Sorry it's taken so long to get to Part II, but life goes on despite my best efforts to recall and write the past.
Anyhoo, after I got Andie back to the cars in one piece, the group moved on from Devil's Den to spectacular downtown Gettysburg, the shopping district. All the ladies were thrilled; no more gruesome depictions of warfare, just sovenier shops and a few clothing boutiques as far as the eye could see. I was thrilled, too... honest. We manly men suffered through it, but I had the lovely bonus of Andie sticking close to me for the rest of the day. I probably got in a few rib tickles and teasing pokes on her here and there, but that was pretty much standard fare for the younger crowd as a whole. The girls were especially vicious among themselves. Two in particular, Teresa and Laurel (Laurel... what kind of messed-up people would name their kid after a frikkin' tree, anyway? No wonder she was always pissed off at the world.), had noticed how Andie was constantly hovering around me and my group of friends... And apparently they were forming some kind of devious plan, as I found out later.
The next morning back at the campsite where we all were staying, I woke up to the same chorus of groans and complaints about tent camping from guys and gals, adults and kids, alike. Hey, was it my fault I was one of the few to have brought a camping mattress? Or that my tent was my own property, and a one-person affair so I didn't have to share? Boy Scout experience isn't totally useless, folks. Anyway, I slept in peace and comfort and seclusion, which was fine by me. I left the rest of the party to make breakfast and went to hit the showers. That journey passed without incident, and once I was done I took to the back trails to further explore the camp grounds before reaching our site.
Now, I hadn't seen Andie all morning, but I couldn't exactly go around blatantly looking for her. But while I was on the trail by a little clearing that opened up onto the campground's playground, I found her... And Teresa, and Laurel. Their plan had been to lure poor Andie away from the group and pay her back for deserting them to hang out with me. And apparently Andie's ticklishness was no small secret, since that was the weakness they chose to exploit.
I heard them before I saw them, some kind of taunting and threatening that might've been ripped from a really bad cheerleader-interrogation session (they have those, right?). Things like "Ditch us, will you?" or "Which one is it? Mitch? Carl? Ryan?" I remember Andie asking "Which Ryan?", since we had two, right before I rounded the sliding board and saw them all in the sandbox. I was mildly insulted that my name hadn't been mentioned in the questioning.
Teresa and Laurel had Andie pinned to the ground and were really going at her. Teresa, biggest of the three was straddling Andie's waist and tickling her ribs and tummy. Laurel, the smallest, was holding Andie's arms over her head and occasionally wiggling a finger in her armpit. Andie, true to form, was just lying there and giggling helplessly, not even pleading for release or mercy. But when she saw me, she did yell for me to help her. So, gentleman that I am, I did.
I got Teresa first, plucking her off Andie and gently taking her to the ground, where I slid my fingers under the sole of her flip-flop and tickled her foot. Teresa yowled and kicked mightily, so I switched targets and squeezed her ribs. Andie had in the meantime scrambled away from Laurel, who now came running at me. That was a mismatched confrontation. She hit me from behind and actually bounced off. She tried to tickle me, but I caught her with one hand, dropped her into my lap, and went to work on her tummy. For a brief moment I was tickling both of Andie's attackers at once, but Teresa broke free and took off running, giving me the chance to devote both hands to Laurel. I needed to, cause she fought like a wildcat even as she promised me her firstborn child (or something) if I would stop tickling her stomach. I did, but only to redevote my fingers to poking through the leather straps of her sandals to get to her feet. She actually started to pound the ground with her fist when I did, which I found unbearably cute and let her escape as a reward. She too took off running, so I turned back to Andie, still gasping for breath in the sandbox, to reap my reward as valiant rescuer.
She punched me in the arm. "What took you so long? I was going crazy! Thank goodness they didn't get my feet, or I would've died!" She flopped back on the sand. "Twenty whole minutes! And both of them! I haven't been tickled that much since the time at the beach." (Don't know about that one, never did find out. I can only dream.)
"You're welcome." Then I pounced, wrapping her in a bear hug and pulling her into my lap, her back to my belly. I rested my chin on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "But since you didn't really say thank you, you'll have to pay the Rescue Tax."
"... Wh-what's the Rescue Tax?" She was nervous, and with good reason.
"Take a wild guess..." And I dug my fingers into her ribs.
Next time, Andie pays the Rescue Tax. Until then, folks.
Anyhoo, after I got Andie back to the cars in one piece, the group moved on from Devil's Den to spectacular downtown Gettysburg, the shopping district. All the ladies were thrilled; no more gruesome depictions of warfare, just sovenier shops and a few clothing boutiques as far as the eye could see. I was thrilled, too... honest. We manly men suffered through it, but I had the lovely bonus of Andie sticking close to me for the rest of the day. I probably got in a few rib tickles and teasing pokes on her here and there, but that was pretty much standard fare for the younger crowd as a whole. The girls were especially vicious among themselves. Two in particular, Teresa and Laurel (Laurel... what kind of messed-up people would name their kid after a frikkin' tree, anyway? No wonder she was always pissed off at the world.), had noticed how Andie was constantly hovering around me and my group of friends... And apparently they were forming some kind of devious plan, as I found out later.
The next morning back at the campsite where we all were staying, I woke up to the same chorus of groans and complaints about tent camping from guys and gals, adults and kids, alike. Hey, was it my fault I was one of the few to have brought a camping mattress? Or that my tent was my own property, and a one-person affair so I didn't have to share? Boy Scout experience isn't totally useless, folks. Anyway, I slept in peace and comfort and seclusion, which was fine by me. I left the rest of the party to make breakfast and went to hit the showers. That journey passed without incident, and once I was done I took to the back trails to further explore the camp grounds before reaching our site.
Now, I hadn't seen Andie all morning, but I couldn't exactly go around blatantly looking for her. But while I was on the trail by a little clearing that opened up onto the campground's playground, I found her... And Teresa, and Laurel. Their plan had been to lure poor Andie away from the group and pay her back for deserting them to hang out with me. And apparently Andie's ticklishness was no small secret, since that was the weakness they chose to exploit.
I heard them before I saw them, some kind of taunting and threatening that might've been ripped from a really bad cheerleader-interrogation session (they have those, right?). Things like "Ditch us, will you?" or "Which one is it? Mitch? Carl? Ryan?" I remember Andie asking "Which Ryan?", since we had two, right before I rounded the sliding board and saw them all in the sandbox. I was mildly insulted that my name hadn't been mentioned in the questioning.
Teresa and Laurel had Andie pinned to the ground and were really going at her. Teresa, biggest of the three was straddling Andie's waist and tickling her ribs and tummy. Laurel, the smallest, was holding Andie's arms over her head and occasionally wiggling a finger in her armpit. Andie, true to form, was just lying there and giggling helplessly, not even pleading for release or mercy. But when she saw me, she did yell for me to help her. So, gentleman that I am, I did.
I got Teresa first, plucking her off Andie and gently taking her to the ground, where I slid my fingers under the sole of her flip-flop and tickled her foot. Teresa yowled and kicked mightily, so I switched targets and squeezed her ribs. Andie had in the meantime scrambled away from Laurel, who now came running at me. That was a mismatched confrontation. She hit me from behind and actually bounced off. She tried to tickle me, but I caught her with one hand, dropped her into my lap, and went to work on her tummy. For a brief moment I was tickling both of Andie's attackers at once, but Teresa broke free and took off running, giving me the chance to devote both hands to Laurel. I needed to, cause she fought like a wildcat even as she promised me her firstborn child (or something) if I would stop tickling her stomach. I did, but only to redevote my fingers to poking through the leather straps of her sandals to get to her feet. She actually started to pound the ground with her fist when I did, which I found unbearably cute and let her escape as a reward. She too took off running, so I turned back to Andie, still gasping for breath in the sandbox, to reap my reward as valiant rescuer.
She punched me in the arm. "What took you so long? I was going crazy! Thank goodness they didn't get my feet, or I would've died!" She flopped back on the sand. "Twenty whole minutes! And both of them! I haven't been tickled that much since the time at the beach." (Don't know about that one, never did find out. I can only dream.)
"You're welcome." Then I pounced, wrapping her in a bear hug and pulling her into my lap, her back to my belly. I rested my chin on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "But since you didn't really say thank you, you'll have to pay the Rescue Tax."
"... Wh-what's the Rescue Tax?" She was nervous, and with good reason.
"Take a wild guess..." And I dug my fingers into her ribs.
Next time, Andie pays the Rescue Tax. Until then, folks.
