Here is my first ever tickle story. I enjoyed writing it and I hope some members enjoy reading it too!
Jane had been looking forward to this day for ages; it was the day of her first official Tickle Tournament fight. She had turned 21 last month which meant she was eligible to enter the tournament for the first time. She had been watching the tournament on television since it began two years previously. Most of her friends thought it was a silly show, but Jane liked the fun competition it offered and thought she might have a chance of winning a few matches. When she practiced with her older sister Mandy she nearly always won and she had learnt quite a few tricks to get her into positions where she could tickle her and Mandy could not retaliate. She was ticklish herself, but this did not matter in the tournament. The competition had only started after the discovery of a harmless pill that temporarily makes everyone ticklish which all competitors had to take.
Jane arrived at the local gym, which was where the regional preliminary rounds were being held. Mandy dropped her off in the car park. Mandy wished her luck. “Have a good laugh!” Mandy joked as Jane got out of the car.
Jane poked her tongue out at her departing sister. She muttered “Just wait until our next practice match” under her breath.
Jane was relieved she could not see any television vans in the car park. The preliminary rounds were only occasionally televised and she did not want to go public for her first match. On entering the gym, She went to the registration desk. A young lady with short dark hair and a white coat asked her name and ticked it off her list.
“Ah yes, Jane Simpson”, she said, “I’m Jenny and I will be refereeing your match today. Your opponent is here already, getting changed. Take this tickle-pill, get changed in the locker rooms over there and then come back here for your pre-match assessment.”
Tickle Tournament had already sent Jane her black bikini costume in advance and she was wearing it under her jeans and tee shirt. She did not want to see her opponent any sooner than necessary so she avoided the locker room. Instead she went to a nearby table and chair in the foyer, took her pill and slipped her clothes and shoes off, putting them in her sports bag. Finally she tied her long dark hair into a pony-tail and returned to Jenny at the desk.
“That was fast!” Jenny said, “No problem, Clarice is still getting changed”.
This was the first time Jenny had heard her opponent’s name and it increased her nerves. She was almost shaking with anticipation. She really did not think she would be ticklish at all in this state, but may be the tickle-pill would have changed all that.
“Right, that pill should have worked by now, we can do your pre-match assessment. Lie down here please” said Jane, pointing to a couch behind the reception desk.
Jane did as she was asked and Jenny sat beside her. She placed a cap on Jane’s head that was connected to a computer on the desk. Next Jenny took a clipboard from the desk. It had an outline of a human body on it and Jane’s name printed on top. Jane noticed it said “First time” under her name. Jenny rummaged in a bag under the desk and took out a feather tickling stick. Jane recognised this as an official ticking stick that was used in Tickle Tournament matches. She had bought a few replicas herself and had used them many times when tickling her friends. She knew they were well designed for tickling. It was the first time she had seen a real tournament stick and she felt a sense of excitement replacing some of her nerves.
Jenny explained the procedure. “The pre-assessment is simply to check that the tickle pill has made you ticklish, and to record your most ticklish spots. I’m going to note this down here. We will give this to Clarice before the match. You’ll get the same information about her.”
Jane knew all about the pre-assessment from reading about the tournament rules. Although the pill made everyone equally ticklish it preserved peoples’ strong and weak areas. Jane knew the soles of her feet were her weakest point and this should still be true after taking the pill. She didn’t know how ticklish the pill would make the rest of her though, and she was a little apprehensive about finding out.
“Don’t worry about the computer and cap”, Jenny went on, “it’s just an EEG machine. It allows us to measure your tickle-response objectively – so you can’t cheat and pretend to be more ticklish in places that are not really very ticklish at all.”
Jane nodded. This made sense. She would not have cheated anyway, but she was glad to know Clarice would not be able to cheat either. Then Jane checked herself. She felt a little guilty for suspecting her opponent of being dishonest before she even met her.
“We’ll start at the top and work down. Three seconds tickling in different places. Just try to hold still for me, please Jane. Raise your right arm” Jenny instructed in a professional voice.
Jane did as she was told and Jenny picked up the tickling stick and moved towards Jane’s right armpit. Jane instinctively brought her arm down to block the approaching stick. Jenny paused and raised her eyebrows with a hint of a smile.
“Just try to stay still during the pre-assessment, Jane” Jenny said briskly. “There will be plenty of time for squirming during the match.”
Jane smiled weakly, and raised her arm again. Jenny started gently stroking Jane’s armpit with the tickling stick . Jane tensed immediately, and tried to stifle a giggle while she struggled to keep her arm up. A broad grin spread across Jenny’s face as she enjoyed Jane’s reaction.
“One… Two…Three” Jenny counted slowly while she tickled Jane’s armpit with short deliberate strokes. Jane was enthusiastically giggling by the time the count finished. Jenny looked at the computer and noted something by the armpits on the diagram.
“That was a long three seconds!” Jane said as her giggles subsided.
“Well, Can you blame me if I enjoy my job?” Jenny smiled back. “You made quite a bit of noise but the EEG shows you are only medium ticklish on your armpits.” Jane nodded at this news; it was as she expected. “Now, let’s try your ribs...” Jenny said with another grin.
Jenny methodically tested the ticklishness of Jane’s ribs (medium), tummy (high), hips (medium) and behind her knees (low). “Finally, let’s try those soft little soles of yours. I think they may be your weak spot?” Jenny said, looking at Jane’s feet. By this time Jane was quite enjoying herself. Jenny had really warmed up while doing the pre-assessment and Jane liked her company.
“Yes, my feet are my weakness, I know that” said Jane, smiling broadly. “Go easy on them!” Jenny smiled and moved the stick towards her feet. Jane immediately scrunched her toes.
“Just relax please Jane, or you will spoil the reading and we’ll have to do it again” said Jenny, clearly looking forward to seeing Jane’s reaction. Jane did as she was told and gritted her teeth in anticipation. Jenny slowly stroked up Jane’s right sole with the stick and Jane flinched violently. Her hand went to her mouth to stifle her laugher. Jenny looked at Jane’s face, her eyebrows raised, and stroked down her sole. Jane flinched again and let out a yelp.
“One…” said Jenny firmly. Then she began to flick the brush rapidly up and down Jane’s foot. A broad grin spread across Jenny’s face as she vigorously tickled Jane. Jane was in hysterics now and Jenny had to grab her ankle with her spare hand to keep her still enough to continue the test.
“Two…” Jenny said after what seemed an eternity to Jane. Her laughter had become silent now. She struggled to get away but Jenny held her firmly. In her struggles Jane slipped off the couch and onto the floor. Jenny was unmoved, continuing to hold Jane’s ankle with one hand and tickle her sole with the other.
“Three! All done” Jenny said through her own chuckles. “Well as your cap slipped at some point the reading didn’t work, but I am going to put that down as ‘hyper-ticklish feet anyway’.” Jane was relieved she did not need to do that test again. She wanted to conserve her energy for the match.
“You had better keep those feet away from Clarice ” said Jenny more seriously. Jane was about to reply when an unfamiliar voice interjected.
“Yeah, Clarice is definitely going to go to town on THOSE babies” said the new voice with a slightly aggressive edge to it.
“Ah, Jane, this is Clarice, your opponent today, you are not supposed to be meeting like this. Clarice, go and sit back over there. I will call you in a minute when I am ready to do your pre-assessment.”
“Sure, no problem” said Clarice to Jenny without looking at her. Clarice was staring at Jane’s feet with a menacing grin. She started wiggling her fingers. “See you soon Tootsies!” she said and then turned abruptly.
Jane was pleased to see the back of Clarice. She did not think she seemed a very nice person. She looked about 5’ 8” making her two inches taller than Jane. She was also quite a bit heavier. Clarice was wearing her tournament bikini and it showed that she had quite a strong build and she also looked a little over weight. Jane did not think Clarice’s face was unattractive, but she was confident that in a beauty contest that she would beat Clarice hands down. Unfortunately this was not a beauty contest and Clarice was unlikely to keep her hands down, Jane thought to herself with a wry smile.
“OK, you’re all done” said Jenny. “If you want to avoid Clarice for a while you can go over there and get a coffee. Next I will do Clarice’s pre-assessment, then you will have 5 minutes to read each other’s pre-assessment reports. Then it’s show time!” Jane nodded and smiled, following Jenny’s suggestion.
The coffee tasted good to Jane and she was pleased to have a little thinking time before the match. She thought Clarice was mean to try to intimidate her but she felt quite calm and did not particularly intimidated. Instead she started to plan how to use what she had learnt so far about Clarice against her. Clarice was big, overconfident and definitely knew Jane’s feet were her weakness. Jane thought hard how to use this to her advantage. While she planned, she could hear Clarice laughing during her pre-assessment. Clarice was laughing hard, which gave Jane more confidence. She guessed Jenny had “started from the top” again, but she could not hear any particular change in Clarice’s reaction as the test went on, so she assumed that she was medium-ticklish all over.
Jenny soon came over to Jane with Clarice’s pre-assessment report. She handed it to Jane. “Okay, you have five minutes with this then it will be time to get started” said Jenny. Jane thanked her and began to study the report, while Jenny went to ensure Clarice stayed away until the match began.
The report showed Clarice had taken part in both previous tournaments. She had done well too, reaching the second round in her first competition and the regional semi-final last year. Jane was daunted by Clarice’s record of success. She reasoned that Clarice must have won at least 4 or 5 matches over the last 2 years. That seemed a lot compared to Jane’s experience that only included practicing with her sometimes unenthusiastic sister. Jane was not going to let this overwhelm her though, she already thought Clarice was overconfident and the pre-assessment report only strengthened this conclusion. Clarice’s overconfidence was a key part of the strategy that Jane had formulated for the match.
Jane also looked at the diagram of Clarice’s tickle-spots. As she had surmised from listening to the pre-assessment, Clarice was medium ticklish mostly everywhere with no stand-out weakness. This fitted Jane’s plan too. She was pleased that Clarice would not be able to second guess her plan of attack.
Jane was feeling quite relaxed about the fight when Jenny returned. “We’re ready now, come with me to the sports hall” she said as she waved Jane towards her. Jane got up and handed Clarice’s pre-assessment report to Jenny. She was surprised to see Jenny still had her own pre-assessment report in her hand.
“Hasn’t Clarice been looking at that?” asked Jane.
“No. She gave it back when she heard this was your first match.” Jenny replied. “She obviously knows about your feet from earlier though.” Jane nodded but did not reply. The nerves were starting to return.
When they entered the sports hall there was a large wrestling mat set out, with the Tickle Tournament logo on it (A laughing skull with two feathers crossed underneath it). This was just what Jane was expecting from seeing the tournament on TV. There was no audience though. Apart from Clarice, who was already on the mat, Jenny was the only other person in the room. This was not how Jane had seen things on the TV and perhaps her face showed a hint of disappointment. Clarice picked up on this and walked towards her.
“Not the glamour you were hoping for Tootsies?” Clarice said, again with a hint of aggression in her voice. “Don’t look so disappointed – I’ll cheer you up!” Before Jane could react Clarice poked her sides with both her index fingers. Jane’s reacted with an extreme flinch. Jane was surprised by her own reaction in this context, but she had underestimated the tickle pill. Clarice smiled and prodded Jane’s tummy again. Jane folded in the middle and struggled to push Clarice away while trying t stifle her laughter.
Clarice was about to renew her attack when Jenny stepped in. “Stop that at once Clarice. You know it’s against the rules. Go to that side of the hall.”
Clarice said “Oh wow, I hope you don’t blink and miss my victory, Jenny, this could be over real quick. I haven’t even touched those feet yet. Eh Tootsies?” She made a fake lunge at Jane’s feet and Jane jumped back. Clarice laughed again and finally went where Jenny directed.
After a few moments unpacking boxes and taking out tickling sticks, Jenny called both girls to the centre of the mat. She gave them two tickling sticks each. Both girls waved them around while they became accustomed to the weight. Next, Jenny said “Okay, I am sure you both know the rules but I am going to go through them anyway.
“This is a single submission match. The girl that makes the other girl submit through tickling is the winner. You may only tickle your opponent with the sticks. You can wrestle your opponent gently to get tickling positions, but anything that risks hurting your opponent or any other cheating will mean disqualification. Any questions?”
Both girls shook their heads. Clarice looked relaxed and confident. Jane was thinking through her plan one last time. The first part of the plan relied on Clarice going straight for her feet. If Clarice was bluffing and attacked anywhere else then Jane knew she would need a new plan. But she was betting that Clarice was so over-confident she would not bother with bluffing.
“To your starting positions ladies” Jenny said, motioning them to opposite corners of the mat. “Come out tickling!”
Jane hurried to her corner and turned quickly. She sensed Clarice would attack as quickly as possible and try to catch her cold. As she expected, Clarice did turn quickly and started moving menacingly towards her.
“Watch out Tootsies, I am coming to get you!” Clarice taunted. She moved forward, her back slightly bent and her sticks low, ready to attack Jane’s feet. She looked like a coiled snake, ready to strike.
Jane took a couple of steps forward and then stopped. She tried to act like she was panicking. “Oh no, please, not my feet, please!” Jane said. Listening to herself, Jane thought she sounded convincing. She was not sure whether this was because she was a good actress or because she was genuinely terrified. Next, Jane lowered her sticks as if to defend a low attack. She also started fidgeting her feet, putting one on top of the other. She was careful to make sure this looked ineffective as she did not want to dissuade Clarice from her attack. While she covered one in-step, she made sure Clarice had a good view of the sole of her other foot.
“Time to start laughing Tootsies!” Clarice taunted and she darted forward, pushing her sticks through Jane’s defences to attack her feet. Jane put her plan into action. As Clarice jumped forward, Jane deftly dropped to her knees, moving her vulnerable bare feet safely behind her. As she dropped she tried to land on Clarice’s sticks. If she could trap both Clarice’s sticks then Clarice would be in trouble. She would struggle to get them back without breaking the rules. If she only trapped one stick she would still have a big advantage.
The plan only just worked. Clarice was able to pull the stick in her right hand away in time, lifting it high above her head. She tried to rescue her left stick as well, but she was not quick enough. Jane landed on the feathers which stuck securely under her knees. Tickle Tournament sticks were made to the highest standards and there was no danger of the feathers tearing. Clarice kept hold of the trapped stick, forcing her into a stooping position. Clarice did not seem to realise how vulnerable her position was, as she tried to pull her trapped stick out from under Jane’s knees.
From her kneeling position Jane quickly reached under Clarice’s arms to tickle both of her sides. She wondered how Clarice would react, hoping that the tickle pill had done its job. Jane gave two short strokes up and down Clarice’s sides. Clarice tensed immediately. Her efforts to free her trapped stick paused as she brought both of her elbows into her sides to try to trap Jane’s sticks. Jane was too quick for her and had already moved her sticks down to Clarice’s middle before Clarice’s arms squeezed closed. Jane tickled the front of Clarice’s ribs, gently stroking up and down them, just below her bikini top. Again Clarice tried to defend. Her left arm was of little use as she kept hold of her trapped stick, so she held that close into her side. She pulled her right arm sharply down to try to knock Jane’s sticks away. Jane anticipated this and lifted her sticks momentarily away from Clarice’s ribs while her block went past. Then Jane returned to tickling her ribs with both sticks. Clarice pulled her right arm back up again in another attempt to knock Jane’s sticks away. Jane briefly moved her sticks out of the way and then returned to her torso. This time she went lower, brushing the sticks up and down the sides of Clarice’s tummy.
Jane was really good at tickling with the sticks. She had practiced on Mandy with her replica sticks many times before and knew exactly the strokes to use. In sparring with Mandy, she had also learned that there was a psychological aspect to tickling. She knew that being playfully dominant with a few taunting words could heighten the tickling sensations. She could see Clarice was really fighting back the laughter while she was struggling. Jane smiled at Clarice and said “coochy coochy coo” in a playful whisper. This tipped Clarice over the edge and she started giggling. Jane’s smile broadened too. “Tickle tickle tickle!” she chuckled. Clarice’s laughter became more intense.
Clarice knew she was in a perilous position, but she felt she could retreat whenever she wanted as Jane was on her knees and would not be able to follow quickly. Clarice did not want to retreat without her trapped stick. She was still doing her best to pull it free with her left hand while trying to defend herself from Jane’s sticks with the her right. Jane’s two sticks were easily avoiding Clarice’s one stick defence though, and Clarice had no chance to use it offensively.
Jane realised that she had good access to Clarice’s legs as well, so she gave them some attention too, particularly the backs of her knees. She only attacked Clarice’s leg with one stick while she kept her right hand stick busy defending her body. She even brushed along Clarice’s insteps. Despite Clarice having her feet firmly planted on the floor she managed to get a reaction and Clarice wobbled a bit. Each new place she tickled brought a new reaction and Clarice’s attempts to free her trapped stick were becoming less frequent and weaker.
Jane knew also knew that Clarice could escape from the position if she sacrificed her trapped stick so she did not expect to be able to make her submit in this current position. Tactically Jane thought Clarice’s best move would be to retreat at this point, as she was taking such a beating. However, Jane wanted to keep her fighting for her trapped stick for bit longer so she could continue to weaken her. She assumed Clarice’s ego was stopping her from backing off because that would be admitting defeat. She thought if she taunted Clarice a bit more then this would make it even harder for her ego back down.
First, Jane taunted “Oh dear, Clarice, is your stick a bit stuck?” Clarice grunted in annoyance in between her laughter and redoubled her efforts to free the stick. Jane switched her weight slightly to keep it even more firmly secured. Then she split her sticks; one attacked the inside of Clarice’s right leg, the other went up and down Clarice’s left side to her armpit. Clarice’s attempts to retrieve her stick wilted again as she turned her attention back to trying to defend. Jane continued to out manoeuvre her, seeming able to visit all of Clarice’s tickle spots whenever she liked, only briefly pausing to dodge Clarice’s increasing desperate blocks. All the time Jane smiled sweetly at Clarice and gave her a cheeky wink whenever she caught her eye.
Clarice’s laughter was becoming hysterical and Jane decided she would need a new humiliation to keep Clarice battling for her stick. Next, Jane took both her sticks off Clarice and held them poised motionless a little way away. Clarice froze too, wondering what Jane would do next, but relieved the ticking had stopped. When nothing happened for a second Clarice started tugging the trapped stick again, but to no avail.
Jane had a big smile on her face as she teased “Come on Clarice, this is way to easy! I thought you were going to tickle me? What have you got?”
“I’m going to kill you!” Clarice hissed, there was no humour in her voice even though her giggles had not fully subsided. She prepared her attack by quickly circling her right stick to try to make it difficult for Jane to block. Jane did not wait for the attack to come. Instead she gave Clarice a tickle under her right arm with her left stick. Clarice’s giggles returned and she aborted her attack to try to knock Jane’s stick away. Jane’s stick was long gone by the time Clarice got there, however. Jane had returned to the poised position.
“Too slow, Clarice! Try again?” Jane taunted, her smile becoming even more devilish.
Clarice did try again, but as soon as she moved to attack, Jane deftly countered, tickling Clarice’s ribs using her right stick this time. Again Clarice’s attack foundered and she tried to block. Jane had gone before the block arrived once more, returning to her poised position. Although Clarice was not being tickled so much in this new game, Jane was satisfied to see that the anticipation of tickling was taking a toll on her. This was exactly what she planned.
“Gotcha again! I thought you were supposed to be good at this! Surely you can do better?” Jane continued to taunt her. Clarice changed tactics and tried to knock the stick from Jane’s left hand. Jane was surprised but was still able to move her left stick out of the way and snake her right stick under Clarice’s arm to bring an end to her attack while she returned to her giggles.
“Ooh, good plan Clarice, too bad you screwed it up!” Jane taunted again. Jane loved seeing the mixture of frustration and tickle-enforced mirth on Clarice’s face. She was delighted that her plan was working so well so far. She also noticed that Clarice was looking more and more out of breath.
Again Jane taunted Clarice to attack and then drove her back with expert tickles. “You don’t know where I’m going next!” she laughed triumphantly as Clarice was outwitted again. “Come on big girl, one last try!” she goaded again.
Clarice grimly raised her free stick to attack again. Jane counter-attacked underneath her raised arm with both sticks. This time Jane only paused briefly to avoid Clarice’s blocks. She had finished the taunting game now and just wanted to get Clarice into a laughing frenzy as soon as possible. Jane’s knees had started to hurt a little from her prolonged kneeling so she was happy to finally force Clarice to retreat she could change her position.
After a little more tickling that she was unable to prevent, Clarice was again in silent fits of laughter. She finally accepted that she would have to give up the trapped stick and retreat. She was still confident she would win overall and thought she would be able to retrieve her lost stick once she had got over her laughing fit. Clarice reluctantly let go of the trapped stick and lurched away from Jane, falling to the floor in the process and rolled a yard or two away. She slumped on the ground facing away from Jane, propped up on one hand and tried to catch her breath.
From her kneeling position Jane could not keep up with Clarice’s retreat. But as soon as she saw Clarice pause she put both her sticks in one hand and did a forward roll to get to Clarice as quickly as possible to limit her recovery time. She moved almost silently and Clarice was hardly aware Jane was crouched next to her before she felt herself being rolled onto her tummy. Immediately Clarice tried to push herself up with her hands, But Clarice swung a leg over her and sat neatly on her back. She applied further pressure to Clarice’s shoulder with the hand holding both her tickling sticks. Clarice collapsed to the ground lying flat on her tummy, with Jane sitting comfortably on top of her.
Jane had planned how she wanted to get her submission while having her coffee. The first step involved disarming Clarice of her remaining tickling stick. Fortunately Clarice’s next move helped Jane with this stage of the plan. While squashed flat on her stomach Clarice tried to swing her remaining stick round to tickle Jane’s feet. Jane squashed her vulnerable soles into Clarice’s soft sides to limit the target. However, Clarice’s range of movement was so limited Jane was easily able to catch Clarice’s arm in her empty hand as it swung round.
“Thanks Clarice, I was looking for this!” she teased triumphantly. Jane tried to prise the stick from Clarice’s fingers. However, Clarice grunted and held on strongly. Jane muttered under her breath “Hmm she still has some strength, oh I know..” Then she said out loud “tickle tickle tickle!” As she said this Jane tickled Clarice’s right armpit using the sticks she was holding in her other hand. Clarice started giggling and the strength in her hand started to melt. Jane kept tickling and taunting until she was sure Clarice was weakened. Then she easily took Clarice’s stick from her and threw it out of reach.
Many girls would submit now as they did not have a stick to win the match with. However, Clarice still had an outside chance, either of struggling free and retrieving her sticks or stealing a stick from Jane. Jane expected Clarice was too arrogant to submit until she was forced. Jane was proved correct. She was quite surprised to find that she was pleased that Clarice did not surrender immediately. It turned out she was enjoying her revenge after Clarice’s pre-match rudeness.
Clarice kept struggling, trying to snake out an arm to unbalance Jane or grab one of her sticks. However, Jane was perfectly balanced and Clarice was not getting very close. Jane gave Clarice occasional tickles under her flailing arms to ensure any attempts to struggle free ended in helpless giggles. At the same time Jane was debating whether she could carry out the final part of her plan. She decided to give it a try. Currently she was sitting on Clarice’s back, facing her head. She wanted to reverse her position so she could face Clarice’s feet. She popped both of her sticks into one hand and rotated herself around. Clarice was surprised by the move, and although she managed to get onto her elbows as Jane’s weight shifted, Jane made sure she quickly spread her weight over Clarice’s back again to squash her back down. A few deft tickles of Clarice’s exposed sides once again put an end to her struggles.
Jane was deliberately sitting quite high on Clarice’s back meaning that her bare soles were in full view of Clarice’s face. In fact Jane made sure Clarice could see little else. “You see those feet?” she taunted, “Those ‘tootsies’? They’re really soft and you know they are very ticklish. They’ve been running rings round you for the whole match! I know you wanted to tickle them earlier, why not go right ahead?”
Clarice did not reply except by groaning and struggling weakly to get up. She could easily reach Jane’s feet with her fingers and could tickle her helpless in a second. But she also knew this was against the rules and that Jenny would disqualify her for cheating. This was the final humiliation that Jane had planned before finishing the match.
Jane had continued to give Clarice occasional tickles while taunting her. Now she caught Jenny’s eye and realised she should end things quickly. “OK”, she said. “If you don’t want to tickle me right now, then I suppose I am going to have to tickle you!”
Jane started tickling the backs of Clarice’s legs, slowly to start with and then more vigorously. She felt Clarice squirming underneath her and heard her muffled laughter. Jane shifted her weight while Clarice struggled to ensure there was no chance of escape. Clarice’s legs started kicking in a futile attempt to protect the backs of knees and her thighs. To start with, Jane just avoided them but then she caught one and started tickling Clarice’s sole.
“Ooh, these soles are quite soft too” she said as she brushed up and down them. “Not quite as soft, or as ticklish, as mine, but still quite a lot of fun. Tickle tickle tickle!” she continued.
Clarice was laughing helplessly by now. Even in this situation her pride made it hard for her to submit, but she finally admitted defeat. She tapped the floor with her hand and said “I give, I give, I give!” Jane immediately stopped tickling her and rolled away. She was vaguely aware of Jenny saying that she had won as she struggled to her feet.
Clarice was disappointed but shook Jane’s hand and congratulated her. She also mumbled an apology about how she behaved before the match. Jane was as gracious a winner as she could be while trying to keep her excitement inside.
Jenny came over and said “Well done, Jane. I am glad to see you two are friends now. May be you could enter the tag-team competition together that we are planning for the near future?” Clarice nodded in enthusiastic agreement but Jane did not look convinced.
“I heard about that”, Jane replied, “but I have promised my sister I will enter the tag-team event with her.” This was not true. Jane had not heard about the tag-team event before and was sure Mandy would not want to be in it. However, Jane had made up the story so she would not have to see Clarice again.
“Okay, well, see you in the next round!” said Jenny. Jane was looking forward to it already.
Jane had been looking forward to this day for ages; it was the day of her first official Tickle Tournament fight. She had turned 21 last month which meant she was eligible to enter the tournament for the first time. She had been watching the tournament on television since it began two years previously. Most of her friends thought it was a silly show, but Jane liked the fun competition it offered and thought she might have a chance of winning a few matches. When she practiced with her older sister Mandy she nearly always won and she had learnt quite a few tricks to get her into positions where she could tickle her and Mandy could not retaliate. She was ticklish herself, but this did not matter in the tournament. The competition had only started after the discovery of a harmless pill that temporarily makes everyone ticklish which all competitors had to take.
Jane arrived at the local gym, which was where the regional preliminary rounds were being held. Mandy dropped her off in the car park. Mandy wished her luck. “Have a good laugh!” Mandy joked as Jane got out of the car.
Jane poked her tongue out at her departing sister. She muttered “Just wait until our next practice match” under her breath.
Jane was relieved she could not see any television vans in the car park. The preliminary rounds were only occasionally televised and she did not want to go public for her first match. On entering the gym, She went to the registration desk. A young lady with short dark hair and a white coat asked her name and ticked it off her list.
“Ah yes, Jane Simpson”, she said, “I’m Jenny and I will be refereeing your match today. Your opponent is here already, getting changed. Take this tickle-pill, get changed in the locker rooms over there and then come back here for your pre-match assessment.”
Tickle Tournament had already sent Jane her black bikini costume in advance and she was wearing it under her jeans and tee shirt. She did not want to see her opponent any sooner than necessary so she avoided the locker room. Instead she went to a nearby table and chair in the foyer, took her pill and slipped her clothes and shoes off, putting them in her sports bag. Finally she tied her long dark hair into a pony-tail and returned to Jenny at the desk.
“That was fast!” Jenny said, “No problem, Clarice is still getting changed”.
This was the first time Jenny had heard her opponent’s name and it increased her nerves. She was almost shaking with anticipation. She really did not think she would be ticklish at all in this state, but may be the tickle-pill would have changed all that.
“Right, that pill should have worked by now, we can do your pre-match assessment. Lie down here please” said Jane, pointing to a couch behind the reception desk.
Jane did as she was asked and Jenny sat beside her. She placed a cap on Jane’s head that was connected to a computer on the desk. Next Jenny took a clipboard from the desk. It had an outline of a human body on it and Jane’s name printed on top. Jane noticed it said “First time” under her name. Jenny rummaged in a bag under the desk and took out a feather tickling stick. Jane recognised this as an official ticking stick that was used in Tickle Tournament matches. She had bought a few replicas herself and had used them many times when tickling her friends. She knew they were well designed for tickling. It was the first time she had seen a real tournament stick and she felt a sense of excitement replacing some of her nerves.
Jenny explained the procedure. “The pre-assessment is simply to check that the tickle pill has made you ticklish, and to record your most ticklish spots. I’m going to note this down here. We will give this to Clarice before the match. You’ll get the same information about her.”
Jane knew all about the pre-assessment from reading about the tournament rules. Although the pill made everyone equally ticklish it preserved peoples’ strong and weak areas. Jane knew the soles of her feet were her weakest point and this should still be true after taking the pill. She didn’t know how ticklish the pill would make the rest of her though, and she was a little apprehensive about finding out.
“Don’t worry about the computer and cap”, Jenny went on, “it’s just an EEG machine. It allows us to measure your tickle-response objectively – so you can’t cheat and pretend to be more ticklish in places that are not really very ticklish at all.”
Jane nodded. This made sense. She would not have cheated anyway, but she was glad to know Clarice would not be able to cheat either. Then Jane checked herself. She felt a little guilty for suspecting her opponent of being dishonest before she even met her.
“We’ll start at the top and work down. Three seconds tickling in different places. Just try to hold still for me, please Jane. Raise your right arm” Jenny instructed in a professional voice.
Jane did as she was told and Jenny picked up the tickling stick and moved towards Jane’s right armpit. Jane instinctively brought her arm down to block the approaching stick. Jenny paused and raised her eyebrows with a hint of a smile.
“Just try to stay still during the pre-assessment, Jane” Jenny said briskly. “There will be plenty of time for squirming during the match.”
Jane smiled weakly, and raised her arm again. Jenny started gently stroking Jane’s armpit with the tickling stick . Jane tensed immediately, and tried to stifle a giggle while she struggled to keep her arm up. A broad grin spread across Jenny’s face as she enjoyed Jane’s reaction.
“One… Two…Three” Jenny counted slowly while she tickled Jane’s armpit with short deliberate strokes. Jane was enthusiastically giggling by the time the count finished. Jenny looked at the computer and noted something by the armpits on the diagram.
“That was a long three seconds!” Jane said as her giggles subsided.
“Well, Can you blame me if I enjoy my job?” Jenny smiled back. “You made quite a bit of noise but the EEG shows you are only medium ticklish on your armpits.” Jane nodded at this news; it was as she expected. “Now, let’s try your ribs...” Jenny said with another grin.
Jenny methodically tested the ticklishness of Jane’s ribs (medium), tummy (high), hips (medium) and behind her knees (low). “Finally, let’s try those soft little soles of yours. I think they may be your weak spot?” Jenny said, looking at Jane’s feet. By this time Jane was quite enjoying herself. Jenny had really warmed up while doing the pre-assessment and Jane liked her company.
“Yes, my feet are my weakness, I know that” said Jane, smiling broadly. “Go easy on them!” Jenny smiled and moved the stick towards her feet. Jane immediately scrunched her toes.
“Just relax please Jane, or you will spoil the reading and we’ll have to do it again” said Jenny, clearly looking forward to seeing Jane’s reaction. Jane did as she was told and gritted her teeth in anticipation. Jenny slowly stroked up Jane’s right sole with the stick and Jane flinched violently. Her hand went to her mouth to stifle her laugher. Jenny looked at Jane’s face, her eyebrows raised, and stroked down her sole. Jane flinched again and let out a yelp.
“One…” said Jenny firmly. Then she began to flick the brush rapidly up and down Jane’s foot. A broad grin spread across Jenny’s face as she vigorously tickled Jane. Jane was in hysterics now and Jenny had to grab her ankle with her spare hand to keep her still enough to continue the test.
“Two…” Jenny said after what seemed an eternity to Jane. Her laughter had become silent now. She struggled to get away but Jenny held her firmly. In her struggles Jane slipped off the couch and onto the floor. Jenny was unmoved, continuing to hold Jane’s ankle with one hand and tickle her sole with the other.
“Three! All done” Jenny said through her own chuckles. “Well as your cap slipped at some point the reading didn’t work, but I am going to put that down as ‘hyper-ticklish feet anyway’.” Jane was relieved she did not need to do that test again. She wanted to conserve her energy for the match.
“You had better keep those feet away from Clarice ” said Jenny more seriously. Jane was about to reply when an unfamiliar voice interjected.
“Yeah, Clarice is definitely going to go to town on THOSE babies” said the new voice with a slightly aggressive edge to it.
“Ah, Jane, this is Clarice, your opponent today, you are not supposed to be meeting like this. Clarice, go and sit back over there. I will call you in a minute when I am ready to do your pre-assessment.”
“Sure, no problem” said Clarice to Jenny without looking at her. Clarice was staring at Jane’s feet with a menacing grin. She started wiggling her fingers. “See you soon Tootsies!” she said and then turned abruptly.
Jane was pleased to see the back of Clarice. She did not think she seemed a very nice person. She looked about 5’ 8” making her two inches taller than Jane. She was also quite a bit heavier. Clarice was wearing her tournament bikini and it showed that she had quite a strong build and she also looked a little over weight. Jane did not think Clarice’s face was unattractive, but she was confident that in a beauty contest that she would beat Clarice hands down. Unfortunately this was not a beauty contest and Clarice was unlikely to keep her hands down, Jane thought to herself with a wry smile.
“OK, you’re all done” said Jenny. “If you want to avoid Clarice for a while you can go over there and get a coffee. Next I will do Clarice’s pre-assessment, then you will have 5 minutes to read each other’s pre-assessment reports. Then it’s show time!” Jane nodded and smiled, following Jenny’s suggestion.
The coffee tasted good to Jane and she was pleased to have a little thinking time before the match. She thought Clarice was mean to try to intimidate her but she felt quite calm and did not particularly intimidated. Instead she started to plan how to use what she had learnt so far about Clarice against her. Clarice was big, overconfident and definitely knew Jane’s feet were her weakness. Jane thought hard how to use this to her advantage. While she planned, she could hear Clarice laughing during her pre-assessment. Clarice was laughing hard, which gave Jane more confidence. She guessed Jenny had “started from the top” again, but she could not hear any particular change in Clarice’s reaction as the test went on, so she assumed that she was medium-ticklish all over.
Jenny soon came over to Jane with Clarice’s pre-assessment report. She handed it to Jane. “Okay, you have five minutes with this then it will be time to get started” said Jenny. Jane thanked her and began to study the report, while Jenny went to ensure Clarice stayed away until the match began.
The report showed Clarice had taken part in both previous tournaments. She had done well too, reaching the second round in her first competition and the regional semi-final last year. Jane was daunted by Clarice’s record of success. She reasoned that Clarice must have won at least 4 or 5 matches over the last 2 years. That seemed a lot compared to Jane’s experience that only included practicing with her sometimes unenthusiastic sister. Jane was not going to let this overwhelm her though, she already thought Clarice was overconfident and the pre-assessment report only strengthened this conclusion. Clarice’s overconfidence was a key part of the strategy that Jane had formulated for the match.
Jane also looked at the diagram of Clarice’s tickle-spots. As she had surmised from listening to the pre-assessment, Clarice was medium ticklish mostly everywhere with no stand-out weakness. This fitted Jane’s plan too. She was pleased that Clarice would not be able to second guess her plan of attack.
Jane was feeling quite relaxed about the fight when Jenny returned. “We’re ready now, come with me to the sports hall” she said as she waved Jane towards her. Jane got up and handed Clarice’s pre-assessment report to Jenny. She was surprised to see Jenny still had her own pre-assessment report in her hand.
“Hasn’t Clarice been looking at that?” asked Jane.
“No. She gave it back when she heard this was your first match.” Jenny replied. “She obviously knows about your feet from earlier though.” Jane nodded but did not reply. The nerves were starting to return.
When they entered the sports hall there was a large wrestling mat set out, with the Tickle Tournament logo on it (A laughing skull with two feathers crossed underneath it). This was just what Jane was expecting from seeing the tournament on TV. There was no audience though. Apart from Clarice, who was already on the mat, Jenny was the only other person in the room. This was not how Jane had seen things on the TV and perhaps her face showed a hint of disappointment. Clarice picked up on this and walked towards her.
“Not the glamour you were hoping for Tootsies?” Clarice said, again with a hint of aggression in her voice. “Don’t look so disappointed – I’ll cheer you up!” Before Jane could react Clarice poked her sides with both her index fingers. Jane’s reacted with an extreme flinch. Jane was surprised by her own reaction in this context, but she had underestimated the tickle pill. Clarice smiled and prodded Jane’s tummy again. Jane folded in the middle and struggled to push Clarice away while trying t stifle her laughter.
Clarice was about to renew her attack when Jenny stepped in. “Stop that at once Clarice. You know it’s against the rules. Go to that side of the hall.”
Clarice said “Oh wow, I hope you don’t blink and miss my victory, Jenny, this could be over real quick. I haven’t even touched those feet yet. Eh Tootsies?” She made a fake lunge at Jane’s feet and Jane jumped back. Clarice laughed again and finally went where Jenny directed.
After a few moments unpacking boxes and taking out tickling sticks, Jenny called both girls to the centre of the mat. She gave them two tickling sticks each. Both girls waved them around while they became accustomed to the weight. Next, Jenny said “Okay, I am sure you both know the rules but I am going to go through them anyway.
“This is a single submission match. The girl that makes the other girl submit through tickling is the winner. You may only tickle your opponent with the sticks. You can wrestle your opponent gently to get tickling positions, but anything that risks hurting your opponent or any other cheating will mean disqualification. Any questions?”
Both girls shook their heads. Clarice looked relaxed and confident. Jane was thinking through her plan one last time. The first part of the plan relied on Clarice going straight for her feet. If Clarice was bluffing and attacked anywhere else then Jane knew she would need a new plan. But she was betting that Clarice was so over-confident she would not bother with bluffing.
“To your starting positions ladies” Jenny said, motioning them to opposite corners of the mat. “Come out tickling!”
Jane hurried to her corner and turned quickly. She sensed Clarice would attack as quickly as possible and try to catch her cold. As she expected, Clarice did turn quickly and started moving menacingly towards her.
“Watch out Tootsies, I am coming to get you!” Clarice taunted. She moved forward, her back slightly bent and her sticks low, ready to attack Jane’s feet. She looked like a coiled snake, ready to strike.
Jane took a couple of steps forward and then stopped. She tried to act like she was panicking. “Oh no, please, not my feet, please!” Jane said. Listening to herself, Jane thought she sounded convincing. She was not sure whether this was because she was a good actress or because she was genuinely terrified. Next, Jane lowered her sticks as if to defend a low attack. She also started fidgeting her feet, putting one on top of the other. She was careful to make sure this looked ineffective as she did not want to dissuade Clarice from her attack. While she covered one in-step, she made sure Clarice had a good view of the sole of her other foot.
“Time to start laughing Tootsies!” Clarice taunted and she darted forward, pushing her sticks through Jane’s defences to attack her feet. Jane put her plan into action. As Clarice jumped forward, Jane deftly dropped to her knees, moving her vulnerable bare feet safely behind her. As she dropped she tried to land on Clarice’s sticks. If she could trap both Clarice’s sticks then Clarice would be in trouble. She would struggle to get them back without breaking the rules. If she only trapped one stick she would still have a big advantage.
The plan only just worked. Clarice was able to pull the stick in her right hand away in time, lifting it high above her head. She tried to rescue her left stick as well, but she was not quick enough. Jane landed on the feathers which stuck securely under her knees. Tickle Tournament sticks were made to the highest standards and there was no danger of the feathers tearing. Clarice kept hold of the trapped stick, forcing her into a stooping position. Clarice did not seem to realise how vulnerable her position was, as she tried to pull her trapped stick out from under Jane’s knees.
From her kneeling position Jane quickly reached under Clarice’s arms to tickle both of her sides. She wondered how Clarice would react, hoping that the tickle pill had done its job. Jane gave two short strokes up and down Clarice’s sides. Clarice tensed immediately. Her efforts to free her trapped stick paused as she brought both of her elbows into her sides to try to trap Jane’s sticks. Jane was too quick for her and had already moved her sticks down to Clarice’s middle before Clarice’s arms squeezed closed. Jane tickled the front of Clarice’s ribs, gently stroking up and down them, just below her bikini top. Again Clarice tried to defend. Her left arm was of little use as she kept hold of her trapped stick, so she held that close into her side. She pulled her right arm sharply down to try to knock Jane’s sticks away. Jane anticipated this and lifted her sticks momentarily away from Clarice’s ribs while her block went past. Then Jane returned to tickling her ribs with both sticks. Clarice pulled her right arm back up again in another attempt to knock Jane’s sticks away. Jane briefly moved her sticks out of the way and then returned to her torso. This time she went lower, brushing the sticks up and down the sides of Clarice’s tummy.
Jane was really good at tickling with the sticks. She had practiced on Mandy with her replica sticks many times before and knew exactly the strokes to use. In sparring with Mandy, she had also learned that there was a psychological aspect to tickling. She knew that being playfully dominant with a few taunting words could heighten the tickling sensations. She could see Clarice was really fighting back the laughter while she was struggling. Jane smiled at Clarice and said “coochy coochy coo” in a playful whisper. This tipped Clarice over the edge and she started giggling. Jane’s smile broadened too. “Tickle tickle tickle!” she chuckled. Clarice’s laughter became more intense.
Clarice knew she was in a perilous position, but she felt she could retreat whenever she wanted as Jane was on her knees and would not be able to follow quickly. Clarice did not want to retreat without her trapped stick. She was still doing her best to pull it free with her left hand while trying to defend herself from Jane’s sticks with the her right. Jane’s two sticks were easily avoiding Clarice’s one stick defence though, and Clarice had no chance to use it offensively.
Jane realised that she had good access to Clarice’s legs as well, so she gave them some attention too, particularly the backs of her knees. She only attacked Clarice’s leg with one stick while she kept her right hand stick busy defending her body. She even brushed along Clarice’s insteps. Despite Clarice having her feet firmly planted on the floor she managed to get a reaction and Clarice wobbled a bit. Each new place she tickled brought a new reaction and Clarice’s attempts to free her trapped stick were becoming less frequent and weaker.
Jane knew also knew that Clarice could escape from the position if she sacrificed her trapped stick so she did not expect to be able to make her submit in this current position. Tactically Jane thought Clarice’s best move would be to retreat at this point, as she was taking such a beating. However, Jane wanted to keep her fighting for her trapped stick for bit longer so she could continue to weaken her. She assumed Clarice’s ego was stopping her from backing off because that would be admitting defeat. She thought if she taunted Clarice a bit more then this would make it even harder for her ego back down.
First, Jane taunted “Oh dear, Clarice, is your stick a bit stuck?” Clarice grunted in annoyance in between her laughter and redoubled her efforts to free the stick. Jane switched her weight slightly to keep it even more firmly secured. Then she split her sticks; one attacked the inside of Clarice’s right leg, the other went up and down Clarice’s left side to her armpit. Clarice’s attempts to retrieve her stick wilted again as she turned her attention back to trying to defend. Jane continued to out manoeuvre her, seeming able to visit all of Clarice’s tickle spots whenever she liked, only briefly pausing to dodge Clarice’s increasing desperate blocks. All the time Jane smiled sweetly at Clarice and gave her a cheeky wink whenever she caught her eye.
Clarice’s laughter was becoming hysterical and Jane decided she would need a new humiliation to keep Clarice battling for her stick. Next, Jane took both her sticks off Clarice and held them poised motionless a little way away. Clarice froze too, wondering what Jane would do next, but relieved the ticking had stopped. When nothing happened for a second Clarice started tugging the trapped stick again, but to no avail.
Jane had a big smile on her face as she teased “Come on Clarice, this is way to easy! I thought you were going to tickle me? What have you got?”
“I’m going to kill you!” Clarice hissed, there was no humour in her voice even though her giggles had not fully subsided. She prepared her attack by quickly circling her right stick to try to make it difficult for Jane to block. Jane did not wait for the attack to come. Instead she gave Clarice a tickle under her right arm with her left stick. Clarice’s giggles returned and she aborted her attack to try to knock Jane’s stick away. Jane’s stick was long gone by the time Clarice got there, however. Jane had returned to the poised position.
“Too slow, Clarice! Try again?” Jane taunted, her smile becoming even more devilish.
Clarice did try again, but as soon as she moved to attack, Jane deftly countered, tickling Clarice’s ribs using her right stick this time. Again Clarice’s attack foundered and she tried to block. Jane had gone before the block arrived once more, returning to her poised position. Although Clarice was not being tickled so much in this new game, Jane was satisfied to see that the anticipation of tickling was taking a toll on her. This was exactly what she planned.
“Gotcha again! I thought you were supposed to be good at this! Surely you can do better?” Jane continued to taunt her. Clarice changed tactics and tried to knock the stick from Jane’s left hand. Jane was surprised but was still able to move her left stick out of the way and snake her right stick under Clarice’s arm to bring an end to her attack while she returned to her giggles.
“Ooh, good plan Clarice, too bad you screwed it up!” Jane taunted again. Jane loved seeing the mixture of frustration and tickle-enforced mirth on Clarice’s face. She was delighted that her plan was working so well so far. She also noticed that Clarice was looking more and more out of breath.
Again Jane taunted Clarice to attack and then drove her back with expert tickles. “You don’t know where I’m going next!” she laughed triumphantly as Clarice was outwitted again. “Come on big girl, one last try!” she goaded again.
Clarice grimly raised her free stick to attack again. Jane counter-attacked underneath her raised arm with both sticks. This time Jane only paused briefly to avoid Clarice’s blocks. She had finished the taunting game now and just wanted to get Clarice into a laughing frenzy as soon as possible. Jane’s knees had started to hurt a little from her prolonged kneeling so she was happy to finally force Clarice to retreat she could change her position.
After a little more tickling that she was unable to prevent, Clarice was again in silent fits of laughter. She finally accepted that she would have to give up the trapped stick and retreat. She was still confident she would win overall and thought she would be able to retrieve her lost stick once she had got over her laughing fit. Clarice reluctantly let go of the trapped stick and lurched away from Jane, falling to the floor in the process and rolled a yard or two away. She slumped on the ground facing away from Jane, propped up on one hand and tried to catch her breath.
From her kneeling position Jane could not keep up with Clarice’s retreat. But as soon as she saw Clarice pause she put both her sticks in one hand and did a forward roll to get to Clarice as quickly as possible to limit her recovery time. She moved almost silently and Clarice was hardly aware Jane was crouched next to her before she felt herself being rolled onto her tummy. Immediately Clarice tried to push herself up with her hands, But Clarice swung a leg over her and sat neatly on her back. She applied further pressure to Clarice’s shoulder with the hand holding both her tickling sticks. Clarice collapsed to the ground lying flat on her tummy, with Jane sitting comfortably on top of her.
Jane had planned how she wanted to get her submission while having her coffee. The first step involved disarming Clarice of her remaining tickling stick. Fortunately Clarice’s next move helped Jane with this stage of the plan. While squashed flat on her stomach Clarice tried to swing her remaining stick round to tickle Jane’s feet. Jane squashed her vulnerable soles into Clarice’s soft sides to limit the target. However, Clarice’s range of movement was so limited Jane was easily able to catch Clarice’s arm in her empty hand as it swung round.
“Thanks Clarice, I was looking for this!” she teased triumphantly. Jane tried to prise the stick from Clarice’s fingers. However, Clarice grunted and held on strongly. Jane muttered under her breath “Hmm she still has some strength, oh I know..” Then she said out loud “tickle tickle tickle!” As she said this Jane tickled Clarice’s right armpit using the sticks she was holding in her other hand. Clarice started giggling and the strength in her hand started to melt. Jane kept tickling and taunting until she was sure Clarice was weakened. Then she easily took Clarice’s stick from her and threw it out of reach.
Many girls would submit now as they did not have a stick to win the match with. However, Clarice still had an outside chance, either of struggling free and retrieving her sticks or stealing a stick from Jane. Jane expected Clarice was too arrogant to submit until she was forced. Jane was proved correct. She was quite surprised to find that she was pleased that Clarice did not surrender immediately. It turned out she was enjoying her revenge after Clarice’s pre-match rudeness.
Clarice kept struggling, trying to snake out an arm to unbalance Jane or grab one of her sticks. However, Jane was perfectly balanced and Clarice was not getting very close. Jane gave Clarice occasional tickles under her flailing arms to ensure any attempts to struggle free ended in helpless giggles. At the same time Jane was debating whether she could carry out the final part of her plan. She decided to give it a try. Currently she was sitting on Clarice’s back, facing her head. She wanted to reverse her position so she could face Clarice’s feet. She popped both of her sticks into one hand and rotated herself around. Clarice was surprised by the move, and although she managed to get onto her elbows as Jane’s weight shifted, Jane made sure she quickly spread her weight over Clarice’s back again to squash her back down. A few deft tickles of Clarice’s exposed sides once again put an end to her struggles.
Jane was deliberately sitting quite high on Clarice’s back meaning that her bare soles were in full view of Clarice’s face. In fact Jane made sure Clarice could see little else. “You see those feet?” she taunted, “Those ‘tootsies’? They’re really soft and you know they are very ticklish. They’ve been running rings round you for the whole match! I know you wanted to tickle them earlier, why not go right ahead?”
Clarice did not reply except by groaning and struggling weakly to get up. She could easily reach Jane’s feet with her fingers and could tickle her helpless in a second. But she also knew this was against the rules and that Jenny would disqualify her for cheating. This was the final humiliation that Jane had planned before finishing the match.
Jane had continued to give Clarice occasional tickles while taunting her. Now she caught Jenny’s eye and realised she should end things quickly. “OK”, she said. “If you don’t want to tickle me right now, then I suppose I am going to have to tickle you!”
Jane started tickling the backs of Clarice’s legs, slowly to start with and then more vigorously. She felt Clarice squirming underneath her and heard her muffled laughter. Jane shifted her weight while Clarice struggled to ensure there was no chance of escape. Clarice’s legs started kicking in a futile attempt to protect the backs of knees and her thighs. To start with, Jane just avoided them but then she caught one and started tickling Clarice’s sole.
“Ooh, these soles are quite soft too” she said as she brushed up and down them. “Not quite as soft, or as ticklish, as mine, but still quite a lot of fun. Tickle tickle tickle!” she continued.
Clarice was laughing helplessly by now. Even in this situation her pride made it hard for her to submit, but she finally admitted defeat. She tapped the floor with her hand and said “I give, I give, I give!” Jane immediately stopped tickling her and rolled away. She was vaguely aware of Jenny saying that she had won as she struggled to her feet.
Clarice was disappointed but shook Jane’s hand and congratulated her. She also mumbled an apology about how she behaved before the match. Jane was as gracious a winner as she could be while trying to keep her excitement inside.
Jenny came over and said “Well done, Jane. I am glad to see you two are friends now. May be you could enter the tag-team competition together that we are planning for the near future?” Clarice nodded in enthusiastic agreement but Jane did not look convinced.
“I heard about that”, Jane replied, “but I have promised my sister I will enter the tag-team event with her.” This was not true. Jane had not heard about the tag-team event before and was sure Mandy would not want to be in it. However, Jane had made up the story so she would not have to see Clarice again.
“Okay, well, see you in the next round!” said Jenny. Jane was looking forward to it already.
Looking forward to the next chapter.
