kelly’s feet – she tickled Kelly into gasping, red-faced silent laughter. “Or maybe not,” she admitted sheepishly. “Take a deep breath, Kelly – we’re not finished.”

“No... surprise... there... ” Kelly gasped out. “AHAHA! HAHA-HAHAHAHAHA!” she laughed as Anne started back with the foot rake, alternating between feet.

“Y’all go on without me,” Anne said, tickling fiendishly and driving Kelly to the edge of madness. “I’ll catch up later.” Kelly’s face wasn’t pink now, it was almost purple as she laughed her head off at the top of her lungs.

“Might as well,” Melissa said. “Looks like it’s just us again, Nicole.”

They heard plenty of laughter from the edge of the woods, and went over to check it out. They found Tiffany and Angie with Rachel Griffin and Emily MacDonald. Rachel was 25 or so, with a crooked grin, fit body, fiery red hair, jade-green eyes, and very fair skin with a dusting of freckles. Emily MacDonald had the same coloring as Rachel, a petite girl with her hair in little-girl pigtails. Odd how much alike they looked, thought Melissa – they couldn’t possibly be related, yet Emily looked like Rachel’s kid sister.

The four girls were sitting in a square in a patch of shade, tickling enthusiastically and laughing wildly. Rachel’s feet were in Angie’s lap, Angie’s were in Emily’s, Emily’s in Tiffany’s, and Tiffany’s in Rachel’s. Their hands were free to tickle, but their ankles were bound together and tied off to their tickler’s thigh.

“Wish I’d thought of that,” Nicole said admiringly. “A tickling square – lots more fun than the Hollywood kind!”

Melissa studied the scene. Rachel got on the sweet spots in the back of Tiffany’s arches, and Tiffany’s laughter went up a notch. It cost Tiffany some concentration – she didn’t tickle Emily as hard, and Emily’s laughter went down a little, though she was still laughing like mad. But it gave Emily an edge, and let her tickle Angie a little more skillfully – she held back Angie’s toes and tickled the soft skin underneath. Angie laughed harder, she had to ease off on Rachel, and now Rachel was giggling as much as laughing. Rachel extended the nail strokes onto Tiffany’s heels – Tiffany laughed harder still.

“Looks like there’s a feedback effect,” Nicole said, mirroring Melissa’s thoughts.

Tiffany was laughing her head off, but she pulled it back together – she held back Emily’s toes and tickled side to side on the soft skin underneath. Emily’s laughter went up a notch, and she missed a few strokes on Angie – Angie giggled and took full advantage, covering Rachel’s back arches with tickling nail flicks, extending the strokes onto the heels. Rachel’s giggles morphed into all-out laughter, but she hung on, scratching Tiffany’s back arches and heels and making Tiffany laugh like a madwoman. But Tiffany went a little easier on Emily, and the redhead recovered just enough control to make Angie laugh again. All four girls kept on laughing and tickling, swaying a little, eyes closed and tears of laughter running down their cheeks.

“Care to make a bet on the outcome?” Nicole asked. “I’ll take the redheads.”

“Done!” Melissa said. “Emily is toast – get ready to laugh, girlfriend!”

Tiffany grabbed Emily’s big toes and covered the balls of both feet with fast tickling nail flicks. Emily spread Angie’s toes two by two and tickled between each pair. Angie made a Peace sign and circled the nails on Rachel’s heels. Back to Rachel – she guitar-chorded Tiffany’s sweet spots like Jimmy Page in concert. The girls laughed and laughed, tickling and getting tickled, fingernails flying on ticklish flesh.

“We ought to try that,” Melissa suggested. “It looks like fun.”

“Have to find somebody to do it with,” Nicole said. “Hopefully evenly matched. Oh, crap, look, Emily is losing it.”

Emily was laughing her head off, red faced and sweaty. She was losing her coordination – the toe tickles were slower and sloppier, Angie’s laughter was mixed with giggles.

“HAHAHA! Just– hehehe-HAHA! –a little– haha! –more– AH-HAHA! –Tiffaniee– hehe-HAHAHA-haha!” Angie said and giggled and laughed, drawing figure-eight’s in the back of Rachel’s arches and tickling horribly.

Rachel tried – she spider-walked her nails two-handed in Tiffany’s arches, tickling at warp speed, and Tiffany’s laughter went up a notch. But Tiffany speeded up too, nail tips flying on Emily’s sensitive soles, and Emily lost it. She stopped tickling and sat there swaying, howling with forced mirth, completely overcome by the tickling sensation.

“Hehehehe! Woo! We’ve... got ‘em... now... ” Angie said breathlessly, blinking away tears. She took a deep breath and tickled Rachel’s soles two-handed, forcing a flood of ticklish laughter. “Give it up, Rachel!”

Rachel suddenly lifted both hands in surrender, still laughing like mad. Tiffany giggled as the sensation faded – she guitar-chorded the balls of Emily’s feet, getting an especially loud burst of laughter. “Kinda... wish... we’d lost... ” she said.

“Speak for yourself,” Angie said over Emily and Rachel’s laughter. She quit tickling – Rachel gasped for air. “Let’s hogtie ‘em and get ‘em good!”

Tiffany gave Emily one final flurry of nail flicks and tickled her breath away. “Sounds good to me.”

“MUA-HAHAHA!” Melissa laughed villainously. “Assume the position, Nicole! I’m gonna make you laugh like you’ve never laughed before!”

“Nobody’s using the shade tree,” Nicole said. “Let’s do it there instead – fewer distractions.”

Nicole flopped down on her tummy in the shade. Melissa sat on her facing aft and trapped Nicole’s legs in the figure-four leg lock. “Sing for me, Nicole!” Melissa said, and got down to business, tickling between the little toes and their neighbors. Nicole arched her back and laughed with wild abandon.

Nicole laughed musically as Melissa repeated the toe tickles, then held the toes back and tickled the soft skin underneath. Angie’s tickle pattern, Melissa realized – she switched and covered Nicole’s arches and heels with tiny nail flicks. That’s what worked best on Anne, but this is Nicole, Melissa reminded herself – she held back Nicole’s toes again and stroked her nails on Nicole’s stretched out soles, tickling side to side. That got the desired result – Nicole bucked and squirmed and laughed her head off.

Nicole laughed helplessly as Melissa drew circles, squares and other tickling shapes on her soles, paying special attention to the sole creases where it really, really tickled. Melissa released the toes and tickled two-handed, flicking both soles and onto the arches behind – Nicole’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed.

Melissa tickled fiendishly in Nicole’s arches, and Nicole’s laughter poured out in a flood. She flicked the balls of Nicole’s feet with a guitar-chording motion, getting great reactions and wave after wave of helpless laughter. Nicole was losing it, right on the edge – she laughed and laughed, musically, helplessly, face red, tears streaming. Melissa made a Peace sign – she scratched both sole creases, tickling the sweet spots mercilessly, and tickled Nicole’s breath away.

Melissa dismounted and stood up. “Hey Nicole, did that tickle?” she asked sweetly.

Nicole rolled onto her back and shuffled her feet. “Did it... tickle! Did it tickle!” she said, indignation overcoming shortness of breath. She was sweaty, her hair was messed up, tears streaked her face. “But not... quite enough... ” she added.

“More to come, later, if you want it,” Melissa said. “But let’s sit and talk a while – we’ve got plenty of time.”

They had the shade tree to themselves. Scraps of ticklish laughter drifted from here and there, but nowhere near as much as before. Most of the girls must be taking a break after the first intense round of tickling, Melissa figured.

Nicole spoke first. “You started out tickling somebody else, didn’t you?” she said.

“You noticed?” Melissa asked. “Of course you did,” she continued unhappily. “Angie first, then Anne – we’ve tickled each other a lot this summer. I’m sorry, Nicole – this isn’t working too well, is it?”

“Could be better,” Nicole admitted. The ticklish chorus was picking up again – Nicole stood up. “Could be worse, too. Let’s find some feet to tickle.”

This gathering was a target-rich environment, so they didn’t have to go far. Angie was right where they left her, but now Brittany, Candice and Alex Budanov were with her. Alex was a Slavic beauty with a great body, tanned fair skin, long silvery blonde hair and dark blue eyes – she was sitting cross-legged and chatting with Brittany and Angie. Candice was laying back propped up on her elbows, giggling, with her feet in Alex’s lap – Alex was tracing tickling patterns in Candice’s arches with a pair of fingernails.

Not far away, Veronica, Tiffany and Alex’s sister Julie sat in a triangle. To look at them, no one would guess that Alex and Julie were sisters – Julie was slender, with fiery red hair, quicksilver-hazel eyes, and skin so fair it seemed almost translucent. Julie’s hands were tied behind her, and the other two each had one of her feet in their laps.

“See, Tiffany, you need a really light touch on somebody this ticklish,” Veronica said. Her nail tips barely grazed Julie’s heel, but it tickled like mischief – Julie laughed her head off. “Like this,” Veronica continued, gently flicking her nails up the arch to the sole – Julie’s toes curled, and she laughed harder still. Veronica quit, and considerately rubbed the foot to get the tickle off. “Now you try it.”

Tiffany copied Veronica, but she didn’t have as much control – Julie threw back her head and laughed at the top of her lungs, turning pink from laughing.

“Easy, Tiff!” Veronica said. “You’ll tickle her out too soon.” Tiffany eased off – Julie’s laughter went down a notch, but she still wouldn’t last long if Tiffany kept it up. “All right, stop,” Veronica said. “Is that how you tickle Lindsey?”

“Harder, usually,” Tiffany said. “If she runs out of air, I just start over.”

“What’s going on here?” Melissa asked.

“Candice is recharging her batteries,” Alex answered, drawing counter-rotating circles on the balls of Candice’s feet – the giggles came a little faster.

“This is how she takes a break?”

“Yah– hahaha! I can– hehehe! –go like– haha-hehe! –this for– ahaha! –hours– haheha!” Candice said and giggled.

“Is like knitting, but with sound effects,” Alex said, scratching the sole creases – that got a burst of honest laughter. “Sorry!”

“Hehe! It felt– hehe-haha! –good– hehe!”

Melissa tuned the giggles out. “And those three over there?” she asked.

“Veronica’s dating Lindsey’s brother,” Brittany explained. “Lindsey got her good last weekend – kept her laughing for almost 15 minutes, then did it again an hour later. Tiff tickles Lindsey a lot, so this is indirect payback.”

That made a warped kind of sense, thought Melissa. “What’s in it for Julie?”

“A lesson like this later on,” Julie answered. “I’ve got three sisters, and I’m lots more ticklish than they are. I need all the help I can get.”

“Let’s try it again,” Veronica said. “Just one nail this time.” Julie laughed helplessly as Veronica illustrated, tracing tickling shapes in the arch.

“Like this?” Tiffany asked, joining in. Julie collapsed backward, completely overcome, laughing her head off.

“Not quite,” Veronica said patiently, raising her voice over Julie’s wild musical laughter. “Take your time – she’s not going anywhere.”

Alex slapped Candice’s soles, then disengaged and stood up. “That will have to do,” she said. “Let’s play, Nicole – will be good practice for this fall.”

“She’s gonna be my neighbor in the apartment house at school this fall,” Nicole explained – Melissa hadn’t known that, another sign of their growing apart.

“You know, Nicole, you and Candice have same tickle pattern as Shelly and her sisters,” Alex said. “And Brittany’s is same as Dani’s.” She grinned evilly. “Shelly and Dani are in for big surprise!”

“Who are Shelly and Dani?” Melissa asked.

“Friends at college,” Nicole said. “You’d like Danielle – she’s a little like Anne.”

But I’ll probably never meet her, Melissa thought sadly. She’s part of Nicole’s world, not mine. Should’ve expected it – we’re not the same people we used to be. We’ve both moved on.

Angie stood up too, and Brittany scooted over. “Gimme those feet, Candice!”

Candice put her feet in Brittany’s lap. “What’ll you give me if I do?” she asked, grinning, as Brittany trapped her ankles.

“THIS!” Brittany said, tickling the soles two-handed. Candice threw back her head and laughed her head off. Brittany tickled Candice’s arches and heels two handed, then held back her toes and tickled the soft skin underneath. Still holding the toes back, she tickled both stretched out soles, left-right-and-repeat, lingering on the sole creases where it tickled unbearably.

“Stop teasing her, Brittany,” Nicole said. “Make her laugh hard!” she added, egging Brittany on.

Brittany looked indignant – Candice was already laughing her head off, after all. But she speeded up, tickling with both hands now, and the sole creases each got four nail strokes in succession, three times a second. Candice laughed and laughed, unable to move, lost in ticklish delirium and loving every second of it.

“Anybody up for another Tickling Square?” Angie asked, raising her voice over the laughter.

“Sure,” Nicole said. “It looked like fun – Melissa and I were just talking about trying it.” Brittany was outdoing herself by now, getting Candice good – the little blonde’s wild helpless laughter followed them as they moved off.

Melissa looked over at her old friend. It would be like old times again, competing on the same team...

“You and me, Nicole,” Alex said. “We would be good team.”

Nicole hesitated, then nodded. “OK, Alex,” she said. “We’ll probably team up at school too.”

“Then I guess it’s you and me, Melissa,” Angie said. “I want to tickle Alex – you can have Nicole.”

They moved off a little distance and sat in a square. Melissa put her feet in Alex’s lap and took Nicole’s in her own. This day with Nicole was like the memory of a friendship, thought Melissa as she bound Nicole’s ankles together and tied them to her thigh. She felt Alex doing the same to her – Nicole’s team mate, as Angie was hers. They had attracted a spectator, she saw – Julie, come to watch her sister compete.

“Everybody ready?” Angie asked, finishing the rope work on Alex’s ankles.

Nicole pulled the last knot, binding Angie’s ankles tight. “Like Dani, Alex!” she said.

“Hey!” Melissa protested. “AHAHA! HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHAHAHA!” she laughed as Alex’s tickling fingernails flicked her back arches, tickling onto the heels – it tickled unbearably! She held back Nicole’s toes, made a Peace sign and zig-zagged her nails up and down Nicole’s sole creases – that’ll get her! She blinked away tears and looked around, laughing like a madwoman. Angie was holding Alex’s big toes, drawing fast figure eight’s on the balls of both feet – Nicole was holding back Angie’s toes, tickling side to side on the sensitive skin underneath. All four girls tickled fiendishly and enthusiastically as they laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more.

Angie found just the right rhythm on Alex – Alex laughed harder and lost concentration, it didn’t tickle quite so bad now, though Melissa was still laughing hard. Melissa took full advantage – she spider-walked her nails on Nicole’s stretched out soles, and Nicole’s laughter went up a notch too. Nicole missed a few strokes on Angie – Angie’s laughter was mixed with giggles now. Angie covered the balls of Alex’s feet with nail flicks – Alex laughed like a madwoman and slowed down, and suddenly Melissa wasn’t laughing any more, just giggling.

“Hehehe! Hang– haheha! –on– haha! –Angie– ah-haha!” Melissa said and giggled, tickling faster and forcing a solid stream of laughter out of Nicole. “We– hehe! –got ‘em– haha! –now– haha-haha!”

“HAHA-haha-HAHA! Workin’– hehe-HAHA-hehe! –on it– HAHA-hehe-HAHA!” Angie said and laughed and giggled, guitar-chording Alex’s sweet spots. Alex lost it and fell backward, laughing at the top of her lungs, unable to move or even form a coherent thought.

“Good one, Angie!” Julie said. “Dosvidanya, Alex!” – good bye, and God go with you!

“Hahahahaha!” Melissa giggled as the sensation faded. “Might... as well... give up... Nicole... ” she said breathlessly – she picked up the pace as fine motor control returned, tickling Nicole’s soft soles mercilessly and driving Nicole wild.

Dosvidanya to you too, Nicole, Melissa thought sadly. In another 8 yrs, we’ll go to our high school class 10-year reunion. We’ll have nothing in common but the memory of our friendship – we’ll share that memory, compare notes on our lives, then go our separate ways again until the next time.

Just like we’ll do today.


***THE END***

Wonderful story, well written as usual with great details.

Yet another fine chapter in the hopefully never ending saga...