Tickle Street Chapter 42 – “Jiu-Jitsu”

By Strelnikov
Copyright 2006 by the author


Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance)

Rachel Griffin
Rachel is 25 years old. She has shoulder-length fiery red hair, a crooked grin, fair skin and a fit and shapely body. Her eyes are jade green – they twinkle with merriment. She’s originally from Georgia, but settled in Tieson City after sharing an adventure with some local girls. She’s smart and tough, but tickle her and she’s helpless.

Amanda Mason
Amanda is a little cutie, just turned 18 years old, a petite girl with a trim and shapely figure. She stands an inch or so over five feet tall in her bare feet. She has curly dark brown hair, brown eyes, dark brows and long, dark lashes. She’s Rachel’s apartment roommate, new to Tieson City, and will start at TCHS as a Senior in the fall. She loves to tickle and be tickled. She’s impossible not to like.

Kelly McGuire
Kelly is 18 – she’ll be a Senior at Tieson City High School this fall. She’s tall, drop-dead gorgeous, with long, silky red hair, blue eyes so dark they seem almost indigo, an hourglass figure, long, shapely legs, and that perfect skin only redheads have. Kelly has extremely ticklish feet, and her tickle laugh is as lovely as the rest of her.

Meghan Meyer
Her father's job got transferred so they ended up in Tieson City. She’s the tiniest girl on Tickle Street, very small and petite, not quite 19 yrs old, with strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes and freckles. Until she turned 18, she never knew that she had a nack for tickling, but since then she became an enthusiast. For Meghan, Tickle Street is a target-rich environment, with plenty of opportunities to hone her skill.

Melissa Gabreski
Melissa is attractive with great curves, dark hazel eyes, and long dark brown hair with blonde streaks. She’s 20 years old, has lived on Tickle Street her whole life but until recently had few friends outside of her parents and Michael, her younger brother. She's super ticklish, and thinks it’s weird to be so ticklish like she is. She used to be very shy – but the other girls cured that!

Julie Budanov
Julie is slender with long, bright coppery red hair. She has just turned 18. She has high cheekbones, exotic eyes inherited from a distant Tatar ancestor, and skin so fair that it seems almost translucent. Her eyes are that indeterminate shade that sometimes appears blue or gray, sometimes green or hazel. She’s great fun to tickle – she has the most ticklish feet in the neighborhood.

Emily MacDonald
Emily is a fiery red-head, a petite girl with wavy shoulder-length hair and bright green eyes. The fact that she survived a major car wreck was near-miraculous. She’s a little older than her classmates – she missed a year of school after the wreck. She and her widowed father moved to Tickle Street last year. She’s super-ticklish, and that’s her greatest weakness, she feels that it makes her too girly and weak.

Brittany Righetti
Brittany is 18, almost 19, and has lived on Tickle Street all her life. She has long dark hair and brown eyes, a beautiful Italian face and features, curves in all the right places. She has a bit of an attitude, but it can quickly be destroyed if she's tickled, and her twin older sisters Vicky and Veronica always take advantage of that.

Vicky and Veronica Righetti
They’re “mirror twins” – identical, but Vicky, the leader, is a lefty (Latin “sinister”) and Veronica is right handed. They’re two years older than Brittany, medium height, with very trim and fit figures that they maintain by martial arts. They have wavy dark brown hair worn shoulder length, dark brows and lashes, brown eyes. They’re extremely ticklish, but since they’re a team, they don’t get tickled much.


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JIU-JITSU: A martial art that works on the principle that, by using proper technique, a person can defeat a stronger opponent by using their opponent’s own strength, speed and momentum against them. The goal is to gain a dominant position from which to force the opponent to submit. Sparring and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance, especially in competition.


Rachel let herself into the apartment and kicked off her flip-flops at the door. Amanda should be home from work soon, she thought. Time to start thinking about supper.

Rachel was 25 yrs old. She had shoulder-length fiery red hair, a crooked grin, fair skin and a fit and shapely body. Her eyes were jade green – they twinkled with mischief and merriment. She wore gray running shorts and a kelly green tank top. Originally from Georgia, she had only recently settled in Tieson City. She waited tables at the Tieson City Cafe downtown, across Main Street from her apartment over the hairdresser’s shop.

She was checking the contents of the pantry when she heard the door open. “Hi, Amanda!” she called out. “I just got home too. You hungry?”

Amanda stepped out of her sandals – a house rule, it kept the floor cleaner. “I could eat,” she allowed. “What’s on tonight’s menu at Chez Rachel?”

“A day before payday? Wieners, beans, beans and wieners, or wieners and beans – your choice,” Rachel said.

Amanda laughed. “Nice to have a choice,” she said. “Beans and wieners it is.” She was new in town too – a little cutie, just turned 18 years old, a petite girl with a trim and shapely figure. She stood an inch or so over five feet tall. She wore a short red summer skirt and a white collared knit shirt with Rosen’s Rx over the left breast. She had curly dark brown hair, brown eyes, dark brows and long, dark lashes. She was impossible not to like.

They had similar life histories – both had left chaotic homes at age 16 or thereabouts, and had lived on their own ever since. They had met a few months back when they shared an adventure with four local girls, an adventure that none of them talked about.

The meal and cleanup didn’t take long. “We better change clothes and get ready for the gathering,” Rachel said. “Kelly should be here soon.”

Not long after Rachel moved to Tieson City, the Righetti twins had come up with a scheme with a theme. They had advertised for prospective members of the Red Headed League. The girls who showed up to join got tickled silly.

For the young women hereabouts, getting tickled was just a normal hazard. Nobody got mad – they just got even. Rachel and her friends turned the tables and tickled the twins until they were raving.

Afterward, Rachel found a few kindred souls who kept the Red Headed League alive, just for laughs. Kelly McGuire was one, Emily MacDonald was another. Two of Emily’s neighbors joined a little later, Julie Budanov and strawberry-blonde Meghan Meyer. They had needed another member to make the games come out even – Emily, ever-practical, had declared Amanda to be an honorary redhead. As for laughs, there were always plenty of those at a Red Headed League gathering.

Amanda checked her watch. “It’s only 6:30,” she said. “Gathering isn’t until 7:30. It’s gonna be a while.” She made a sad face, complete with puppy-eyes. “That makes me sooo sad! You’re gonna have to cheer me up. Make me laugh.”

Rachel sighed theatrically. “The things I do for you! C’mon, let’s get changed first, and we’ll do it on the sofa.”

That was another area of compatibility. Rachel loved to tickle – it was great fun to make other girls scream with helpless laughter. She had a nack for it too, honed to a high level of skill over the past 10 yrs. As for Amanda, she had been in and out of foster homes all through her childhood. At one of them, an older foster child had bullied the younger kids by tickling them mercilessly. To her surprise, Amanda discovered that she loved it, so she took to aggravating the kid so he would tickle her. The other kids got tickled a lot less often – they admired her for her selfless efforts on their behalf. Little did they know...

So Rachel tickled her roomie silly on a daily basis, knew all of Amanda’s best tickle spots and how to get the best reactions. They had it down to a routine.

They dressed for comfort – bra-less, in loose t-shirts and gym shorts, standard attire for their gatherings. Rachel retrieved a tote bag from a corner of the living room and dumped it out on the floor next to the sofa. It held an assortment of nylon web straps. “OK, Amanda, on your tummy,” she said. She hogtied Amanda with the straps. “How’s that?”

Amanda strained against the bonds. “Tight enough, but not too tight. Do your worst!”

Rachel kneeled on the sofa at Amanda’s bound feet and placed a knee on either side of Amanda’s to prevent a rollover. She cracked her knuckles and traced a fingernail in a circle around the ball of Amanda’s left foot.

“Hey! Hehehe! Don’t te– hehehaha! –ease! Hehe! Tic– hahaha! tickle me– hehehe!” Amanda said through the giggles.

“Here it comes,” Rachel said, and dug in. Amanda arched her back and laughed her head off. “That suit you better?”

But Amanda wasn’t capable of speech – she was laughing too hard.

Rachel tickled between Amanda’s toes, held them back and tickled under them, circled a nail around the balls of both feet in a big figure-eight. Twice each circuit, she hit the sweet spot – the exact center of Amanda’s soles, along the creases, where it really, really tickled – and Amanda’s laughter went off the chart.

Rachel tickled down Amanda’s arches, onto the heels, and back up to the soles, watching the toes twitch and curl as streams of laughter poured out of Amanda. Then holding Amanda’s toes back, tickling the sweet spot on one foot, across to the other, back onto the balls of the feet again. Amanda laughed and laughed as Rachel tickled her arches, from the left to the right and back again, over and over. Then onto the sweet spots, two handed, fingernails flying, and tickled Amanda into gasping, red-faced silent laughter.

“Why’d... you stop?” Amanda gasped out. She took a deep breath. “That tickled so much! C’mon, give me more! AH-HAHA! HAHAHA-HAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Rachel enjoyed this just as much as her roomie did, so she gave it her best effort. The little brunette was laughing harder now, eyes closed, tears of laughter running down her cheeks. The tickling must have sensitized her feet, Rachel thought – right now, her feet were incredibly ticklish all over. Rachel tickled Amanda’s soles, watching the toes twitch and curl. She tickled down into the arches, then drew circles, squares, figure-eight’s and other tickling shapes. Finally the heels, flicking and scratching. Amanda laughed and laughed, red faced and sweaty, loving every second of it.

Now for the finale... Rachel held back Amanda’s toes and tickled the stretched out soles again, paying particular attention to the creases in the middle. Amanda went wild, laughing at the top of her lungs as Rachel covered her feet with tickling nail flicks. Rachel flicked her fingernails on the soles, fast as she could, and Amanda’s laughter went off the scale. She laughed herself breathless. She was sweaty, tickled out, hair a mess, face streaked with tears of laughter. And both girls wouldn’t have had it any other way.

The trouble with routine is that it lacks variety, thought Rachel as she untied Amanda. Amanda was an enjoyable ticklee – pretty tickle laugh, great reactions, and always ready to play. But Rachel had done plenty of tickling over the past 10 yrs, and missed the variety.

Well, there were ways to satisfy that craving, especially in this town. Tonight’s gathering, to name just one.

Kelly showed up at 7:15 – they didn’t have far to go. The younger redhead was another who had shared the adventure – she was tall, drop-dead gorgeous, with long, silky red hair and blue eyes so dark they seemed almost indigo. She had an hourglass figure, great legs, and that perfect skin only redheads have. Like the others, she was bra-less, in a loose t-shirt and gym shorts. Flip-flops too, but she would shed those soon enough.

Meghan was tonight’s host – her parents played bridge with Sam and Andrea Rosen every Thursday night. “Come on in,” she greeted them. “You’re the first – Emily and Julie haven’t showed up yet.” She was a tiny girl with a cute shape, strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes and freckles. She stood all of 4 ft 10-1/2 inches tall in her bare feet, and weighed 87 lb soaking wet.

Rachel and the others kicked off their flip-flops and followed Meghan inside. “Can we start without ‘em?” Amanda asked eagerly. “Start with me! Oh please!” she said, complete with puppy-eyes.

The others laughed. “Eager, aren’t we?” Meghan said. “Let’s wait – they should be here soon.”

Meghan led them through the house and onto the screened back porch. Amanda grabbed a Coke on the way through the kitchen and sat on the porch swing, fanning herself with her free hand. “Hot one today,” she remarked. “Just as well. Warm feet are lots more ticklish than cold ones.”

Meghan laughed. “The voice of experience,” she said.

“Hey, I left some stuff in the car,” Kelly said. “No, keep your seat, Meghan. I’ll get it.”

She’s up to something, thought Rachel. Kelly was a big, healthy girl, very fit, with the advantages of height and reach over the other girls. She’ll sneak back and jump somebody – she’s done it before. Well, two can play at that game. I’ll just do a pre-emptive strike. She eased over toward the kitchen door and stood beside it.

The door opened a crack and Kelly slipped out, moving on silent bare feet. “TICKLE FIGHT!” Rachel yelled, and suddenly Kelly was on her tummy on the floor, with Rachel sitting on her facing aft. Rachel grabbed Kelly’s ankles, pulled, and wrapped a leg around Kelly’s shins, tucking the foot under the upraised knee of the other leg in the figure-four leg lock. This wasn’t Rachel’s first rodeo – Kelly was laughing her head off before she quite knew what happened.

Kelly laughed at the top of her lungs as Rachel’s tickling fingernails explored her sensitive soles. Rachel used all of her fingernails to tickle between all of Kelly’s toes at the same time. Kelly laughed like a maniac as Rachel held her toes back and tickled the soft skin underneath. Her skin was turning red from laughing, tears of laughter ran down her cheeks. She wasn’t resisting – all of her strength had been tickled away.

Kelly laughed her head off as Rachel tickled the stretched out soles, side to side, then released the toes and covered Kelly’s arches with tiny nail flicks. She laughed helplessly as Rachel drew circles, squares and other tickling shapes on her soles and onto the arches behind. Then two-handed tickling on both soles – Kelly’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed.

Rachel tickled down Kelly’s arches to the heels, getting great reactions and wave after wave of helpless laughter. Rachel shifted one hand under the right toes, the other to the left heel, and countermarched both hands, tickling from toes to heels and back. Then holding Kelly’s toes back again, Rachel flicked the balls of Kelly’s feet, where it tickled unbearably. Kelly laughed and laughed, musically, helplessly, face red, tears streaming – she was losing it, right on the edge. Rachel speeded up, tickling the sweet spots mercilessly, and tickled Kelly’s breath away.

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

Kelly rolled onto her back and shuffled her feet on the porch to get the tickle off. “Did it... tickle! Did it tickle!” she said, indignation overcoming shortness of breath. She was sweaty, her long red hair was messed up, tears streaked her face. “I’ll get you for this!” she threatened, only half joking.

Amanda offered Kelly a hand up. “C’mon, Kelly, admit it,” she said. “You’re just torqued because she beat you to it.”

Kelly grinned sheepishly. “Busted!” she said. “Well, I’ll have my chance later.” She checked her watch. “I wonder what’s keeping... ”

Next door, the back porch screen door of the Gabreski’s house banged open and Melissa Gabreski burst out, running flat out. She was lovely – a fit body, great legs, long dark brown hair with blonde streaks, dark hazel eyes. Her boyfriend Josh Kincaid emerged, hot on her heels. He wasn’t a big guy, but he was fast, and stronger than he looked. Both were in shorts and t-shirts.

Rachel looked questioningly at Meghan.

“That’s just Josh playing with Melissa,” Meghan said. “Watch.”

“She’ll never outrun him in those sandals,” Kelly said.

Melissa must have figured the same thing. She dodged, pulled off one sandal, hopped on the bare foot and pulled off the other. Josh was wearing sneakers – he gained on her, but she dodged again and took off running barefoot, headed for the back fence.

She almost made it, but “almost” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. There was a brief struggle, and then Melissa was on her back, feet up, with gravity working against her. Josh stood over her, both of her ankles trapped in an arm lock.

“MUA-HA-HA!” Josh laughed villainously, twirling an imaginary handlebar mustache with his free hand. “Time to laugh, my pretty!” Tickling was his hobby – Melissa got tickled a lot. And there was no getting even either. Unlike his sister Anne, he wasn’t the least bit ticklish.

“OH NOOO!” Melissa wailed. “HAHAHAHA! HAHAHA! HAHA-HAHAHA!” she laughed as he tickled her upturned soles with skill and enthusiasm.

“Your feet are dirty,” Josh said, raising his voice over the ticklish laughter. “I think I’ll tickle ‘em clean.” He flicked his nails in the back of Melissa’s arches and onto her heels – the sweet spots, where Melissa’s feet were off-the-scale ticklish. Melissa bucked and squirmed and laughed her head off.

“I heard that he tickled Nicole Wade silly at the block party,” Amanda said. “He ever tickle you?”

“Nope, never gave him a chance,” Meghan answered. The laughter went off the scale – Melissa was getting a real workout. “Too bad – looks like it might be kinda fun.”

Josh tickled Melissa’s heels, covering the sensitive skin with unbearable tickling. Then up both arches, drawing circles and other tickling shapes. Side to side on both soles – Melissa’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed. Back to the heels again, and Melissa laughed at the top of her lungs.

“Hey neighbor!” Meghan called out. “What’s the occasion?”

Josh looked around, still tickling – Melissa’s laughter went up a notch. “Aerobic conditioning!” Josh called back. “I’m her personal trainer.”

“Angie told me about that,” Kelly remarked. Angie Fontana was another mutual friend – she was dating Josh’s brother Jim.

“About what?” Rachel asked.

“Melissa, Angie and Anne have tickle fights,” Kelly said. “They call ‘em Tickling Death Matches. My sister Molly and I used to do that, before she joined the Coast Guard and left home.” She paused, remembering. “It was fun. We were pretty well matched – it kept things interesting.”

Josh tickled the balls of Melissa’s feet, then slowly down both arches while Melissa laughed and laughed. He gave Melissa’s heels another good minute or so of tickle torture, and Melissa almost lost it. He tickled back up Melissa’s arches to the soles again, then slowly down to the ticklish heels. Another minute of heel tickling – Melissa was right on the edge. Soles, arches, heels – over and over, while Melissa laughed like a crazy woman.

“She looks a little winded,” Rachel said. “Better give her a break!” she called.

“I don’t think she minds,” Amanda said.

“Spoilsport!” Josh called back. “Oh, all right!” He put on a burst of speed, tickling the sweet spots mercilessly. Melissa went wild, laughing her head off, and ran out of air.

Josh released Melissa – she shuffled her feet to get the tickle off. She flapped her t-shirt, trying to cool off, but didn’t seem the least bit upset.

“Good one!” Kelly said.

“She can do lots better than that,” Josh said, and gave Melissa a hand up. “C’mon, Melissa, let’s go to my place so we won’t be distracted.”

Melissa looked around. “Where are my sandals?” she asked.

“You won’t need ‘em,” Josh said.

Melissa rolled her eyes. “The things I put up with!” she said. “Oh well, it has its compensations. Bye!”

The door bell rang. “That’s probably Emily and Julie now.” Meghan said. She left. Kelly and Amanda took the porch swing. Rachel sat in a chair and propped her feet on the arm of another. That was asking for it, she knew – somebody in this bunch was sure to tickle her. But that just meant she would have an opportunity to get even, and then some.

Meghan came back with the last two members. Julie was slender with long, bright coppery red hair. She had high cheekbones, exotic eyes inherited from some distant Tatar ancestor, and skin so fair that it seemed almost translucent. Her eyes were that indeterminate shade that take their color from their surroundings – azure now, like the summer evening sky.

Emily was a petite girl with a glorious shoulder-length mane of fiery red hair and bright green eyes. She had just barely survived a bad wreck, had spent a year in rehab after major reconstructive surgery. Most people in that situation look like they were put together out of random parts. But her surgeons must have been magicians – she didn’t even have any visible scars.

“We were just talking about Tickling Death Matches,” Meghan said. “Anybody interested?” She was another one who had the nack for tickling. She hadn’t been at it for long, but she made up for it with enthusiastic and imaginitive effort. That effort, combined with natural talent, had paid dividends – she was a first-rate tickler. Almost as good as she thought she was.

“You mean like the twins do? I’m way too ticklish,” Emily said. “Against anybody but Julie, I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“And you can just say tickle, and I laugh,” Julie said. “No contest here either.”

“There must be somebody,” Meghan said. “Kelly, you’re the one who mentioned it. Or... How about you?” she asked mischievously, and tickled Rachel’s arches and heels.

“Hehehe! Quit!” Rachel said, but she didn’t pull her feet away. “Are you sure you want to start a tickle fight?”

Meghan tickled again, harder. Rachel burst out laughing. This time, she did pull away and put her feet down.

“OK, you asked for it,” Rachel said. “Kelly, what are the rules?”

“Simple enough,” Kelly said. “One hand tickling, one foot only. You keep going until one of you tickles the other out. After that, it’s up to the winner what happens.”

No contest, thought Rachel. She’s got the nack, give her that, and she’s got endurance. But tickling is just a hobby for Meghan, something fun to do. She’s toast, and best of all, she set herself up for it.

Kelly directed Rachel and Meghan into position. They sat close on the floor, facing each other. They extended their right legs, drew up their left with their left feet flat against their right thighs. Each girl got a firm grip on her opponent’s right foot with her left hand.

“I’ll be your referee,” Kelly said. “Count with me, and start on three.”

The girls counted in chorus. “One, two, THREE!”

Rachel and Meghan flicked the nails of their right hands on the bottom of their opponent’s trapped foot, fast as they could. Both burst into ticklish laughter, howling with forced mirth, each trying to tickle the other out and avoid the same fate herself. Their fingernails flicked and scratched, each covering the other’s foot with fiendish and well-techniqued tickling. Surprisingly, they were evenly matched – both laughed like mad, red faced, tears of laughter streaming down their faces.

Meghan concentrated on Rachel’s arch and heel, Rachel on the exact center of Meghan’s sole. Meghan’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed – it was an added challenge for Rachel, laughing wildly herself, trying desperately to hang on. They both laughed like madwomen, tickling as fast as they could, as time expanded and the tickling filled their consciousness.

Rachel had endured her share of tickling over the last 10 yrs, and had given it back too – she should have been able to hold her own. But Meghan got lucky, and found just the right rhythm – it tickled horribly! Rachel was losing it, coordination failing – Meghan was just giggling while her red-faced opponent laughed her head off. It was only a matter of time now–

Rachel lost it and quit tickling, swaying and laughing at the top of her lungs.

Meghan giggled as the tickling sensation faded, then tickled faster as fine motor control returned. “Gotcha!” she said triumphantly. “Now you’re really gonna laugh!” And Rachel did just that – the ticklish laughter poured out in a solid stream. But she summoned up some reserve of strength – she grabbed Meghan’s foot again. She shifted her grip, still laughing helplessly, and held Meghan’s toes back. Her nails danced across the stretched out sole, tickling the sweet spot mercilessly, and now Meghan laughed again, wave after wave of ticklish laughter pouring out. Both girls laughed at the top of their lungs, tickling the sweet spots furiously. The contest was one of endurance now – who would lose it first?

Meghan’s laughter went off the scale. She collapsed onto her back – her strength was gone, tickled away. Rachel eased off a little, flicking and scratching from sole to heel, producing a steady stream of giggles. “Give up?” she asked.

“Haha! Sta– hahaha! –ap! Yes, I give! Hehe! You– hehe-haha! win! Haha-hehe-hahaha!” Meghan begged and giggled.

“I can’t hear you!” Rachel said, and attacked the sweet spot again. Megan laughed her head off at the top of her lungs. In desperation, she tapped out – slapped the floor twice, hard, with an open hand.

“Pay me,” Amanda said smugly.

“Should’ve known better,” Julie said sourly, and handed over a $5.00 bill.

“Enough, Rachel!” Emily said. “She tapped out. You won. Kelly, I thought you were the referee.”

“Oops! Sorry!” Kelly said. “I was enjoying the show and not paying attention. Yah, quit, Rachel.”

Rachel gave Meghan’s foot one more burst of nail flicks, enjoying the laughter, then quit and released the foot. “You’re gonna have to do better than that,” she said.

Megan drew her knees up and laid there gasping. “No kidding!” she said, and drew a deep breath. “That tickled so much!” She shuffled her feet on the floor to get the tickle off, then sat up. “The other foot tickles too. How did you do that?”

“Years of practice,” Rachel said. “And I’m not through with you yet. Remember your forfeit?”

“Oh shit!” Meghan said, disgusted. “OK, let’s get it over with.”

“I really enjoy tickling ticklers,” Rachel said cheerfully. “It’s lots of fun to turn the tables on you and make you laugh.”

“The rest of us might as well start too,” Julie said. “All right, Amanda, I’ll tickle you. Got to get my money’s worth somehow.”

“Dibs!” Emily and Kelly called out, almost but not quite together. “Nuts!” Emily said. “OK, Kelly, tie me up.”

Kelly strapped Emily’s wrists together behind her back, Julie did the same to Amanda. They set chairs at either end of the porch swing. Amanda sat on the right chair, Emily on the left – both rested their ankles on an arm of the swing. The other girls strapped their ankles together and tied them off to the arms. There was method here. Julie was left handed – this way, both ticklers could use their strong hand. Meghan ended up in another chair, with her bound ankles tied to the arm of another.

The three ticklers sat down. “Ready for a dose of misery?” Rachel asked.

“Warp Factor 5, Mr. Sulu!” Amanda said – an in-joke with her fellow adventurers, which mystified Meghan and Julie. But by now, they knew better than to ask. Anyway, Julie had something better to do.

“Eep! Hehehe! HAHA! HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA!” Amanda laughed. Emily joined the ticklish chorus, her fair skin turning pink from laughing. Rachel held back Meghan’s toes and dug in, tickling the balls of both feet. Meghan threw back her head and laughed at the top of her lungs.

Kelly spread Emily’s toes and tickled between them, then held the toes back and tickled the soft skin underneath. Julie tickled down Amanda’s arches, onto the heels, back up to the soles again. Both of them were getting great reactions and wave after wave of laughter. Can’t let them have all the fun, Rachel thought. She held back Meghan’s toes and flicked her fingernails on the soles, tickling side to side, fast as she could. Meghan’s laughter was a sweet soprano, in perfect harmony with Amanda’s mezzo and Emily’s contralto.

Meghan’s feet were sensitized too, and Rachel took full advantage.. She released Meghan’s toes and tickled her soles, watching the toes twitch and curl. She tickled down into the arches, drawing circles, squares, figure-eight’s and other tickling shapes. There was a spot in the arch, just behind the middle of the sole, that gave especially good results. Rachel circled a single nail there on each foot, and Meghan went crazy, laughing like mad and trying desperately to escape.

“Hey, go easy! You’re gonna kill her!” Julie said. She put on a burst of speed herself, and Amanda’s laughter went up a notch.

“Nah, she can take it,” Kelly said – she was tickling Emily’s heels now, flicking and scratching two-handed. Emily laughed and laughed, red faced and sweaty, her hair whipping like a flag as she struggled against her bonds.

“Like this, Julie!” Rachel said – she held Meghan’s toes back again and flicked the soles with her nails in a guitar-chording motion. It worked pretty well on Meghan, but great on Amanda – the brunette laughed her head off at the top of her lungs.

Meghan had stamina, but Rachel had gotten a head start with the death match. Meghan was losing it, red-faced, eyes closed, tears running down her cheeks. Rachel tickled her heels two-handed, getting great reactions and wave after wave of laughter. Her nails spider-walked up Meghan’s arches to the soles, making little contact but tickling horribly. Finally, she held back Meghan’s toes and flicked her fingernails on the soles, fast as she could. Meghan’s laughter went off the scale – she laughed herself breathless.

Amanda lost it too, tickled out. “That suit you, girlfriend?” Julie asked, grinning ear to ear.

Amanda nodded and took long deep breaths, still too breathless to speak. Emily was still laughing wildly, howling with forced mirth.

“Finish Emily off,” Rachel advised. “Let’s take a break.” Kelly nodded – she speeded up, tickling Emily’s sensitive soles, and Emily laughed with wild abandon.

“Woo!” Amanda gasped out. Another deep breath. “That really, really tickled!”

“It was supposed to,” Julie said. She stood up and started untying Amanda. “Faster, Kelly! Tickle under her toes!”

Kelly held back Emily’s toes and tickled side to side under all ten toes. The helpless laughter went off the charts, and that finished it – she tickled Emily’s breath away.

They took their break in the family room. Amanda sat sideways on the couch – she considerately lifted her feet to make room for Emily, then put her feet in Emily’s lap.

“Asking for it?” Emily asked, grinning.

Amanda grinned back. “Always!” she said. “Lightly this time.”

Emily gently traced a nail in a figure-eight around the balls of Amanda’s feet, and was rewarded by a musical stream of little giggles.

“I thought we were taking a break,” Meghan said.

“Don’t– hehe! –worry– haha-hehe!” Amanda said and giggled. “I can– hahaha! –go like– hehehe! –this for– haha! –hours– hahaha!”

Julie came in, carrying a Coke. She paused, looking at something. “Meghan, I didn’t know you play chess,” she said.

“Yah, I got that chess set years ago,” Meghan said, taking the cased set down off the bookshelf. “It was my grandpa’s.” Not a regulation set, Rachel saw – it was a Cold War artifact. The pieces were Russian and American soldiers in red and blue, the kings were Nikita Krushchev and John F. Kennedy.

“Maybe we could play a game sometime,” Meghan continued.

Julie looked at the chess set and frowned, ever so slightly. “What’s your ranking?” she asked.

Meghan thought about it. “I don’t know,” she confessed.

“If you don’t know, you don’t have one,” Julie said dismissively. “I don’t play with wood pushers. Wouldn’t be fair.”

Here’s my chance, thought Rachel – I just have to goad Julie into a challenge. “Not even with a handicap?” she asked. “I’m not bad for a wood pusher. I could beat all of my shipmates, pretty much all the time. Bet you 5 bucks I can beat you too.”

Julie rose to the bait. “You’re on,” she said. “But not with that set. We’ll use a regulation set and match clock. I’ll call home and have one of my sisters bring mine.”

“Deal!” Rachel said. “The rest of y’all, go ahead and play. We’re gonna be at this a while.”

Emily stopped teasing Amanda, and Meghan paired off with Kelly. They went back out on the porch. Rachel heard laughter start out on the porch – first Amanda, then Kelly, both of them laughing like mad.

Julie called home, then continued. “Under tournament rules, we’d each have 75 minutes to play a minimum of 30 moves,” she said. “We don’t have time for that tonight, so you’ll have 50 minutes and we’ll play 20 moves instead. I win if I checkmate you. You win if I don’t checkmate you by the time my clock runs out. Or you can win any time by checkmating me.”

“What’s the handicap?” Rachel asked.

“You get 50 minutes, like I said,” Julie answered. “An average of 2-1/2 minutes per move. I only get 10 minutes – 30 seconds per move. We’ll be finished in an hour.”

“Pretty confident, aren’t you?” Rachel said. “You sure that’s enough of a handicap?”

“Probably not,” Julie said, and fell neatly into Rachel’s trap. “Tell you what – you can tickle me while your clock is running. Once you’ve made your move and stopped your clock, you have to quit while I make my move. After I do, and stop my clock, you can tickle me again until my next move. I’ll still beat you.”

The doorbell rang again – Julie’s little sister, 13 yr old Katie, with the chess set and clock.

“Here ya go, sis,” Katie said. She paused, listening to the distant laughter. “Somebody’s getting it good,” she said. “Mind if I stay and watch?” To look at them, no one would guess that they were sisters – Katie was blonde and blue-eyed, and had a fair start on what would be a great figure in a few more years.

“The tickling or the chess?” Rachel asked.

“Just for grownups, squirt,” Julie said, which infuriated the younger girl. “Come back in another 5 yrs.”

They moved the coffee table out a little and set up the chess board and clock. Rachel sat cross-legged on the White side of the table, facing the couch. Julie sat facing Rachel on the Black side, leaned back against the couch and extended her legs under the table. Rachel strapped Julie’s ankles together and tied them off to her own right thigh, conveniently placed for tickling.

“Remember, you’ve got 2-1/2 minutes per move,” Julie said. “But that’s an average. Take less time on the early moves – you’ll need more for the later ones. Start whenever you’re ready– HAHA-HAHA! HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA!”

Julie’s feet were off the scale ticklish – they didn’t have a sweet spot, so everything Rachel did drove Julie wild. Rachel flicked her well-manicured nails in Julie’s arches for a minute or so, savoring the wild helpless laughter. This was what she did best – she could keep a ticklee laughing for a long, long time without tickling her out. She moved a pawn to e4 and paused, still tickling. She gave Julie a few more fast nail flicks – got a burst of laughter – then tapped the button on her clock and stopped tickling.

Julie giggled, moved a pawn to c5, and stopped her clock.

The giggles morphed into all-out laughter as Rachel started in again, drawing circles on Julie’s heels with two fingernails. She shifted her tickle target back to the arches, using just her nail tips now, and tickled Julie for another minute. Then King’s Knight to f3, got another burst of laughter from Julie, and stopped her clock again.

Julie giggled, moved Queen’s Knight to c6, tapped the button, then laughed her head off as Rachel’s tickling fingernails attacked her soles.

The sole tickling was working great, so Rachel kept it up for a full two minutes this time. Julie was swaying, her eyes were closed, tears ran down her cheeks as she laughed and laughed. Rachel moved another pawn to d4, just a bit more tickling, and tapped the button. She slipped her nail tips between Julie’s right toes, taking care not to tickle...

“No– hehehe! –fair– hehaha!” Julie said and giggled. She blinked away tears, moved her pawn from c5 to d4 and took Rachel’s pawn, then stopped her clock. She howled with forced mirth as Rachel got down to business again, tickling between all of Julie’s toes with all four nails at once.

Julie really was good at chess – she more than held her own despite the tickling. She had Rachel in check by Move 10 – that earned her a full three minutes of tickle torture. Rachel felt a presence in the room while Julie was giggling and making her next move, and looked around – the other girls were taking a break and watching the fun. Emily caught her eye, raised an eyebrow – had she had figured out what game Rachel was really playing?

Julie called Check again on Move 13 – just two minutes of tickle torture this time, Rachel was saving her minutes. Julie got the foot rake this time, four nails taking a zig-zag path from sole to heel, making just enough contact to tickle like mad. Rachel moved, flicked Julie’s soles and stopped her clock. They were well into the middle game now, and Rachel’s position wasn’t good – six moves left, 16:07 showing on her clock, 3:43 on Julie’s, and Julie’s moves were driving the game.

Julie moved. Rachel tickled side to side on Julie’s soles while she pondered her next move – Julie’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed at the top of her lungs. Rachel made her move, Julie responded and then laughed again as Rachel’s nails danced on her heels. Two moves later, they were in the end game and Rachel was running out of options.

“Haha! Mate– haheha! –in three– hehehe!” Julie said and giggled. “HAHAHA! HAHA-HAHAHA! HAHAHA-HAHA!”

Rachel gave the tickling her best effort, and that was very good indeed – Julie laughed and laughed, red faced and sweaty, tears streaming. But it didn’t change the situation on the board. Move 19, and over to Julie–

“Hehe! Check– haha! –mate! HAHA-HAHA-HAHA! HAHAHAHA!

Still 3:07 on Rachel’s clock – she used it all, looking for a way out. Julie’s laughter had an edge of desperation now – Rachel had tickled her to the limit of her endurance, and maybe a little beyond. Rachel made her 20th and final move, tipped over her King just as her flag dropped. Julie giggled weakly as she drifted back from Tickle Hell. She still had 44 seconds on her clock.

The others were back, taking another break. Julie was too weak to stand – Meghan and Kelly helped her up onto the couch, Amanda brought her a bottle of water. Julie downed it in three long draughts – her throat must have been desert dry.

“Told you I could beat you,” Julie said. “Pay up.” Her voice was rough from laughing.

“Gotta hand it to you,” Rachel said. “Good game.” And best of all, Julie still hadn’t figured out that she had been hosed.

Rachel went to the kitchen for a drink. Emily followed. “I saw the last 3 moves,” Emily said. “You were checkmated the whole time – she just didn’t call it until the last.”

“Why would she do that?” Rachel asked.

“She was showing off, playing with you,” Emily said. “Sometimes smart people think too much. They figure out ways to get themselves twisted around, and meet themselves coming back.”

“Like Julie,” Rachel said.

“But you weren’t really playing chess, were you?” The way Emily said it, it wasn’t a question. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

“Her own fault,” Rachel said. “She set herself up. I just took advantage.” Meghan and Kelly too, she thought – so far, I’ve outsmarted all of ‘em.

Amanda started giggling again in the family room. “Hey, c’mon back!” Meghan called out. “How long does it take to get a Coke?”

Amanda was giggling on the couch again, with Julie gently tickling her soles. “We gonna play some more?” Kelly asked.

“Sure,” Emily said. “And I’m challenging Rachel to a contest.”

“Suits me,” Rachel said. “Another Death Match?”

“I’m too ticklish for that,” Emily said. “Told you that already. No, let’s have a contest of technique and endurance. Take turns, and the winner is the one who tickles the other out the fastest.”

“Mmm... Sounds fair,” Rachel said. “Care to make a wager, just to make it interesting?” Easy money, she thought. I’ll clean her plow.

“OK, 5 bucks, same as you had with Julie,” Emily said. “And I’m the challenger, so you tickle me first. Somebody bring us some of those straps.”

Emily put one strap – a belt really – around her waist to provide a firm anchor, then flopped down on the floor on her tummy. Rachel passed a short strap under the belt in back, crossed Emily’s wrists over it and strapped them together. One more strap around the ankles, and a longer one to complete the hogtie. She finished by tying Emily’s big toes together with string.

Emily squirmed, getting just a little more comfortable. “Who’s gonna keep time?” she asked.

“Me,” Julie said. “We can use my match clock.” She slapped Amanda’s soles and said, “Rain check. We can finish this later.”

Amanda left her feet in Julie’s lap. “I’ll hold you to that,” she said. “You can tickle me during the intermission.”

Meghan brought Julie the clock and found a seat on the floor next to Kelly. Julie ran the flags out to 60 minutes – they wouldn’t be needed for this. “OK, start when I say go,” she said.

Rachel kneeled at Emily’s trapped feet and took hold of Emily’s right foot. She made a claw of her left hand. “Ready,” she said.

“One, two, three, GO!”

Emily laughed at the top of her lungs as Rachel raked her nails down the foot, drawing four parallel zig-zag lines and applying just enough pressure to tickle unbearably. Tears of laughter ran down Emily’s cheeks as she struggled and squirmed. Rachel repeated the tickle half a dozen times or so, then did the same to Emily’s left foot, forcing wave after wave of helpless laughter. Then two-handed tickling on both soles – Emily’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed.

Rachel held Emily’s toes back and tickled the soft skin underneath – the sweet spot, where Emily’s feet were unbearably ticklish. She spread Emily’s toes two by two, tickling in between. Then holding the toes back again, Rachel tickled across under all ten toes and back again. Emily laughed helplessly, eyes closed, tears streaming. She wasn’t struggling any more, the tickling had sucked away her strength.

Rachel had been tickled hard, many times, over the past 10 yrs. Her endurance was way higher than Emily’s. Emily has such a pretty laugh, and she turns such a pretty shade of pink, Rachel thought. I’ll keep her laughing for a while, just for fun, and I’ll still win. She tickled Emily’s stretched out soles, and wild laughter poured forth. She tickled two-handed down the arches to the heels and lingered there, drawing circles and other random tickling shapes and tickling like crazy.

Rachel made a Peace sign and scratched the balls of Emily’s feet – Emily was laughing harder now, her wild ticklish laughter filling the room. She switched back to two hands, covering the ticklish flesh with unbearable tickling. Then holding the toes back again, she danced and scrabbled her well-manicured nails under Emily’s toes. Emily went wild, squirming, laughing at the top of her lungs, trying desperately to pull her feet away. Rachel speeded up and tickled Emily’s breath away.

Rachel quit. “Time?” she asked. Emily giggled weakly as she came down off the tickle high.

“Looks like 5 minutes, 51 seconds,” Julie said. “The way you tickled me, you shoulda done better than that. Fingers getting tired?”

“A little,” Rachel said, smiling inwardly as Kelly untied Emily. That’s as good an excuse as any, she thought. “Want to rest a while, Emily?”

Emily stretched to work out the kinks. “Nah, I’m good,” she said. “Assume the position!”

Rachel submitted to the hogtie. “Let her have it,” Amanda said with a grin – she was still on the couch, feet still in Julie’s lap. “She turns such a pretty pink when she’s laughing.”

“We all do,” Kelly said. “Well, not you, Amanda. But it’s not your fault that you’re handicapped.”

“Ooh! You are so gonna get it!” Amanda said. “Whoop! WA-HAHAHA! HAHAHA-HAHAHA-HAHAHAHAHA!”

“Quit it, Julie,” Rachel said from her hogtie position. “The rest of y’all, go play. We’re trying to run a contest here.”

Julie stopped and picked up the clock. Emily kneeled facing Rachel’s bound feet.

“One, two, three, GO!”

Emily spread Rachel’s left little toe apart from its neighbor and scratched between them. Rachel let out a yelp and laughed her head off. She had a great tickle laugh, a musical contralto, not scratchy at all. Streams of laughter poured out of Rachel as Emily tickled between her toes, held them back and tickled under them, circled a nail around the balls of both feet in a big figure-eight. She tickled down Rachel’s arches and onto the heels, flicking with her nails like chording a guitar. She hit the sweet spot – the arch just in front of the heel and onto the heel behind, where it tickled unbearably – and Rachel’s laughter went off the chart.

Emily tickled back up the arches, drawing circles and other tickling shapes on the sensitive skin just behind the soles. She made a Peace sign and scratched the balls of both feet – Rachel laughed at the top of her lungs. Rachel laughed helplessly as Emily slipped her nail tips between the toes, tickling between all of them at once. Then holding the toes back, Emily tickled the stretched out soles again while Rachel laughed and laughed. Emily released the toes and tickled down both arches, drawing overlapping circles that tickled like crazy, and onto the heels, nail tips dancing on the ticklish flesh. By now, Rachel’s senses were wide open. She was beyond ticklish – everything Emily did drove Rachel wild.

“That’s 5 minutes,” Julie said from the couch, raising her voice over the laughter. “Finish her fast if you want to win.”

Emily’s nails kept up their tickling dance, making Rachel laugh like a crazy woman. “Oh, I’ll win, all right,” Emily said. “One way or another.” She picked up the pace, tickling the sweet spots, and Rachel laughed at the top of her lungs.

“Better. Keep it up,” Julie said. “Maybe I’ll tickle her too – she deserves it.”

Emily gave Rachel a break, just long enough to catch her breath. Rachel blinked away tears, heard stereo laughter from the porch – Kelly tickling Meghan and Amanda both, from the sound of it. But then her own ticklish laughter drowned them out as Emily started in on her again. Oh ghod how it tickled!

Emily used two fingernails to draw figure-eight’s around and onto the balls of both feet, forcing stream after stream of wild ticklish laughter. Emily tickled the balls of both feet and down onto the arches behind, then down Rachel’s arches to the ticklish heels. Emily lingered there, drawing figure-eights and other tickling shapes – Rachel laughed her head off. Emily’s figure-eight’s turned to overlapping circles again, up both arches, and then circled just behind the soles, tickling unbearably.

Another short breather, and Emily’s tickling fingernails shifted – Rachel laughed helplessly while Emily tickled her heels, around the edges, back to the center, then back onto the arches again. And now the soles got their share of attention – Emily held the toes back and tickled side to side on the stretched out soles. Rachel howled with forced mirth, red faced, eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks. The tickling sensation had completely overcome her. She was in the zone now, unable to move or even form a coherent thought – all she could do was lay there and laugh.

It went on for what seemed like forever. Emily played Rachel like a musical instrument, getting great reactions and stream after stream of helpless laughter. Emily paid special attention to the sweet spots, tickling fiendishly, until Rachel thought the tickling would drive her crazy. She gave Rachel an occasional breather, a few breath’s worth, and then started in again. Rachel laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more.

Finally, maximum tickle torture – Emily tickled Rachel two handed in both arches and onto the heels behind. Rachel laughed her head off at the top of her lungs, her wild ticklish laughter echoed in the room. It was more than she could bear – Emily tickled her breathless. She was sweaty, hair messed up, face streaked with tears. Her feet tingled, her throat was dry, her ribs and abs ached from laughing.

“That was 49 minutes, 41 seconds,” Julie said.

“Well, shit!” Emily said cheerfully. “Looks like I lost. I owe you 5 bucks. Should’ve tickled you harder.” She traced a figure-eight across both arches, just in front of the heels. “Like this maybe – does that tickle?”

“Like you– HAHAHA! –wouldn’t believe– hehehe!” Rachel said. “HAHA-HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA!”

“That looks like fun,” Kelly said – she and the others were back, taking another break. “Me next!”

Emily quit tickling and stood up in one fluid effortless motion. “Sure you’re up for it?” she asked, deliberately misunderstanding. “I didn’t even come close. She beat me by almost 45 minutes.”

No I didn’t, thought Rachel. Emily beat me at my own game. Just like I did with all the others.

“Hey Kelly, forget about Rachel,” Julie said. “I’m lots more ticklish than she is.”

“Haven’t had a better offer all night,” Kelly said. “Get ready to laugh, girlfriend!”

“Glutton for punishment,” Emily remarked, another of her occasional odd lapses into 1940’s slang. “How about you, Rachel? I’d like a chance to win my money back.”

“She needs a rest,” Amanda said. “Go ahead, we’ll join you in a little while.” She untied Rachel and helped her up – Rachel was pretty shaky.

“Dibs!” Emily and Meghan called out, almost but not quite together. “Gotcha!” Meghan gloated. “Your ass is grass, and I’m the narc!”

“That’s the way my luck’s run all night,” Emily said. She winked at Rachel. “Sometimes you just can’t win. C’mon, Meghan, let’s do it.” They followed Kelly and Julie out onto the back porch again.

Rachel washed her face and worked the worst of the tangles out of her hair. Out on the porch, Julie and Emily started laughing, the happy result of tickling fingernails on ticklish feet. Amanda got two Cokes, handed one to Rachel. “C’mon, let’s sit on the front stoop,” she said.

They sat side by side. The night was full dark, not even sky glow remaining, but the street lights gave plenty of illumination. The stoop felt rough under Rachel’s bare soles – the concrete still held a trace of the day’s heat.

“Emily got you pretty good,” Amanda said. “No hard feelings?”

“Of course not,” Rachel said. “I’m a big girl. I should’ve seen it coming.” A thoughtful pause. “But we never do, though, do we?” she said. “We choose the games we do because we think we’re invincible. And then someone else takes us off balance and throws us.”

Brittany Righetti blew past, running flat out on the grass parallel to the sidewalk, with her sisters Vicky and Veronica in hot pursuit. The twins were a little taller than Brittany, and wore their hair shoulder-length instead of Brittany’s nearly waist-length mane. But there was a strong family resemblance – young beauties with summer tans, Mediterranean-looking, dark-haired and dark-eyed. All three were barefoot, in shorts and t-shirts.

“Speaking of invincible...” Amanda said.

The twins caught Brittany – there was a brief struggle, then a takedown, as pretty a martial arts move as Rachel had ever seen. Brittany ended up on her back with her feet up – each of the twins had one of Brittany’s ankles trapped in a one-hand grip.

“Noooo!” Brittany yelled. “HAHAHA! HAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA!” she laughed as they started in on her, their well-manicured nails flicking her well-kept and extremely ticklish feet.

“Tickle tickle, Little Sis!” the twins said in chorus. The tickling fingernails speeded up – Brittany laughed like a madwoman, tears running down her cheeks.

“I hear they’re the best ticklers in the neighborhood,” Amanda said. “Maybe the best in town. And they know it, too.”

The twins covered Brittany’s soles and arches with tiny tickling nail flicks while Brittany laughed and laughed. They flicked their nails in Brittany’s sweet spots, in her arches just in front of her heels – Brittany arched her back and laughed her head off at the top of her lungs.

“An endurance contest maybe,” Rachel said thoughtfully. “Just like Emily did with me.”

Amanda looked appraisingly at Rachel. “Ought to work,” she said. “I’m game. You up for it so soon?”

The twins tickled Brittany’s heels, and got another wild burst of laughter. They switched to random nail flicks, tickling like crazy and forcing a solid stream of helpless laughter.

“Piece of cake,” Rachel said. “Sometimes the captain wanted to water ski, remember?”

Amanda grinned mischievously. “How long d’you think we can keep ‘em laughing before we tickle ‘em to death?”

The twins tickled the balls of Brittany’s feet, then tickled down her arches to her heels. Brittany’s laughter went off the scale as they tickled the sweet spots, fingernails flying.

Rachel grinned back. “Oh, we won’t tickle ‘em to death,” she said. “They’ll just wish we did.” They think they’re invincible – they’re in for a surprise!

“Hey, y’all quit!” she called out over the laughter. “Y’all interested in a little contest?”


***THE END***


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