OldEnglish
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Hey everyone,
This is the start to a new little series I started. While I'm not ready to officially bury Katy & Amber just yet, I do need a break from them. I've said a few times that the series went down a path that I wasn't very comfortable with, but it's also been increasingly difficult for me to produce 30+ pages of single-spaced content given life's other needs.
This is the start of something different. Something more light-hearted. It's set up to read as a girl writing about her day's adventures in her diary. It was much easier to write, and I should be able to find time to produce these at a quicker pace.
As always, comments are welcome.
Happy reading,
OldEnglish
PS: It honestly wasn't until I was 3/4 of the way through the piece that I realized I also used a "Nikki" in this piece. I guess it's just m natural go-to for a female name. This is NOT the Nikki from the Katy & Amber series.
Dear Diary - Entry #1: Snapping the Losing Streak (f/f, nylons)
Dear Diary,
It’s your girl Jamie again. I know it’s been forever since we last talked… Err, well, since I last scribbled all over you and you had to take in all of the nonsense I was going on about, but guess what? I’m back!!! Aren’t you so happy? I can’t believe after all of these years searching for you, I found you in my parent’s garage in a box tucked in the corner! How rude, right?
Anyways, it has been a while, huh? I’m all grown up now - quite the woman, you might say. Yeah right. I think the last time you heard from me, I was still in high school, but now not only am I recently out of college, but I’ve also joined the working world! Can you believe it? Little Jamie in the pigtails who used to write about having tea parties with her dolls is now in a business suit having meetings at work. Bet you never saw THAT coming, did you?
Other than that, though, I’m still the same Jamie that you knew growing up. Still slightly too tall for my own liking… And now that I’m wearing heels pretty much every day of my life because of work, that’s even more exaggerated. Still got the same hard-to-tame blonde hair, though now I’m wearing it straightened - a more professional look, I think, and still easy to put in a ponytail on the weekends. I still sing along to songs in the car when I’m alone and I am still an absolute sucker for Hallmark Christmas movies. So even though I may look and act all grown up and mature and professional on the outside, I’m still the same goofy Jamie you knew growing up!
Which brings me to my story that I just had to share with you! It happened on Christmas Eve, so I guess you could say it was sort of an early Christmas present for me?
So it started out as literally every other Christmas Eve has for as long as I can remember, and we all gathered over Grammy and Grampy’s house so we could all see each other, exchange gifts, and, of course, absolutely gorge ourselves on Grammy’s cooking! That woman makes such a great lasagna! But I digress…
To limit the number of cars that would be there, I drove with Mom and Dad. It just made sense since I’d be spending the night at home anyways, but Dad must have forgotten the routine for going out because he kept pestering me if I was ready and I was still putting my makeup on! I know I’ve moved out of the house, but Erica and Mom still live there. He should know it takes time to look beautiful, right? Haha And I did look pretty good, if I do say so myself.. Well, you know, for a family gathering, anyways. I wore this super sparkly red sweater with a pair of black dress pants with a pair of black boots calf-high boots. I know I’m getting older - OK, so I’m only in my 20s, still - but I can still look cute when I want to!
Anyways, I keep getting side-tracked from my story!
My cousin Nikki was there, too, and she brought her boyfriend along with her. Of course you remember Nikki and I were super close growing up since she’s only a few years younger than I, but then when she moved with her mom and dad, it was more difficult for us to hang out, so we’d always spend time together at family gatherings. I actually hadn’t seen Nikki for some time, so it was nice to reconnect with her, and I hadn’t ever met her boyfriend.
What’s that, Diary? Do I have a boyfriend? Nope. And thanks for reminding me…
Anyways, back to my story… So yeah, Nikki was there, and I don’t mind admitting she looked beautiful. I mean, she had always been pretty, even growing up, but you could tell that she had definitely grown up, you know? In the way people do in college? Like, before you would have said she was pretty, but now you can tell she probably has every guy worshipping the ground she walks on? Haha OK, maybe not THAT extreme, but you know what I mean…
And I was totally in love with Nikki’s outfit. I mean, it was somewhat similar to my own, so maybe it was just that she looked better in hers than I did in mine? Just kidding. She had on this white blouse that looked super silky and had on a red open cardigan over that. She was also wearing black dress pants - pretty sure almost ALL of the women there were wearing black dress pants, actually. And she had on a pair of ankle booties that - oh my gosh - I totally need to steal from her. They had a heel, so she looked taller, more pronounced. But I am totally finding out where she got those shoes.
Ugh - I keep getting sidetracked! I swear I must have ADHD or something. I always thought my parents should have had me tested when I was younger! Anyways, back to my story…
So the night is going as every other Christmas Eve has for the past 23 years that I can remember. At one point, I headed down to the basement where we all used to play when we were kids. Even though Grammy and Grampy had updated the room - I imagine they felt that now that we were grown up, they could update the rug and the furniture down there and not have to worry about us spilling grape juice or anything - it still felt like it did when we were growing up.
I was tired, so I plopped down on the couch just to soak in the quiet for a bit. I was only down there for about a minute or so when I heard a clomping noise coming down the steps. I didn’t even have to turn to see who it was - I had been hearing Nikki’s heels clomping on the floor all night long. She came in and sat on the opposite end of the couch I was sitting on. We reminisced about all of the fun we had had growing up and playing in that basement - about getting in trouble, about begging our parents to stay a little longer so we could keep playing. It’s funny how even though you may drift apart in life, you’re always still close.
Anyways, I asked her about school and then told her how much I adored her shoes. She laughed - I guess she remembered how obsessed I have always been with shoes - and asked me if I minded if she took them off because they were killing her. I told her to go for it - why would I mind? - and she said thanks, so she unzipped her booties and then swung her legs up on the couch so she was now sitting on the far couch cushion and her feet were in the middle couch cushion and then there was me.
And this is where our story gets fun! Haha
I hadn’t noticed it that night - or maybe I hadn’t even been looking for it - but Nikki was wearing nylons under her booties that night. As soon as I notice that, I can feel the little devil horns begin growing out of my head, you know? I don’t care what you say; I am pretty sure it is a scientifically proven fact that it is impossible to see someone wearing nylons and NOT tickle them, even a little. And here were Nikki’s feet - literally inches from my hands - and now all she had between her feet and my fingers was a thin pair of nylons. It was like they were begging to be tickled!
Except it wasn’t as simple as just that, of course. So I may now be older and wiser and more mature and more professional than the last time you saw me, but one thing unfortunately remains the same: I am still quite literally the most ticklish person on this entire planet. Talk about unfair, right? I honestly thought I would outgrow it as I got older, but if anything, it’s almost getting… worse? I don’t even know how that is possible. Can you get more ticklish as you age? Regardless, I am still every level of insanely ticklish myself, so I knew I’d have to approach this endeavor with extreme caution if I wanted to carry it out.
Also complicating matters was the fact that I am pretty sure I carried an 0-812 record in tickle fights against Nikki growing up. Oh, it wasn’t that she wasn’t ticklish. Anyone else in the family could have her laughing her head off. It was just that I absolutely sucked in tickle fights against her. Even if I was the one to instigate it and I caught her offguard, she’d have me tapping out in no time. Of course, I wasn’t doing myself any favors since my feet have always been my most ticklish spot and I practically grew up barefoot 24/7. I guess I was pretty much a sitting duck back then…
But right now, Nikki was the sitting duck and I had to make a decision- get busy living or get busy dying, as Red said in my favorite movie!
Just then, Nikki’s boyfriend came downstairs looking for her. Man, was I not happy to see him! Haha I figured my opportunity was gone. Fortunately for me, Nikki always had a little sass to her, and clearly she hadn’t grown out of that yet, so when her boyfriend asked her to move her legs so he’d have somewhere to sit, she said no and told him to find somewhere else to sit. Jokingly, of course. I don’t want you to think that Nikki is a bitch or anything. That’s just her way. It’s all in fun.
And fortunately for me, her little sass here sealed her fate! Her boyfriend, not wanting to look like he was whipped by her or anything, sat down right across Nikki’s legs on the middle cushion. So now sitting on the far end of the couch was Nikki with her boyfriend on the middle cushion and me on the opposite end of the couch. And sticking out from underneath her boyfriend - still in only nylons but now essentially trapped and unable to defend themselves - were Nikki’s feet.
I mean, I HAD to, right? Haha
We chatted for a bit because I didn’t want to seem too obvious or anything, but after a while, I asked her boyfriend if he was comfortable sitting on her legs and he said he was. And I asked him if he wanted to get up and he said no. Perfect. So I asked him if he wouldn’t mind sitting where he was for a minute and not getting up.
And this was when Nikki started getting a little nervous, I think… haha
So he was all for it and said he wasn’t going to get up, but Nikki started asking me what I was doing and everything and I played it cool and said nothing, but Nikki could clearly tell something was up. Now, I don’t know if she realized I was about to tickle her feet or not. She didn’t say that or anything, but then again, who would actually say that? Imagine if the person WASN’T going to tickle your feet and you’re all like, “Please don’t tickle my feet!” haha Either way, she knew she wanted her boyfriend off her legs pronto, so she started trying to pull her legs free, but he had her down pretty good. She starts telling him to get off and thankfully he’s all like “I gave my word I wouldn’t”, so I knew he was going to play along.
So this was it. Now or never, right? So I carefully took the pointer finger on both of my hands and moved them closer to Nikki’s feet, but I did so in a way that she couldn’t see what I was doing. Just in case she didn’t already realize that she was about to be tickled, I didn’t want her having any hints, you know? I started at her heel and planned to ever so carefully, ever so lightly, just trace the tip of my fingernail up the bottom of her foot to her toes. It’s how Mom always used to wake me up on weekends when I’d sleep in, so I knew it’s a very effective move, no matter how simple it seems. And the reaction was instant.
Nikki would have jumped a foot in the air if she could, but her boyfriend was holding her down by sitting on her legs. “OH MY GOD, JAMIE DON’T!” she yelled before I could even get my finger to the middle of her foot. If she didn’t know what was coming before, she definitely knew now!
She immediately went into panic mode, and I knew I had her good. She was trying everything she could to pull herself free, but she just couldn’t pull her legs out from under her boyfriend. She went back and forth between pleading with him to get up (“Honey, please, you have to get up!”) and then trying to order him to get up (“You have to get off of me NOW!”) but all of her words were just getting lost in this flurry of giggles that were coming out of her mouth. And then of course she tried pleading with me (“Jamie, please stop!”), but those pleas fell on deaf ears!
It was actually kind of cute to watch her go through all of these different stages of being tickled. My favorite was when she’d try to get leverage by trying to push herself up off the couch with her arms. That, or when she would try to sound all imposing and order her boyfriend to get up, but all you could make out were the giggles coming out.
I wasn’t even really fully tickling her yet, either. I was still just lightly tracing the tip of my fingernail on the bottom of her foot, just one finger per foot. But as simple as the attack was, man was it working on her! She eventually got a point where she was grabbing onto her boyfriend’s arm, trying to pull him off of her, but of course she wouldn’t have had enough strength to do that to begin with, but certainly not when she’s trying so hard not to burst out laughing. Finally, she says to him while she’s clutching his arm, “Babe, you have to move” with this tone that was part desperation and part resignation, knowing that she was toast.
After that, she tries to look over to me and she says, “I hate you so much right now.” I knew she didn’t mean it, of course. But I still couldn’t let her get away with that, right? So that’s when I said to her, “Oh really?” and then I decided it was time to go with the all-out tickle attack. It changed from one finger on each foot to every finger on each foot.
Nikki had about 2.2 seconds where she screamed out “I’M SORRY!” before she fell back as far as she could and was just overwhelmed with laughter. I was actually kind of shocked that she was as ticklish as she was. I mean, I knew she was ticklish, like I said, but she was going berserk and was trying to tap out on the side of the couch as much as she could.
I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. If those 812 tickle fight losses weren’t still fresh in my memory, I may have had a little more sympathy for her. But I still vividly remember all those times when I’d just be sitting there, minding my own business, when all of a sudden she’d come up to me and clamp my ankle into a headlock… Before I’d know what was happening, she’d be laughing as she was going to town tickling my foot… And she’d always ask “What’s wrong?” or “What’s the matter?” or “Is something wrong?” whenever I’d be laughing my head off… Of course something’s wrong! You’re tickling my feet!! Haha But naturally I’d always be laughing too much to actually get the words out. And then when she’d be done, she’d always look so triumphant, the younger cousin conquering the older cousin. If only she had known that I had lost tickle fights to the 7 year-olds I had babysat, she wouldn’t have felt so accomplished.
But I digress… This time was different. This time I had her. This time there was nothing she could do to fight back. This time she’d have to sit and take it and feel what it is like for someone to take advantage of the fact that you took your shoes off.
I actually wonder if she was kicking herself for wearing nylons that night. I don’t necessarily think the boots she had on would lend themselves to being worn while barefoot, so it was really either socks or nylons. And if she had had socks on, I honestly don’t think I would have tickled her. Then, I would have had to have taken her socks off and get her barefoot, and it just feels like that would have taken too long. But once I noticed that she had nylons on, I knew she was a sitting duck!
It was also becoming very apparent that she was reaching her breaking point. Again, I don’t remember her ever being as ticklish as she was now, but hey, I wasn’t going to complain about that. She had fallen into what my family used to call “silent laughter mode”. It’s when you’re laughing so much that you’re not actually making the noise of laughing anymore. It’s pretty much the point that the tickling goes from fun to torture. Growing up, Nikki had brought me to the silent laughter mode countless times, but this is one of the few times - maybe the only time, actually - that I remember being able to get her to silent laughter.
Anyways, I knew that that had been enough - both so I wouldn’t be overly mean to her, but maybe more importantly so people wouldn’t get any idea of tickling me (there weren’t any socks on under my boots, either!). So I finished tickling her and sat there for a moment while she caught her breath, inching myself closer to the edge of the sofa so that I might be able to make a mad dash if they turned their tickling attention to me.
Finally, someone had to say something to end the awkwardness, so I said to her boyfriend, “If you didn’t already know, it looks like your girlfriend is a little ticklish.”
He was rubbing her arm and laughing and he says, “I can see!” But here’s the best part… He then turns to Nikki and says, “I thought you always told me you weren’t ticklish?”
!!!!!!
Ah, I can’t believe it! It may not seem like much, but I can’t tell you how many times growing up Nikki had told a friend or a boyfriend or one of her friends how ticklish I was . And what can you say after someone says that about you? Especially if it’s true! Haha You can either say, “It’s true” ---- and then they tickle you. Or you can deny it ---- but then they tickle you. So, oh my gosh, it felt SOOOO good to finally be able to “out” Nikki being ticklish to someone.
And Nikki’s reaction was pure gold! She totally tried to lie her way out of it and said, “No, I’m only ticklish certain times is what I meant”, and I was kind of worried that the boyfriend would fall for it, but thankfully, he wasn’t buying it. He said to her, “So I better take advantage of this time then, huh?” and he started poking at her sides and squeezing her thigh. Nikki jumped so high and she was doing everything she could to grab onto her boyfriend’s hands to stop his tickles and she finally came clean. “OK OK OK! I’m always ticklish! I lied!”
Now I won’t lie… I was still sitting there on the other side, watching this go down, and I just kept looking down to her feet, poking out from under her boyfriend’s legs. And I kept wondering whether I should start again or not… Everything inside of me said it was far too risky, but still, it was so tempting. Common sense got the better of me, though, so I got up off the couch and started walking out of the room while she kept begging her boyfriend to get up, knowing how bad a spot she was still in.
I didn’t have a chance to really be in the room alone with Nikki and her boyfriend again - and no doubt, Nikki didn’t want to make known the fact that she had just been bested in a tickle fight against me - so there wasn’t much more mention of it that night. But later that night, after we all made our ways home and should have been sleeping for Santa, my phone vibrated and I got this text message. She included a ton of emojis that I can’t draw in this diary, but rest assured the conversation was a very joking tone despite some of the “threats”.
Nikki: Thank you SO much for tonight.
Jamie: He seemed very interested to find that out about you
Nikki: Yeah, I had him successfully convinced that I wasn’t ticklish. Do you have any idea how hard that is to do?
Nikki: Oh wait, look who I am talking to!
Jamie: It’s the dangers that come with being ticklish
Jamie: Speaking of which, you seemed to be much much more ticklish than I remember growing up. Hmm…
Nikki: That’s not the issue here
Jamie: Oh I think it’s very much the issue, actually
Jamie: Has the balance of power shifted? Am I now no longer the most ticklish cousin?
Nikki: OMG As if! You just caught me at a bad time tonight.
Jamie: Uh-huh
Nikki: Come on! I had nylons on. Nobody could have survived that!
Jamie: So what I am seeing here is that nylons are your weakness?
Nikki: Aren’t they everyone’s weakness?
Jamie: IDK. Are they?
Nikki: Are you trying to say that you’re not more ticklish in nylons?
Jamie: “That’s not the issue here”
Nikki: Haha Oh it’s very much the issue!
Nikki: You are SO lucky you weren’t wearing nylons too or I would have gotten you back so bad!
Jamie: Yeah… Not wearing nylons…
Nikki: SHUT UP!
Nikki: You had nylons on???
Jamie: What if I did?
Nikki: OH MY GOD I would have POUNCED!!
Nikki: I can’t even imagine how ticklish YOU would be in nylons. I remember growing up!
Jamie: Well, I’m the one on the winning streak now
Nikki: Oh just wait. I’ll get you back. I’ll get you back good. And heaven help you if I ever find you in nylons!
Jamie: Sticks and stones
Nikki: You’ll see
So that’s about that. It looks like I have some payback coming my way, but for the time being at least, your girl is now 1-812 in tickle fights against Nikki!
Until next time!
Jamie
This is the start to a new little series I started. While I'm not ready to officially bury Katy & Amber just yet, I do need a break from them. I've said a few times that the series went down a path that I wasn't very comfortable with, but it's also been increasingly difficult for me to produce 30+ pages of single-spaced content given life's other needs.
This is the start of something different. Something more light-hearted. It's set up to read as a girl writing about her day's adventures in her diary. It was much easier to write, and I should be able to find time to produce these at a quicker pace.
As always, comments are welcome.
Happy reading,
OldEnglish
PS: It honestly wasn't until I was 3/4 of the way through the piece that I realized I also used a "Nikki" in this piece. I guess it's just m natural go-to for a female name. This is NOT the Nikki from the Katy & Amber series.
Dear Diary - Entry #1: Snapping the Losing Streak (f/f, nylons)
Dear Diary,
It’s your girl Jamie again. I know it’s been forever since we last talked… Err, well, since I last scribbled all over you and you had to take in all of the nonsense I was going on about, but guess what? I’m back!!! Aren’t you so happy? I can’t believe after all of these years searching for you, I found you in my parent’s garage in a box tucked in the corner! How rude, right?
Anyways, it has been a while, huh? I’m all grown up now - quite the woman, you might say. Yeah right. I think the last time you heard from me, I was still in high school, but now not only am I recently out of college, but I’ve also joined the working world! Can you believe it? Little Jamie in the pigtails who used to write about having tea parties with her dolls is now in a business suit having meetings at work. Bet you never saw THAT coming, did you?
Other than that, though, I’m still the same Jamie that you knew growing up. Still slightly too tall for my own liking… And now that I’m wearing heels pretty much every day of my life because of work, that’s even more exaggerated. Still got the same hard-to-tame blonde hair, though now I’m wearing it straightened - a more professional look, I think, and still easy to put in a ponytail on the weekends. I still sing along to songs in the car when I’m alone and I am still an absolute sucker for Hallmark Christmas movies. So even though I may look and act all grown up and mature and professional on the outside, I’m still the same goofy Jamie you knew growing up!
Which brings me to my story that I just had to share with you! It happened on Christmas Eve, so I guess you could say it was sort of an early Christmas present for me?
So it started out as literally every other Christmas Eve has for as long as I can remember, and we all gathered over Grammy and Grampy’s house so we could all see each other, exchange gifts, and, of course, absolutely gorge ourselves on Grammy’s cooking! That woman makes such a great lasagna! But I digress…
To limit the number of cars that would be there, I drove with Mom and Dad. It just made sense since I’d be spending the night at home anyways, but Dad must have forgotten the routine for going out because he kept pestering me if I was ready and I was still putting my makeup on! I know I’ve moved out of the house, but Erica and Mom still live there. He should know it takes time to look beautiful, right? Haha And I did look pretty good, if I do say so myself.. Well, you know, for a family gathering, anyways. I wore this super sparkly red sweater with a pair of black dress pants with a pair of black boots calf-high boots. I know I’m getting older - OK, so I’m only in my 20s, still - but I can still look cute when I want to!
Anyways, I keep getting side-tracked from my story!
My cousin Nikki was there, too, and she brought her boyfriend along with her. Of course you remember Nikki and I were super close growing up since she’s only a few years younger than I, but then when she moved with her mom and dad, it was more difficult for us to hang out, so we’d always spend time together at family gatherings. I actually hadn’t seen Nikki for some time, so it was nice to reconnect with her, and I hadn’t ever met her boyfriend.
What’s that, Diary? Do I have a boyfriend? Nope. And thanks for reminding me…
Anyways, back to my story… So yeah, Nikki was there, and I don’t mind admitting she looked beautiful. I mean, she had always been pretty, even growing up, but you could tell that she had definitely grown up, you know? In the way people do in college? Like, before you would have said she was pretty, but now you can tell she probably has every guy worshipping the ground she walks on? Haha OK, maybe not THAT extreme, but you know what I mean…
And I was totally in love with Nikki’s outfit. I mean, it was somewhat similar to my own, so maybe it was just that she looked better in hers than I did in mine? Just kidding. She had on this white blouse that looked super silky and had on a red open cardigan over that. She was also wearing black dress pants - pretty sure almost ALL of the women there were wearing black dress pants, actually. And she had on a pair of ankle booties that - oh my gosh - I totally need to steal from her. They had a heel, so she looked taller, more pronounced. But I am totally finding out where she got those shoes.
Ugh - I keep getting sidetracked! I swear I must have ADHD or something. I always thought my parents should have had me tested when I was younger! Anyways, back to my story…
So the night is going as every other Christmas Eve has for the past 23 years that I can remember. At one point, I headed down to the basement where we all used to play when we were kids. Even though Grammy and Grampy had updated the room - I imagine they felt that now that we were grown up, they could update the rug and the furniture down there and not have to worry about us spilling grape juice or anything - it still felt like it did when we were growing up.
I was tired, so I plopped down on the couch just to soak in the quiet for a bit. I was only down there for about a minute or so when I heard a clomping noise coming down the steps. I didn’t even have to turn to see who it was - I had been hearing Nikki’s heels clomping on the floor all night long. She came in and sat on the opposite end of the couch I was sitting on. We reminisced about all of the fun we had had growing up and playing in that basement - about getting in trouble, about begging our parents to stay a little longer so we could keep playing. It’s funny how even though you may drift apart in life, you’re always still close.
Anyways, I asked her about school and then told her how much I adored her shoes. She laughed - I guess she remembered how obsessed I have always been with shoes - and asked me if I minded if she took them off because they were killing her. I told her to go for it - why would I mind? - and she said thanks, so she unzipped her booties and then swung her legs up on the couch so she was now sitting on the far couch cushion and her feet were in the middle couch cushion and then there was me.
And this is where our story gets fun! Haha
I hadn’t noticed it that night - or maybe I hadn’t even been looking for it - but Nikki was wearing nylons under her booties that night. As soon as I notice that, I can feel the little devil horns begin growing out of my head, you know? I don’t care what you say; I am pretty sure it is a scientifically proven fact that it is impossible to see someone wearing nylons and NOT tickle them, even a little. And here were Nikki’s feet - literally inches from my hands - and now all she had between her feet and my fingers was a thin pair of nylons. It was like they were begging to be tickled!
Except it wasn’t as simple as just that, of course. So I may now be older and wiser and more mature and more professional than the last time you saw me, but one thing unfortunately remains the same: I am still quite literally the most ticklish person on this entire planet. Talk about unfair, right? I honestly thought I would outgrow it as I got older, but if anything, it’s almost getting… worse? I don’t even know how that is possible. Can you get more ticklish as you age? Regardless, I am still every level of insanely ticklish myself, so I knew I’d have to approach this endeavor with extreme caution if I wanted to carry it out.
Also complicating matters was the fact that I am pretty sure I carried an 0-812 record in tickle fights against Nikki growing up. Oh, it wasn’t that she wasn’t ticklish. Anyone else in the family could have her laughing her head off. It was just that I absolutely sucked in tickle fights against her. Even if I was the one to instigate it and I caught her offguard, she’d have me tapping out in no time. Of course, I wasn’t doing myself any favors since my feet have always been my most ticklish spot and I practically grew up barefoot 24/7. I guess I was pretty much a sitting duck back then…
But right now, Nikki was the sitting duck and I had to make a decision- get busy living or get busy dying, as Red said in my favorite movie!
Just then, Nikki’s boyfriend came downstairs looking for her. Man, was I not happy to see him! Haha I figured my opportunity was gone. Fortunately for me, Nikki always had a little sass to her, and clearly she hadn’t grown out of that yet, so when her boyfriend asked her to move her legs so he’d have somewhere to sit, she said no and told him to find somewhere else to sit. Jokingly, of course. I don’t want you to think that Nikki is a bitch or anything. That’s just her way. It’s all in fun.
And fortunately for me, her little sass here sealed her fate! Her boyfriend, not wanting to look like he was whipped by her or anything, sat down right across Nikki’s legs on the middle cushion. So now sitting on the far end of the couch was Nikki with her boyfriend on the middle cushion and me on the opposite end of the couch. And sticking out from underneath her boyfriend - still in only nylons but now essentially trapped and unable to defend themselves - were Nikki’s feet.
I mean, I HAD to, right? Haha
We chatted for a bit because I didn’t want to seem too obvious or anything, but after a while, I asked her boyfriend if he was comfortable sitting on her legs and he said he was. And I asked him if he wanted to get up and he said no. Perfect. So I asked him if he wouldn’t mind sitting where he was for a minute and not getting up.
And this was when Nikki started getting a little nervous, I think… haha
So he was all for it and said he wasn’t going to get up, but Nikki started asking me what I was doing and everything and I played it cool and said nothing, but Nikki could clearly tell something was up. Now, I don’t know if she realized I was about to tickle her feet or not. She didn’t say that or anything, but then again, who would actually say that? Imagine if the person WASN’T going to tickle your feet and you’re all like, “Please don’t tickle my feet!” haha Either way, she knew she wanted her boyfriend off her legs pronto, so she started trying to pull her legs free, but he had her down pretty good. She starts telling him to get off and thankfully he’s all like “I gave my word I wouldn’t”, so I knew he was going to play along.
So this was it. Now or never, right? So I carefully took the pointer finger on both of my hands and moved them closer to Nikki’s feet, but I did so in a way that she couldn’t see what I was doing. Just in case she didn’t already realize that she was about to be tickled, I didn’t want her having any hints, you know? I started at her heel and planned to ever so carefully, ever so lightly, just trace the tip of my fingernail up the bottom of her foot to her toes. It’s how Mom always used to wake me up on weekends when I’d sleep in, so I knew it’s a very effective move, no matter how simple it seems. And the reaction was instant.
Nikki would have jumped a foot in the air if she could, but her boyfriend was holding her down by sitting on her legs. “OH MY GOD, JAMIE DON’T!” she yelled before I could even get my finger to the middle of her foot. If she didn’t know what was coming before, she definitely knew now!
She immediately went into panic mode, and I knew I had her good. She was trying everything she could to pull herself free, but she just couldn’t pull her legs out from under her boyfriend. She went back and forth between pleading with him to get up (“Honey, please, you have to get up!”) and then trying to order him to get up (“You have to get off of me NOW!”) but all of her words were just getting lost in this flurry of giggles that were coming out of her mouth. And then of course she tried pleading with me (“Jamie, please stop!”), but those pleas fell on deaf ears!
It was actually kind of cute to watch her go through all of these different stages of being tickled. My favorite was when she’d try to get leverage by trying to push herself up off the couch with her arms. That, or when she would try to sound all imposing and order her boyfriend to get up, but all you could make out were the giggles coming out.
I wasn’t even really fully tickling her yet, either. I was still just lightly tracing the tip of my fingernail on the bottom of her foot, just one finger per foot. But as simple as the attack was, man was it working on her! She eventually got a point where she was grabbing onto her boyfriend’s arm, trying to pull him off of her, but of course she wouldn’t have had enough strength to do that to begin with, but certainly not when she’s trying so hard not to burst out laughing. Finally, she says to him while she’s clutching his arm, “Babe, you have to move” with this tone that was part desperation and part resignation, knowing that she was toast.
After that, she tries to look over to me and she says, “I hate you so much right now.” I knew she didn’t mean it, of course. But I still couldn’t let her get away with that, right? So that’s when I said to her, “Oh really?” and then I decided it was time to go with the all-out tickle attack. It changed from one finger on each foot to every finger on each foot.
Nikki had about 2.2 seconds where she screamed out “I’M SORRY!” before she fell back as far as she could and was just overwhelmed with laughter. I was actually kind of shocked that she was as ticklish as she was. I mean, I knew she was ticklish, like I said, but she was going berserk and was trying to tap out on the side of the couch as much as she could.
I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. If those 812 tickle fight losses weren’t still fresh in my memory, I may have had a little more sympathy for her. But I still vividly remember all those times when I’d just be sitting there, minding my own business, when all of a sudden she’d come up to me and clamp my ankle into a headlock… Before I’d know what was happening, she’d be laughing as she was going to town tickling my foot… And she’d always ask “What’s wrong?” or “What’s the matter?” or “Is something wrong?” whenever I’d be laughing my head off… Of course something’s wrong! You’re tickling my feet!! Haha But naturally I’d always be laughing too much to actually get the words out. And then when she’d be done, she’d always look so triumphant, the younger cousin conquering the older cousin. If only she had known that I had lost tickle fights to the 7 year-olds I had babysat, she wouldn’t have felt so accomplished.
But I digress… This time was different. This time I had her. This time there was nothing she could do to fight back. This time she’d have to sit and take it and feel what it is like for someone to take advantage of the fact that you took your shoes off.
I actually wonder if she was kicking herself for wearing nylons that night. I don’t necessarily think the boots she had on would lend themselves to being worn while barefoot, so it was really either socks or nylons. And if she had had socks on, I honestly don’t think I would have tickled her. Then, I would have had to have taken her socks off and get her barefoot, and it just feels like that would have taken too long. But once I noticed that she had nylons on, I knew she was a sitting duck!
It was also becoming very apparent that she was reaching her breaking point. Again, I don’t remember her ever being as ticklish as she was now, but hey, I wasn’t going to complain about that. She had fallen into what my family used to call “silent laughter mode”. It’s when you’re laughing so much that you’re not actually making the noise of laughing anymore. It’s pretty much the point that the tickling goes from fun to torture. Growing up, Nikki had brought me to the silent laughter mode countless times, but this is one of the few times - maybe the only time, actually - that I remember being able to get her to silent laughter.
Anyways, I knew that that had been enough - both so I wouldn’t be overly mean to her, but maybe more importantly so people wouldn’t get any idea of tickling me (there weren’t any socks on under my boots, either!). So I finished tickling her and sat there for a moment while she caught her breath, inching myself closer to the edge of the sofa so that I might be able to make a mad dash if they turned their tickling attention to me.
Finally, someone had to say something to end the awkwardness, so I said to her boyfriend, “If you didn’t already know, it looks like your girlfriend is a little ticklish.”
He was rubbing her arm and laughing and he says, “I can see!” But here’s the best part… He then turns to Nikki and says, “I thought you always told me you weren’t ticklish?”
!!!!!!
Ah, I can’t believe it! It may not seem like much, but I can’t tell you how many times growing up Nikki had told a friend or a boyfriend or one of her friends how ticklish I was . And what can you say after someone says that about you? Especially if it’s true! Haha You can either say, “It’s true” ---- and then they tickle you. Or you can deny it ---- but then they tickle you. So, oh my gosh, it felt SOOOO good to finally be able to “out” Nikki being ticklish to someone.
And Nikki’s reaction was pure gold! She totally tried to lie her way out of it and said, “No, I’m only ticklish certain times is what I meant”, and I was kind of worried that the boyfriend would fall for it, but thankfully, he wasn’t buying it. He said to her, “So I better take advantage of this time then, huh?” and he started poking at her sides and squeezing her thigh. Nikki jumped so high and she was doing everything she could to grab onto her boyfriend’s hands to stop his tickles and she finally came clean. “OK OK OK! I’m always ticklish! I lied!”
Now I won’t lie… I was still sitting there on the other side, watching this go down, and I just kept looking down to her feet, poking out from under her boyfriend’s legs. And I kept wondering whether I should start again or not… Everything inside of me said it was far too risky, but still, it was so tempting. Common sense got the better of me, though, so I got up off the couch and started walking out of the room while she kept begging her boyfriend to get up, knowing how bad a spot she was still in.
I didn’t have a chance to really be in the room alone with Nikki and her boyfriend again - and no doubt, Nikki didn’t want to make known the fact that she had just been bested in a tickle fight against me - so there wasn’t much more mention of it that night. But later that night, after we all made our ways home and should have been sleeping for Santa, my phone vibrated and I got this text message. She included a ton of emojis that I can’t draw in this diary, but rest assured the conversation was a very joking tone despite some of the “threats”.
Nikki: Thank you SO much for tonight.
Jamie: He seemed very interested to find that out about you
Nikki: Yeah, I had him successfully convinced that I wasn’t ticklish. Do you have any idea how hard that is to do?
Nikki: Oh wait, look who I am talking to!
Jamie: It’s the dangers that come with being ticklish
Jamie: Speaking of which, you seemed to be much much more ticklish than I remember growing up. Hmm…
Nikki: That’s not the issue here
Jamie: Oh I think it’s very much the issue, actually
Jamie: Has the balance of power shifted? Am I now no longer the most ticklish cousin?
Nikki: OMG As if! You just caught me at a bad time tonight.
Jamie: Uh-huh
Nikki: Come on! I had nylons on. Nobody could have survived that!
Jamie: So what I am seeing here is that nylons are your weakness?
Nikki: Aren’t they everyone’s weakness?
Jamie: IDK. Are they?
Nikki: Are you trying to say that you’re not more ticklish in nylons?
Jamie: “That’s not the issue here”
Nikki: Haha Oh it’s very much the issue!
Nikki: You are SO lucky you weren’t wearing nylons too or I would have gotten you back so bad!
Jamie: Yeah… Not wearing nylons…
Nikki: SHUT UP!
Nikki: You had nylons on???
Jamie: What if I did?
Nikki: OH MY GOD I would have POUNCED!!
Nikki: I can’t even imagine how ticklish YOU would be in nylons. I remember growing up!
Jamie: Well, I’m the one on the winning streak now
Nikki: Oh just wait. I’ll get you back. I’ll get you back good. And heaven help you if I ever find you in nylons!
Jamie: Sticks and stones
Nikki: You’ll see
So that’s about that. It looks like I have some payback coming my way, but for the time being at least, your girl is now 1-812 in tickle fights against Nikki!
Until next time!
Jamie