OldEnglish
TMF Regular
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- Apr 21, 2001
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Hey everyone,
Installment #2 is out. I went a little longer on this one that I had planned, but I find it so hard to "walk away" from a scene once it's set up. I hope you enjoy. As always, comments welcome!
Happy reading,
OldEnglish
Dear Diary - Entry #1: Snapping the Losing Streak (f/f, nylons)
Dear Diary - Entry #2: So Much for that Winning Streak... (f/f, nylons)
Dear Diary,
Welp, that didn’t last long… Of course, I’m referring to the winning streak I was on in tickle fights against my cousin Nikki. And I say winning streak, but let’s face facts: it was one win. Haha Just as she promised, she got me back, and she got me back good.
So I think the one victory kind of went to head a little bit, and I got a little over-confident, and Nikki - to her credit - was able to take advantage of that. But even though I got completely owned tonight - even though I would never actually admit that to her - I feel like I am in a much better spot now than I ever was before. After all those years, I finally know her weakness. There IS hope. Haha
Oh, and I also want to say that I think Nikki completely cheated, too, so I want an asterisk next to her latest victory.
OK, so on with what happened…
So, same venue. Grammy and Grampy’s place. This time, though, it’s a combination Super Bowl party and birthday for Grampy. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have gone to a Super Bowl party because football doesn’t interest me in the least, but I couldn’t not go to Grampy’s birthday party, right?
So what did me in didn’t even happen at the party. It happened before, at my apartment, as I was getting ready. So it’s been unusually cold lately, and you know me, I get super cold so easily. Remember I was the Queen of the Blankets back in the day! Anyways, my go-to for those super cold days is to wear pantyhose on underneath whatever I am wearing. Generally, if it’s that cold, I’m already wearing pants or jeans or whatever, so it’s fine - it’s not like anyone could see them. And tonight was no different. Black leggings. Nude pantyhose underneath. Socks. Some ankle booties. And a top and a hoodie. So I know - one of those things (the pantyhose) is not like the other - but trust me, it’s a super effective way to stay warm.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking.. Wearing pantyhose is probably the worst idea, right? Well, a few things… For one, I was confident that no one would even notice. After all, I had on leggings and socks, too, so who would even be able to tell I had pantyhose on? For another, I had no intention of taking my ankle booties off. And again, even if I did, I’d have socks on over the nylons still, so no one would know. And third - and perhaps most important - Nikki wasn’t going to be there. She and her boyfriend had some event with his family. Haha So those three things combined with the especially cold weather meant it was a pantyhose kind of day.
So I get there and all goes as expected - nothing out of the ordinary. There were a ton of pizzas and everybody was all set for the game, complaining that our team wasn’t in it this year. We sang “Happy Birthday” and had our cake and then everyone started picking their spots to watch the game, arguing - obnoxiously, if I do say so myself - about who would win. Everything was going exactly as I would have expected - until there was a knock at the door before the game began.
Yup. Nikki. And her boyfriend.
My jaw dropped. For two reasons.
One, of course, I wasn’t expecting her at all, and with her threat of revenge still fresh in my mind, I instantly took stock of the situation, remembering the pantyhose that were under my leggings and thanking the good lord up above that I hadn’t taken my ankle booties off yet.
But once she removed her coat… What was this? Was Nikki in pantyhose again? Could I be so lucky? Both she and her boyfriend were dressed much better than anyone else at the party, the event with her boyfriend’s family obviously being something somewhat formal. Her boyfriend was wearing slacks and a button-down shirt with a tie and Nikki was wearing a red dress that went to right above her knee and a pair of black knee-high boots with a pretty sizable heel. But it was what was between the dress and the boots that caught my eye… There was no mistaking it. Nikki had pantyhose on again.
You could tell Nikki wasn’t expecting to see me at the party, either, as she almost stopped short when she noticed me, our eyes meeting for a second. My uncle took their coats and ushered Nikki’s boyfriend into the dining room area where there were still piles of pizza to be had. Leaving just me and Nikki…
“You’re looking nice today,” I said to her with a smile - knowing full well she knew what I meant.
“Yeah, well, we just came from an event, but we wanted to make an appearance here,” she said, now avoiding eye contact with me.
I loved it. So rare had I ever had such power like this. I was relishing every second.
“Pretty chilly out there,” I said. “Hope your legs weren’t cold on the walk in. I know cold like this could do a number of bare skin,” I said, playing dumb and just twisting the dagger in even more.
And she felt it. “My legs aren’t bare,” she eventually said plainly. I feigned surprise and asked how that could be so. “I’m wearing pantyhose,” she finally confessed, not that there was any doubt.
Can I just tell you - it was AMAZING seeing her on the defensive. She was in a bad spot and she knew it. Hearing her admit that she was wearing pantyhose was music to my ears. That sounds weird, I know. And that she said it didn’t really do much to change things. It was pretty clear to anyone looking at her that she had pantyhose on. And that she was wearing them wasn’t all that far-fetched, either; after all, they went perfectly well with her outfit, even made it all the cuter, if you ask me. And certainly in this family, wearing pantyhose is almost more the norm than the exception. My mom’s side of the family has always been all about looking formal and being proper, so you learned at a very young age that pantyhose - well, first tights, but then pantyhose - are almost a required part of an outfit, especially to any sort of formal or “special” event. So though it was clear to anyone in the house that Nikki had pantyhose on, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that no one else had even given it much notice.
But I sure did! Now that I knew pantyhose transformed Nikki into a super ticklish person who was easily beatable in tickle fights, checking to see if Nikki was wearing pantyhose was sure to become of the first things I did at a family gathering from this point on. And though I knew I had to proceed with caution - Nikki may be more ticklish now than she was when we were growing up, but I unfortunately did not become any less ticklish - I knew I had to take advantage of any opportunity I had.
And boy, did I have an opportunity now. I had to push some more, though.
“Love those boots,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. I did. They were gorgeous. “But they look like they’d be a nightmare to walk in all day,” I said, unable to hide my smile at this point.
“They… can be difficult,” she said, seemingly beginning to lie before realizing it wasn’t worth it.
“You’re welcome to take them off,” I said with a smile. “Make yourself at home.”
“I’ll just keep my boots on, thank you very much,” she said with conviction. It was almost a game - the two of us seeing who could back the other into a corner.
Oh my gosh, I realize that all of this sounds so full of drama, but of course we were just teasing each other. And it continued…
“I’m sure your feet wouldn’t get cold,” I said. “If you have socks on, they should keep those piggies warm.”
She just stared at me, almost like she was wondering how far I was going to take this, “I’m actually not wearing any socks,” she finally said. “Just the pantyhose,” she added, as if she were trying to guess what my next question would be and answer it before I could ask.
“Just the pantyhose?” I asked slyly. “That’s interesting. I hope nothing accidentally brushes up against your feet or anything, then,” I said with a wink. “Wouldn’t want to put a run in your nylons,” I added, pretending that I had reasons more altruistic than I had for noticing her pantyhose.
“Listen,” she said, trying to take the offensive. “Even in pantyhose, I’m not as ticklish as you are, so you better just watch yourself.” And as she did that, she sort of pointed her finger at me. And I admit it. I jumped a little. I mean, I thought for sure she was going to tickle me. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. So, yeah, I jumped. And she noticed. And she loved it. “See?” she said with a small laugh. “You’re still air ticklish, like always.”
I hated being air ticklish! Wait, I should probably explain what being air ticklish means. I don’t think it’s all too common a term. So growing up, Nikki - and others - used to say that I was “air ticklish” because they could just wiggle their fingers in the air in front of me and I would start laughing. Even if they didn’t actually physically touch me. Like, they would be actually tickling the air, but I would be laughing. And oh my word how I hated that it was so effective against me growing up! So there were two types of air ticklish states, I found. One was when you just came up to me sort of threatening to tickle me with your fingers wiggling in the air. That would be more a nervous kind of laugh - like a “No, please don’t!” laughter. The other was worse. It was when someone would be tickling me already and I’d already be laughing, and then they’d “give me a break” by wiggling their fingers in the air above me. That stuff would drive me insane, and Nikki knew it and wasn’t above using it to her advantage. So many times she’d sneak up on me and start tickling me, and I’d be toast already from her initial tickle attack, but then she’d “give me a break” and start air tickling me, and I’d do crazy laughing. With her, it was never JUST air tickling, either. She always had to provide commentary while doing it. “I’m not even touching you!” “What are you laughing at? I’m not even tickling you!” “How can you be this ticklish?” Yes, Nikki, I was quite aware of how ticklish I was, thank you very much; I didn’t need someone stating the obvious. I hadn’t been air tickled in a while, but clearly it was something I still couldn’t handle.
“Listen,” I said, conceding the point. “Air ticklish or not, all that matters right now is that you all you have on under those boots are pantyhose. And those boots will definitely be coming off in no time.”
“These boots are going nowhere,” she said with confidence, knowing there was little I could do to get them off of her if she didn’t take them off herself.
“Your feet must be killing you,” I suggested. “I bet you could go for a nice, relaxing foot massage right about now,” I said, hoping the power of suggestion would work.
“Yes, my feet are killing me,” Nikki began…
“Oh, do you want a foot massage, babe?” asked her boyfriend, entering the room again. I won’t lie; I laughed out loud when I saw Nikki’s face just completely drop.
“No, no,” Nikki said hurriedly. “I’m all set.”
“No, it’s the least I could do,” her boyfriend insisted, motioning Nikki to the couch.
“I said I’m all set,” Nikki said sternly, though not too sternly.
“Just take the foot massage,” I goaded Nikki, knowing full well she wouldn’t be able to handle it without cracking up. And even better, it would force her to take her boots off.
“I’m good for now, thank you,” Nikki said, staring me down with each word.
“Well, suit yourself,” her boyfriend said and he got up and went back into the other room.
All I could do was smile at her! I couldn’t help it! I had never been in such a position of power before! I had never had her backed against the ropes like this!
“Laugh it up,” Nikki said when we were alone in the room again, sitting down and crossing her legs as she did.
And I did! “I’m sorry,” I said, through the laughter. “It’s just…” I started, chuckling again. “I’ve never known you to be so ticklish before,” I said. “It’s cute,” I added.
I could tell Nikki was forcing a smile down, as it was clear she found the goofiness of this whole thing silly, as well. “I admit,” she said quietly and with a straight face, as if confessing to a crime. “I admit that I’m more ticklish now than we were growing up,” she said, clearly having to force the words out of her mouth. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I am still nowhere near as ticklish as you,” she said, raising an eyebrow as she said so.
“Those pantyhose on your feet say otherwise,” I quickly replied, seeing her bet and raising the ante.
Nikki’s eyebrow fell back down to its normal spot as I reminded her of her current plight. “I also admit,” she said, continuing with her act, “that wearing pantyhose makes me a little more ticklish..” she continued.
“A little?” I interrupted her, calling her fib.
“OK, a lot more ticklish,” she said with a sigh.
“Only a lot?” I asked, clearly being a pest.
“OK,” she said, my pest-like behavior clearly working. “Wearing pantyhose makes me insanely ticklish,” she said. “Is that what you wanted to hear?” she asked. I smiled and nodded and she regained her composure. “But that still doesn’t take away from the fact that you are more ticklish than I am,” she stated.
“Prove it,” I said. “Take those boots off,” I goaded once again.
“I am NOT taking these boots off,” she said, uncrossing her legs and putting both of her feet flat on the floor.
At this point, some of our younger cousins had entered the room, and not wanting to involve them in the conversation - especially since they all knew how ticklish I was from babysitting them and would surely side with Nikki - and also wanting to get some pizza myself, I got up and began to walk out of the room.
“You’ll slip up at some point,” I said with an evil witch voice. “And when you do,” I said, letting those words hang in the air as I wiggled my fingers in front of her subtly.
And guess what!!”” She jumped. She was still sitting on the couch so she couldn’t jump that far, but it was very clear that she most definitely jumped back a bit as my fingers drew near. Could it be? Had Nikki become air ticklish, as well? I couldn’t contain my excitement and laughed a little to make sure she knew that I had noticed her flinch, and then I walked out to get some pizza.
Now I know what you’re probably thinking by now… Jamie, you said you lost a tickle fight, but so far, it seems like you’ve written five-and-a-half pages of you leading in the tickle fight. That is true. Things were most definitely going my way. Unfortunately, it’s not how you start the tickle war, but how you end it, and it definitely did not end well for me.
So after a little while, I got bored of the game and went down to the basement to play on my phone for a bit. Yes, I admit I find playing apps more exciting than watching a football game. Besides, I had already seen the half-time show and most of the commercials; wasn’t that the best part, anyways?
So I go down to the basement and crash on the couch, flopping down on my stomach so that my legs are hanging over the arm rest a little. I didn’t want to put my shoes on the couch, but there was no way I was taking my ankle boots off, especially with Nikki still wearing her boots.
I was lost in my own little world there for a while, alternating between texting some friends, scouring social media, and trying to beat the daily Wordscapes puzzle, when it hit…
It came without warning. I hadn’t heard any noise, though I admittedly was fully engrossed in my phone at the time. I hadn’t seen anything coming, though again, I was staring intently at my phone. It came completely out of the blue, but it came nonetheless… One moment I was lost in my own blissfulness, and then the next moment…
Nikki’s boyfriend had come up from behind me and grasped onto my legs, putting each of my ankles in a headlock under each of his arms. Without realizing it at the time, my positioning on the couch had made it easy for him. Laying on my stomach, my legs were stretched out behind me, my feet hanging in the breeze off the couch. Nikki’s boyfriend had come up from behind me, turned his body around so that his back was to the couch, slotted himself in between my legs, and grabbed each of my ankles to trap them.
I won’t lie. I screamed a bit. It scared the snot out of me. And I didn’t realize what he was up to until I saw Nikki behind him.
“Hi, Jamie,” she said with a tease. “I was wondering where you had gone to,” she said, moving closer to where I lay on the couch.
“You wanna know something silly?” she asked, sitting down next to me now on the couch. “You see, Tom here was so ecstatic to find out that I was ticklish a few weeks ago, that he’s been tickling me almost every chance he gets now,” Nikki said as a matter of fact.
“It’s true,” Tomchimed in from behind me.
“And Tom didn’t believe me when,” Nikki continued, “when I told him that as ticklish as I am, my older cousin is even more ticklish.”
“I’m not sure it’s possible to be more ticklish than you,” Tom said to Nikki, which clearly was not part of the script. Nikki shot him a glance and told him to just hold me down.
“Jamie’s always been more ticklish than me, haven’t you Jamie?” Nikki asked me as she brushed the hair out of my face. “And I’m willing to bet that that hasn’t changed,” Nikki said, a slow, evil smile forming on her face. “Nothing to say?” she asked me.
“Tom, let me out,” I begged. “We can tickle Nikki again together,” I offered, sensing that was something that he enjoyed thoroughly.
“I’m afraid it’s your turn to get tickled,” Nikki said before Tom could respond. She got up off the couch and walked over to Tom, where my feet lay trapped.
“Such beautiful ankle booties,” Nikki said, grabbing onto each. “Too bad you won’t be needing these anymore,” she said as she began unzipping the boot
“No!” I pleaded, trying to pull and squirm my way out of Tom’s grip. “Leave my boots on!” I begged, unable to free myself.
“She’s wiggling everywhere!” Tom said “It’s hard to hold her with her squirming around so much,” he said.
“Just hold her tight,” Nikki instructed, trying to catch my foot as I twisted and turned it as little as I could. “I need to get these boots off.”
It didn’t take her long to get them off, unfortunately. With just a simple zipper to unzip and her boyfriend holding me in place, Nikki was able to successfully unzip and remove each boot from my feet.
So I admit it. I didn’t put on a strong showing here. Some might say I totally cracked. And truth be told, they wouldn’t be that far off. But think of the predicament I was in. Nikki was hell-bent on getting tickle revenge on me for what I had done to her a few weeks ago. Even though she historically had the upper hand - and by a LOT - in our tickle wars, she felt that she had to undo the small victories I had had recently. And her boyfriend - who was much stronger than he looked, by the way - was holding me in place so I couldn’t do anything to defend myself. And now my boots, my first and best line of defense, were gone.
If only that was where my troubles stopped… Remember, underneath my leggings and underneath the wool socks that I had on was the worst possible thing for someone in my current predicament: pantyhose. I was cursing myself for wearing pantyhose and hoping above all else that Nikki wouldn’t find out that I had pantyhose on, as well. I knew that wasn’t a realistic expectation - after all, when was the last time someone tried to tickle someone else over wool socks? - but I still held onto hope. I was begging, I was pleading… “Nikki, don’t do this!” “Please!” “I’ll scream for help!” Anything that I could think of. Heck I even offered to pay her money. She wasn’t having any of it.
And then I felt it… Nikki had started tugging at my socks to pull them off, except… OK, so what you have to realize is… What you need to understand is… Listen, I’m ticklish, OK? And that is probably the understatement of the century. I am insanely ticklish. It’s quite possible that I am one of - if not THE - most ticklish people on this planet. And the bottom of my feet are so far off the scales of ticklish that I can’t even begin to describe it adequately. So yes, feeling Nikki’s fingers on my feet - even over the wool socks - as she struggled to pull those same socks off definitely tickled. A lot. And I couldn’t pretend that it didn’t. I was a mess, laughing uncontrollably and begging and pleading and twisting and turning and trying anything to get her fingers away from my feet.
“Oh my gosh!” Nikki said with a laugh. “I’m not even actually tickling you yet!”
“It tickles through the socks!” I screamed through laughter, stating the most obvious fact in the world. I was actually kind of shocked at just how much it tickled through the socks, to be honest. I mean, I am easily ticklish through socks anyways, so I long ago gave up the crazy idea that having a pair of socks on my feet did anything to “protect” my feet from tickle attacks. But I did kind of expect the thickness of the wool socks to kind of dull the tickling a little, but it seemed that it was more ticklish through those socks than my thin cotton socks.
And then I realized... The nylons! The wool socks were like having little puffs of softness brushing up against the nylons on the bottom of my feet, so of course it was more ticklish than I was expecting! Honestly, I feel like whoever designed nylons in the first place should have done a little more product testing on them to discover this side effect! Aren’t women ticklish enough as it is? Do we really need something that makes us even more ticklish?!
Nikki, of course, was loving it. Then again, she had no idea that I had pantyhose on under those socks, so she didn’t realize what was happening.
“Stop squirming so much,” she said through laughter. “I need to get these socks off!”
“Keep the socks on!” I pleaded through laughter. But she was having none of that. Not that I blame her, of course. If the situation had been reversed, her socks would have already been off.
I realize I was fighting a losing battle. Her boyfriend had me held down pretty tight - there was no way I was getting out of his grip - and all of the laughing and the squirming was starting to get to me. I was losing the strength to fight and Nikki knew it.
2.2 seconds later, my socks were off, as Nikki had hooked a finger from each hand under the band and pulled them right off, the nylons, of course, providing a super slick surface for the socks to just slide off of. It happened so quickly that I didn’t even have time to process it as it was happening. One second I was trying to keep up the fight and the next second, the breath of cool air hit my feet for the first time as my socks had been pulled off and I dropped my head in anticipation of what would surely come next.
Nikki had stopped tickling for a moment, and even though I was facing away from her and her boyfriend was in between us, I was sure that I could sense the huge grin that must have been on her face as she realized what she had uncovered. She had to feel like a kid in the candy store. I’m sure she wasn’t even expecting to see me so soon, for one. For another, I am sure she didn’t expect to see me in nylons - and especially not on a day when I was wearing an outfit that didn’t necessarily call for nylons.
Nikki sat there not saying anything and not doing anything. Eventually, I got curious and whispered “Nikki…” wondering where she was. She must have been in some sort of trance because as soon as I did, I heard her.
“This is going to be SO easy,” she said. I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Nikki, no…” I started, though that was all I could get out. Nikki’s fingernails attacked my helpless feet at full speed, and I was instantly laughing my head off. There was no slow build-up. There was no tease. It was just full-on, all-out fingertips dancing right on the bottom of my feet, and I was done for.
I tried to get words out, but nothing came out over the laughter. The incessant hysterical laughter. Nikki’s fingers were instruments of torture, and with nothing seperating the bottom of my feet from her fingers but a thin pair of pantyhose, I stood no chance.
I wish I could describe what happened in better detail for you, but the truth of the matter is, between struggling with the laughter and having my eyes glued shut except for the tears that were coming out, I really couldn’t focus on anything. My mind was laser-focused on Nikki’s nails and the ticklish sensations that they were leaving on every inch of my skin.
I quickly fell into silent laughter mode as I struggled against the tickle attack. As ticklish as it had felt when Nikki was touching my feet over the socks, that paled in comparison to what I was experiencing now. This was pure Tickle Hell, and the only way out of it was to hope for some sympathy from Nikki.
But there was none of that. I was furiously pounding my hands to show that I was giving up, tapping out to the tickle fight, but Nikki didn’t notice. Or if she did, she chose to ignore it. I was in and out of silent laughter more times than I could count. Nikki was good, I’ll give her that. She knew exactly where to focus, no doubt from her years of experience, and time had not altered a thing. It didn’t matter where her fingers went; everything seemed to tickle. Sure, it was the worst when she would focus on my arches - she always knew to target there and I always HATED that she knew that - but it’s not as if her tickling my heels or the balls of my feet produced any relief for me. I was even still cackling when she’d turn her fingers loose on my ankles. There simply was no relief.
And oh my word her taunting… Somehow it just made the entire situation worse. “Aww does this tickle?” Of course it tickles! Do you not see me losing control laughing? “What’s so funny? Why are you laughing?” Nothing’s funny!! You’re tickling me! “Aww I bet you wish you had your shoes and socks on still.” Yes, yes I do! Can you put them back on please? And then, of course, she kept asking, “Which one of us is more ticklish again?”
Eventually she let up a bit. I mean, it felt like it had been 15 minutes but it was probably less than a minute total - but still, a minute of someone going all-out tickle attack on your feet is an eternity! But even when she let up, she didn’t actually stop! She just started dragging one finger slowly along my foot, all over. It was a calculated move; she knew exactly what she was doing.
“So, Jamie,” she said to me without stopping her finger for a second. “What were you saying about who is more ticklish earlier?”
That cold-hearted… haha She had only let up on the tickling because she wanted me to talk! And yeah, I had talked a big game earlier. I mean, maybe I was feeling too confident with my shoes and socks still on and Nikki very clearly in pantyhose again. But there was no use fighting it. I knew I had to tell her what she wanted to hear or there would be more tickling in my future.
“OK, OK. I’m more ticklish!” I admitted through the giggles. “But you have to admit the gap isn’t as big as it used to be!” I added, not wanting to come out completely on the losing end of this.
“I don’t have to admit anything,” she said, increasing the tempo of the tickling a little as punishment for my words.
“No, no!” I begged, laughing as I felt her fingers fluttering across my feet. “I said I’m more ticklish! I just mean you are more ticklish than you used to be,” I said.
“If you’re referring to a few weeks ago,” she said, slowing down the tempo of her finger again. “That doesn’t count. Of course I was super ticklish. I was wearing nylons,” she said.
“Wait,” her boyfriend interrupted. “Are you saying that wearing nylons makes you more ticklish?”
“Yeah,” Nikki said, apparently more focused on my feet than on her boyfriend. “It’s horrible. I’m defenseless. So that didn’t count.”
“But babe,” her boyfriend said. “You’re wearing nylons right now.”
Oh my word, I tell you! I wish I could have seen Nikki’s face. She obviously hadn’t meant to reveal that particular weakness to her boyfriend, but there it was, out in the open. There was no coming back from it. Nikki had just revealed all of womankind’s weakness when it comes to tickling.
“No,” Nikki said, her voice having lost all the swagger it had a moment ago. “Don’t you dare…”
“Is that why you didn’t want a foot massage earlier?” her boyfriend asked.
“Maybe,” she said, not wanting to confirm anything. “But we’re focused on Jamie right now!”
“No, no!” I yelled. “It’s OK. Get Nikki!” I was hoping that this was my out, that he might take the bait.
Unfortunately, Nikki started tickling my feet again before he even had a chance, and I was once again laughing hysterically in no time. And my laughter had caught the attention of some others.
“What’s going on in here?” asked Aunt Carol, Nikki’s mom. Aunt Carol had always been like a second mother to me growing up. My mom and Aunt Carol were, of course, super close growing up together as sisters, and where Nikki and I had spent time playing with each other, it was only natural that Aunt Carol would grow to become a motherly figure to me.
“Aunty!” I yelled when I heard her enter the room. “Help!” So often in our youth it was Aunt Carol who had come to my rescue from one of Nikki’s tickling attacks, telling Nikki that I had had enough or that she had made her point or whatever she needed to say to get Nikki to stop tickling me. Mind you, I feel like she took her sweet time coming to my aid from time to time, but she was the closest thing I had to an ally in the tickle war between me and Nikki.
“Oh my,” she said, laughing. “Are you two tickling the bejesus out of this poor girl?” she asked.
“They are!” I said, answering for them. “Please help!”
“Well, I suppose if I must, I must,” she said.
And yeah, she helped. She helped THEM! I was expecting to be freed from my captivity, but next thing I know, Aunt Carol is attacking my feet and I am once again losing my mind laughing!
“The two of them used to tickle each other senseless,” Aunt Carol narrated to Nikki’s boyfriend as she danced her fingers across my foot. I think it was heavily swayed towards Nikki tickling me senseless, of course, but I was in no position to argue. “I would have thought she might have grown out of being so ticklish by now,” Aunt Carol continued. “All the better for us, though, right?” she said with a laugh as she continued to tickle away.
I honestly thought I was going to lose my mind laughing. Nikki had done a good enough number on me already, and when Aunt Carol came in, I thought I had been saved, but I was now almost in a worse position than before! I was cursing myself for wearing nylons. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t have stood a chance against any of this if I was barefoot, either. But the nylons just made everything tickle so much more, regardless of how that is even possible.
I think Aunt Carol was starting to notice how much I was struggling. Again, I wish she had noticed a little bit sooner, for my benefit, but I’m sure she had had a glass of wine or two, so what could I say?
“Let’s let her up,” Aunt Carol said to Nikki’s boyfriend. Nikki started to protest, but stopped before getting a word out.
“Wooo hee!” Aunt Carol laughed as I gathered myself and pulled myself up. “She’s a ticklish one, ain’t she?” she asked. “Almost as ticklish as you, Nikki,” she said.
Which.. Can I just say… THANK YOU, AUNT CAROL!! Haha
Nikki’s face dropped as soon as she registered the words from her mother’s mouth. I was in no position to say anything given that I was standing there in nylons with nothing protecting my feet and a room full of people who had just seen how ticklish I was myself, but I gave such a satisfied smile to Nikki and made sure she saw it.
“MOM!” shouted Nikki, quickly looking to change the subject. “Come on,” she motioned to her boyfriend, pulling him towards the doorway. “Maybe there’s some cake out or something,” she said, bribing him with food!
“Wait,” her boyfriend said, holding firm in his position. “You’re more ticklish than she is?” he asked, pointing to me for comparison.
“What?” Nikki asked, flustered. “No. Not at all,” she stammered. “You heard her,” referring to me. “She admitted she’s more ticklish.”
“Man, you ain’t seen ticklish yet, then” Aunt Carol chimed in.
“MOM!!!” Nikki yelled, hating every minute of her mother revealing her ticklish secrets.
“Why do you think those boots haven’t come off yet?” Aunt Carol asked, pointing to Nikki’s feet. “Get a hold of those feet and she’ll tear the whole house down with laughter.”
“Is that so?” her boyfriend asked.
“NO!” Nikki answered for her mother. “I just… prefer to keep them on,” Nikki said, clearly lying through her teeth.
“Come with me,” Aunt Carol motioned to Nikki’s boyfriend. “We’ll get some cake and I’ll tell you all about it,” she said.
The two of them left the room, leaving just me and Nikki together. Even though I had clearly just lost the tickle fight, I felt like the tickle war was once again swaying to my side.
“So,” I said, cupping my hands behind my back and walking closer to Nikki. “Almost as ticklish as you, huh?” I said with a smile, putting as much emphasis on the word almost as I possibly could.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” lied Nikki.
“Ha!” I laughed out loud. “She’s your mom, Nikki,” I said in my best lawerly voice. “If there’s one thing all moms know about their kids, it’s their ticklish spots,” I said. “And right now, your mom is talking to your boyfriend about that very subject as we speak.”
Nikki’s eyes shot up as she realized what I had said was true. She darted out of the room following her mom and her boyfriend.
This was fun. Even though I had lost and my winning streak was snapped at, well, one, I still felt like a victor. And boy how I couldn’t wait to see Nikki again.
Installment #2 is out. I went a little longer on this one that I had planned, but I find it so hard to "walk away" from a scene once it's set up. I hope you enjoy. As always, comments welcome!
Happy reading,
OldEnglish
Dear Diary - Entry #1: Snapping the Losing Streak (f/f, nylons)
Dear Diary - Entry #2: So Much for that Winning Streak... (f/f, nylons)
Dear Diary,
Welp, that didn’t last long… Of course, I’m referring to the winning streak I was on in tickle fights against my cousin Nikki. And I say winning streak, but let’s face facts: it was one win. Haha Just as she promised, she got me back, and she got me back good.
So I think the one victory kind of went to head a little bit, and I got a little over-confident, and Nikki - to her credit - was able to take advantage of that. But even though I got completely owned tonight - even though I would never actually admit that to her - I feel like I am in a much better spot now than I ever was before. After all those years, I finally know her weakness. There IS hope. Haha
Oh, and I also want to say that I think Nikki completely cheated, too, so I want an asterisk next to her latest victory.
OK, so on with what happened…
So, same venue. Grammy and Grampy’s place. This time, though, it’s a combination Super Bowl party and birthday for Grampy. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have gone to a Super Bowl party because football doesn’t interest me in the least, but I couldn’t not go to Grampy’s birthday party, right?
So what did me in didn’t even happen at the party. It happened before, at my apartment, as I was getting ready. So it’s been unusually cold lately, and you know me, I get super cold so easily. Remember I was the Queen of the Blankets back in the day! Anyways, my go-to for those super cold days is to wear pantyhose on underneath whatever I am wearing. Generally, if it’s that cold, I’m already wearing pants or jeans or whatever, so it’s fine - it’s not like anyone could see them. And tonight was no different. Black leggings. Nude pantyhose underneath. Socks. Some ankle booties. And a top and a hoodie. So I know - one of those things (the pantyhose) is not like the other - but trust me, it’s a super effective way to stay warm.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking.. Wearing pantyhose is probably the worst idea, right? Well, a few things… For one, I was confident that no one would even notice. After all, I had on leggings and socks, too, so who would even be able to tell I had pantyhose on? For another, I had no intention of taking my ankle booties off. And again, even if I did, I’d have socks on over the nylons still, so no one would know. And third - and perhaps most important - Nikki wasn’t going to be there. She and her boyfriend had some event with his family. Haha So those three things combined with the especially cold weather meant it was a pantyhose kind of day.
So I get there and all goes as expected - nothing out of the ordinary. There were a ton of pizzas and everybody was all set for the game, complaining that our team wasn’t in it this year. We sang “Happy Birthday” and had our cake and then everyone started picking their spots to watch the game, arguing - obnoxiously, if I do say so myself - about who would win. Everything was going exactly as I would have expected - until there was a knock at the door before the game began.
Yup. Nikki. And her boyfriend.
My jaw dropped. For two reasons.
One, of course, I wasn’t expecting her at all, and with her threat of revenge still fresh in my mind, I instantly took stock of the situation, remembering the pantyhose that were under my leggings and thanking the good lord up above that I hadn’t taken my ankle booties off yet.
But once she removed her coat… What was this? Was Nikki in pantyhose again? Could I be so lucky? Both she and her boyfriend were dressed much better than anyone else at the party, the event with her boyfriend’s family obviously being something somewhat formal. Her boyfriend was wearing slacks and a button-down shirt with a tie and Nikki was wearing a red dress that went to right above her knee and a pair of black knee-high boots with a pretty sizable heel. But it was what was between the dress and the boots that caught my eye… There was no mistaking it. Nikki had pantyhose on again.
You could tell Nikki wasn’t expecting to see me at the party, either, as she almost stopped short when she noticed me, our eyes meeting for a second. My uncle took their coats and ushered Nikki’s boyfriend into the dining room area where there were still piles of pizza to be had. Leaving just me and Nikki…
“You’re looking nice today,” I said to her with a smile - knowing full well she knew what I meant.
“Yeah, well, we just came from an event, but we wanted to make an appearance here,” she said, now avoiding eye contact with me.
I loved it. So rare had I ever had such power like this. I was relishing every second.
“Pretty chilly out there,” I said. “Hope your legs weren’t cold on the walk in. I know cold like this could do a number of bare skin,” I said, playing dumb and just twisting the dagger in even more.
And she felt it. “My legs aren’t bare,” she eventually said plainly. I feigned surprise and asked how that could be so. “I’m wearing pantyhose,” she finally confessed, not that there was any doubt.
Can I just tell you - it was AMAZING seeing her on the defensive. She was in a bad spot and she knew it. Hearing her admit that she was wearing pantyhose was music to my ears. That sounds weird, I know. And that she said it didn’t really do much to change things. It was pretty clear to anyone looking at her that she had pantyhose on. And that she was wearing them wasn’t all that far-fetched, either; after all, they went perfectly well with her outfit, even made it all the cuter, if you ask me. And certainly in this family, wearing pantyhose is almost more the norm than the exception. My mom’s side of the family has always been all about looking formal and being proper, so you learned at a very young age that pantyhose - well, first tights, but then pantyhose - are almost a required part of an outfit, especially to any sort of formal or “special” event. So though it was clear to anyone in the house that Nikki had pantyhose on, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that no one else had even given it much notice.
But I sure did! Now that I knew pantyhose transformed Nikki into a super ticklish person who was easily beatable in tickle fights, checking to see if Nikki was wearing pantyhose was sure to become of the first things I did at a family gathering from this point on. And though I knew I had to proceed with caution - Nikki may be more ticklish now than she was when we were growing up, but I unfortunately did not become any less ticklish - I knew I had to take advantage of any opportunity I had.
And boy, did I have an opportunity now. I had to push some more, though.
“Love those boots,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. I did. They were gorgeous. “But they look like they’d be a nightmare to walk in all day,” I said, unable to hide my smile at this point.
“They… can be difficult,” she said, seemingly beginning to lie before realizing it wasn’t worth it.
“You’re welcome to take them off,” I said with a smile. “Make yourself at home.”
“I’ll just keep my boots on, thank you very much,” she said with conviction. It was almost a game - the two of us seeing who could back the other into a corner.
Oh my gosh, I realize that all of this sounds so full of drama, but of course we were just teasing each other. And it continued…
“I’m sure your feet wouldn’t get cold,” I said. “If you have socks on, they should keep those piggies warm.”
She just stared at me, almost like she was wondering how far I was going to take this, “I’m actually not wearing any socks,” she finally said. “Just the pantyhose,” she added, as if she were trying to guess what my next question would be and answer it before I could ask.
“Just the pantyhose?” I asked slyly. “That’s interesting. I hope nothing accidentally brushes up against your feet or anything, then,” I said with a wink. “Wouldn’t want to put a run in your nylons,” I added, pretending that I had reasons more altruistic than I had for noticing her pantyhose.
“Listen,” she said, trying to take the offensive. “Even in pantyhose, I’m not as ticklish as you are, so you better just watch yourself.” And as she did that, she sort of pointed her finger at me. And I admit it. I jumped a little. I mean, I thought for sure she was going to tickle me. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. So, yeah, I jumped. And she noticed. And she loved it. “See?” she said with a small laugh. “You’re still air ticklish, like always.”
I hated being air ticklish! Wait, I should probably explain what being air ticklish means. I don’t think it’s all too common a term. So growing up, Nikki - and others - used to say that I was “air ticklish” because they could just wiggle their fingers in the air in front of me and I would start laughing. Even if they didn’t actually physically touch me. Like, they would be actually tickling the air, but I would be laughing. And oh my word how I hated that it was so effective against me growing up! So there were two types of air ticklish states, I found. One was when you just came up to me sort of threatening to tickle me with your fingers wiggling in the air. That would be more a nervous kind of laugh - like a “No, please don’t!” laughter. The other was worse. It was when someone would be tickling me already and I’d already be laughing, and then they’d “give me a break” by wiggling their fingers in the air above me. That stuff would drive me insane, and Nikki knew it and wasn’t above using it to her advantage. So many times she’d sneak up on me and start tickling me, and I’d be toast already from her initial tickle attack, but then she’d “give me a break” and start air tickling me, and I’d do crazy laughing. With her, it was never JUST air tickling, either. She always had to provide commentary while doing it. “I’m not even touching you!” “What are you laughing at? I’m not even tickling you!” “How can you be this ticklish?” Yes, Nikki, I was quite aware of how ticklish I was, thank you very much; I didn’t need someone stating the obvious. I hadn’t been air tickled in a while, but clearly it was something I still couldn’t handle.
“Listen,” I said, conceding the point. “Air ticklish or not, all that matters right now is that you all you have on under those boots are pantyhose. And those boots will definitely be coming off in no time.”
“These boots are going nowhere,” she said with confidence, knowing there was little I could do to get them off of her if she didn’t take them off herself.
“Your feet must be killing you,” I suggested. “I bet you could go for a nice, relaxing foot massage right about now,” I said, hoping the power of suggestion would work.
“Yes, my feet are killing me,” Nikki began…
“Oh, do you want a foot massage, babe?” asked her boyfriend, entering the room again. I won’t lie; I laughed out loud when I saw Nikki’s face just completely drop.
“No, no,” Nikki said hurriedly. “I’m all set.”
“No, it’s the least I could do,” her boyfriend insisted, motioning Nikki to the couch.
“I said I’m all set,” Nikki said sternly, though not too sternly.
“Just take the foot massage,” I goaded Nikki, knowing full well she wouldn’t be able to handle it without cracking up. And even better, it would force her to take her boots off.
“I’m good for now, thank you,” Nikki said, staring me down with each word.
“Well, suit yourself,” her boyfriend said and he got up and went back into the other room.
All I could do was smile at her! I couldn’t help it! I had never been in such a position of power before! I had never had her backed against the ropes like this!
“Laugh it up,” Nikki said when we were alone in the room again, sitting down and crossing her legs as she did.
And I did! “I’m sorry,” I said, through the laughter. “It’s just…” I started, chuckling again. “I’ve never known you to be so ticklish before,” I said. “It’s cute,” I added.
I could tell Nikki was forcing a smile down, as it was clear she found the goofiness of this whole thing silly, as well. “I admit,” she said quietly and with a straight face, as if confessing to a crime. “I admit that I’m more ticklish now than we were growing up,” she said, clearly having to force the words out of her mouth. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I am still nowhere near as ticklish as you,” she said, raising an eyebrow as she said so.
“Those pantyhose on your feet say otherwise,” I quickly replied, seeing her bet and raising the ante.
Nikki’s eyebrow fell back down to its normal spot as I reminded her of her current plight. “I also admit,” she said, continuing with her act, “that wearing pantyhose makes me a little more ticklish..” she continued.
“A little?” I interrupted her, calling her fib.
“OK, a lot more ticklish,” she said with a sigh.
“Only a lot?” I asked, clearly being a pest.
“OK,” she said, my pest-like behavior clearly working. “Wearing pantyhose makes me insanely ticklish,” she said. “Is that what you wanted to hear?” she asked. I smiled and nodded and she regained her composure. “But that still doesn’t take away from the fact that you are more ticklish than I am,” she stated.
“Prove it,” I said. “Take those boots off,” I goaded once again.
“I am NOT taking these boots off,” she said, uncrossing her legs and putting both of her feet flat on the floor.
At this point, some of our younger cousins had entered the room, and not wanting to involve them in the conversation - especially since they all knew how ticklish I was from babysitting them and would surely side with Nikki - and also wanting to get some pizza myself, I got up and began to walk out of the room.
“You’ll slip up at some point,” I said with an evil witch voice. “And when you do,” I said, letting those words hang in the air as I wiggled my fingers in front of her subtly.
And guess what!!”” She jumped. She was still sitting on the couch so she couldn’t jump that far, but it was very clear that she most definitely jumped back a bit as my fingers drew near. Could it be? Had Nikki become air ticklish, as well? I couldn’t contain my excitement and laughed a little to make sure she knew that I had noticed her flinch, and then I walked out to get some pizza.
Now I know what you’re probably thinking by now… Jamie, you said you lost a tickle fight, but so far, it seems like you’ve written five-and-a-half pages of you leading in the tickle fight. That is true. Things were most definitely going my way. Unfortunately, it’s not how you start the tickle war, but how you end it, and it definitely did not end well for me.
So after a little while, I got bored of the game and went down to the basement to play on my phone for a bit. Yes, I admit I find playing apps more exciting than watching a football game. Besides, I had already seen the half-time show and most of the commercials; wasn’t that the best part, anyways?
So I go down to the basement and crash on the couch, flopping down on my stomach so that my legs are hanging over the arm rest a little. I didn’t want to put my shoes on the couch, but there was no way I was taking my ankle boots off, especially with Nikki still wearing her boots.
I was lost in my own little world there for a while, alternating between texting some friends, scouring social media, and trying to beat the daily Wordscapes puzzle, when it hit…
It came without warning. I hadn’t heard any noise, though I admittedly was fully engrossed in my phone at the time. I hadn’t seen anything coming, though again, I was staring intently at my phone. It came completely out of the blue, but it came nonetheless… One moment I was lost in my own blissfulness, and then the next moment…
Nikki’s boyfriend had come up from behind me and grasped onto my legs, putting each of my ankles in a headlock under each of his arms. Without realizing it at the time, my positioning on the couch had made it easy for him. Laying on my stomach, my legs were stretched out behind me, my feet hanging in the breeze off the couch. Nikki’s boyfriend had come up from behind me, turned his body around so that his back was to the couch, slotted himself in between my legs, and grabbed each of my ankles to trap them.
I won’t lie. I screamed a bit. It scared the snot out of me. And I didn’t realize what he was up to until I saw Nikki behind him.
“Hi, Jamie,” she said with a tease. “I was wondering where you had gone to,” she said, moving closer to where I lay on the couch.
“You wanna know something silly?” she asked, sitting down next to me now on the couch. “You see, Tom here was so ecstatic to find out that I was ticklish a few weeks ago, that he’s been tickling me almost every chance he gets now,” Nikki said as a matter of fact.
“It’s true,” Tomchimed in from behind me.
“And Tom didn’t believe me when,” Nikki continued, “when I told him that as ticklish as I am, my older cousin is even more ticklish.”
“I’m not sure it’s possible to be more ticklish than you,” Tom said to Nikki, which clearly was not part of the script. Nikki shot him a glance and told him to just hold me down.
“Jamie’s always been more ticklish than me, haven’t you Jamie?” Nikki asked me as she brushed the hair out of my face. “And I’m willing to bet that that hasn’t changed,” Nikki said, a slow, evil smile forming on her face. “Nothing to say?” she asked me.
“Tom, let me out,” I begged. “We can tickle Nikki again together,” I offered, sensing that was something that he enjoyed thoroughly.
“I’m afraid it’s your turn to get tickled,” Nikki said before Tom could respond. She got up off the couch and walked over to Tom, where my feet lay trapped.
“Such beautiful ankle booties,” Nikki said, grabbing onto each. “Too bad you won’t be needing these anymore,” she said as she began unzipping the boot
“No!” I pleaded, trying to pull and squirm my way out of Tom’s grip. “Leave my boots on!” I begged, unable to free myself.
“She’s wiggling everywhere!” Tom said “It’s hard to hold her with her squirming around so much,” he said.
“Just hold her tight,” Nikki instructed, trying to catch my foot as I twisted and turned it as little as I could. “I need to get these boots off.”
It didn’t take her long to get them off, unfortunately. With just a simple zipper to unzip and her boyfriend holding me in place, Nikki was able to successfully unzip and remove each boot from my feet.
So I admit it. I didn’t put on a strong showing here. Some might say I totally cracked. And truth be told, they wouldn’t be that far off. But think of the predicament I was in. Nikki was hell-bent on getting tickle revenge on me for what I had done to her a few weeks ago. Even though she historically had the upper hand - and by a LOT - in our tickle wars, she felt that she had to undo the small victories I had had recently. And her boyfriend - who was much stronger than he looked, by the way - was holding me in place so I couldn’t do anything to defend myself. And now my boots, my first and best line of defense, were gone.
If only that was where my troubles stopped… Remember, underneath my leggings and underneath the wool socks that I had on was the worst possible thing for someone in my current predicament: pantyhose. I was cursing myself for wearing pantyhose and hoping above all else that Nikki wouldn’t find out that I had pantyhose on, as well. I knew that wasn’t a realistic expectation - after all, when was the last time someone tried to tickle someone else over wool socks? - but I still held onto hope. I was begging, I was pleading… “Nikki, don’t do this!” “Please!” “I’ll scream for help!” Anything that I could think of. Heck I even offered to pay her money. She wasn’t having any of it.
And then I felt it… Nikki had started tugging at my socks to pull them off, except… OK, so what you have to realize is… What you need to understand is… Listen, I’m ticklish, OK? And that is probably the understatement of the century. I am insanely ticklish. It’s quite possible that I am one of - if not THE - most ticklish people on this planet. And the bottom of my feet are so far off the scales of ticklish that I can’t even begin to describe it adequately. So yes, feeling Nikki’s fingers on my feet - even over the wool socks - as she struggled to pull those same socks off definitely tickled. A lot. And I couldn’t pretend that it didn’t. I was a mess, laughing uncontrollably and begging and pleading and twisting and turning and trying anything to get her fingers away from my feet.
“Oh my gosh!” Nikki said with a laugh. “I’m not even actually tickling you yet!”
“It tickles through the socks!” I screamed through laughter, stating the most obvious fact in the world. I was actually kind of shocked at just how much it tickled through the socks, to be honest. I mean, I am easily ticklish through socks anyways, so I long ago gave up the crazy idea that having a pair of socks on my feet did anything to “protect” my feet from tickle attacks. But I did kind of expect the thickness of the wool socks to kind of dull the tickling a little, but it seemed that it was more ticklish through those socks than my thin cotton socks.
And then I realized... The nylons! The wool socks were like having little puffs of softness brushing up against the nylons on the bottom of my feet, so of course it was more ticklish than I was expecting! Honestly, I feel like whoever designed nylons in the first place should have done a little more product testing on them to discover this side effect! Aren’t women ticklish enough as it is? Do we really need something that makes us even more ticklish?!
Nikki, of course, was loving it. Then again, she had no idea that I had pantyhose on under those socks, so she didn’t realize what was happening.
“Stop squirming so much,” she said through laughter. “I need to get these socks off!”
“Keep the socks on!” I pleaded through laughter. But she was having none of that. Not that I blame her, of course. If the situation had been reversed, her socks would have already been off.
I realize I was fighting a losing battle. Her boyfriend had me held down pretty tight - there was no way I was getting out of his grip - and all of the laughing and the squirming was starting to get to me. I was losing the strength to fight and Nikki knew it.
2.2 seconds later, my socks were off, as Nikki had hooked a finger from each hand under the band and pulled them right off, the nylons, of course, providing a super slick surface for the socks to just slide off of. It happened so quickly that I didn’t even have time to process it as it was happening. One second I was trying to keep up the fight and the next second, the breath of cool air hit my feet for the first time as my socks had been pulled off and I dropped my head in anticipation of what would surely come next.
Nikki had stopped tickling for a moment, and even though I was facing away from her and her boyfriend was in between us, I was sure that I could sense the huge grin that must have been on her face as she realized what she had uncovered. She had to feel like a kid in the candy store. I’m sure she wasn’t even expecting to see me so soon, for one. For another, I am sure she didn’t expect to see me in nylons - and especially not on a day when I was wearing an outfit that didn’t necessarily call for nylons.
Nikki sat there not saying anything and not doing anything. Eventually, I got curious and whispered “Nikki…” wondering where she was. She must have been in some sort of trance because as soon as I did, I heard her.
“This is going to be SO easy,” she said. I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Nikki, no…” I started, though that was all I could get out. Nikki’s fingernails attacked my helpless feet at full speed, and I was instantly laughing my head off. There was no slow build-up. There was no tease. It was just full-on, all-out fingertips dancing right on the bottom of my feet, and I was done for.
I tried to get words out, but nothing came out over the laughter. The incessant hysterical laughter. Nikki’s fingers were instruments of torture, and with nothing seperating the bottom of my feet from her fingers but a thin pair of pantyhose, I stood no chance.
I wish I could describe what happened in better detail for you, but the truth of the matter is, between struggling with the laughter and having my eyes glued shut except for the tears that were coming out, I really couldn’t focus on anything. My mind was laser-focused on Nikki’s nails and the ticklish sensations that they were leaving on every inch of my skin.
I quickly fell into silent laughter mode as I struggled against the tickle attack. As ticklish as it had felt when Nikki was touching my feet over the socks, that paled in comparison to what I was experiencing now. This was pure Tickle Hell, and the only way out of it was to hope for some sympathy from Nikki.
But there was none of that. I was furiously pounding my hands to show that I was giving up, tapping out to the tickle fight, but Nikki didn’t notice. Or if she did, she chose to ignore it. I was in and out of silent laughter more times than I could count. Nikki was good, I’ll give her that. She knew exactly where to focus, no doubt from her years of experience, and time had not altered a thing. It didn’t matter where her fingers went; everything seemed to tickle. Sure, it was the worst when she would focus on my arches - she always knew to target there and I always HATED that she knew that - but it’s not as if her tickling my heels or the balls of my feet produced any relief for me. I was even still cackling when she’d turn her fingers loose on my ankles. There simply was no relief.
And oh my word her taunting… Somehow it just made the entire situation worse. “Aww does this tickle?” Of course it tickles! Do you not see me losing control laughing? “What’s so funny? Why are you laughing?” Nothing’s funny!! You’re tickling me! “Aww I bet you wish you had your shoes and socks on still.” Yes, yes I do! Can you put them back on please? And then, of course, she kept asking, “Which one of us is more ticklish again?”
Eventually she let up a bit. I mean, it felt like it had been 15 minutes but it was probably less than a minute total - but still, a minute of someone going all-out tickle attack on your feet is an eternity! But even when she let up, she didn’t actually stop! She just started dragging one finger slowly along my foot, all over. It was a calculated move; she knew exactly what she was doing.
“So, Jamie,” she said to me without stopping her finger for a second. “What were you saying about who is more ticklish earlier?”
That cold-hearted… haha She had only let up on the tickling because she wanted me to talk! And yeah, I had talked a big game earlier. I mean, maybe I was feeling too confident with my shoes and socks still on and Nikki very clearly in pantyhose again. But there was no use fighting it. I knew I had to tell her what she wanted to hear or there would be more tickling in my future.
“OK, OK. I’m more ticklish!” I admitted through the giggles. “But you have to admit the gap isn’t as big as it used to be!” I added, not wanting to come out completely on the losing end of this.
“I don’t have to admit anything,” she said, increasing the tempo of the tickling a little as punishment for my words.
“No, no!” I begged, laughing as I felt her fingers fluttering across my feet. “I said I’m more ticklish! I just mean you are more ticklish than you used to be,” I said.
“If you’re referring to a few weeks ago,” she said, slowing down the tempo of her finger again. “That doesn’t count. Of course I was super ticklish. I was wearing nylons,” she said.
“Wait,” her boyfriend interrupted. “Are you saying that wearing nylons makes you more ticklish?”
“Yeah,” Nikki said, apparently more focused on my feet than on her boyfriend. “It’s horrible. I’m defenseless. So that didn’t count.”
“But babe,” her boyfriend said. “You’re wearing nylons right now.”
Oh my word, I tell you! I wish I could have seen Nikki’s face. She obviously hadn’t meant to reveal that particular weakness to her boyfriend, but there it was, out in the open. There was no coming back from it. Nikki had just revealed all of womankind’s weakness when it comes to tickling.
“No,” Nikki said, her voice having lost all the swagger it had a moment ago. “Don’t you dare…”
“Is that why you didn’t want a foot massage earlier?” her boyfriend asked.
“Maybe,” she said, not wanting to confirm anything. “But we’re focused on Jamie right now!”
“No, no!” I yelled. “It’s OK. Get Nikki!” I was hoping that this was my out, that he might take the bait.
Unfortunately, Nikki started tickling my feet again before he even had a chance, and I was once again laughing hysterically in no time. And my laughter had caught the attention of some others.
“What’s going on in here?” asked Aunt Carol, Nikki’s mom. Aunt Carol had always been like a second mother to me growing up. My mom and Aunt Carol were, of course, super close growing up together as sisters, and where Nikki and I had spent time playing with each other, it was only natural that Aunt Carol would grow to become a motherly figure to me.
“Aunty!” I yelled when I heard her enter the room. “Help!” So often in our youth it was Aunt Carol who had come to my rescue from one of Nikki’s tickling attacks, telling Nikki that I had had enough or that she had made her point or whatever she needed to say to get Nikki to stop tickling me. Mind you, I feel like she took her sweet time coming to my aid from time to time, but she was the closest thing I had to an ally in the tickle war between me and Nikki.
“Oh my,” she said, laughing. “Are you two tickling the bejesus out of this poor girl?” she asked.
“They are!” I said, answering for them. “Please help!”
“Well, I suppose if I must, I must,” she said.
And yeah, she helped. She helped THEM! I was expecting to be freed from my captivity, but next thing I know, Aunt Carol is attacking my feet and I am once again losing my mind laughing!
“The two of them used to tickle each other senseless,” Aunt Carol narrated to Nikki’s boyfriend as she danced her fingers across my foot. I think it was heavily swayed towards Nikki tickling me senseless, of course, but I was in no position to argue. “I would have thought she might have grown out of being so ticklish by now,” Aunt Carol continued. “All the better for us, though, right?” she said with a laugh as she continued to tickle away.
I honestly thought I was going to lose my mind laughing. Nikki had done a good enough number on me already, and when Aunt Carol came in, I thought I had been saved, but I was now almost in a worse position than before! I was cursing myself for wearing nylons. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t have stood a chance against any of this if I was barefoot, either. But the nylons just made everything tickle so much more, regardless of how that is even possible.
I think Aunt Carol was starting to notice how much I was struggling. Again, I wish she had noticed a little bit sooner, for my benefit, but I’m sure she had had a glass of wine or two, so what could I say?
“Let’s let her up,” Aunt Carol said to Nikki’s boyfriend. Nikki started to protest, but stopped before getting a word out.
“Wooo hee!” Aunt Carol laughed as I gathered myself and pulled myself up. “She’s a ticklish one, ain’t she?” she asked. “Almost as ticklish as you, Nikki,” she said.
Which.. Can I just say… THANK YOU, AUNT CAROL!! Haha
Nikki’s face dropped as soon as she registered the words from her mother’s mouth. I was in no position to say anything given that I was standing there in nylons with nothing protecting my feet and a room full of people who had just seen how ticklish I was myself, but I gave such a satisfied smile to Nikki and made sure she saw it.
“MOM!” shouted Nikki, quickly looking to change the subject. “Come on,” she motioned to her boyfriend, pulling him towards the doorway. “Maybe there’s some cake out or something,” she said, bribing him with food!
“Wait,” her boyfriend said, holding firm in his position. “You’re more ticklish than she is?” he asked, pointing to me for comparison.
“What?” Nikki asked, flustered. “No. Not at all,” she stammered. “You heard her,” referring to me. “She admitted she’s more ticklish.”
“Man, you ain’t seen ticklish yet, then” Aunt Carol chimed in.
“MOM!!!” Nikki yelled, hating every minute of her mother revealing her ticklish secrets.
“Why do you think those boots haven’t come off yet?” Aunt Carol asked, pointing to Nikki’s feet. “Get a hold of those feet and she’ll tear the whole house down with laughter.”
“Is that so?” her boyfriend asked.
“NO!” Nikki answered for her mother. “I just… prefer to keep them on,” Nikki said, clearly lying through her teeth.
“Come with me,” Aunt Carol motioned to Nikki’s boyfriend. “We’ll get some cake and I’ll tell you all about it,” she said.
The two of them left the room, leaving just me and Nikki together. Even though I had clearly just lost the tickle fight, I felt like the tickle war was once again swaying to my side.
“So,” I said, cupping my hands behind my back and walking closer to Nikki. “Almost as ticklish as you, huh?” I said with a smile, putting as much emphasis on the word almost as I possibly could.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” lied Nikki.
“Ha!” I laughed out loud. “She’s your mom, Nikki,” I said in my best lawerly voice. “If there’s one thing all moms know about their kids, it’s their ticklish spots,” I said. “And right now, your mom is talking to your boyfriend about that very subject as we speak.”
Nikki’s eyes shot up as she realized what I had said was true. She darted out of the room following her mom and her boyfriend.
This was fun. Even though I had lost and my winning streak was snapped at, well, one, I still felt like a victor. And boy how I couldn’t wait to see Nikki again.
