PhilipRJ_UK
2nd Level Red Feather
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2012
- Messages
- 1,422
- Points
- 36
This is the first of two stories I'll be posting in the next week. Let's be perfectly honest here, Maria Sharapova is gorgeous, and I think we'd all like to believe that she is ticklish. I realise there's already a story on the forum about her, and so I thought I'd try and write a story myself. I hope you enjoy this one; I'm always very self-critical, but any comments and feedback are welcome as always
Philip.
“I’m helping you; trust me” said the reassuring voice. Maria shut her eyes as tight as she could, tensed her body, and wondered what was about to happen to her. Inside her head, thoughts of how she found herself in this situation ricocheted around like rogue bullets. As she felt the finger forging a delicate path across her sole however, she was brought back to reality, and found herself facing a battle to maintain her sanity as her one weakness was about to be exploited…..
As the capacity crowd of the sun-drenched outdoor court headed for the exits, murmuring and talking excitedly about what they had witnessed, Maria Sharapova sat in her chair, which was surrounded by empty water bottles, a legacy of the sweltering conditions she had played in. The Russian could scarcely believe that victory in this match, against an opponent ranked sixty-three places below her, had escaped from her grasp. She had passed up three match points during the final set and had watched in disbelief as her opponent had soaked up the crowd’s adulation before exiting to thunderous cheers and acclaim. Maria’s anger had been compounded by the fact that Miami, the location of her loss, was her training base, and many of her friends had been watching the match.
Shaking her head and struggling to supress her anger, Maria picked up her racquet bag and exited the now deserted court, not thinking about anything other than how she could pick herself up from this defeat. “Maybe it’s a mental flaw” she thought to herself as the changing room door slammed behind her. “Or maybe I’m overrating myself as a player”. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she opened her locker. Maria had always tried to maintain a glamorous on-court image, and today had been no different. Even after a long, exhausting match, Maria, with her blonde hair and toned figure, still resembled the archetypal beautiful player. Wearing her trademark Nike sports-vest, white-ankle socks, and Nike signature sneakers, she looked every inch the glamorous champion. As she gazed at her reflection, she began to question whether she had become fixated with her image at the expense of victory. She didn’t have time to dwell on the thought however, as a voice from behind made her jump.
“What happened?” it asked. Turning towards the door, Maria saw her long-time personal trainer, Natalia, leaning against the wall. “I didn’t have the mental strength” replied Maria, sitting on one of the changing room benches. “You know you have the ability to win, so why don’t you translate that into what you do on the court?” asked Natalia, still gazing at Maria from across the room. “Maybe I lose focus, concentration, or possibly even interest” said Maria. Natalia sat down next to Maria and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let me try and help you again” she offered. “You need no coaching; you simply must improve your mental strength”. Maria smiled at her and replied “Thanks, Natalia. But what can we do? I’m beginning to question whether I’m running out of options”. Natalia stood up and pushed her black hair behind her shoulders. “Meet me at our gym in two hours, wear what you’d wear on the court, and I’ll be waiting for you.” “Thank you” replied Maria. “I’ll be there”. Natalia nodded and made for the exit, while Maria headed towards the showers, her spirits higher at the prospect of what lay ahead.
Two hours later, Maria stood in the entrance hall of Natalia’s gym, a place she had tried to visit every week since becoming a professional player. She had changed into a blue sports vest, and her pink ankle-socks and white Nike trainers. Her racquet bag was slung over her shoulder as she waited for Natalia to arrive. Maria was eager to begin; she did not want to have time to dwell on the defeat of two hours previously for any longer than she had to, and she was pleased when Natalia greeted her five minutes later. “Let’s go downstairs” said Natalia “Bring your bag”. “Thank you for this” said Maria, as they made their way down a brightly lit staircase. “I have to try something new; I need to win again”. Pushing open a wooden door at the bottom of the staircase, Natalia replied “That’s exactly what we’re going to do, trust me”.
The room behind the door was large and well-lit, a rectangular glass window at one end afforded views of the gym’s sunlit gardens, and the floor was sprung for gymnastics and skipping. “Follow me” said Natalia, as she walked towards the centre of the room. Maria followed, curious as to what Natalia was going to show her. In the middle of the floor, a blue exercise mat lay unrolled. At one end were two Velcro cuffs, attached to two thick, black cords, which in turn were fixed securely to the floor. “Let me guess” said Maria sarcastically, as she noticed the mat, “We’re doing a one-person aerobics class”. Natalia laughed and shook her head. “Not quite” she replied. “What I’d like you to do is lie on the mat, face-down, and put your hands in the cuffs. Don’t worry, there aren’t any hidden cameras in this room”. Feeling uncertain and curious in equal measure, Maria shrugged her shoulders and lay face down, on the mat. Placing her hands into the cuffs, she hoped that whatever Natalia had planned, it would improve her mental strength; she had felt bound by cuffs each time she had stepped onto the court in recent weeks. Natalia crouched down and closed the cuffs around Maria’s wrists. They were secure enough to prevent escape, but not so tight as to cause pain. “Are you OK?” she asked Maria, with genuine goodwill in her voice. “I’m great!” replied Maria, semi-sarcastically. “This will help you, I guarantee it” said Natalia in a reassuring voice.
After securing the cuffs, Natalia crouched down over Maria’s legs and slowly lowered herself into a kneeling position. Natalia had positioned herself so that Maria could not move her legs as long as Natalia was kneeling down. “What’s happening now?” asked Maria, as she felt Natalia sitting on her legs. Maria, although not sure of what was happening, did not feel any panic or worry. She had known Natalia for a long time, and was certain that she was trying to help her. “What I’m going to do, Maria” began Natalia, “Is help you to become mentally stronger. If you don’t know in your head that you can win, you will never be able to win games through physical ability”. Natalia then began to slowly unlace Maria’s sneakers, unfastening the laces with care. Maria felt her doing this and wondered why. “Great theory, but how does THIS help?” she enquired. “You’ll see, and feel it, soon” she replied, as she began to slowly remove the sneakers from Maria’s feet. Once she had removed both of them, she placed them alongside the mat and continued to explain. “If you can tolerate something you cannot enjoy, or that you fear, your mental tolerance will increase”. Natalia was now examining Maria’s feet, which were only hidden by the pink socks. Maria wiggled her toes slightly inside the socks. “Something I hate?” she asked. “And that something is lying on a mat in your gym?” Natalia smiled. “Being tickled is something you hate” she said, as she slowly began to peel Maria’s socks from her feet, starting at her heels and sliding the socks down towards her toes. “Being tickled?” thought Maria. “But she couldn’t do that to me”.
Maria remained silent as she felt she socks slide away from her feet, and she felt a faint coolness as the air in the room swept over her bare feet. Natalia placed the socks inside Maria’s sneakers and examined her feet. Maria’s elegant athletic frame was supported by her size eight feet, which, to Natalia’s disbelief, were flawless. Her deep pink soles were complemented by long, rounded toes, and both of Maria’s feet were incredibly soft in their appearance. Maria broke the silence after thirty seconds. “Natalia, you’re not going to tickle me” she stated. Her trainer leaned up towards Maria’s head and spoke softly into her ear. “I’m helping you; trust me”. “I know you’re helping me, but my feet are so ticklish!” protested Maria. “I don’t think I can stand it for longer than ten seconds!”. Natalia smiled. “Let’s see if you can” she replied, before directing her attention towards Maria’s feet. Maria’s toes twitched slightly, but her feet remained quite still. With her body weight ensuring Maria’s legs could not move, Natalia could use both hands to tickle the feet, and she began to flick one finger up and down Maria’s left sole. Maria felt it instantly, and let out a squeak as the ticklish feeling registered. Instantly, Natalia had been struck by the soft, velvet-like feel of Maria’s feet, and added two, then three fingers to the sole. “Eeeehehehehe” giggled Maria, as Natalia’s fifth finger began to seek out the ticklish spots on her left sole. Maria knew she was ticklish, but had never been tickled in an intense fashion. She suspected that this would be the first time that barrier had been breached, and she frantically flexed her long, slender toes as Natalia’s fingers raked across her sole. “Oooohehehehepleeeeaaasssee” she begged, as Natalia tickled her foot mercilessly.
“THISSHAHAHAWOOON’TTHEELLPPHAHAHAHAHA”. Maria’s giggles gave way to fully-fledged laughter as Natalia began to tickle her soles in a torturous synchronicity. The tennis player writhed and squirmed, but the combination of Natalia’s body and the cuffs prevented any chance of escape, and Maria knew that her only option was to tense her body and attempt to withstand the sensations that were being filtered into her brain. Natalia was enjoying tickling Maria’s feet a great deal. The softness of the skin meant that even the slightest touch would tickle, and every so often, she increased the pace of her finger movement, and Maria’s laughter would increase along with it. Natalia was thorough in her tickling, and every square inch of Maria’s ticklish soles was receiving a great deal of stimulation. As Natalia’s fingers spider-tickled across Maria’s arches, the Russian’s resistance began to weaken ever so slightly. Her hair was whipping from side to side, and her face was flushed and covered with tears of tortured laughter. “HEHEHEHE NATTTAAAHAHAHALIAAA!!!!!” she screamed. “PLEEAAASSESTOPHAHAHAHAHA”. Natalia continued to circle her fingers across Maria’s soles as she turned her head and replied. “You’ll be grateful for this, I promise”.
From Maria’s vantage point, she could not see anything, except for the walls of the room and the blue mat beneath her. She felt, but could not see Natalia’s nimble fingers zipping across her soles, and the lack of control was agonising for her. “Do you feel them? Do you feel my fingers?” enquired Natalia, as she traced circular outlines on Maria’s heels with her thumbs. “I-hehehehe-feeheheheeel them, yeeehehehes” squeaked Maria, squirming as much as she could. “And do you like it?” asked Natalia, changing pace and revving her fingers up and down her soft soles at a lightning-fast speed. “OOOOOOHHHHAHAHAHANOOOO!!!!” screamed Maria, thrown by the change of pace. Natalia laughed. “You’ll be grateful when I finish” she said confidently, as her fingers slowed down and came to an eventual stop.
Forty minutes later, as Maria took huge breaths and attempted to stop laughing, Natalia gently rubbed Maria’s tingling feet, which now glowed a light pink. The rubbing tickled slightly, and Maria continued to giggle. “N-Natalia hehehe I-I get it hehehehe” she said. “Th-this won’t hehehehe makehehehe me tougher!!” Natalia stopped massaging Maria’s feet and turned towards her once more. “It will” she replied simply. “You can tolerate this to a great degree, and on the court, you can tolerate a difficult opponent and you can beat them”. Natalia opened a bottle of mineral water and drank deeply from it, before placing the bottle on the floor. Taking her position at Maria’s feet once more, Natalia spoke slowly. “If you think an opponent has the upper hand on you, and their body language tells you so, what do you do?” she asked. “I-I’m not sure” replied Maria. “If an opponent winks at you as you sit down, or makes a remark to you, what do you do?” “I-I guess I ignore them and focus on my own game” said Maria. “We’re going to see if you can ignore me; just as you would an opponent” explained Natalia. Maria remained in state of confusion as Natalia finished speaking, but it soon gave way to panic as she felt Natalia’s fingers close around her big toe. “This little piggy” began Natalia, as Maria began to giggle. “Ooohhhhehehehenooooo” pleaded Maria. “Went to market” continued Natalia, as she wiggled the big toe with her thumb and forefinger. Maria began to shake her head and thrash on the mat as Natalia touched her second toe. “And this little piggy went home”, came the teasing words, as she tickled Maria’s second toe. As Maria realised that Natalia was teasing her deliberately in an effort to prise a reaction out of her, her head dropped onto the mat and she shook with laughter.
If Maria’s soles were a fifteen on the scale of ticklishness, her toes were at least three times more sensitive, and as Natalia played the game of piggies, Maria silently hoped that the next time she took to the court, her trainer’s methods would help her. With her legs firmly pinned under the weight of Natalia’s athletic body, Maria was at the mercy of her trainer, and aside from beg, plead, and giggle, her options were painfully limited. Natalia worked methodically on each of Maria’s toes three times in total, and every toe was teased and stroked in a ruthless fashion. Natalia, who had known Maria for many years and considered herself a friend, took immense pleasure in taunting Maria constantly with every touch. “Tic----kle tic-----kle tic----kle” she teased, drawing the words out deliberately as she worked over Maria’s fourth toe with delicate touches. “P-pleeeaaasssehahaha” giggled Maria as her brain frantically attempted to disperse the ticklish sensations. “S-ssstoooop tickling meeeehehehehe”. However, aside from the fact that she knew Maria would be mentally stronger when she had finished, Natalia was having a great deal of fun. “Maria is ticklish, she’s a ticklish tennis player!!” she cooed as she finished the tickling of Maria’s toes with a two minute, merciless fingernail stimulation of Maria’s already tingling soles.
“Are you OK” asked Natalia in a caring voice as she gently massaged Maria’s feet. “Y-yeshehehe” Maria spluttered, as she attempted to calm down. “No more tickling” she begged. Natalia’s eyes narrowed as she continued to caress Maria’s feet. She knew that Maria trusted her, and that was something she did not want to jeopardize. “Maria” she began, as she lightly stroked Maria’s toes. “Listen to me”. “I’m listen-hehehe listening” she replied. “You know I’ve tried to help you throughout your career, and I’m still trying to help you now. I know you’re very ticklish, but you simply MUST become tougher mentally if you want to become a better player”. Maria continued to breathe deeply as she regained her composure slowly. Her tummy was aching from laughter, and her face was hot and streaked with tears of laughter. “I know” she replied. “And it has helped me; I can’t stand being tickled, and I can’t stand to lose matches”. Natalia rested her hands on Maria’s soles as she continued to speak. “When you next play, think of what you went through here today, and grit your teeth. You’ll win the match if you do that”. As Natalia’s fingers lay still on her soles, Maria relaxed slightly and her spluttering giggles finally ceased. “I’ll try and remember to do that”, she promised. “Great!” enthused Natalia. “So? Will you let me go now?” asked Maria eagerly. Natalia smiled mischievously. “Sure” she said. “In one minute”.
Natalia then began to scribble her fingers over Maria’s soles in a final tickle attack. “HAHAHAHAHANOOOOOOO!!!!!” screamed Maria. “YOU SAAAIIDHAHAHAHA YOU’D FINISHEEDDDDHEHEHEHE”. “I don’t remember saying that!” replied Natalia. “You’ll just have to use your new mental toughness to get through the next two minutes!” Maria collapsed into hysterical laughter as her trainer’s fingers furiously tickled her feet for a final time. No matter how much she wiggled her slender toes or begged for mercy, Natalia did not let up for a full two minutes, and she made sure Maria’s feet were not able to move by using her knees to pin down Maria’s ankles and calves. “HEHEHEHENOOOO STOPSTOP!!!!!” squealed Maria as the two minutes gave way to three. It was not until five minutes later that Natalia’s fingers became still. “You’re mentally tough now, Maria” declared Natalia as she unfastened the Velcro cuffs and Maria rolled onto her back before sitting up. “If I don’t win my next match, I’ll know that it was your fault” said Maria as she put her socks and shoes back onto her feet. Her soles tingled slightly, and she giggled as the cotton sock made contact with her foot. “If you don’t win, you’ll know what we’ll be doing”, said Natalia with a wink. “This is my gym after all, and I decide who uses this room, and when they use it. Just keep that in mind”.
Philip.
“I’m helping you; trust me” said the reassuring voice. Maria shut her eyes as tight as she could, tensed her body, and wondered what was about to happen to her. Inside her head, thoughts of how she found herself in this situation ricocheted around like rogue bullets. As she felt the finger forging a delicate path across her sole however, she was brought back to reality, and found herself facing a battle to maintain her sanity as her one weakness was about to be exploited…..
As the capacity crowd of the sun-drenched outdoor court headed for the exits, murmuring and talking excitedly about what they had witnessed, Maria Sharapova sat in her chair, which was surrounded by empty water bottles, a legacy of the sweltering conditions she had played in. The Russian could scarcely believe that victory in this match, against an opponent ranked sixty-three places below her, had escaped from her grasp. She had passed up three match points during the final set and had watched in disbelief as her opponent had soaked up the crowd’s adulation before exiting to thunderous cheers and acclaim. Maria’s anger had been compounded by the fact that Miami, the location of her loss, was her training base, and many of her friends had been watching the match.
Shaking her head and struggling to supress her anger, Maria picked up her racquet bag and exited the now deserted court, not thinking about anything other than how she could pick herself up from this defeat. “Maybe it’s a mental flaw” she thought to herself as the changing room door slammed behind her. “Or maybe I’m overrating myself as a player”. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she opened her locker. Maria had always tried to maintain a glamorous on-court image, and today had been no different. Even after a long, exhausting match, Maria, with her blonde hair and toned figure, still resembled the archetypal beautiful player. Wearing her trademark Nike sports-vest, white-ankle socks, and Nike signature sneakers, she looked every inch the glamorous champion. As she gazed at her reflection, she began to question whether she had become fixated with her image at the expense of victory. She didn’t have time to dwell on the thought however, as a voice from behind made her jump.
“What happened?” it asked. Turning towards the door, Maria saw her long-time personal trainer, Natalia, leaning against the wall. “I didn’t have the mental strength” replied Maria, sitting on one of the changing room benches. “You know you have the ability to win, so why don’t you translate that into what you do on the court?” asked Natalia, still gazing at Maria from across the room. “Maybe I lose focus, concentration, or possibly even interest” said Maria. Natalia sat down next to Maria and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let me try and help you again” she offered. “You need no coaching; you simply must improve your mental strength”. Maria smiled at her and replied “Thanks, Natalia. But what can we do? I’m beginning to question whether I’m running out of options”. Natalia stood up and pushed her black hair behind her shoulders. “Meet me at our gym in two hours, wear what you’d wear on the court, and I’ll be waiting for you.” “Thank you” replied Maria. “I’ll be there”. Natalia nodded and made for the exit, while Maria headed towards the showers, her spirits higher at the prospect of what lay ahead.
Two hours later, Maria stood in the entrance hall of Natalia’s gym, a place she had tried to visit every week since becoming a professional player. She had changed into a blue sports vest, and her pink ankle-socks and white Nike trainers. Her racquet bag was slung over her shoulder as she waited for Natalia to arrive. Maria was eager to begin; she did not want to have time to dwell on the defeat of two hours previously for any longer than she had to, and she was pleased when Natalia greeted her five minutes later. “Let’s go downstairs” said Natalia “Bring your bag”. “Thank you for this” said Maria, as they made their way down a brightly lit staircase. “I have to try something new; I need to win again”. Pushing open a wooden door at the bottom of the staircase, Natalia replied “That’s exactly what we’re going to do, trust me”.
The room behind the door was large and well-lit, a rectangular glass window at one end afforded views of the gym’s sunlit gardens, and the floor was sprung for gymnastics and skipping. “Follow me” said Natalia, as she walked towards the centre of the room. Maria followed, curious as to what Natalia was going to show her. In the middle of the floor, a blue exercise mat lay unrolled. At one end were two Velcro cuffs, attached to two thick, black cords, which in turn were fixed securely to the floor. “Let me guess” said Maria sarcastically, as she noticed the mat, “We’re doing a one-person aerobics class”. Natalia laughed and shook her head. “Not quite” she replied. “What I’d like you to do is lie on the mat, face-down, and put your hands in the cuffs. Don’t worry, there aren’t any hidden cameras in this room”. Feeling uncertain and curious in equal measure, Maria shrugged her shoulders and lay face down, on the mat. Placing her hands into the cuffs, she hoped that whatever Natalia had planned, it would improve her mental strength; she had felt bound by cuffs each time she had stepped onto the court in recent weeks. Natalia crouched down and closed the cuffs around Maria’s wrists. They were secure enough to prevent escape, but not so tight as to cause pain. “Are you OK?” she asked Maria, with genuine goodwill in her voice. “I’m great!” replied Maria, semi-sarcastically. “This will help you, I guarantee it” said Natalia in a reassuring voice.
After securing the cuffs, Natalia crouched down over Maria’s legs and slowly lowered herself into a kneeling position. Natalia had positioned herself so that Maria could not move her legs as long as Natalia was kneeling down. “What’s happening now?” asked Maria, as she felt Natalia sitting on her legs. Maria, although not sure of what was happening, did not feel any panic or worry. She had known Natalia for a long time, and was certain that she was trying to help her. “What I’m going to do, Maria” began Natalia, “Is help you to become mentally stronger. If you don’t know in your head that you can win, you will never be able to win games through physical ability”. Natalia then began to slowly unlace Maria’s sneakers, unfastening the laces with care. Maria felt her doing this and wondered why. “Great theory, but how does THIS help?” she enquired. “You’ll see, and feel it, soon” she replied, as she began to slowly remove the sneakers from Maria’s feet. Once she had removed both of them, she placed them alongside the mat and continued to explain. “If you can tolerate something you cannot enjoy, or that you fear, your mental tolerance will increase”. Natalia was now examining Maria’s feet, which were only hidden by the pink socks. Maria wiggled her toes slightly inside the socks. “Something I hate?” she asked. “And that something is lying on a mat in your gym?” Natalia smiled. “Being tickled is something you hate” she said, as she slowly began to peel Maria’s socks from her feet, starting at her heels and sliding the socks down towards her toes. “Being tickled?” thought Maria. “But she couldn’t do that to me”.
Maria remained silent as she felt she socks slide away from her feet, and she felt a faint coolness as the air in the room swept over her bare feet. Natalia placed the socks inside Maria’s sneakers and examined her feet. Maria’s elegant athletic frame was supported by her size eight feet, which, to Natalia’s disbelief, were flawless. Her deep pink soles were complemented by long, rounded toes, and both of Maria’s feet were incredibly soft in their appearance. Maria broke the silence after thirty seconds. “Natalia, you’re not going to tickle me” she stated. Her trainer leaned up towards Maria’s head and spoke softly into her ear. “I’m helping you; trust me”. “I know you’re helping me, but my feet are so ticklish!” protested Maria. “I don’t think I can stand it for longer than ten seconds!”. Natalia smiled. “Let’s see if you can” she replied, before directing her attention towards Maria’s feet. Maria’s toes twitched slightly, but her feet remained quite still. With her body weight ensuring Maria’s legs could not move, Natalia could use both hands to tickle the feet, and she began to flick one finger up and down Maria’s left sole. Maria felt it instantly, and let out a squeak as the ticklish feeling registered. Instantly, Natalia had been struck by the soft, velvet-like feel of Maria’s feet, and added two, then three fingers to the sole. “Eeeehehehehe” giggled Maria, as Natalia’s fifth finger began to seek out the ticklish spots on her left sole. Maria knew she was ticklish, but had never been tickled in an intense fashion. She suspected that this would be the first time that barrier had been breached, and she frantically flexed her long, slender toes as Natalia’s fingers raked across her sole. “Oooohehehehepleeeeaaasssee” she begged, as Natalia tickled her foot mercilessly.
“THISSHAHAHAWOOON’TTHEELLPPHAHAHAHAHA”. Maria’s giggles gave way to fully-fledged laughter as Natalia began to tickle her soles in a torturous synchronicity. The tennis player writhed and squirmed, but the combination of Natalia’s body and the cuffs prevented any chance of escape, and Maria knew that her only option was to tense her body and attempt to withstand the sensations that were being filtered into her brain. Natalia was enjoying tickling Maria’s feet a great deal. The softness of the skin meant that even the slightest touch would tickle, and every so often, she increased the pace of her finger movement, and Maria’s laughter would increase along with it. Natalia was thorough in her tickling, and every square inch of Maria’s ticklish soles was receiving a great deal of stimulation. As Natalia’s fingers spider-tickled across Maria’s arches, the Russian’s resistance began to weaken ever so slightly. Her hair was whipping from side to side, and her face was flushed and covered with tears of tortured laughter. “HEHEHEHE NATTTAAAHAHAHALIAAA!!!!!” she screamed. “PLEEAAASSESTOPHAHAHAHAHA”. Natalia continued to circle her fingers across Maria’s soles as she turned her head and replied. “You’ll be grateful for this, I promise”.
From Maria’s vantage point, she could not see anything, except for the walls of the room and the blue mat beneath her. She felt, but could not see Natalia’s nimble fingers zipping across her soles, and the lack of control was agonising for her. “Do you feel them? Do you feel my fingers?” enquired Natalia, as she traced circular outlines on Maria’s heels with her thumbs. “I-hehehehe-feeheheheeel them, yeeehehehes” squeaked Maria, squirming as much as she could. “And do you like it?” asked Natalia, changing pace and revving her fingers up and down her soft soles at a lightning-fast speed. “OOOOOOHHHHAHAHAHANOOOO!!!!” screamed Maria, thrown by the change of pace. Natalia laughed. “You’ll be grateful when I finish” she said confidently, as her fingers slowed down and came to an eventual stop.
Forty minutes later, as Maria took huge breaths and attempted to stop laughing, Natalia gently rubbed Maria’s tingling feet, which now glowed a light pink. The rubbing tickled slightly, and Maria continued to giggle. “N-Natalia hehehe I-I get it hehehehe” she said. “Th-this won’t hehehehe makehehehe me tougher!!” Natalia stopped massaging Maria’s feet and turned towards her once more. “It will” she replied simply. “You can tolerate this to a great degree, and on the court, you can tolerate a difficult opponent and you can beat them”. Natalia opened a bottle of mineral water and drank deeply from it, before placing the bottle on the floor. Taking her position at Maria’s feet once more, Natalia spoke slowly. “If you think an opponent has the upper hand on you, and their body language tells you so, what do you do?” she asked. “I-I’m not sure” replied Maria. “If an opponent winks at you as you sit down, or makes a remark to you, what do you do?” “I-I guess I ignore them and focus on my own game” said Maria. “We’re going to see if you can ignore me; just as you would an opponent” explained Natalia. Maria remained in state of confusion as Natalia finished speaking, but it soon gave way to panic as she felt Natalia’s fingers close around her big toe. “This little piggy” began Natalia, as Maria began to giggle. “Ooohhhhehehehenooooo” pleaded Maria. “Went to market” continued Natalia, as she wiggled the big toe with her thumb and forefinger. Maria began to shake her head and thrash on the mat as Natalia touched her second toe. “And this little piggy went home”, came the teasing words, as she tickled Maria’s second toe. As Maria realised that Natalia was teasing her deliberately in an effort to prise a reaction out of her, her head dropped onto the mat and she shook with laughter.
If Maria’s soles were a fifteen on the scale of ticklishness, her toes were at least three times more sensitive, and as Natalia played the game of piggies, Maria silently hoped that the next time she took to the court, her trainer’s methods would help her. With her legs firmly pinned under the weight of Natalia’s athletic body, Maria was at the mercy of her trainer, and aside from beg, plead, and giggle, her options were painfully limited. Natalia worked methodically on each of Maria’s toes three times in total, and every toe was teased and stroked in a ruthless fashion. Natalia, who had known Maria for many years and considered herself a friend, took immense pleasure in taunting Maria constantly with every touch. “Tic----kle tic-----kle tic----kle” she teased, drawing the words out deliberately as she worked over Maria’s fourth toe with delicate touches. “P-pleeeaaasssehahaha” giggled Maria as her brain frantically attempted to disperse the ticklish sensations. “S-ssstoooop tickling meeeehehehehe”. However, aside from the fact that she knew Maria would be mentally stronger when she had finished, Natalia was having a great deal of fun. “Maria is ticklish, she’s a ticklish tennis player!!” she cooed as she finished the tickling of Maria’s toes with a two minute, merciless fingernail stimulation of Maria’s already tingling soles.
“Are you OK” asked Natalia in a caring voice as she gently massaged Maria’s feet. “Y-yeshehehe” Maria spluttered, as she attempted to calm down. “No more tickling” she begged. Natalia’s eyes narrowed as she continued to caress Maria’s feet. She knew that Maria trusted her, and that was something she did not want to jeopardize. “Maria” she began, as she lightly stroked Maria’s toes. “Listen to me”. “I’m listen-hehehe listening” she replied. “You know I’ve tried to help you throughout your career, and I’m still trying to help you now. I know you’re very ticklish, but you simply MUST become tougher mentally if you want to become a better player”. Maria continued to breathe deeply as she regained her composure slowly. Her tummy was aching from laughter, and her face was hot and streaked with tears of laughter. “I know” she replied. “And it has helped me; I can’t stand being tickled, and I can’t stand to lose matches”. Natalia rested her hands on Maria’s soles as she continued to speak. “When you next play, think of what you went through here today, and grit your teeth. You’ll win the match if you do that”. As Natalia’s fingers lay still on her soles, Maria relaxed slightly and her spluttering giggles finally ceased. “I’ll try and remember to do that”, she promised. “Great!” enthused Natalia. “So? Will you let me go now?” asked Maria eagerly. Natalia smiled mischievously. “Sure” she said. “In one minute”.
Natalia then began to scribble her fingers over Maria’s soles in a final tickle attack. “HAHAHAHAHANOOOOOOO!!!!!” screamed Maria. “YOU SAAAIIDHAHAHAHA YOU’D FINISHEEDDDDHEHEHEHE”. “I don’t remember saying that!” replied Natalia. “You’ll just have to use your new mental toughness to get through the next two minutes!” Maria collapsed into hysterical laughter as her trainer’s fingers furiously tickled her feet for a final time. No matter how much she wiggled her slender toes or begged for mercy, Natalia did not let up for a full two minutes, and she made sure Maria’s feet were not able to move by using her knees to pin down Maria’s ankles and calves. “HEHEHEHENOOOO STOPSTOP!!!!!” squealed Maria as the two minutes gave way to three. It was not until five minutes later that Natalia’s fingers became still. “You’re mentally tough now, Maria” declared Natalia as she unfastened the Velcro cuffs and Maria rolled onto her back before sitting up. “If I don’t win my next match, I’ll know that it was your fault” said Maria as she put her socks and shoes back onto her feet. Her soles tingled slightly, and she giggled as the cotton sock made contact with her foot. “If you don’t win, you’ll know what we’ll be doing”, said Natalia with a wink. “This is my gym after all, and I decide who uses this room, and when they use it. Just keep that in mind”.
