Shy, Ticklish, Country Girl (F/F) (Patreon)

The First Baptist Church of Langdon emptied out a substantial service with the normal hum-drum of idle sports talk and local gossip among the townsfolk. Well dressed adults walked outside into the courtyard to talk. Small children ran for the playground that was just a slide and some monkey bars. A pair of pastors joined in the conversations with their guests while many of the teens stayed behind, most sticking together and discussing happenings around local high schools. Ashley Harris was one of the few not speaking to anyone.

Ashley walked around the main chapel collecting forgotten program sheets and discarded scraps of trash. The young teen volunteered for the church every Sunday, helping to clean up and organize the youth group. A flowing pinafore dress hung over a plaid shirt that clung to her chest. She wore a crown of auburn tied back into pigtails that curled down her back. Freckles sprinkled playfully across her nose and cheeks. Pew by pew, Ashley went through the whole chapel, picking up trash and making the place of worship clean and tidy.

After she finished, Ashely threw away all she gathered in a trash can by the back door and left to join the other teens in the classroom they had reserved for their youth group. She could hear them even before entering, sighing by the door. She looked down to the cowgirl boots comforting her feet, leather and embroidered with floral designs. She drew in a few deep breaths and pushed the door open. Inside, the rowdy energy of the other teens sang out in conversations that seemed to overlap each other. Some talked about school while others discussed other people they knew. They all talked loudly, the only thing of which Ashely was certain. Quietly, she made her way over to the bookcase and pulled out the book she had been reading in her spare time, a heavily worn copy of The Last Unicorn. She walked it over to an empty table and sat.

"Ash!" shouted a familiar voice before Ashley could even open the book. She looked up to see her friend Jayden skipping over to where she sat. Jayden had broken away from a cluster of friends, mostly other teens she knew from Sam Clemmons High. Her short, dark hair bounced as she walked. Her smile was natural and always seemed to lighten a room, a quality that Ashely felt long lost on her own.

"Hey," Ashley replied. Jayden hopped up and sat on the desk in front of Ashley. Her own church attire was far more casual, reduced to shorts and a slim tee shirt that she had picked up from a Skillet tour.

"Almost didn't see you come in," Jayden said. "Didn't want to say hi?"

"You seemed busy," Ashley said.

"With who?" Jayden asked. She pointed up a thumb behind her. "Those dorks? They wish."

"I heard that," said a boy in the group that Jayden had walked away from. Grant was shorter than Ashley and stouter than Jayden, ranges that encompassed most of their peers. "I'll remember that next time that you want to copy my homework."

"I'd probably get a higher grade just by not doing the homework at all than by copying you," Jayden threw back. Jayden turned back to Ashley. "So, you coming this weekend?"

"To the retreat?" Ashley asked. She sighed and looked away. "I-I want to, but…"

"'You gotta tend to the horses'," Jayden mocked. "You use that for everything. Your dad can't do it for you?" Ashley's eyes drifted in shallow contemplation. "Come on, everyone's going to be there. I'm going. Carla's going. Grant probably. Maybe even Nathan." Jayden dropped the last name with a sly, knowing smirk. Ashley's eyes darted around the room.

"Hey," Ashley hushed, her face garnering a pinkish hue. "I… m-maybe… but…"

"'But' what?"

"I don't… really know them, that's all," Ashley said. "I'd just be weird and not do anything. I know I wouldn't be a lot of fun to have along."

"Ash, don't be such a downer," said Jayden. "They'd all love to have you there. I know I would. Come on, it'll be fun." Ashley had given the retreat to Beilson Creek serious consideration since it was announced over two months prior. Group outings were rarely the kind of events that Ashley wanted to attend and even more rarely invited to. It was clear that Jayden was going out of her way to make her feel welcomed. Acknowledging that was a good enough reason to try.

"I can… see if I can get momma or daddy to tend to the horses this weekend," said Ashley.

"Do that," Jayden said. "Seriously, I'd be pretty bummed if you didn't come. You're not as awkward as you might think you are." Ashley chuckled.

"I'd hope not," she said. She looked over to the rest of the room. Many of the other teens were ones that Ashley had grown up with and never got to know well. She knew them in passing, both at school and the church events that she helped organize, but knew little beyond their first names. Carla stood next to Grant, a freshman among sophomores and juniors. With them were Evan, Mandy, and Nathan. The former two Ashley knew next to nothing about, with Nathan being the outlier. His family often used her family's ranch for riding lessons, which left Ashley time to admire him from the safety of her bedroom.

"Hey Jay," Carla called out from across the room. "You still have my Algebra book, don't you?" Jayden spun around on the desk.

"Yeah, it's somewhere," Jayden said.

"I have a test on Tuesday," Carla said. "And I really need to study for it." Jayden jumped off of the desk and started back toward the cluster.

"Sucks for you," Jayden said. Carla crossed her arms and smirked. She too opted to wear shorts and a tee shirt to church, complete with a pair of white flip flops. Carla had features that many considered to be cute, but being as underdeveloped as other girls in her class kept her from being seen as anything more than that.

"No, I need it back today," said Carla.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I'll give it to you then," said Jayden.

"I need it today," Carla insisted. Jayden smirked.

"I'm sure you'll do fine not studying for a day," said Jayden. "We both know you're not going to study anyway."

"Maybe not, but my mom's been on my ass," Carla said. "So run it by my house tonight, please."

"Or I can give it back tomorrow and you can calm down," said Jayden. She reached over and playfully pinched Carla's side. Carla squeaked and jumped back, giggling and covering the spot with her hand.

"Ahhhheheehe hey!" Carla said. The others around her chuckled at Carla's shrieking reaction. Ashley sat and held her book open, but read not a word as she watched the events unfold.

"I guess I can always tickle you until you chill out," Jayden said. Carla grumbled and smirked.

"That's not fair, you know how…" Carla said before stopping herself.

"Aww, I think Jayden has the right idea," Evan chimed in. Carla started to back away toward a couch set up against the wall.

"To tickle Carla like we did at camp that one time?" Mandy asked. Carla giggled nervously at the mere mention of such a thing happening. Her eyes shifted to all of them.

"N-no, guys, seriously don't tickle me," Carla said. The backs of her calves hit the seat cushion, leaving her to fall into the couch looking up at them getting closer.

"You gonna let me hold onto that book until tomorrow?" Jayden asked. Carla paused, cheekily smirking below wide eyes.

"I… but I need it," Carla said.

"Alright then," Jayden said. She grabbed Carla by the shoulders and twisted her sideways to make her lay across the length of the couch. Jayden was strong yet gentle. She handled Carla playfully as the freshman found herself giggling at the inevitable tickles coming her way.

"Nahhooo!" Carla squealed. Jayden held Carla down by looming over her and pressing all ten clawing fingers against her belly. Carla shrieked, her face scrunching up as she giggled loudly. Her legs rose and folded. Her arms clenched to her sides and tried weakly to bat Jayden's tickling hands away.

"Awww, coochie coochie coo, Carla," Jayden teased. Her own laughter matched that of Carla's pouring through the room. Ashley continued to watch from her seat, her eyes glued to the action taking place on the couch.

"I almost forgot how ticklish she was," said Grant, coming up to Carla's head. Her cheeks began to glow. Jayden tickled faster, pinching and clawing at her sides.

"How could you?" Jayden asked. "She's so much fun to tickle." Carla twisted beneath Jayden, trying to wiggle her way to freedom. Jayden managed to keep her down, but knew she would soon get free. "Grant, get her arms."

"Naaaaahahahahahaooo!!" Carla squeaked. Grant chuckled and grabbed Carla's wrists, pulling her arms up over her head. Ashley found herself rising up out of her seat to get a better view.

"Easy now, we're just having fun," said Jayden, still pinching Carla's sides and ribs. "Aren't we?"

"Naahahahahahaoooo!!" Carla squealed and laughed, shaking her head. Jayden kept her tickles light and friendly. She worked her fingers up to Carla's vulnerable armpits. Jayden scribbled wildly into the plush hollows, smirking at Carla's exaggerated reactions. Carla’s head shook. Her light squeals became louder and louder the longer the tickling continued. She pulled at her arms, but could not free them from Grant’s hold on her wrists. Jayden dug into her pits with ten clawing fingers.

“Sure we are,” Jayden teased. “Why else would you be laughing so much?” Jayden managed to slip her hands into the short, lifted sleeves of Carla’s tee. Her nails scraped effortlessly against the slick skin of Carla’s bare armpits. Carla’s seat lifted as she shrieked. She begged and twisted and pulled as best as she could, but the diminutive girl could not overpower her captors’ collective strength.

“I-aaahahhahahahaaa-’m taaaahahahahahacklish!!” Carla shouted. Her laughs were small and fairy-like, but still loud enough to flood the room. Ashley tried to look away, to pay no mind to her friend’s distracting antics, but could not fight the urge to watch. Jayden smirked, continuing her spidering assault on Carla’s pits.

“I see that,” Jayden said. “So, you gonna let me hold onto the book for as long as I need?” Carla shook her head. Her hands clenched. Her legs squirmed beneath Jayden, trying to buck and kick her off. Jayden held Carla down firmly, looming over her as her fingers tormented her slick, ticklish pits.

“Naahahahahahaaaaooo!!” Carla squealed with laughter. “It’s mi-aaahahahaha-ne!!!”

“No?” Jayden asked. “That’s fine. Flip her over.” Jayden rose as she and Grant handled the girl over onto her belly. Before Carla could fight for freedom within her brief window, Jayden was already sitting on the backs of her legs.

“Wh-what are you…” Carla started as she tried to catch her breath.

“I think little Carla here forgot that we all know where she’s most ticklish, right?” Jayden said aloud. The others snickered a little as Carla began to twist tiredly beneath her.

“N-no,” Carla said, fear in her throat. “Do-don’t you do it…” Jayden held Carla’s ankles against the armrest edge of the couch. Ashley found herself watching more closely still as Jayden popped off one of Carla’s flip flops.

“There’s one,” Jayden said teasingly, looking down at Carla’s bared foot. Her sole was soft and rosey and as dainty as the girl herself. Her toes wiggled a little, her foot blushing from the attention of the room. Carla kept trying to pull her feet back to no success beneath Jayden’s weight.

“No!” Carla said. “W-wait, please… you know I can’t take it…” Jayden paid the girl no mind as she popped off the other flip flop, leaving both of Carla’s soles perfectly trapped and positioned between her knees.

“And there’s two,” said Jayden. The other students egged Jayden on. Ashley watched closely from standing by the window, her book closed in one sweating hand. “Are you sure I can’t just have it?”

“F-fine, give it back tomorrow,” Carla said. “Just don’t…”

“Nuh uh, now I think I’ll keep it for the year,” said Jayden. “Unless you have a problem with that.”

“The y-year!?... B-but I need it…”

“Well then,” Jayden said. Without warning, Jayden began scribbling her nails against both of Carla’s smooth arches. Carla shrieked into a fit of desperate laughter. Her feet waved. Her toes curled. Carla’s cries of ticklish laughter exploded through the room. Jayden only smirked through the tickling torment she put the small girl through while the others watched with total amusement.

“Staaaahahahahahahaaaaaaappp!!!” Carla shrieked. She bucked and writhed against the couch. Her feeble attempts to pull away had become involuntary bodily clenching. Her face began to darken red. Tears formed in her eyes. No matter how she moved, nothing she did diverted Jayden’s meticulous tickling away from her highly sensitive feet. Ashley stood and spectated. Her eyes were locked on how Jayden’s nails delighted light scratches against Carla’s blushing soles. Carla’s delicate screams of laughter ensnared her attention. How Jayden stole a command of Carla so easily, with such subtle and yet so effective motions. Beneath her body and between her legs, Carla’s ticklish soles were completely vulnerable and accessible to her, as if they had become Jayden’s personal playthings. A trickle of sweat fell down the back of Ashley’s neck.

“Such a crybaby,” Jayden taunted, her fingers quickly scratching into Carla’s toes. Carla squealed louder still. Streams of tickles surged through her body like electric sparks. Carla could only laugh through the torment as her pleas and attempts to escape did next to nothing.

“Naaaahahahahahaaaahaa!!! Nahahahahaaaat my toeeesshahahaha!!! Stahahahahahaaap!!!” Carla continued. Ashley witnessed Jayden’s expression. She wore a smile of mischievous joy, a sadistic mirth at the ticklish torture she put the girl through. Ashley became compelled to step in, to help the freshman from her friend’s merciless fingers, but merely stayed and watched it all happen before her eyes.

“You must really want that book back,” said Jayden over Carla’s laughter. “All you have to do is say I can have it and this’ll all be over.” Jayden focused her nails on Carla’s toes, weaving in and out of them before scratching widely at the wiggling pads. Carla huffed and gasped for air through her laughter. Her face had turned a bright cherry red. Her golden hair had loosened to her shaking head.

“Aaaahhhhhooohhhhmy gahahahahahad fahahahaane!!” Carla shouted. Jayden managed to sneak in a few more tickles before stopping. Carla’s feet hung flushed and tired over the edge of the couch as the rest of her slumped in exhaustion. Jayden hopped off.

“Aww, thanks!” Jayden said, sweetly. “See? I can be very persuasive.” Carla pushed herself over and tossed her hair out of her face.

“I… hate you…” Carla said while catching her breath. Despite how much the tickling had worn her down, Carla still chuckled a little with a small smirk. Grant rushed to collect her flip flops and hand them back to her. She blushed. “Th-thanks.”

“Hehe, sorry about before,” said Grant. Carla snickered and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m gonna kick both of your asses,” Carla said. The group laughed. Ashley walked up to join them, her book clenched in her hands.

“I-I had never… seen… uh, are you okay?” Ashley asked. Carla huffed and slipped her flip flops back on. She stood and gave a sly grin to them all.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” said Carla. “No thanks to someone who owes me a textbook.”

“Relax, you’ll get your book back tomorrow,” said Jayden. “If I remember to pack it.”

“Uh huh,” said Carly skeptically. Jayden smirked and turned to Ashley.

“She’s tough,” said Jayden. “I knew she could handle it.” Ashley giggled.

“That was certainly something,” Ashley said.

“Yeah, well,” Carla started with a huff. “Just… don’t tickle my feet.”

“Aww, but it’s so much fun,” said Jayden. She came closer to Ashley who stood quietly to the side. “Wasn’t it?” Ashley’s eyes darted back and forth between Jayden and Carla, who seemed to recover from the torture relatively quickly and in a better mood. It was hard for her to believe that she had been screaming and begging for mercy just a few moments prior. Carla appeared to rejoin the group with laughter and smiles as if nothing had happened. Ashley pondered the moment for a while before smiling and nodding back.

“Y-yes, it did a little,” Ashley said softly. The moment blew by the group as quickly as it had happened. Ashley turned and took her book back to her seat. She looked down at her desk, thrust back into the silence of her own anxiety, only her mind became fixated on something new entirely. “Looked… like fun.”

—

The following school day came like every other morning. Ashley threw on a clean pair of capris, a blue John Deer tee shirt, and a pair of white flip flops. She briefly considered her cowgirl boots, but the sweltering day ahead pulled her more to open footwear. She looked down at her own feet while tying up her hair. They were as pale and timid as the rest of her, underwhelming from her perspective. Nothing special, except for possibly how large they were, a point of self consciousness that she had carried for years. Ashley had glossed her nails a candy pink color, the extent of flair that she dared to add to her look.

The events from the day before at her youth group came back to her with vivid reflection. She imagined what she would have done in Carla’s place. She pictured how it would feel to be so held down and subjected to having her feet tickled, trapped in a vulnerable position, unable to stop it. She wondered about how ticklish she would be and the rush that would come from such sensations of helpless roughhousing. Putting it out of her mind, Ashley finished with her hair and hurried for a quick breakfast.

With her backpack slung over one shoulder, Ashley rushed down the long dirt path from her house to the main road. Surrounding magnolias had already begun to bloom. She stepped carefully over strewn pinecones and muddy puddles. Ashley reached the road just as the school bus began pulling over on her side. She huffed slightly and climbed aboard after the doors parted for her. Ashley’s stop was one of the first on her route. Only a handful of students were already on, sitting in silence either reading or staring vacantly out the windows. Ashley looked toward the back where her and Jayden normally sat. Jayden’s face was already smirking back at her from the back row. Ashley held onto the seats as the bus roughly began pulling back onto the road before she could reach her seat.

“Hey,” Jayden said as Ashley managed to get to the seat next to her. “How much do you love me?”

“Depends on the day,” said Ashley, swinging her bag to sit on her lap. “And what it is that you want.”

“Monday,” said Jayden. “And can you believe that my little brother colored all over my Biology homework?”

“I thought your brother was getting married out of town and that’s why you had to miss school last week,” Ashley said dryly. Jayden’s eyes shifted.

“Uh, different brother.”

“Different ‘made up’ brother?”

“Yeah, this one’s super into Batman and NASCAR,” said Jayden. Ashley groaned and reached into her backpack. She pulled out her Biology binder and handed Jayden a notebook page of answers. “Thanks! You’re the best!”

“You’re the worst,” said Ashley with a grin.

“Nah, you love me,” said Jayden, quickly copying Ashley’s sheet into her own notebook. “So, you talk to your parents about this weekend?”

“No,” Ashley said. “Mama won’t be back until tomorrow. She’s in Nashville judging a riding competition. And daddy’s been away on a job in Louisville, so he’s been traveling a lot.”

“Old Benny Hill better get his ass back soon,” said Jayden, still scribbling down answers. “I’m still waiting for that cornhole rematch he promised me.” Ashley chuckled.

“I’ll tell him you said that,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll come flying back at a chance to beat you again.” Jayden rolled her eyes. She finished copying Ashley’s homework and handed it back to her.

“Either way, you need to come with us,” said Jayden.

“I’ll try,” said Ashley, “but don’t expect anything. They need me home.”

“And I need you there,” said Jayden. “Or else I’ll be stuck there with a bunch of dorks and it won’t be as much fun.” Ashley laughed at the notion.

“You’ll live,” said Ashley. For a moment, her mind flashed back to the day before. Ashley looked down to her hands cupped in her lap. “So… you got Carley’s book?”

“Hm?” Jayden muttered. “Oh yeah, I’ll give it to her first period. ‘Lil brat can relax.” Ashley nodded. She fell quiet, her eyes downcast and lost in thought. Jayden looked over more closely. “You okay?”

“Ye-yeah,” said Ashley, nodding. “Just thinking back to yesterday at youth group, I guess.”

“What about it?” Ashley shrugged. She caught a glimpse of her toes in her flip flops. She curled them slightly, feeling the plush material cushioning them.

“It’s nothing,” said Ashley.

“Can’t be nothing,” said Jayden, inching closer. “Talk to me.” Ashley’s fingers twiddled in her lap. A sinking sensation in her gut left behind a chilling vacuum. She reached up and began twirling one pigtail around her index finger.

“When you… tickled her,” Ashley said quietly. Her eyes rose to make sure no one else was close enough to hear her.

“Oh yeah, haha,” Jayden chuckled. “Yeah, we found out how ticklish she was last retreat and ever since then that’s how we get her to do anything. I don’t think she hates it as much as she pretends she does.”

“It… was cute,” said Ashley, in an almost whisper. Her eyes fell once again, locked onto her knees pressed tightly together.

“Yeah, that’s what a lot of people say,” said Jayden. “I think Grant might be into it. Maybe he’ll finally ask her out this year.”

“It looked… like fun,” said Ashley, just as softly. “Th-the way you held her down and… tickled her feet…” Jayden looked over and smirked at the pink rising beneath Ashley’s freckles.

“You should have jumped in,” said Jayden. “We can get her after school if you want.” Ashley shook her head.

“N-no, I mean…” Ashley started. She sighed and diverted her gaze more. “Forget it. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Jayden’s smile widened. She leaned in closer to her friend, speaking softer than normal.

“Ash,” Jayden said. “Did you want to be tickled?” Ashley clenched up. Her face became a shade closer to that of her hair.

“N-no,” Ashley said. Jayden leaned in closer.

“Ash,” she repeated. “It’s okay, you can tell me. You know me, I won’t judge you.” Ashley breathed deeply in and out, her nerves soothing in Jayden’s company.

“I… I don’t know…” said Ashley. “Maybe. It just… looked like fun.”

“It is,” said Jayden, a tender understanding sweetening her voice. “You want to try? I don’t mind. I am a certified tickle master.”

“Certified?”

“Licensed to practice in every state but New Hampshire,” said Jayden. Ashley laughed, covering her lips with her knuckles.

“Why New Hampshire?”

“Eh, they don’t let me in anymore. Not after the scene I made at my sister’s wedding.”

“‘Brother’s’ wedding,” Ashley corrected with a laugh. “You should really get your lies straight.” Both girls giggled and knudged each other. Ashley huffed a relieved sigh. “Y-you really don’t mind?”

“Mind?” Jayden retorted. “You got me excited now. It’s going to be so much fun. We’re doing this. After school. Your place. Today. No backing out now, Harris, this is happening.” Ashley smiled wide and stroked her hair. She almost failed to notice the bus pulling up behind the school, where many other buses were parked and letting out vaguely familiar faces.

“Thank you,” Ashley said, her toes curling in excitement.

“You don’t need to thank me,” said Jayden. “Just prepare yourself. I reserve the right to not go easy on you.” Jayden slung her bag back over her shoulder and stood. As the other students started rising and heading for the door, she turned back toward Ashley. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” Ashley smiled and sighed once more.

“Thank you,” Ashley said again. She got to her feet and followed Jayden out of the bus, where a dreadfully slow school day awaited her.

Anticipation gnawed at Ashley’s mind all day. Her lessons and classes passed by in a haze. Questions sprouted like daisies in her head. What would it feel like? Is Jayden really okay with it or was she just humoring? How ticklish was she really? Ashley found herself thinking back to all the times when she had been tickled in the past. The list of memories was brief, reserved exclusively to the passive tickle by aunts, uncles, and cousins and family gatherings. Something about the image of Jayden holding down and tickling Carla’s helpless soles stayed with her. She had no explanation for why that memory played over and over again in her mind or why it excited her how it did. Ashley just knew that she wanted to experience it for herself.

Ashley was quick in making it back home after school let out. She spared no time in feeding the horses and set up her homework for the evening across the dining room table, a daily ritual during the week. She checked her phone regularly and had an apple as a snack. After about an hour past making it home, her phone buzzed. She checked it to see Jayden’s text reading ‘omw’. Ashley cleaned herself up and waited on the couch with a book, anxiously glancing out the front window. When she saw Jayden riding up on her bike, Ashley sprung up and rushed to open the door.

“Hey!” Ashley called out. Jayden skid to a stop, kicking up a small cloud of dirt in the process.

“Hey, you got a tire pump?” Jayden asked. “I may need it before leaving.”

“Probably somewhere in the shed,” said Ashley Jayden kicked out the stand to hold the bike up as she dismounted. Ashley led her inside and shut the door behind them.

“Thanks,” said Jayden. She slipped off her Vans by the door and made a straight line for the refrigerator.

“Y-you want something to eat or drink?” Ashley asked politely. Jayden already had the fridge door open and inspected its contents.

“Only ginger ale?” Jayden asked. “What are yall? Dying?” Before Ashley could respond, Jayden reached in and grabbed a bottle of water.

“Hungry?” Ashley asked. Jayden took a quick swallow from her bottle.

“Nah, I snagged a cupcake at home before coming here,” she said. “Mom made too much for an open house and brought home a bunch if you want to come over later for one.”

“Thanks, but I should really do homework after,” said Ashley, looking at the table.

“‘After’?” Jayden asked knowingly. Ashley grew flushed and twirled a pigtail with her finger. “Well, then, I hope you’re ready.” Ashley’s heart began to flutter. She swallowed through a dry throat and glanced down at her feet in her flip flops. Her naive pink shaded toes wiggled a little. She looked back up to Jayden whose eyes had also fallen to sample them.

“I think so,” said Ashley. Jayden put down her bottle.

“Nervous?”

“I, uh, maybe a little,” Ashley said with a quick laugh. “I… I’ve never really… done this before.” Jayden burst into a hearty chuckle.

“You act like we’re about to kiss or something,” Jayden said. “It’s really no big deal. Try not to worry about it.” Ashley laughed along with her. She shook her head, trying to get the worries out of her mind.

“Y-you’re right,” said Ashley. “S-sorry, I don’t know why… I just felt like it’s wrong or something, I don’t know.”

“Nah, it’s gonna be fun,” said Jayden. “Here.” She walked past Ashley and into the living room. She came up to a long sofa upholstered with an antique floral design. Ashley followed timidly behind. “Sit down.” Ashley eased her seat against the couch. She began to breathe heavily through parted rose-petal lips. “Don’t be nervous. We’ll start slow.”

“Okay,” Ashley said calmly. She breathed deeply to calm herself, rationalizing with her own thoughts over the harmlessness of the situation. Jayden took a seat next to her friend.

“You okay?” Jayden asked. Ashley nodded.

“Y-yeah,” said Ashley. “Sorry, I’m just shy, I guess.”

“You don’t have to be shy around me,” said Jayden. “You’re fine. You’ll be fine, I promise.” Ashley failed to recognize the source of her apprehension and used that to try and reason her way out of it.

“Okay,” said Ashley. “Okay… I’m ready.”

“Good,” said Jayden. “No backing out now. Is there somehow you’d like to do this?” Ashley’s face warmed. Her heart began to thump faster for reasons beyond her understanding.

“M-my feet,” Ashley muttered. “Like how you did with Carla.”

“Hm, I thought so,” said Jayden. She smiled and patted her lap. “Here. You’re new. We’ll ease into it.” Ashley slipped her feet out of her flip flops. She adjusted herself to sit sideways across the couch and placed her bare feet in Jayden’s lap. They seemed so large next to Jayden. Size 11 was not common for most girls her age. As Jayden looked over them, Ashley sat hoping that they were not so repulsive or smelled badly enough to get her to regret her decision.

“I-I’m sorry if they…” Ashley started.

“Wow, they’re… really pretty,” interrupted Jayden.

Jayden’s eyes fell over Ashley’s pale feet in her lap. The tops were a creamy color with a taffy shaded blush to her soles. Her hand drifted over them, feeling their softness like brushing fine silk. Ashley let out a delighted squeal as Jayden’s fingertips brushed against the edge of one foot. She clenched where she sat, her fingers tightening around the cushion beneath her. The most delicate of grazes from Jayden’s shallow nails sent a small burst of tickles up through her. Jayden laughed, keeping her eyes on Ashley’s bare feet in her lap.

“Oh my god, I’m barely touching you,” said Jayden. She brushed several fingers across the bubbly pink pads of Ashley’s toes.

“I-eeeeehhheheheheee! I knoweehehehe,” Ashley giggled, a redness in her cheeks becoming more and more prominent. “Th-ahahahahaaaa-aat tickles.” Ashley curled her toes and bit her lip. She giggled all through Jayden’s light teasing. Her knees jerked, briefly pulling her feet back, only for Ashley to nervously place them back in her friend’s lap, leaving them vulnerable and available for more ticklish pleasure.

“Wow,” Jayden said with an amused chuckle. “You might be even more sensitive than Carla.” Her eyes sparkled watching Ashley’s feet clenching and releasing, jerking and coming back to her. Her fingers moved slowly around them. She carefully traced the frail, creamy skin. Ashley continued to giggle even when Jayden would pull her fingers back.

“Heeeheeheeehahaha!” Ashley laughed and squirmed against the couch. Jayden teased the girl to her delight before stopping.

“You sure you want this?” Jayden asked. “You’re, like, really ticklish.”

“Y-yeah, I… I didn’t really know how sensitive they would be,” said Ashley, face red and chest heaving. “I-is… it okay?”

“Oh, totally!” Jayden said, smiling wide. “I’m going to have a blast here. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay. Fair warning: I’m not going to hold back.” Ashley paused and thought for a fleeting moment. She stroked a cherry pigtail back behind her ear and nodded.

“I’m okay,” said Ashley. She nervously shielded one foot with the other in Jayden’s lap. “I’m ready. I’m ready for anything.”

“I’m not quite sure you are,” Jayden said. She hovered one scribbling hand just a hair away from Ashley’s bare sole, a taunt that captured all of her wide-eyed attention. “‘Certified Tickle Master’ here. I’m very good. So just to make sure, I’m going to need you to say ‘Jayden, my very best friend and perfect little angel’…” Jayden mimicked Ashley’s southern accent with an exaggerated ‘Mary-Sue’ performance. “‘Please, oh please, tickle my feet’.” Ashley sighed, her eyes rolling slightly.

“I may not want to do this again if I have to say that every time,” said Ashley.

“Okay, fine,” said Jayden. “Just the last bit.” Ashley drew in a deep breath and puffed it out her nose.

“Jayden,” Ashley began. She looked down to her feet. Jayden’s fingers teased the humid air just outside of her sole and yet somehow even that managed to tickle a little. Ashley clenched the side of the couch again. “Please… oh please… tickle my feet…” Jayden wasted no time indulging in the invitation. Immediately, her scribbling nails pressed against Ashley’s soft, blushing sole. Ashley squealed. Her toes curled and fingers gripped into the dense fabric. Her feet began to jerk away again, but Jayden held them both with a supportive grip as she tickled. Ashley’s once fluffy, angelic giggles had blown up into a flurry of ticklish laughter.

“Naaaahahahahahaaaaa!!! Eeeekkkheheeehahahahaa!!!” Ashley shrieked. Jayden managed to keep up with Ashley’s squirming. One hand kept an effective hold on her feet to keep them in her lap where the other got the real treat. Her fingers crawled up and down one sole before switching to the other in random bursts. Large and blushing a brighter shade of pink, Ashley’s feet were warm and soft to the touch. The scent that bloomed from them was a flowery musk, rich but light. Jayden smirked wide as she watched her feet try to pull away from her ticklish tactics and come right back for more.

“You have the cutest feet,” said Jayden, clawing her nails across Ashley’s milky arches. “Not as small as Carly’s, but a lot more fun to play with.”

“Shahaaaahahahahat up!!” Ashley laughed. The praise made her cheeks light up brighter. She brought her hands up to shield her face, laughing into the palms.

“Nuh uh, you do,” said Jayden. “I hope you’re having as much fun as I am right now because I could tickle these feet for hours.” Jayden’s methods ranged from quickly scribbling up and down the surface of her soles to a slow raking of her nails to maddening scratches of a single spot until Ashley’s laughter reached peak volumes. Ashley squirmed in her seat. Her knees buckled, laying her down on her back as she challenged herself to keep from jerking her feet away from Jayden’s tickling fingers. Her toes curled, winkling her soles. One foot would try to cover the other, but nothing deterred Jayden’s ticklish efforts.

“Jaaaahahahahahahaaydeehehehen!!!” Ashley cried out. Her laughter was muffled by her hands, but was still loud enough to fill the room. Her feet became warmer and more sensitive as the minutes ticked by. Jayden delighted her nails on Ashley’s plush soles with feathery swipes and scratches. As Ashley began to heave for air, Jayden finally pulled back.

“You okay?” Jayden asked, petting her leg. Ashley slumped against the couch. She lowered her hands. Her cheeks glowed bright red. Her pigtails had become loose and frayed in places. Her feet stayed limp and weak in Jayden’s lap. After a moment of self collection, Ashley pushed herself to sit upright, her back pressed against the armrest. “You alright?” Ashley smiled weakly and nodded.

“M’hmm,” she said. She cooed with content, running her fingers up through her hair. She breathed heavily through parted lips. “W-wow…”

“Having fun?” Jayden asked. Ashley nodded again.

“Oh yeah,” Ashley said.

“Good,” Jayden replied, turning her attention back to Ashley’s feet. “Then we’re gonna keep going.” She pinched Ashley’s big toe between her thumb and index finger. Ashley clenched once more from her relaxed state. Her eyes widened. She stared at Jayden’s hand on her foot, knowing its ticklish intentions and excited by the promise. Ashley squeaked a little and bit her lip. Jayden wiggled the toe playfully.

“Eeeekkheheeeheehe! Nahahat the toes!” Ashley giggled.

“Aww, this little piggy went to market…” Jayden teased. The slight wiggles of her toe cause Ashlry to chirp with delicate laughter. The familiar limerick sent her back to being a little girl, teased with the same lines, though somehow they tickled even more with Jayden’s touch. “This little piggy stayed home…”

“Eeeeehheeeheheehehahaeehee!” Ashley giggled as Jayden switched to her second toe. She could only anticipate what Jayden had planned following the final toe. Ashley was determined to find out, leaving her feet perfectly placed for her friend to play with.

“This little piggy had roast beef…” Jayden continued, moving to Ashley’s middle toe.The tickles seemed to increase as she moved down the row. Pinching the bubbly pads and moving them back and forth tickled almost as much as the anticipation built up by the predictable limerick. Ashley laughed and squealed, watching closely and gripping the sides of the cushion below her. “This little piggy had none…:”

“Nnnneehehhahaha!” Ashley braced herself for more. Jayden’s mischievous smirk widened. Her fingers took a tender pinch against the littlest toe. Ashley squeaked and stared, the longer that Jayden waited, the more sensitive she felt the area would be.

“And this little piggy…” Jayden began, leaving Ashley in suspension, “went ‘wee wee wee’ all the way home!” Jayden unleashed a flurry of scratches against Ashley’s ticklish sole. Ashley screamed into wild laughter, tickles surging up through her body from her incredibly sensitive foot.

“NAAAHHHAHAAHAHAAAAHAAAHAAEEEE!!!” Ashley shrieked. Jayden kept the same hold on her feet from before while her nails played more mercilessly with Ashley’s delicate nerves. Despite the more intense tickles pouring through her, Ashley tried to keep her feet as still and vulnerable as possible. The sudden influx of stimulated nerves left her twisting and writhing in every way she could to still keep her feet in place for Jayden’s tickles. Her cheeks ripened like tomatoes, flushed beneath a bed of scattered freckles.

“You’ve got the cutest laugh too!” Jayden said, her fingers dancing together against Ashley’s warm, blushing sole. “Maybe we’ll make you the prime tickle target from now on.” Ashley shook her head as she squealed and shifted in her seat. Every little tickle against her feet sent shocking waves of delight all through her body. Her laughter became louder and louder the longer it continued. Her moves grew more rapid and her breathing more labored. Thinking about having her feet so exposed for more of her friends to tickle at once was almost too much for her imagination to handle. When Jayden’s fingers began scratching beneath her roes of toes, Ashley’s shrieks reached new heights.

“EEKKKKAAHHHHAHAHAHAAA!! NAHAHAHAT THERE!! NHAHAHAHAAAAAT THE TOES!!! NNAAHAHAHAAAA!!” Ashley yelped and bellowed. Jayden giggled at her new discovery. Her fingers relished the new ecstatic wiggling of her feet. She dug into Ashley’s toes that curled around her fingertips. Within seconds, Ashley could no longer fight against her own reactions. She quickly pulled her feet back, bending her knees and protecting them with her hands.

“Aww, was that too much?” Jayden asked with a smirk. Ashley continued to laugh through heavy breathing. Her face had become more pink and her hair more disheveled.

“Th-that was… on my toes, y-yeah…” Ashley tried to speak.

“Want to call it, then?” Jayden asked. “Maybe try this again some other time?” Ashley paused and thought for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but struggled with the words coming to mind.

“U-um, well,” Ashley began tentatively, “when you tickled Carla… you held her down… and, um…” Jayden’s smile returned.

“You have been moving an awful lot,” she said, looking into Ashley’s eyes. Ashley bit her lip, her mouth melting into a wider grin. Jayden stood and grabbed Ashley’s calves. “Let’s fix that.” Jayden started to flip Ashley over on her stomach with eager help from Ashley herself adjusting her position. She laid flat down against the couch with the tops of her feet coupled atop the armrest. Jayden straddled the backs of Ashley’s calves. She looked down at the pearly, pristine treasures laid out before her. Unable to see what Jayden was up to, the anticipation and mystery stoked Ashley’s nerves. She could feel Jayden’s longing stare of ticklish desire against her trapped and defenseless soles. Ashley tried to brace for the tickles to come, but could not anticipate when or how. Her feet were perfectly trapped for Jayden to toy with to her own delight, completely at her mercy and exactly as Ashley imagined it.

“O-okay,” Ashley said, preemptively giggling. “Okay, just please… not the toes…”

“Oh, I don’t think you mean that,” said Jayden. She stroked the tops of Ashley’s feet, petting them like soft bunnies. “And even so, you can’t expect me to have such ticklish toesies right here to play with and not… just wanna… tickle them all over!” Jayden kept Ashley in suspense for as long as she could before sending ten scribbling fingers plunging beneath her toes. Ashley shrieked and squeaked, immediately thrust back into ticklish turmoil. The intensity from which she had just been relieved came back in a sudden burst several times more ticklish for her helpless toes.

“EEEEKKKKAAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!! NAHAHAHAHAHATTT!!!” Ashley screamed with laughter. Her feet could move much less in the position in which she was held. Jayden pressed Ashley’s large feet together with her thighs, using both hands to freely tickle.

“Awww, look at these poor, ticklish feet, all trapped for me to play with for as long as I want,” Jayden taunted. Her teasing only made Ashley squeal louder. The added component of being so helpless to stop the tickling not only added to the thrill that pumped through her racing heart, but also seemed to make her feel more ticklish than before.

“AAAHHHAAAAAHAHAHAHHAAAHAA!!! JAHAHAHAHAHAAYYYAAHAHA!!!” Ashley rocked side to side against the couch. She buried her face in the cushion for a brief moment of muffled screams of ticklish laughter. Her feet instinctively tried to pull away, but remained firmly in place beneath Jayden’s menacing grin. She pleaded through her giggles, but all she could do was laugh. Jayden’s fingers scribbled beneath her toes, humid pockets warming her touch. She scraped her nails against the delicate stems. She teased the spaces in between as Ashley’s laughter squealed and squeaked behind her.

“Coochie coochie coo,” Jayden teased some more. She focused back on the arches, spinning her nails up and down them with rapid clawing. “Tickle tickle tickle…” Her fingers had free range to tickle wherever they wanted. She alternated between the toes and the rest of the soles, dancing across the arches to the heels. She scribbled at the base of Ashley’s toes and counted them with delicate scratching. The whole ticklish assault against her trapped feet left Ashley screaming and writhing with laughter. Her mind raced with all that she had hoped for. The rush. The excitement. It all came much harder and faster than she expected, her mind ticklish to the very thought of being where she was right then.

“AAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!! OHHH GAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!” Ashley’s cries of laughter bellowed. Louder and louder, she sang with her heightened sensitivity. Her feet blushed with her cheeks. A soft burn ran through her, leaving her greatly receptive to the tickles that Jayden left her enduring. Jayden’s nails scribbled faster and faster. She continued to torment her friend with teasing phrases and unpredictable bursts of tickles. Ashley could only take wave after wave of tickles against her hyper-sensitive feet for as long as Jayden desired.

Time passed in a blur for both girls. Only the moment seemed to matter and both were eager to let it last. Eventually, Jayden pulled back. She stopped her ticklish assault and looked behind her.

“You okay?” Jayden asked again. Ashley could only heave through the resolution of her hysteria. Her cheeks burned. Her forehead glistened. Exhausted and shivering, a smile rested across Ashley’s face. Jayden smirked and got up off of her. She went to the kitchen for a glass of ice water. She brought it back to Ashley, kneeling next to the couch to meet her eye. “Here.” Ashley steadied her breath. She pushed herself up and took the glass, chugging down half of it all before handing it back. “You okay?”

“Mhmm…” Ashley said with a nod.

“That’s enough for now,” said Jayden. “You’re still my friend. I don’t want to be too mean, you know?” Ashley nodded again.

“Yeah,” she said, still sucking down deep gulps of air. “Th-thank you…”

“Anytime,” said Jayden. “I mean it too. Don’t be afraid to ask for more later. This was a lot of fun. Did you like it?”

“Oh yeah,” said Ashley. She chuckled a little. “A… lot of fun.”

“Good,” said Jayden. She rose and smiled down at Ashley. “I should get going though. It’ll be dark soon.”

“Yeah,” said Ashley. She looked out the window to catch the golden rays of a setting sun. “Sorry to keep you.”

“No, no, it’s cool,” said Jayden. “This was more than worth it.” She made her way to the front door and looked back while Ashley continued to rest laying across the couch. “If you don’t hear from me before then, I’ll see you tomorrow. Peace!”

“Bye,” said Ashley. “Get home safe.” Jayden walked out the door and down to her bike to ride home.

Ashley fell back down against the couch. A smile stayed on her face as the evening played over in her mind like a dream. She rested in those memories. Ashley relayed the thoughts and let the residual excitement wash over her. She kept the images and sensations playing over and over, unable to focus on anything else. She could still feel Jayden’s weight pressing down on her and keeping her in place. She could still sense the rushing tingles of Jayden’s fingers on her soles and toes, a feeling unlike anything she had ever felt before. She could still hear Jayden’s teasing phrases leaving her a squirming, laughing, ticklish mess. It was all exactly as she hoped it would be and more. Ashley closed her eyes, rested, and wondered if Jayden would be free to come over after school the following day.