Tricking the Ticklish Babysitter (MM/F) (Patreon)

The weekend was not supposed to be anything special, but maybe that’s what made it that way. I had always preferred no plans over anything that would get in the way of my friends and I staying up playing Apex. That’s usually what I did Fridays after school, and this week was no different. Sure, I’d have dad telling me to go to bed. Mom would passive-aggressively ask if I had homework to work on. Then there was my little brother to have to put up with. He’d storm into my room, talk way too much, and ask to play with us over and over again before I’d give in and let him into the lobby just to shut him up. Those were the typical Friday nights, the relieving transition between the slog that was 9th grade and the official start of the weekend.

I sat hunched over my computer desk, staring into the screen of the tenth game since I had gotten home. My headset was tucked up against my ears. My clothes for the day laid in crumpled balls on the floor. My room was usually messy, but just clean enough where I didn’t have my mom nagging me about it every ten minutes. My backpack was thrown against the foot of my bed. I didn’t want to look at it. I knew my assignments for the weekend and knew well that I wouldn’t get to any of them until Sunday afternoon. I was taking as much time for myself as I could. Large portions of Saturdays were spent helping dad with work around the house and Sundays were more for ‘family time’. We would go out for meals, see a movie, play mini-golf or something. It was pretty lame. I can’t say that I hated it; more that I would rather be playing with my friends than answering my aunt asking ‘so how’s school’ for the billionth time. Like, it’s school, Aunt Darleen. It’s just as boring as the last time you asked me.

After the twelfth game, I couldn’t help but notice a strange silence in the house. Dad had not checked on me and mom was not telling me that dinner was ready. Even my brother was unusually quiet. At least for the moment. But the second that I started to think about it is when all that came to an end.

“Brandon!” my brother, Mikey, shouted upon barging into my room. “Come downstairs!” His speaking voice was louder than it needed to be most of the time. Mikey was still in 7th grade and went to the same middle school that I did. He had most of the same teachers as well. Despite being two years younger, he retained all of the energy and naivety of childhood, all of which I felt I had grown out of earlier than him. His face was beaming as he rushed in. His eyes were wide, his hair tousled slightly.

“What?” I asked sourly. “Why?”

“Nikki’s over,” Mikey said. I cocked my eyebrow back at him, pulling away from my screen.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah, mom and dad left and now she’s gonna order us a pizza,” Mikey continued, his voice chipper. I backed out of the lobby and told my friends that I’d be backing out. I pulled off my headset, setting it down next to the keyboard.

“Wait, where did mom and dad go?”

“They told us,” Mikey said. “They’re going out of town for the weekend. Something about dad’s job or something. I dunno, they left a note on the fridge.”

“Oh,” I said. I had completely forgotten about the trip. I would have been far more excited for the weekend if I had. It also only occurred to me then that I pretty much went straight to my room after coming home and haven’t left since. I never saw a note or even Mikey, for that matter.

“Yeah, so, Nikki’s checking in on us,” Mikey said. I groaned a bit at the notion that we needed such supervision, but I knew Nikki well enough to not hate the idea of her being around. Rather that I just didn’t want her thinking that I needed a ‘babysitter’. I swallowed nervously and stood up from my desk.

“She’s here now?”

“Yeah, she wants to know what you want for pizza,” Mikey said. “What should I tell her?”

“N-no, it’s fine,” I said. “I’ll be down in a sec.”

“Okay,” Mikey said. He turned to leave and closed my door behind him. I huffed and hurried to get dressed. I had gone down to an undershirt and a pair of gym shorts for lounging through the evening, but with the news of Nikki being over, I quickly threw on a plain tee shirt and a clean pair of cargo shorts. I could hear Mikey’s footsteps thundering down the stairs. He was never a heavy boy, but you would never be able to tell just by hearing him rushing between stories. I slipped on a pair of clean socks before stepping out of my room.

I could hear Nikki from the top of the stairs. Mikey was already with her. He was going on about his shiny collection in Pokemon Go. Even out of the room, I could hear the disinterest in her voice as she humored him. Nikki was always cool like that.

“Why’s that one special?” Nikki asked. Her voice was mature yet retained the playful quality of youth. There was something about it that stuck with me.

“Oh, that one’s lucky,” Mikey said. “I got it from my friend Austin.” I sighed. My chest felt emptied. My heart fluttered a little, but I composed myself. Nikki being over was nothing new, and yet, for whatever reason, I always seemed to react like it was some big deal. I started down the stairs to meet the two in the living room.

The pair were on the couch next to one another. Nikki sat with a strong, slender figure. Long black hair laid straight over the sides of her face while most seemed to pour elegantly over her shoulders. Several sets of ear piercings glimmered a bright silver. She wore a black tee with the bottom cut off above her belly button, showing off an athletically slim midsection. Baggy green pants clung to her waist, finished with a pair of black boots. She always had the visual appeal of someone too rebellious to watch some kids, but Nikki was no stranger to the house when mom and dad needed someone to keep an eye on us, as humiliating as that was.

“BB!” Nikki called out as she saw me walk into the room. She hopped up from the couch and raised her hand to smack against mine. “What’s up, little man?” ‘Little man’. I hated that more and more the older I got, but that had been one of Nikki’s names for me for so long that it would have been awkward to tell her to stop. I gave her palm a smack and a quick snap.

“Hey, hey,” I said, acting casual. “Didn’t know you’d be stopping by.” Nikki lived right next door and had developed a friendly bond with our family over the years. She was in college and still lived in her parents house, though they had moved out long ago. Nikki flipped her hair back. It shined and highlighted her face in full view. My chest fluttered more. My hands had grown slick. Nikki was always really pretty, as attractive as she was cool to be around, but that was one take I was prepared to take to my grave.

“No?” Nikki asked. She scoffed and smirked. Her lips would often curl to one side. Her smile was often a daring one. It challenged those that met its stunning grace. She ran her fingers through one side of her hair. “You weren’t just going to stay in your room all night, were ya?”

“That was the plan,” I said with a little chuckle.

“Like hell you will,” Nikki said. “We’re hanging tonight, all of us. But first, I’m going to need to know what you want on your pizza.”

“Um, pepperoni?” I said. Nikki rolled her eyes.

“That’s right, you’re boring,” Nikki said with a grin.

“No, boring would be just cheese,” I said.

“You’re not wrong,” Nikki added. She turned back to Mikey still sitting on the couch. “And you, you said… mushrooms and olives?” Mikey emitted a gagging sound while sticking out his tongue.

“Yuck!” Mikey said. Nikki laughed. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone.

“Just kidding, squirt,” she said. “I’ll get us one pepperoni and one sausage and peppers. Sound good?” Mikey smiled and nodded.

“Yeah!” he shouted enthusiastically. He was still at the age where pizza for dinner was like receiving a surprise Christmas present. Frankly, I too shared his excitement for such a treat, but managed to keep my cool about it around Nikki. I nodded and Nikki walked into the kitchen to call the pizza place.

I walked up to the couch just as Mikey jumped off. He ran to a closet in the downstairs hall. I paid him no mind as I switched on Netflix to find us something interesting to watch. It had to be just right. Nothing too childish, but nothing too boring either. I scrolled through the titles to find something fun enough for Nikki to enjoy while also managing to keep Mikey’s attention long enough to stop him from being so obnoxious. I was still scrolling by the time Nikki came back into the room.

“Alright, should be here in, like, forty five minutes,” Nikki said, phone in hand.

“Cool,” I said. Finding something to watch was harder than I anticipated. My go-tos were mostly Youtube channels, let’s plays and stuff like that, but I wanted to seem more adaptable for the attractive guest plopping down on the couch beside me. Fortunately, I didn’t need long for the real distraction to return.

“Let’s play games,” Mikey said. While he and I were more fond of video gaming, we did still have several classic board games hidden away for family bonding time. Mikey knew exactly where they were and came rushing back into the room with a stack in hand. He threw them down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

“You wanna play one of these?” Nikki asked. “Scared I’ll kick your butt too hard in Battlefield?” We knew from experience that Nikki was better than both of us at the FPSs that we owned. The console ones, anyway.

“Heh heh,” Mikey gave a cheeky giggle. “Yeah!” It was remarkable how immature he could be, even at his age. While Mikey always had the energy of a five year old, he never seemed out-of-place alongside his friends at school that all already started getting girlfriends. Yet, when Nikki was over, his behavior reverted, much in the same way I tried putting on a more mature demeanor to not come off like the high school freshman I was. Nikki leaned forward and glanced over the selection of games.

“Alright, well, let’s see what we got,” she said. “She listed off the ones that Mikey had brought over with reactions of varying favor. “Monopoly, takes too long. Clue, no. Battleship, you just cheat.”

“I never cheat!” Mikey said.

“Yeti in my- no,” Nikki continued. “Sorry, no. Trouble, same thing.”

“No, it’s not,” Mikey commented with a small laugh. Nikki smiled and turned to me.

“I don’t know, BB, what are you thinking?” she asked. I glanced over the selection, not particularly enthused about any of them. I sigh and blink through my general ambivalence.

“Life?” I asked. Nikki shook her head.

“Nah,” she said. “Too easy?”

“Too easy?” I asked with a scoff. “It’s RNG.”

“How about this?” Nikki said, moving several of the boxes aside to get to the one on the bottom. She revealed an old copy of Twister. The artwork across the box seemed antiquated, yet the box itself appeared hardly used. I scoffed a little at the suggestion.

"Really?" I asked. Nikki turned to me with her smirk cocked upright.

"Scared I'm gonna beat you?" Nikki asked. I thought for a moment. It was such an old game that I didn't recall ever playing it myself. It seemed more like something our parents did for fun at our age. But the more I thought about it, the more the game started to appeal to me. Getting close to Nikki physically didn't seem so bad, even if we were to play a game so objectively silly. I smirked back, raising my head.

"No, I just didn't think you'd want to play something you'd lose so easily at," I said, trying to sound clever. Nikki shook her head and started opening the box.

"Alright, little man, you're on," she said. We hopped up off of the couch and moved the coffee table to the side. My brother and I stretched out the play mat. Nikki pulled out the colored spinner and instructions. "We don't need instructions, right? You've played before."

"I don't think so," I said, "but I think I get the idea."

"Yeah, one player calls out a body part and color and you have to match the two, taking turns," Nikki explained. "It's easy."

"So someone has to stay back and spin the thing?" I asked.

"Oh oh, I wanna!" Mikey piped up. I turned toward him.

"You do?"

"Yeah, this'll be funny," he said with a boyish chuckle.

"Alright then," I said. I wasn't about to complain, getting the chance to get up close next to Nikki. I looked her way. She smiled at me, stretching out her arms and legs.

"You ready, little man?" Nikki asked.

"To win?" I asked back. "Always." Nikki laughed hard at that.

"I get to play winner!" Mikey said. He took a seat on the the floor next to the mat, crossing his legs and sitting the spinner in front of him. I stood back next to one side of the mat while Nikki removed her boots on an adjacent side.

"Deal," she said. She gave her neck a little crack, lumbering up.

"Don't break a hip," I said.

"You're so dead," Nikki replied. Mikey sat upright.

"Alright, you ready?" Mikey asked.

"Yep," Nikki said.

"Ready," I added.

"Alright then, Nikki, you first," Mikey said.

"Why her first?"

"Because she's getting us pizza," Mikey snapped back. He continued by immediately flicking the spinner. The arrow whirled around before landing on a space. "Alright, Nikki, right foot red." Nikki took a step onto the map. She placed her foot on the nearest red circle. I noticed that her socks were black like her shirt. One side had a cute little bunny skull design stitched into it. She turned back to look at me.

"It's that easy," Nikki said.

"Little early to get cocky," I replied.

"Alright, Brandon, left hand green," Mikey said. I hadn't even noticed him spin the arrow. I found the closest green circle, bent down, and rested my hand on top of it.

As the game developed, the positions we took became more and more complicated. Colors and body parts were called out, making the overall positioning less stable as time went on. There were several times where I thought I may lose my balance. There were even a few instances where I was sure that Nikki brushed up against me in hopes of pushing me over. But I managed to stay up as she too remained firmly in place.

When Nikki was instructed to place her right hand on a yellow spot, she did so almost in front of me. I glanced over to see her bare stomach mere inches from my face. Nikki always had a strong, toned frame, most of which stayed demonstrated through her stomach. She would constantly wear tops that showed it off. Some even stayed as high as right below her chest when it was particularly hot outside. She spent a lot of time jogging through the neighborhood, usually only wearing a sports bra and shorts. It would always be where my eyes gravitated to while looking at her. In doing so during the game, a devious idea struck through my mind.

“B, left hand red,” Mikey instructed. I raised my right hand up from the mat and to Nikki’s stomach. I lightly brushed my fingertips across the exposed skin, giving her belly a light scribbling. Nikki’s face immediately clenched. She pulsed into a small squeak before stifling giggles.

“Qu-quit it, B,” Nikki said. She managed to keep her position. She could look back at me while my hand remained just outside of her stomach. Her skin was warm and soft. I had no idea whether or not Nikki was ticklish. I was glad that she was, otherwise the move would have come off even more uncomfortable. Her belly, as much as she exposed it to the natural elements, appeared more sensitive than I had expected and just as much as I had hoped.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, playing it cool. “You ticklish, Nik?” I grinned back at her. Her eyes widened into a threatening glance. Her lips curled preemptively, already starting to giggle at the thought of it.

“Don’t you dare, little cheater,” Nikki said sternly. We both held our positions in the game. My fingers scratched delicately along her tummy. My nails were shallow, but they still managed to glide against the skin with ease. I watched Nikki’s face wince. She bared down on her teeth, obviously fighting back giggles.

“Or what?” I asked. I had taken enough time. I found a red spot that was relatively close and placed my hand upon it. Her stare was on me.

“Alright, Nikki, left hand yellow,” Mikey called out. Nikki smirked. She raised her hand. I could tell that she had not even found the best spot to put it on the mat before she lunged it at me. Her fingers wedged into my armpit. They dug and scratched deep into the area. I wasn’t about to admit how ticklish I was, but the way I reacted more than gave it away. I squealed, my body seized up. I almost lost my place on the mat, but remarkably I was able to keep it. Still, I couldn’t help bursting into a sudden fit of laughter.

“Eeeeehhheeehhaahaaahaha!!” I squealed. I didn’t want her to see me in such a state of vulnerability. Ticklishness was weakness after all and I had to be strong in front of her. Nikki grinned and continued burrowing her fingers into my armpit.

“Aww, what’s wrong?” she asked patronizingly. “Is little man ticklish?” The ticklish surges exploded through my body. I hadn’t been really tickled like that since I was younger than Mikey. I nearly forgot just how ticklish I was. The hardest part was staying in place, enduring the tickles as best as I could to keep from losing the game. Laughter continued to pump from my lips.

“Aaaahheheheheee! Stahahap!!” I shouted. Nikki’s hand pulled away just as I thought I’d crumble to the mat. She pressed it against a yellow circle and shot me a smug grin.

“Well, that’s new,” she said. I shook my head. Nikki was ticklish. Knowing this changed the very nature of the game. It continued with us more open and loose, giggling at the absurdity of how our bodies moved and the challenging endurance we both had to keep it going. The next few moves were me putting my right hand on a green space and her left foot on a yellow space. Only when the next move was called out did I see another opportunity.

“Brandon, left hand yellow,” Mikey said. When reviewing the yellow spaces, I noticed how Nikki had just her toes resting against one. I chuckled and reached over to share that space with her foot. As Nikki was in the process of taking her next move, I raised my fingers to lightly tease her sole. I gave her socked foot small, feathery tickles with my fingertips, hoping this would upset her balance. Nikki yelped a little. She clenched up once more and spoke through fluttering giggles.

“Ye-ah! Heeheeheey!” Nikki laughed. Her foot stayed perfectly in place for me, but I could see her leg buckling a little. Her body twitched as she giggled more and more, seemingly loosened by the previous ticklish teasing. Nikki made her move, but her foot stayed on the same spot, and thus continued to receive the feathery scribbling of my fingertips.

“Don’t fall,” I said. Nikki grumbled a little through her giggles. Her face was darkening a shade of red, melding into a soft pink expression. My fingers danced along her arch, my nails scribbling at the cotton clad sole effortlessly. Her foot was warm and shifted a little as I tickled it. Between the little motions and her fluttering laughter, Nikki was emitting a side to her that I had never seen, a young and cuter side. She trembled while keeping herself up on the mat. She clenched her teeth, but gave into more giggles upon opening her mouth.

“You ssssaahahaeeheeheeuuuck,” Nikkia said. Mikey seemed to get a kick out of her reactions. I continued scratching at her foot as I took my next move. It wasn’t easy, but I wasn’t about to let Nikki off the hook. Eventually, she moved that foot away. On her subsequent turn, she was instructed to bring her left hand to a red space. She did indeed lift her hand, only to latch it onto my side as she moved it. She gave my side a clawing pinch, kneading into the sensitive, slightly doughy region. I shrieked a little before succumbing to louder, faster laughter. She didn’t hold back. Nikki menacingly pinched at my side with her whole hand.

“Neeeaaahahahahahaaa!! Danananan’t!!” I yelled. Her hand moved up and down the area, going as high as up to my ribs. The tickles came hard and surged quickly through my body. I nearly toppled over right then. My body briefly pulled out of position before I forced my hands and feet back down to their assigned spots. My hips twisted away from Nikki’s tickles to the best of their ability. I squirmed in place, my face turning warm and deeply red.

“Come on, give up,” Nikki said, viciously tickling my side. I shook my head. I allowed myself to give into the laughter, but I did my best to stay firmly engaged in the game.

“Neheeheehehehever!” I cried. I trembled and struggled to maintain position. My arms and legs were growing tired. The scene itself had gotten hot from the activity. My skin was slick, my hair more damp than I expected it to be. I grumbled. My composure began to waver. Nikki continued to tickle my side. I kept trying to pull her hand off of me, but doing so was probably worse for my stability than the tickles. I knew I wasn’t going to last. Just as I thought that I’d fall over for real, the doorbell rang.

“Pizza!” Mikey shouted, jumping up from the floor. I dropped to the mat, taking Nikki down with me. We both laughed as we laid against the mat for a moment. I raised my hands to my face. It had been more physical activity than I was expecting, more than I had likely done in the whole month. Nikki was quick to push herself to her feet.

“That was fun,” she said, helping me up. “Shame how hard I beat you though.”

“Beat me?” I asked. “It was still your turn and you were cheating.”

“Yeah huh,” Nikki retorted. “You’re the one that fell first, so yeah, I beat ya.” Nikki brushed her hair back and walked up toward the front door. Honestly, I didn’t care who won or lost. It was all just a means of toying with her. I had fun with her up close and found out Nikki’s ticklish little secret. She answered the door and took the pizza boxes.

“Yummy!” Mikey shouted. The smell quickly filled the room. It seemingly activated the volume on my stomach. I had not realized just how hungry I was until I could smell the cheesy goodness making its way to the kitchen.

“You guys better get some quick, because I may just eat all this myself,” Nikki said. Mikey was quick on her heels. I stayed behind to play it cool, but truthfully was probably just as excited as he was.

The hour that followed was spent mostly eating, with a little conversation sprinkled in here and there. We put on a Transformers movie, one Mikey and I had seen probably a dozen times, so it was little more than low background noise while we talked. Nikki asked Mikey how his Minecraft world was going. That engaged him for quite a while. She embarrassingly asked me if I was crushing on anyone. I assume she meant at school. That’s how I answered, with a decisive ‘no’. I couldn’t tell her that the prettiest, coolest girl I knew was sitting on the floor in front of me, gradually picking at pizza crust. Mikey seemed less than interested in talking about that kind of stuff, so I changed the subject.

“So, what did you want to do after this?” I asked. I wondered how I could be so eager to be clearly babysat. Babysitted? Looked after. I was hoping that it read as just an attempt to keep having fun. Then I imagined that I was probably thinking about these kinds of things, these games of social politics, far more than she was. Nikki shrugged and gave the most bland and useless answer imaginable.

“I dunno,” she said. “What do you guys want to do?” I was expecting Mikey to point out that it was his turn to play Twister, but he seemed more distracted by the presence of pizza than remembering that we even played at all. What stayed on my mind, however, was Nikki’s laugh. Her pretty, adorable, ticklish laugh. Teasing her that way while she was relatively helpless to stop it mulled around inside my mind. Part of me wanted to keep playing Twister, to challenge her again simply for the opportunity. But I knew it was likely that she wouldn’t go for it, and frankly I didn’t think my body was up to the task either. I considered possible scenarios in which she would be just as vulnerable to tickle her more. If it was to happen, it would have to be done organically, not some wild suggestion that would make me come off like a creep. A nearly impossible task, but I thought that I had come up with a fun and natural segway.

“What if…” I started, trying to find the most careful way of wording what I was thinking. Nikki looked over to me.

“Yes?” she asked. I swallowed.

“Well, I saw this show that had a game where one person would tie up another person,” I said. “If the tied person could get out in the time they’re given, then they win. If not, the other person wins. And there’s other things that happen, surprises and such to make it more interesting, but it seemed like a lot of fun.”

“Ohh, yeah, let’s do that!” Mikey said, taking the bait like I knew he would. It was the silence that preceded Nikki’s answer that particularly concerned me. She thought for a second before her lips began to curl.

“Hm, alright,” Nikki said. “Who gets tied up first though?”

“Whoever lost Twister,” I said.

“Oh, so, you?” Nikki asked. I scoffed.

“I was thinking you,” I said, still trying to be casual about it. Nikki chuckled and tossed a bit of her hair back.

“Alright then,” she said. “What do I get when I win?” I shrugged. All I wanted was the game itself.

“How about winner gets last two slices of pizza?” I said. Nikki puckered her lips in thought.

“Alright, sounds like a plan,” Nikki said. She hopped up from the floor and twisted at her waist, stretching out her back. “What do you use to tie me up?”

“I-I don’t know, I didn’t really plan that far,” I said, only then realizing how underprepared I was.

“Tell you what,” Nikki started. She pulled out her phone and tapped through the lock screen. “I’ll give you boys two minutes to find what you’re going to use. Whatever you got by the end of that is what you’ll work with. Sound fair?” Mikey and I looked at one another. We shrugged and nodded.

“Sure, that sounds fair,” I said.

“When does the two minutes start?” Mikey asked.

“Oh, about nine seconds ago,” Nikki said, glancing into her phone screen. I couldn’t help but giggle at Nikki’s arguably cheaty antics.

“No fair!” Mikey shouted.

“Twelve, thirteen, fourteen…” Nikki counted. Mikey sprung up from the couch. He surged into action. He was already up for the task, storming up the stairs likely to his room. I too found myself in a gaming panic. I thought for a moment as I was pressed against the clock. What should I grab? Rope? Tape? Handcuffs? As if I had handcuffs, but it wasn’t like I knew how to tie a knot either.

I raced to the garage to find something, anything, able to bind things. I rummaged through dad’s workbench for cables and mom’s bin of Christmas stuff for ribbons. I did find a couple of coils of nylon dock line and figured that would work just as well. Estimating my search time against the clock, I ran back into the living room with only fifteen seconds to spare. Mikey was still missing. Nikki sat on the couch, looking down into her phone. She looked over to what I had brought out.

“Nice,” she commented. Mikey’s footsteps were heavier than ever running out of his bedroom. His door slammed shut. I imagine he just threw it closed before leaping down the stairs. He ran back into the living room just in time, pounding down a half used roll of duct tape on the coffee table. “And… time.”

“That’s what you got?” I asked my brother. He shrugged, panting heavily.

“It’s all I could find,” Mikey said.

“It’ll work,” Nikki said. She smirked and flipped her hair back. “I’m still gonna beat you two though.”

“No way!” Mikey said. He bounced a little, appearing as giddy about the game as I was on the inside.

“So where do we do it?” I asked. Nikki shrugged.

“I dunno, it’s your game,” she said. I looked around, silently contemplating a few places. Asking her to be on either of our beds might be too weird. I didn’t want to risk messing up anything in mom and dad’s room either. Mikey piped up first, however, coming up to the sofa.

“How about here?” he asked. Nikki and I looked back at him. We both studied the couch and the logistics of tying someone up against one. In my mind, it seemed reasonable. I was already getting pictures as to how it would work.

“Here good?” I asked Nikki.

“Sure,” she said. She turned and plopped herself down on the couch, looking up at both of us. Her smile gleamed into my eyes. Her stare sparkled with an unexpected look of interest. For a moment, I was convinced I was dreaming, as I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful, or even her with such an expression of subdued thrill. I blinked and pulled myself out of my own mind.

“Um, I guess… lay longways,” I said. She immediately followed the suggestion. She lifted her legs and laid long across the length of the couch. Nikki was not a considerably tall girl, only about a couple inches above my own height, but she was long enough to reach both ends with her head resting against one armrest and her feet propped up on the other. Her shirt rode up more on her belly. I watched it rise and fall as she seemed to be breathing faster and heavier. The memory of her laughter played over in my head. I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty tricking her into indulging a sudden urge to keep tickling her, but I could only hope she wouldn’t hate me for it afterward.

“Cool, umm…” Mikey started, looking to me for how to proceed. Nikki went back to her phone.

“How about five minutes to get me tied up,” she said. “And if I can break out in, let’s say, fifteen, I win.”

“Alright,” I said, trying to visualize a clear enough plan. I picked up the rope and Mikey picked up the duct tape. He pulled back a strip as I unlaced the coil.

“Ready?” Nikki asked. “I’m setting two alarms.”

“Ready,” I said, eyeing one side of the couch.

“Yep,” Mikey said. Nikki started the timer on her phone with a little beep. She set the phone on the floor next to the couch.

“Alright go,” she said. “And don’t step on my phone.”

I led Mikey up toward Nikki’s head. I still didn’t have a clear plan, but I figured I’d improvise with the best way to use both items. Mikey followed my moves. I told Nikki to raise her hands up over her head. She did and I began tying the rope around her wrists. I had no idea what I was doing, but I wanted to at least act like I did in front of Nikki. Mikey surely looked at me like I did. I gave the one coil of nylon line several wraps around her wrists with more laced through the center to fortify the tightness. I used most of the rope around her wrists before pulling them back. I was probably more conscious about Nikki’s comfort than anything. She winced a few times, but every time I’d ask if she was uncomfortable or in pain, she’d simply smile and shake her head.

I tied the other end of the line down beneath the end of the couch itself. The configuration pulled Nikki’s arms up over her head, bending her arms at the elbows over the edge of the armrest. It didn’t look all too comfortable, but Nikki just kept smiling like the tough girl she was. I told Mikey to reinforce the ropes and knots with the duct tape. He stretched out a long strip and seemed to uncoil the single piece around and around Nikki’s wrists and hands. He even fortified the knot at the bottom, holding the rope to the couch. I had gone down to Nikki’s feet where I was doing largely the same motions. I made sure to lower Nikki’s socks enough for the rope to reach her bare ankles, giving her less of an opportunity to slip out. With another series of tightly made coils around her ankles leading down to the bottom of the couch again, her feet rested snuggly atop the other armrest.

Her body was stretched out. Mikey hurried down to the other side to wrap another long strand of tape around the line. I stood back to see the handiwork. Nikki laid out before me. Her shirt was still riding up on her stomach. Her arms and legs were stretched out, bound to keep her perfectly stable across the length of the couch. She breathed heavier, being so bound. Her face was tinted with a light shade of red. Mikey continued to wrap the tape around the rope until the alarm sounded.

“Alright, stop,” Nikki said with a grin. “Now I got to get out.” The rules of the game were simple, yet Nikki had no idea what I was really planning. For a moment, I felt like a creep. I wasn’t trying to do anything too invasive, but her laughter kept echoing in my mind. Even the small little whimpers she emitted as she squirmed and struggled against the binds were adorable, some of the cutest sounds I’ve ever heard her make. I stood back and watched. Mikey sat back on his knees, giggling at her efforts.

“Nuh uh, you’re never gonna get out,” Mikey said.

“Oh yes I am,” Nikki argued. “Or else you’re going to have a pretty awkward scene to explain to your parents.”

The following moments were mostly Nikki accessing the situation. She pulled at the holds of rope and tape at her arms and legs. She twisted each, hoping to find a chink in our design that she could exploit her way to freedom. The longer she went without finding one, the more panicky her movements became. Her hands tried to grab at the table. Her feet writhed against one another. Nikki wore a puzzled expression. She wiggled in the binds faster and more exaggerated with time, quickly tiring herself out.

“Wow, well….” Nikki said. I laughed.

“Harder than you thought, right?” I asked. Nikki smiled.

“Only right now,” she said. “I’ll get out of here.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked, walking down to the bottom end of the couch. “You better.”

“What do you mean?” Nikki asked, looking down at me.

“Because here you are all tied up,” I said, coming up to her feet. “And we discovered something about you tonight…” It took but a moment for Nikki’s eyes to widen.

“No,” she said deeply. “No, don’t you dare.”

“Then maybe you should get out,” I said. I reached up to her feet resting atop the arm rest. Her eyes followed my hand. She squirmed more, specifically trying to get her feet out of the way of my approaching fingers. I grinned as I began making tickling motions in the air.

“No, no, no,” Nikki said, her lips already pulling up into a nervous smile.

“Tickle, tickle.”

It started with a simple swipe against her socked sole. It was only one hand against one foot, but the sudden stroke made an immediate impact. Nikki’s toes curled, bunching the sock just a little. She emitted a small shriek as the foot did its best to hide behind the other.

“Eeeeeehheehehee!” Nikki shouted. “Don’t you dare!” I said nothing. I didn’t want anything to spoil the dream that I was surely having. I could only grin. I followed with another little swipe against the front-facing foot. Nikki jerked again, her face clenching and voice breaking into small bursts of giggles. Mikey watched on and laughed.

“Haha, yeah! Tickle her!” Mikey said. That push was all I needed. My fingers, hovering just outside of her sole, pressed down against the warm, damp fabric. They scribbled at a medium pace, tickling and teasing around her arch. Nikki’s feet continued to curl and shift defensively, but nothing they could do made it difficult for me to reach at least one of them. The girl was proving to be more ticklish than I assumed during the Twister game. She fell into a fluttery stream of giggles, her eyes closing and lips turned up in a perpetual smile.

“Aaaaahhheeheheheheheee! Knahahahack it aahahahaha-ff!” Nikki laughed. She rocked side to side against the couch. She pulled at both ends of the rope harder than before. Where she was once trying to find a way to slip out, she began simply trying to tug her way free, to break the fortified rope with pure strength. It was quite amusing to watch. Mikey was getting a real big kick out of her reactions. He jumped in place and watched my fingers dance along the soft, humid surface of Nikki’s soles.

“Heh heh, yeah, I wanna try!” Mikey said. He came closer as I stepped aside to let him take my place. I laughed at him approaching Nikki’s bound, ticklish feet with such boyish enthusiasm.

“Go for it,” I said. While I was enjoying being the one doing the tickling myself, simply watching Nikki endure it all was still fun enough. I had kept a cool pace with light scratching from one hand. Mikey, however, went all out. He played both of his hands against Nikki’s soles, five fingers wildly scribbling against each. Nikki let out another shocked wail. She pulled hard at the rope above her head before succumbing to a new volume of laughter.

“Naaaaaaaahhhhhahahahahahahaaaa!! Staahahahahahaaap!!!” Nikki shrieked. I watched as her face turned a bright red. She twisted against the couch, still pulling at the ropes holding her down. Mikey was having the time of his life. He played Nikki’s feet like a string instrument, only not well with how unhinged he scribbled his fingertips against them. It worked all the same. Mikey laughed along, delighted by how far he could push the girl into ticklish hysterics. Her feet squirmed. Her head thrashed side to side. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as her bare stomach quivered through the laughter.

“Heh heh, coochie coochie coo!” Mikey teased. He tickled with a childish carelessness, the sadism of a boy too involved in his own glee to empathize. It was fine, however. With Mikey tickling, it gave me the opportunity to watch and monitor Nikki’s reactions. As loudly as she laughed, and as much as she objected, she never seemed to hate it too much. At least that’s what I hoped. As Mikey laughed along with her, carried away by the moment, I too found myself compelled to add more to the experience.

“What if we make it more fun?” I said. Before either could react, I came back up to Nikki’s feet. I pinched the tips of both socks and pulled off each with one swift motion. Her bare feet were pale and looked particularly soft. Nikki’s soles blushed a warm shade of pink, her toes curling freely. Nikki shook her head as she sensed the change. She started to beg again, but Mikey’s enthusiasm was far too quick for either of us to keep up with.

“Haha yeah!” Mikey shouted. “Nikki’s got ticklish feet!” He drove his scribbling fingers back down against Nikki’s soles. The more direct contact created a surge of laughter bursting from her mouth. Her toes curled, her feet flailed helplessly. Mikey kept up with them well. He scribbled all ten up and down her creamy white arches. He teased her toes and heels and everywhere in between.

“Naaaaahahahhahahahahahaha!! Gahahahah stahhahaap!!!” Nikki fussed.

Nikki rocked and bucked against the couch. She continued to jerk against the ropes stretching her body out. From what I could tell, she was making little to no progress in escaping. As I watched her endure the ticklish teasing, I almost didn’t want to add more, but I knew well how rare the opportunity was before me. As Mikey stayed down at Nikki’s squirming feet, I made my way up to her top half. I watched her up close wailing with mad, ticklish laughter. She still seemed to not hate it, or perhaps that was just my own wishful thinking. Her face was red, her eyes were even a little watery, and her shirt was still riding up her stomach. Her shallow sleeves had bunched up at the shoulders, exposing the outstretched pits within. I couldn’t just idly witness the scene anymore. Without thinking, I dug both of my hands into each sleeve, meeting her bare pits with ten, scratching fingers.

“WHAAAAAAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!” Nikki squealed with laughter. She bucked harder against the couch. She thrashed her head side to side, sending her hair fraying into a disheveled mess. Her pits were soft and damp with sweat. I didn’t mind the added moisture. It made scribbling my fingers against the plush dips that much easier. Her laughter quickly became louder and more desperate. Small beads of tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Part of me felt bad about taking advantage like that, but not a big enough part of me to stop. Honestly, in the moment, I was prepared to accept any consequence so long as I could keep tickling Nikki.

“Haha!” Mikey laughed mockingly. “Yeah, get her!” He finally pulled away from her feet to come up closer to me. He stood by my side, watching as I scribbled and clawed my fingers deep into Nikki’s sensitive pits. Her arms pulled hard against the rope. The delicate mounds of her underarms quivered under my fingers. Every little swipe and scratch sent a new burst of tickles through her body she was unable to avoid. I watched as my impossibly attractive neighbor, mature at least to me, was slowly breaking down from tickles into a squealing little girl.

“GAAAAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAA!!! QUIT IT!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!” Nikki screamed. As bad as it sounds, her adorable screams for mercy only made me want to keep tickling her. My fingers sped up against her pits. They glided effortlessly across the slick hollows, stretched and vulnerable. I glanced down at her body. Her shirt stayed lifted high on her stomach, her belly twisting and quivering to the sounds of her laughter. I nodded at Mikey who was simply spectating.

“Get her ribcage,” I said. The suggestion took a moment for Mikey to process, but once it did, his smile lit up.

“Oh yeah!” he cheered. He reached across Nikki’s body like how I was. He placed one hand at each side of her ribs. Nikki shook her head more. She managed to get out only a few more pleas before Mikey’s rapid scratching along her ribs made her voice shriek beyond the capacity for speech.

“NNNAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! STAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!” Nikki erupted. I had no idea if her ribs would even be ticklish. I only assumed so by how the rest of her was. Turns out, I was right. Mikey’s fingers picking at her ribs, just barely exposed from beneath her shirt, made Nikki buck harder against the couch. Her eyes winced, her face twisted into a hysterical clench. Even then, she was still so pretty, and her laughter was just as beautiful as I had heard before.

The two of us continued to deliver the tickles on two fronts, raging in from both sides of her body. Nikki pulled more and more against the ropes. Her legs kicked as much as they could. Her body twisted in her binds to try and avoid the tickles, but mine and Mikey’s hands were locked in their places. Her long, black hair flung with the side to side jerking of her head. My fingers clawed against the soft, plush valleys of her underarms. Tickles poured in with every swipe of my nails. Mikey’s hands danced carelessly up and down her ribs, but no less effectively. The two of us laughed along with her. Mikey continued to enunciate her ticklish plight with playful phrases.

“Coochie coochie coo!” Mikey said, laughing along like a little boy. I looked down past where Mikey stood. I remembered how Nikki reacted when I brushed against her stomach during the Twister game. To give her pits a break, and to change up the ordeal, I pulled back and shot Nikki a devilish grin.

“But I think I know where she’s really ticklish,” I said. Nikki heaved for air during the brief lessening of the tickles. She hardly responded as I took my place on Mikey’s other side, right in front of her bare, quivering belly. I raised my hands and wiggled my fingers in the air once more. Mikey kept on tickling her ribs. He watched me closely.

“Hehe, yeah, do it!” Mikey said. I wasn’t about to stop. We were already going to be in a lot of trouble, so I figured that I’d make the most out of it. I plunged my fingers down against Nikki’s stomach. My hands splayed out wide, kneading into the area with quick, clawing motions. Immediately, Nikki lurched. Her back arched up off of the couch before succumbing to a screaming fit of laughter, louder than I had heard thus far.

“GAAAAAAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!” Nikki’s voice burst through the room. Her cheeks glowed like cherries, tears streaming down her face. Her tossed hair clung to the sweat across her neck. Her laughter was more than desperate. It was almost distressed. It was strained through episodes of gasping for air. And yet, through it all, I didn’t allow myself to believe that she truly hated it. Mikey and I continued to push her like it was all part of the game, the game that Nikki seemed to have given up on playing in lieu of simply enduring the tickles. That had become the game.

“Uh oh, ticklish belly, ticklish belly!” Mikey taunted. His hands continued to score over her ribs. His fingers picked at each and squirmed deep in between them. I was simply trying to cover as much of Nikki’s belly with my kneading tickles. I moved all over the area, feeling how her belly squirmed beneath my hands. I clawed and scribbled. I shifted my hands all over the region, switching from deep, pulsing tickles to more light, feathery scratches against the skin. Nikki’s tummy was toned, yet still had a delightful squish to it.

“STAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAAAA!!! NNNAAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAA!!!” Nikki squealed. Her hips bucked against the couch. Her head thrashed side to side. Her chest convulsed trying to keep up with airflow in and out. Sweat glistened across her stomach. Her laughter reached squealing pitches more intense than any laugh I had ever heard before. It was hypnotizing, in a way. I almost never wanted it to end. My fingers dug into her belly. They flayed and spidered across the slick, sensitive surface of her stomach. I loved watching it tremble. I was deeply enchanted by how much I was able to make her laugh, by how far into this state of helpless ticklish mania I could take her, with some fluttery tickles across her belly. Each little scrape of my nails seemed to send shocks of tickles all through her body. Never had I been tickled to that extreme, but I could only imagine the pulsing mania that came along with being tickled in your worst spot with no way to stop it.

“I wanna try up here,” Mikey said. He shifted his position farther up her body. He took his aimlessly scribbling fingers up to where I had them in her pits, tucked away beneath the moist hems of her sleeves. I grinned at Mikey’s playful initiative, though Nikki seemed to be reacting even more so to the change. I watched Nikki’s belly dance and pulse beneath my hands. I noticed her navel shifting around to the waves of her clenching muscles. Curiously, I guided one hand over to it. I slipped one casual finger inside to scratch around.

“GYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! NAAAHAHAHAH NAAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!” That simple change made Nikki explode with laughter. She screamed so loudly, both Mikey and I had to take a step back. Her eyes shot open. Tears poured from them in streams. Her back lunged up off of the couch before collapsing again. I could only conclude that the sudden burst of intensity was from the light scratching at her belly button. It was the smallest little tickle, but it evidently made all the difference.

“Wow,” I said. “Looks like I found Nikki’s most ticklish spot.” Mikey laughed. He kept scribbling his fingers deep inside her pits, taking full advantage of her inability to lower her arms. I made the most out of my discovery as well. With one hand still kneading around her belly, I focused most of my efforts on endlessly scratching at her soft, shallow navel. Nikki stayed trapped in this steady explosion of laughter. She threw her head back, sweat and tears flying from her face. Every little scrape inside her belly button drove more and more laughter from her lips. It pushed her deeper into the ticklish hysteria she was already struggling to endure.

“FAAAAAAAHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!! MMMAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!” Nikki screamed with laughter. She bellowed out so loud that I was briefly concerned that the neighbors might hear. Still, I pressed on. My one finger, tucked scratching away inside of her belly button, followed her every movement. Her belly trembled and writhed side to side with her hips, but my tickling finger stayed right inside, delivering wave after wave of maddening tickles. It had seemed like we had given up the original game entirely. We could hardly hear any alarm going off over her laughter. Mikey and I were far more engaged with the current activity and Nikki was only concerned about outlasting our playful antics.

“Aww, isn’t this fun, Nikki?” I asked. “Aren’t you glad you came over?” My one hand moved all over her midsection. When my fingers weren’t scribbling at her belly, they were pinching at her side or even dancing across her ribs. Still, the other hand was committed to tickling inside Nikki’s cute little navel. My nails scratched lightly, with a feathery touch, around the inner rim before diving even deeper to get to the particularly ticklish nerves within.

“Yeah, and you’re with us all weekend long!” Mikey added with a chuckle. Mikey kept up his assault on her pits. Looking up, I could see Nikki’s beet red face. Her laughter had lost considerable volume, reduced to short bursts of strained laughs between gasps for air.

“NNNNNAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAhahahahahaaaaa……aahahahahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!” Nikki shrieked.

She was fading fast. I could tell that whatever look in her eyes that I was reading as playful delight was gone. What was left was a quivering, exhausted mass of nerves, sweating and shaking from the endless stimulation. I pulled back and made sure Mikey did the same. Looking down at her, a hot wash of guilt slammed into me like a tidal wave. Without us tormenting her, Nikki just laid across the couch. She was still tied up at both ends, but made no attempt at escape. I thought she may have passed out or simply gone to sleep.

“Let’s get her out,” I said. Mikey was mature enough to know why we had to stop. Truthfully, I think we both knew that we should have stopped minutes ago, but the thrill was just too rich to ignore. I could only hope that she would forgive us when she was back in the right state of mind.

We worked to get her out of the tape and ropes. It wasn’t easy. I had to cut through the tape and wedge the scissors in the knots to untie the ropes. We did too good a job, it seemed. Eventually, however, we got her free. Mikey handed Nikki back her socks and I went to fetch her a glass of water. We helped her sit up. We stayed by her side mostly to make sure she was alright, but also to make sure that she wasn’t too mad at us.

“Sorry about that,” I said. Sitting up, Nikki sat hunched over. She heaved deeply and slowly, still trying to catch her breath. Her hair was wet and draped down the sides of her face. She pushed one side back behind her ear. Her cheeks were still red, her skin still glossy with sweat. She downed the entire glass of water in one long series of gulps. When she was finished, she put down the glass. I thought I saw the remnants of a smile grace her lips, or at least manifest in Nikki’s typical ‘curled at the ends’ style. She sighed and nodded.

“Wow… that was… crazy,” Nikki said. Mikey and I looked at each other.

“You’re not, like, mad at us… are you?” he asked sheepishly. Nikki went silent. She looked away from us, leaving us in the suspense that we deserved.

“Heh heh… no, I’m not mad,” Nikki said. “That was… fun…”

“It was?” I asked optimistically.

“Yeah,” Nikki said. She looked over at me and smiled. “You’ll find out for yourself… tomorrow.”