l o s a n g e l e s
“And you really just film our meet-ups for personal use?”
Joshua raised his bushy brown eyebrows at the iPhone staring back at him, attached to the top of the tripod camera standing at the foot of the bed.
Peter took a step closer, rolling the right sleeve to his figure hugging grey t-shirt.
“You still don’t trust me,” he announced.
Joshua lay on his back on the bed in Nike socks, Converse, black leather trousers and a black vest.
He tucked his hands behind his head and lifted his shoulders in a casual shrug.
“There’s not that many people I trust these days …”
Peter folded his arms across his chest, his blue eyes taking in the generous amount of armpit hair that Joshua had generously displayed before him.
“That’s a little bleak,” he said, placing one knee over the corner of the mattress, “What’s brought that on?”
Joshua stared into the hotel room ceiling as a cool breeze blew in from the half open window.
“Do you want the long list, or the short one?”
Peter chuckled, checking the pristine clean glass face of his silver Rolex.
“I only have you for an hour …” he began to climb towards Joshua, “... So it’ll have to be the short one, for now.”
Joshua peered over his chest as Peter crawled closer.
“Uh …”
His heart began to pound when Peter carefully took hold of the hands resting behind his head.
“Well uh, I, I guess …” Joshua couldn’t think, his mind went blank, he could only question why he felt so intimidated.
He licked his lips as the nerves got the better of him.
He tried to pull his arms down over his head, but Peter had pinned them securely into position.
“Joshua,” Peter whispered, “Calm down … I’m just going to smell them …”
Joshua nodded quickly, closing his eyes as he allowed Peter to press his nose into his right armpit.
Peter breathed in the moist scent of Joshua’s underarm in one strong inhale, catching the whiff of sweat as well as cotton from the boy's vest, a vest with such an open side that it allowed the pit to be so exposed.
Peter moved across Joshua’s chest and pressed his face into his left armpit.
Another heavy inhale as Joshua lay in silence, wondering if he should make conversation or not …
“Do they smell okay?” He asked, wincing at the cheesy-ness of his question seconds after he had asked it.
Peter didn’t offer a verbalised response.
A simple, “Mnn …” left his lips as he continued to breath in and around Joshua’s pits.
Joshua bit his lower lip as Peter’s tongue began to explore the very depths of his left underarm.
He kicked his right foot out into the air, clenching his teeth, his eyes snapping open.
“O, okay, al, alright,” Joshua huffed, “That tickles …” he cleared his throat, “... Man, I’m, I’m ticklish, alright?”
Peter smirked, his tongue travelling around the damp crevasse, its wet, muscular length applying pressure over the hairy expanse of skin.
“I know you are,” he mumbled into Joshua’s pit, “That’s why I hired you for a second time, that’s why I’ve paid you far more than I did two weeks ago …”
Peter’s tongue left Joshua’s armpit.
He then sat up, looking down at the twenty two year old celebrity.
“... That’s why I’m going to tie you up.”
Joshua’s eyes widened.
He didn’t need to squirm or try to pull his hands back from beneath his head.
Peter had already respectfully let him go.
Joshua sat up also, his face inches away from Peter’s.
“The email said …” Joshua swallowed down a bubble of anxiety, “... Arm, armpit worship, foot worship. Ten grand …”
Peter nodded slowly, a playful twinkle in his blue eyes taking Joshua by surprise.
“Yes … That’s correct.”
Joshua tilted his head.
“So, why you gotta tie me up?” He asked.
Peter wanted to take his right hand and gently comb away some curls of hair from the side of Joshua’s face.
But he kept still, allowing their physical positioning to be the right amount of intimacy for now.
Instead, Peter kept his stare fixed, his glare into the browns of Joshua’s eyes almost binding the young man to the spot in a stronger way than any rope possibly could.
“The same reason why I had to introduce stocks last time,” Peter explained, “You’re too ticklish to worship. You nearly kicked me in the face during our previous meeting. Who’s to say you won't punch me in the nose today?”
Joshua rolled his eyes.
“I can control myself.”
Peter grinned, shaking his head, impressed by how confidently Joshua remained still inches away from his own face.
“All I did was run my tongue across your armpit and I could feel your entire body tense. It took all of you to keep still. Don’t insult your own intelligence. Know yourself … Understand what you can and can’t handle.”
Joshua blinked as Peter’s words resonated within his mind in more ways than one.
Peter was right.
He could barely take the nose brushing across his armpit hair.
How the hell am I gonna handle a tongue?
“What if you …” Joshua took his eyes away from Peter’s lips, only just realising how long he’d been staring at them, “... What if you … Take advantage of me, while I’m restrained?”
Peter sat back.
He placed both hands in his lap and then looked into Joshua’s chest in thought.
“I was under the impression that I’d made my intentions clear,” he said calmly, “The rope is physical formality … ”
Joshua could sense a flatness to Peter’s tone, as if he were growing frustrated by his lack of trust.
Joshua had to remind himself that, just like last time, Peter had already paid him.
They money was already in his account.
There was no trickery, no bribe, no manipulation or blackmailing …
Just seconds ticking by and Joshua’s overthinking eating into an already decreasing hour.
You need him to hire you again, Joshua thought.
You want it …
Get a grip.
“Okay,” Joshua decided, “But if it gets too much, and I say stop …” Joshua pointed at Peter with his index finger, “... You stop. Deal?”
Peter smiled, nodding just once.
“It’s a deal…”
He allowed Joshua to gain some sense of control before reminding him of who was in charge.
“... Now, take off your vest,” he said.
p i t s
Joshua lay dressed as he had arrived, minus his vest.
That lay discarded on the hotel room carpet.
His wrists had been restrained to the top left and right corners of the bed by leather cuffs and rope.
His torso now presented itself in a stretched out display, his toned stomach and navel lifting and dropping gently as he breathed in and out slowly.
His chest and soft nipples stared back at Peter, his furry armpits exposed and open for the taking, his long tanned arms reaching out to each upper corner …
Peter held a digital camera in his hands.
He stood on the bed, between Joshua’s open thighs.
“Your armpits are … Incredible, to say the least …” Peter admired, snapping a photo of Joshua in his splayed out position.
Click!
“... I think it’s clear that if there’s one thing you know about yourself, it’s that.”
Joshua smirked assuredly, his fingers curling around the rope attached to the cuffs tied to his wrists.
“Pits, feet and dry lips … My best features.”
Click!
Joshua squeezed his eyes shut as the camera flashed once again.
“I’d happily agree with you on all three,” Peter confirmed, stepping off the mattress where he placed the camera down over the bedside table.
Joshua watched Peter’s every move, a mischievous look glowing across his face.
“Will my lips be getting the worship treatment next time?”
Peter began to yank off his tanned leather Chelsea boots.
“I can see your confidence growing …” he commented, dropping both boots down over the carpet.
Joshua’s eyes followed Peter as Peter climbed back onto the bed.
“What do you mean?” He asked, worried that his accidental flirt had been too much.
Peter straddled Joshua’s waist, more suddenly than Joshua expected him to.
“Well, last time, I was the one who suggested a next time … Something you immediately looked unsure about …”
He leaned forwards and gently began to kiss Joshua’s chest.
“... Now you’re the one attempting to take things forward,” Peter whispered into Joshua’s right nipple.
Joshua bit his upper lip, focusing on not giggling as Peter began to lick around the nipple, its fleshy plump shape gradually hardening into a solid point.
“I, I, I’d be lying if I, I, I …”
Joshua winced as Peter bit the nipple with the tips of his teeth, letting it go almost as soon as he had caught hold of it.
“... Ah! I’d be lying if I said I, I wouldn’t be up for getting used to this …” Joshua managed.
Peter took his lips towards Joshua’s right armpit, where he began to kiss around the sensitive length of flesh between his bicep and shoulder.
“You’re saying you’d like to meet for a third, fourth, fifth time ..?” Peter enquired.
Joshua’s hands yanked towards his chest in an unexpected pull as Peter’s tongue pressed into the centre of his underarm.
The bed shifted, causing both young men to wobble.
Peter sat up quietly, looking Joshua in the eye, repeating the same words he said during the last encounter.
“See. That’s why I tied you…”
Joshua blushed, ashamed by his incapability to stay still whilst having his underarms explored.
Peter returned to Joshua’s armpit.
He continued to smell the curls of hair protruding from the sweaty depths, his eyes closing, his voice leaving his lips in a mesmerised murmur.
“You didn’t answer my question …” Peter purred.
Joshua began to pant as Peter used his tongue to taste his right armpit, whilst his other hand began to brush across the hair protruding from his left underarm.
A third, fourth, fifth time …
Peter’s words echoed through his head.
Joshua arched his back as Peter’s fingertips applied pressure.
“Le, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Joshua hissed, his voice increasing in volume, “Hey! That’s tickling,” he yelped, “You’re tickling them!”
Peter’s fingertips continued to comb through Joshua’s armpit hair as his tongue slid across the silky expanse of his left underarm.
“I’m worshipping them,” Peter corrected, pausing his explanation between each lick and sniff, “You can’t blame me …”
lick
“... For your extreme levels …”
sniff
“… Of sensitivity …”
Joshua shook his head, his fingers flexing out in panic.
“Nope,” he pressed his lips together, “I’m not stupid, man, you’re taking advantage …” he began to kick his feet freely, his ankles unbound, “Come on, dude, go easy, you know I can’t stop you …”
Peter persisted, his fingertips brush now gliding across skin as well as hair, offering the young man a polite scratch in the very depths of his pit in an unexpected, unrhymed manner.
Joshua began to pick up a sweat, unsure if he wanted to break this quickly or if he wanted to present himself as the sort of person who could take a treatment of this kind.
His legs bounced across the mattress as he thumped his heels over the bedsheets, breathless giggles now leaving his mouth as Peter continued to explore his armpits with his tongue and fingers.
“Alright, alright, alright!” Joshua cried, “Stop! Stop, stop, stop … !”
As promised, Peter stopped as soon as that word left Joshua’s mouth.
Joshua dropped his head over the pillow, a large sigh leaving his lips.
“I’m sorry,” he huffed, “I’m too ticklish … You can lick and stuff but, the stroking is – I, I can’t take the stroking … “
Peter slid some strands of blonde towards the back of his head.
“Nonsense,” he announced, “If we’re to meet again, you’ll need to build on your stamina. What I’m doing to you right now is tame … How about I go slow …”
Joshua’s eyes widened as Peter returned to his underarms, his nose breathing in the armpit hair sprouting from his left …
“Wait, wait, wait–” Joshua growled, “--Damn,” he tutted in defeat, his bound wrists unable to do anything, his pits open and ready for Peter’s worship, “Okay, just be careful, man, I’m serious, I’m so damn ticklish …”
Peter mumbled another, “I know…” into Joshua’s left underarm, kissing its depth, his fingers returning over the boy's right, “... That’s why I hired you …” he repeated.
Joshua nodded in understanding, reminding himself of the emails sent, the contracts signed, the bus he took to get here …
Peter scratched his fingernails over Joshua’s right armpit.
Joshua jolted, his butt lifting from the bed, his body pulling itself downward, as much as his wrist restraints would allow.
A fierce, “—MNNF,” left his mouth as his eyes boiled open and his head twisted over to Peter’s shoulder, where he bit into the thirty four year olds t-shirt, catching the cotton and some of his skin between his teeth.
Peter paused, wincing at the sting.
His scratch stopped.
Joshua spoke with the t-shirt cotton still between his teeth.
“I said no stroking …” he snarled.
Peter’s touch left Joshua’s armpits.
He sat up, his t-shirt sleeve pinging free from Joshua’s teeth.
He remained straddling Joshua, placing a comforting palm over his stomach.
“No…” Peter corrected, “... You said, I can’t take the stroking …”
Joshua blew some curls of hair away from the top of his forehead.
“Pfft,” he avoided Peter’s gaze, “You’re gonna do it anyways, I can tell …”
Peter slid his fingers slowly towards Joshua’s underarms.
“What are you afraid of?” He asked, his fingernails dragging through armpit hair and into the sweaty gaps.
Now, Peter had all ten fingers exploring Joshua’s underarms in one constant, teasing scratch.
Joshua twisted to the side, so forcefully and with such strength that the ropes creaked and the bed shifted an inch across the floor.
He then twisted back into Peter, his jaw stretching open, his eyes unblinking and wide.
He had to stop himself from biting him again …
“Oh God, you’re going for it, aren’t you–” Joshua heaved.
Peter remained in his straddle position, his hands reaching deeper into Joshua’s armpits.
“You can take it,” Peter advised, his fingertips embracing the warm depths of the twenty year olds underarms, “You can do it. Learn to love it, like you did last time. It helped you, remember?”
Joshua threw himself into a frantic buck, his upper body bouncing over the mattress as Peter began to tickle harder.
“It’s, it’s too much!” Joshua admitted breathlessly, “It’s, it’s worse than my feet …”
Peter lifted his shoulders, keeping his fingertips wriggling inside Joshua’s armpits.
“Let it out; laugh, cry, scream, yell as hard as you like …”
He tightened his thighs around Joshua’s waist, resting his weight over the young man to help pin him to the bed, despite his legs kicking outward behind him.
“I’ve paid for the entire floor,” Peter informed, “I knew you’d be loud. No one is here to hear you.”
Joshua glared at his restraints, their leather presence a stark reminder that he would be going nowhere unless Peter allowed it.
He had no choice but to endure what Peter wanted to do; one minute it had been worship, now it was a form of unapologetic, relentless tickle torture …
“Damn, okay, crap,” Joshua pressed his chin into his collarbone and allowed the hysteria to leave the middle of his stomach, “Man, okay, alright, it’s too much, come on, come ohh-ahahahahahah-ahahahahaaaaaaan!”
Joshua erupted into heavy laughter, his eyes watering, his mouth stretching open, his cheeks boiling red …
He twisted and thrashed, bellows of hearty giggles bursting out of his mouth with every spin of his body, every writhe and buck and arch of his back.
Peter continued to challenge the boy; testing his limits, seeing if he could handle such a tickling in a way that wouldn't feel like torment, but instead a form of therapy.
He had trust issues, he seemed to be lonely, he’d do anything for money …
Joshua was in a place where being made to laugh this way might make things different for him, in that confused mind of his.
“Is this why you always post pictures of your underarms online, Joshua?” Peter asked, “So people like me will notice and put you in situations like this?”
Joshua heaved in a breath, his nostrils flaring, his heels digging into the mattress and pushing down hard in an attempt to lift Peter off of him.
He continued to howl out laughter, his bellows filling the hotel room with hardly and breaks to breathe in-between.
“Wow, you’re really loving this, aren’t you?” Peter pressed, taking in Joshua’s manic grin and tight throat, his mouth now so wide open that Peter could make out Joshua’s throbbing tonsils as his shouts and giggles travelled past them.
Joshua twisted his head so that his eyes could take in Peter’s right hand, his wriggling fingers, the shine and glimmer of his Rolex …
“You’re driving me insa-ahahahaha-ahahaaaaaane ma-ahahaha-ahahahah-aa-ahahahannn–” Joshua could barely speak, “--Gimme a chahahahahance to bree-eheeehehee-eeheeeathe—” he warned.
Peter knew the limitations that came from men of Joshua’s shape, age, height and build …
When they said they couldn’t breathe, it was often them acknowledging the start of not being able to catch their breath.
There was always room to push harder.
When Joshua expected Peter to stop, after his warning of being so breathless, Peter just continued.
This time, reaching even deeper into his pits, into the visceral meaning of their dire sensitivity.
Joshua became frantic and alert, his face saturated in panic as his mind tried to compartmentalise his ordeal.
Peter witnessed the look of disturbed confusion in Joshua’s expression, the ‘I can’t take this’ glimmer that washed across his face …
Peter slowed down, his assessment of Joshua’s stomach and how tight it looked informing him that the young man now really did need to refill his lungs with oxygen.
He kept his hands curled around Joshua’s sides, allowing him to catch his breath whilst he stared tear-filled eyes into the ceiling.
“You’re doing great,” Peter confirmed, “We’re getting there …”
Joshua raised both eyebrows.
“We’re getting there …?” He croaked
Without warning, Peter slid his fingertips over Joshua’s chest, dragging them gently over his tummy.
Joshua threw his head forwards in shock.
“Lord!” Joshua spat, “Be careful! I’ve, I’ve never been touched like that before …”
Peter drew circles around Joshua’s stomach.
“Jesus!” Joshua huffed, “That really, really tickles, man …!”
Peter continued his exploration.
“Around here?”
Peter journeyed his fingers across Joshua's tummy, their glide and grab landing around Joshua’s navel and the space of flesh beneath it and the top of his jeans.
Joshua’s entire body splayed out in a stiff stretch, his laughter bursting out of him as if someone had told him a hilarious joke - his reaction, the depth of his giggles, they were too sudden and too strong to contain.
He had to look down over his torso, take in the sight of his tummy being tickled in such a way, so that he could understand the severity of the sensitivity Peter had uncovered.
“Man! I, I had no idea my stomach was–”
Peter pinched at his sides.
“--THIS–” Joshua cried.
Peter pinched at his waist.
“--TICKLISH!--” Joshua yelped, his body twisting into a mangled distort as he tried to escape Peter’s fingers.
“You’re like a musical instrument,” Peter chuckled, his hands leaving the boy's hips to gently travel towards his chest, “I can create all sorts of different sounds, by simply strumming different areas of your body …”
Joshua’s giggles began to deepen the closer Peter got to his armpits.
“See, that giggling sounds low pitched …” Peter’s fingers wiggled nearer towards the depths of his underarms, “... Let’s get them higher …”
Joshua yanked at his wrist restraints and began to unintentionally provide his reactions in the form of high pitched squealing and shouts, as Peter entered each of his armpits at the same time.
“See! Music to my ears!” Peter grinned, as Joshua thrashed around and laughed the hardest Peter had heard him laugh yet.
The bed wobbled from side to side, the ropes creaked and pulled, pillows fell to the floor …
And then Peter lifted his hands away from Joshua’s torso.
Joshua’s weight sank into the bed, a large smile spreading across his face as his chest lifted and dropped, lifted and dropped, lifted and dropped…
“You enjoy that?” Peter asked, “Feeling better?”
Joshua nodded, licking his lips, his hands dangling from their restraints.
“You, you make me laugh in ways I, I haven’t laughed before …”
Peter rested his palms over Joshua’s stomach.
“You feel lighter, right? A little happier?”
Joshua nodded, his throat too dry to form any more words for now.
“Good …” Peter climbed off Joshua and began to untie his right wrist, “... And that was me being gentle. Imagine if you were bound tighter; if you were tickled with a variation of tools, if I gave you a safe word, but the time limit was hours and hours instead of minutes …”
Joshua glanced at Peter nervously.
“Peter, I, I seriously wouldn’t be able to handle something like that …”
Peter continued to unbuckle the cuff.
“You doubt yourself too much …” he shot his eyes to the foot of the bed, “... Look, you were kicking so hard you lost a shoe …”
Joshua peered over his chest as his right arm fell down over the bed.
His left socked foot stared back at him, his Converse now hanging by the lace over the desk chair on the other side of the room.
“... Damn … ” Joshua grinned, wiping his face clear of sweat once both hands were free, “I didn’t even realise …”
Peter stood back and slid his hands into his trouser pockets.
“You’ve got five minutes to catch your breath and have a glass of water,” he informed, “And then I’ll need both shoes and socks off…”
Joshua’s eyes widened.
“... Pits, feet, dry lips…” Peter reminded, “You said it yourself, your best features. And I intend to explore them all …”
f e e t
Joshua lay on his front with his feet propped up over the bottom corner of the bed by a pillow.
The same restraints that had just been used to keep his arms tied above him were now attached to his ankles, securing both of his feet neatly side by side.
A length of rope had been tied to the restraints and knotted around the bottom of the bed.
Joshua’s bare soles faced the iPhone camera, their silky smooth expanse feeling more vulnerable than ever, mostly because Joshua couldn’t see what was taking place behind him.
He tried to twist his head over his shoulder to check out the movement at the foot of the bed, but Peter’s back blocked off any visibility.
Peter perched over the corner of the bed, straddling Joshua’s ankles.
He sat over his calves, his fingertips stroking the boy's heels gently.
Such a delicate touch already had Joshua giggling from the other side of the bed, his feet writhing over each other in an attempt to block off Peter’s touch.
“Ju, just five minutes, alright?” Joshua tried to confirm, his face planting down into the surface of the mattress, his words coming out in a muffle, “My feet are a different kinda ticklish …”
“I noticed,” Peter commented, his fingertips leaving Joshua’s heels to instead brush over the soles of both of his feet, “Your armpits send you into this realm of desperate lunacy, and your feet seem to bring out a more playful side …”
Joshua kicked his legs, his fists curling into balls as he grinned into the bed, heavy laughter already leaving his mouth in the form of deep, grainy howls.
“It’s in, insane … !” Joshua began to beat the mattress with his fists, “Damn, you’re so good at this!”
Joshua’s toes curled and stretched, his feet squirming under Peter’s fingertips, his ankles kept together thanks to the restraints around his ankles.
As Joshua’s feet slid and shifted over the pillow, Peter reached for the bottle of baby oil he had expertly kept ready by the corner of the bed.
He uncapped it and without giving Joshua a heads up, he began to dribble and pour the shimmering liquid over Joshua’s soles.
Joshua’s entire body jolted, his toes flexing as the baby oil trickled down his feet and invaded their fleshy, lengthy betweens.
“Oh Lord …” Joshua huffed, “That stuff made it so much worse …” he winced as Peter began to stroke and massage the oil into the bottoms of his feet, “... Why does it make it sooo much worse?”
Peter watched Joshua’s soles glimmer and shine in their new slippery coat, their flawless shape caught perfectly in the iPhone’s recording screen.
“It heightens the sensitivity by moisturising them, therefore increasing the ability to simply glide across your skin instead of scratch…” Peter took his index finger and began to infiltrate the gap between Joshua’s big left toe and his index toe, “... See? I just slide in, effortlessly …”
Joshua’s toes scrunched up, his right foot twisting across his left in an attempt to push Peter’s hand away.
“Alright! I get it, holy f–” he pressed his lips shut, forcing himself not to swear, “... Damn …”
He wiped some sweat away from his upper lip as Peter shuffled into a different position.
Peter now rested his chest over the pillow, peering down at Joshua’s bare feet.
“Okay,” Peter cleared his throat, “I’m now going to try a technique I’ve wanted to try on you since we last met …”
Joshua felt Peter’s hands curling around his ankles and the sides of his feet.
“Uh, okay, wait a sec, uh …”
He began to jump and jolt as Peter’s fingertips ‘accidentally’ brushed across his soles in the process.
Peter had successfully folded his arms around Joshua’s legs, locking his feet in such a way that each foot poked out of each arm.
Peter’s hands were inches away from each sole… Meaning he could scratch and tickle each foot to his heart's content.
Joshua tried to pull his feet out of the hold, but Peter had them tightly secured.
“Man, I, I can’t move my f–”
Peter wasted no time in sending all ten fingers over both soles.
“--AGH, FUCK …!”
Joshua couldn’t help but cuss, the sensation too sudden and too overwhelming to handle.
His legs kicked, his hands punched out, his laughter became hysterical and constant, breathless and coarse …
His feet wriggled beneath Peter’s chest, Peter’s gold chain necklace falling out of the neck of his t-shirt where it dangled over Joshua’s heels.
Even that tickles!
Joshua tried to twist his feet out of the way but Peter would catch his big toe and pin it in place, his other hand still tickling the other sole without mercy.
Joshua howled out a senseless drawl of laughter, his entire body thrashing around on the spot as his eyes began to water and his entire body began to throb with an intense heat.
In this moment, he was glad Peter had asked him to remove his vest; a thin layer of sweat had developed over his back the more he writhed and bucked …
… The thoughts in his head shouting at him to twist around, reach out and grab Peter.
But the laughter felt too good, the release too satisfying, the endorphins from the physical endurance too strong as they erupted one by one throughout Joshua’s veins.
What a price to pay to feel better!
Peter focused on sending his scratch over Joshua’s soles even if Joshua’s feet were squirming beneath his chest with a strength and vigour he had not expected to experience from the young man, from fingernails only …
“Do you think you could take the hairbrush?” Peter asked, his fingernails now tickling both of Joshua’s arches at the same time.
Joshua giggled so hard that the tone of his voice had dropped into a deep growl.
“No, no damn way, man! Not like this, I can barely see!”
Peter chuckled, pressing on with his requests.
“How about the glove?”
Joshua breathed in sharply, his toes flexing out so hard that a few of them began to cramp.
“... I don’t even know what that is …!” He cried.
Peter moved his scratch over Joshua’s baby oil soaked arches down to his toes, his fingernails infiltrating their betweens in a relentless attack.
He had been gentle in their first meeting, but in their second he had been keen to introduce a more determined side, a more purposeful aspect, a part of himself that Joshua would think to be intense, but really …
… He has no idea.
Joshua’s toes were painfully sensitive, their ticklish levels almost as extreme as his underarms.
Having them touched in such a way was enough for him to give in to his mind's demands, twist across the bed, reach his arms out and start to claw at Peter’s shoulders and back …
He grabbed at Peter’s t-shirt, pulling at the material, his laughter and desperate shouts satisfying Peter in ways he couldn’t describe.
“OKAY, OKAY, PETER, DUDE, IT TICKLES TOO MUCH, COME ON, MAN, COME ON!”
Peter toyed with Joshua, ignoring his pleas whilst urging him to comply with his own demands.
“Say you want me to tickle harder,” Peter ordered, “Scream it into the ceiling…”
Joshua threw his torso back over the bed in repetitive bounce.
“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, TICKLE HARDER, PLEASE, TICKLE HARDER!”
Peter grinned, his fingernails tickling the silky smooth toes of Joshua’s right foot whilst his other hand tickled the arch of his left.
“Tell me you love it, you want it, you need it …”
Joshua didn’t hesitate in doing as his tickler asked, even though his body couldn’t help but spring back up and claw at Peter’s neck and shoulders.
“I LOVE IT, I WANT IT, I NEED IT–” his voice sounded strained and desperate, a truth to his tone still noticeable despite the aggressive kicks and twists …
Peter returned to Joshua’s toes, Joshua’s squirming now so forceful that his feet had begun to slid underneath Peter’s chest, almost achieving an escape.
Joshua snatched hold of Peter’s necklace and pulled at it so hard it snapped.
Peter felt the necklace release.
He slowed down his tickling by turning the scratches into strokes, his fingertips massaging Joshua’s toes and soles with a firmer touch.
Joshua collapsed over the bed, face planting the mattress, curls of hair littering his face, Peter’s necklace in his right hand.
His feet continued to twitch, their ticklish shape still too sensitive for Peter’s touch as Peter tried to rub away the itchy electricity dancing over Joshua’s soles.
“That was one heck of a technique …” Joshua chuckled, relief washing over him as he felt Peter lift himself away from his calves, “... Thank God you didn’t bring out that glove you were talking about …”
Peter un-cuffed Joshua’s ankles, allowing him to pull his feet towards him and sit up.
Joshua faced Peter, sitting in the cross legged position, his head dropping over his chest.
He kept his head lowered, raising his right hand, the thing line of gold chain dangling from his grasp.
“I broke your necklace. I’m sorry,” he glanced up at Peter in shame, “I’ll, I’ll buy you a new one?”
Peter hid some laughter with the back of his hand.
“It was a gift from someone I don’t even like anymore,” he began to stroll casually towards the bedside table where he picked the digital camera back up, “Now, come here. I want to get a better look at these dry lips of yours … ”
d r y l i p s
Joshua kept the necklace in his hand and shuffled forwards, complying to his payers request.
He sat on the corner of the bed and pressed his lips together.
Peter knelt down and kept the camera in his right hand whilst his other hand gently held onto Joshua’s chin.
“Hmm …”
He looked at Joshua’s lips with narrowed eyes.
Joshua blushed, licking his lips, his eyes shifting from left to right.
“I need some uh, some better chapstick …” he mumbled.
Peter smiled.
“No…”
He leaned in closer, his eyes never leaving Joshua’s mouth.
“What you need is …”
Before their lips could touch, Joshua’s iPhone vibrated in the back of his leather pants.
Peter remained where he was, calmly and quietly, whilst Joshua chuckled awkwardly and shuffled nervously back to the middle of the bed.
“Oh …” Joshua sighed as he read an email, “... The photographer for my shoot later today has come down with the flu …” he then took brown eyes up to Peter’s camera, “Wait, you think you could take some shots instead?”
Peter stood, wanting to say yes right away but keen to keep the twenty year old on those ticklish toes of his.
“I have a busy afternoon, Joshua …”
Joshua slid off the bed, taking bare feet over carpet until he stood just inches opposite Peter.
“But, it’s for Behind The Blinds magazine!” He stood on tip toes so he was the same height as his tickler, “It’s the first interview I’ve done since I …”
Peter remained tall and statuesque, allowing Joshua his moment of pleading.
“... You have a camera, we have an empty room, we … We …”
Joshua dropped so he stood on just his feet.
“It’s cool,” he scratched the tip of his nose, “I get it, you uh, you paid for just the hour …”
Before he could turn away, Peter held onto Joshua’s arm and spun him gently back into position.
“I’ll photograph you,” he decided, “But only if you’re bare foot. Only if we feature your pits. Only if you use what you said to me today as the caption to your Instagram post …”
Joshua cocked an eyebrow.
“What did I say?”
Peter urged Joshua to lean into his own attractiveness, his own self awareness, his own worth …
Joshua glanced down to the floor in thought.
“... Pits, feet and lips …” Joshua looked up at Peter with a flirtatious smile, “... My best features …”
Peter nodded slowly, a satisfied smile spreading across his mouth.
“Alright,” Joshua picked up his vest and threw it over his head, “But make sure they look hot. I want my fans to notice …”
Peter chuckled as Joshua sat down beside the hotel room couch, propping his head up with his hand.
“You might get more than just fans noticing, kid …”
Peter crouched down and began to take photos.
Joshua did his best at smouldering, hooking his right leg around his left ankle, ensuring the top and side of his left foot was fully on display.
“... ‘More than just fans’...?” Joshua asked.
Peter stood, moving to another part of the carpet for a different angle.
“People like me. People who might pay more … To do the things I’ve done to you today, but in a more … Extraordinary way.”
He took a few more photos.
Click! Click! Click!
Joshua sat up on the couch, leaning back, tucking one hand behind his head.
“If it’s alright, I, I kinda just enjoy doing this with you. I trust you, I guess, so I’d be up fo–”
Peter paused as he stepped forward and caught a close up of Joshua’s armpit.
Click!
“--The tickle chair,” Peter interrupted, “Does that intrigue you?”
Peter brushed his fingertips playfully over Joshua’s exposed underarm.
Joshua wrapped his arms around his chest, giggling playfully as he fell away from Peter.
“What’s a, what’s a tickle chair?” He asked.
Peter continued to take photos, conscious that his camera would soon be out of battery.
“You’re secured into a chair-like device. Your arms are strapped out either side of you, your ankles locked into stocks …” Peter took a step back and snapped another photo of Joshua, “... All ten of your toes pinned back by string, you’d be tickled all over and I’d pay at least–”
“--Like in Winter Wonderland,” Joshua butted in on purpose, “I kinda hated that, it was … Too intense,” Joshua pinched his ‘dry lip’ in thought, thinking back to the guy in the elf mask, his buddy Matt making the most of Joshua’s trapped situation … (author: see Joshua Bassett’s Holiday Hysterics)
“… But,” Joshua blinked, “… If it’s you doing the tickling, and if I laugh anywhere near as much as I have done today then … Yeah, I’m game.”
Peter stood in disbelief as his wildest dream suddenly became a reality.
He maintained a sense of cool, nodding with a smile he kept from transforming into a wide grin.
“Then that’ll be meeting number three.”
Joshua held out his hand, eyeing his tickler with confidence.
Peter grabbed Joshua’s hand and shook it firmly, securing their next session as the sun began to set outside the Los Angeles hotel room.
l a t e r t h a t w e e k
Peter sat in the same hotel room in a white dressing gown.
Classical music played in the background as he swiped the screen of his phone with one hand whilst sipping a glass of white wine with the other.
Ping!
Miller: I have Orlando 👍🏼
Miller: Do you have Bassett?
Peter sighed, looking up to the ceiling in thought as he considered his reply.
Miller: …
Miller: Well?
Peter nestled the glass of wine against his chest as his thumbs tapped over the iPhone screen.
Peter: I have Joshua
Peter: But he’s off limits
Peter: If we’re gonna do this, I want him for myself
Peter: Keep your hands off him.
Peter took a sip of his wine in an effort to calm his nerves.
Miller: …
Miller: You haven’t shown him the real you yet, have you?
Peter swallowed down the booze.
It warmed his stomach, fuelling his confidence as he tapped away at the screen.
He looked at his final message of the evening to Miller just as a passionate thud began to repeatedly knock over his hotel room door.
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
Peter stood quickly, placing his phone and glass of wine down over the desk.
He opened the door, his blue eyes landing on Joshua.
Peter’s mouth fell open.
Before he could even speak, Joshua stormed into the room, brushing past his tickler in a fierce stride.
“Joshua, are you al–”
Joshua wore a white vest, sweat pants and sliders.
He turned to Peter and yanked off his vest, throwing it to the side, revealing his plump chest, tanned stomach and broad shoulders.
“I need you to tickle the fuck out of me, right now …”
Peter lifted his eyebrows in surprise.
Joshua seemed distressed, confused, hurt, angry, sad … A mixture of emotions saturating his face.
Joshua took a step forward.
“Forget a third meeting. This is the third meeting. I need it …”
Peter closed the hotel room door slowly until it clicked shut.
“Alright,” Peter spoke calmly, soothing Joshua into a more balanced state, “Lay down on the bed,” he said …
“... I’ll get the rope.”
As their third session began, Peter’s text to Miller left his iPhone …
Peter: And he never will.
‘JOSHUA’S WORSHIP’ CONTINUES IN ‘JOSHUA’S THIRD WORSHIP’