True Youthful Tickling Part 2
By reflexology414

My cousin Kate and I had always been very close. During the early years of my childhood, there were no other children in my neighborhood. Kate became my best friend, playmate, and the girl with whom I discovered my love of women's feet and tickling.

Before I go any further, I need to clarify that Kate and I did many things that didn't involve feet or tickling. In fact, most of the time we spent together had nothing to do with my fetishes. We listened to music, attended football and basketball games, and spent countless hours playing in the park. We seemed to have everything in common, and the two of us got along famously.

At about the age of five, I suspect that most other children were playing games of cops and robbers, hide and seek, or capture the flag. I enjoyed these as well, but my true favorites were the games of foot doctor or shoe store that I played with Kate each week.

Looking back on it, Kate had always been very tolerant of my interests. She never complained during any of the innumerable visits to our grandmother's basement that always ended with her barefoot and being tickled. The fact that I had started with Kate so early probably helped. She literally had no memories of a time when I didn't play with her feet. To her, it was just a natural part of our relationship.

After the incident at my grandmother's house when we were sixteen, Kate and I seemed to get closer. The fact that I no longer had to hide my foot fetish freed me to be more open with her. We could once again talk about life, dating and social experiences at our respective high schools... essentially anything.

Although Kate had blossomed into a very attractive young woman (just envision a young Vanessa Marcil), I had NO desire to pursue any kind of sexual relationship with her. I never would have taken our relationship in that direction and neither would she. I was still very strongly attracted to Kate's feet, but she repeatedly assured me that it didn't bother her at all. If anything, she found the whole thing quite amusing.

At family birthday parties and other occasions, Kate often dangled her shoes or playfully flexed her feet at me just so she could observe my reactions (but she never told anyone of my fetish). Additionally, Saturday evenings had unofficially become foot massage night for Kate and me. This wasn't a formal arrangement that we spoke of openly. It was something that just evolved naturally.

Kate and her parents came to town every weekend and stayed at my grandmother's house. On Saturday nights, after everyone else went to bed, Kate and I would go to the entertainment room on the far end of the house. For two or three hours, I would massage Kate's feet with her favorite foot lotions while we watched Saturday Night Live and talked. Some tickling was usually involved, but Kate didn't seem to mind, probably because she loved foot massages so much.

It was August, and school didn't start for another four weeks. At this time each year, our family made a weekend trip to a beautiful, relatively small town four hours north of our grandmother's house. There were many tourist attractions there, some incredible stores, and it was a place we visited every year without fail.

Kate and I were looking forward to the annual family trip when our parents informed us that we wouldn't be going. They were having stressful times at work and didn't want to invest the energy that our yearly vacation would involve. To Kate and me, this trip was a lifelong tradition, and simply skipping it was unthinkable. We badgered our parents until they let us go by ourselves.

For the record, I did not pursue this vacation for foot fetish purposes. Nonetheless, some of the best foot fetish and foot tickling experiences of my life took place that weekend.

Kate and I set out on Saturday morning. We wanted to reach our destination early so we could enjoy as much of the weekend as possible. Throughout our drive, we talked about many things, none of which had to do with feet. Both of us were lost in thoughts of family vacations from previous years and feeling very sentimental.

It was a beautiful summer day, and there was minimal traffic. After about three and a half hours, we arrived at the Belmont, an elegant old hotel that catered primarily to tourists who frequented the town. As soon as we checked into our room, Kate wanted to get going.

Throughout the afternoon, we drove all over town visiting tourist attractions we had been to on previous vacations. It was great fun, but I must admit that I was exhausted. By late afternoon, Kate decided that it was time to switch gears. She wanted to go shopping at our favorite mall.

Shopping with Kate was always a harrowing experience. What would otherwise be a one-hour shopping trip could easily take three or four hours. Furthermore, Kate's outrageous humor and public antics could sometimes be embarrassing (like the time she put a bra on over her shirt, pulled a pair of men's boxer shorts over her pants, and proceeded to walk around the store for half an hour). I was hoping this shopping trip would be different.

When we got inside the mall, I was pleased to find that Kate was moving along at several times her normal pace. Visits to several stores only took about thirty-five minutes, and I was actually enjoying myself. We had almost reached the end of the mall when Kate took my hand and led me into a women's shoe store.

"I require your services as a consultant," Kate said with a smile. "I met this really cute guy who goes to my school. I always catch him staring at my feet, so I suspect he has a foot fetish. I want to pick out some shoes which will really grab his attention, and I need your expert advice."

Knowing my cousin's mischievous nature and exhibitionist tendencies, I was leery of entering a women's shoe store with her. I thought perhaps she might have plans of teasing me about my foot fetish in the midst of this rather public setting. As it turned out, my concerns were not entirely unfounded.

We entered the store and spent a few minutes walking up and down the aisles. Once I had familiarized myself with the store, I was ready to begin helping Kate make her selections.

"Where do we start?" Kate asked in a very enthusiastic voice.

"Considering the time of year, I think you should start by looking at sandals," I replied. "You have really pretty toes and arches. Whatever you buy should show them off."

Kate was delighted to hear that from a male perspective, her toes and arches were pretty. She stood there for a moment admiring her own feet, and then she began to scurry around the sandal section. Seconds later, she came running back to me with a pair of clunky Birkenstocks.

"How about these?" Kate asked.

I explained to Kate that for many men with a foot fetish, Birkenstocks are the equivalent of a cold shower. She was taking this very seriously and thanked me for the inside information. As I continued to offer my opinions, Kate hung on my every word.

"What makes your feet so pretty is that your arches, ankles and toes have this remarkably beautiful curvature," I said. "Any shoe you buy should accentuate those contours."

"You are just a fountain of compliments today," Kate replied as she reached over to give me a hug.

We walked down the sandal aisle, and Kate asked me to pick out what I felt would be the best sandals for her. I chose a few pairs of attractive sandals with a nice arch and about a one-inch heel. Much to my surprise, she tossed the shoes into her shopping basket without trying them on.

After looking at sandals, it was time to shop for high heels. Kate grilled me about my personal preferences as we searched the shelves. It took a few minutes, but I found two pairs of incredible black pumps. I also picked out some open heels with straps because I knew they would really show off Kate's feet. Again, she made no attempt to try on any of the shoes. She simply tossed them into the basket.

I thought we were done picking out shoes, and then I spotted a display of Dr. Scholl's classic sandals. I had always felt that Dr. Scholl's sandals were very attractive, and Kate used to wear them when we were kids. She noticed how intently I was looking at these shoes and immediately threw a pair into her basket.

"If Dr. Scholl's have the effect on Ben that they have on you, they'll be more than worth the money," Kate said as we both laughed.

As we were standing there, a salesman approached Kate and offered to help her try on the shoes she had selected. She thanked him politely but declined his offer. This puzzled me because Kate hadn't tried on any shoes yet.

Just as she had done earlier, Kate took my hand. She was leading me toward the rear of the store to a series of semi-private cubicles where customers could try on shoes. I told her that this setting was more public than I would like, but she was quite insistent.

"I really am serious about impressing this guy, and you are my expert," Kate said as she winked at me.

I took Kate at her word and agreed to help in any way I could. As she sat down in the cubicle, I pulled up a stool and placed her feet in my lap.

Kate's toes were painted fire engine red, and her ankles and arches were as shapely as ever. The soles of Kate's feet were softer than velvet, and they had exquisite wrinkles that I never tired of looking at. All of this was more than I could resist, and I began massaging her arches with deep, gentle strokes. For a few minutes, Kate sat in silence admiring my technique. I had just begun to massage her toes when she cleared her throat to get my attention.

"This feels really good, but I should probably start trying on shoes," Kate said in a giggly voice. "I would love a foot massage later though."

"Really?" I responded enthusiastically.

"I love your foot massages," Kate replied with a smile. "In fact, I went to a day spa with some friends two weeks ago, and I was disappointed with the foot massage I received because it wasn't as good as the ones I get from you."

I was completely flattered by Kate's compliments, and I'm sure it must have showed. With a big smile on my face, I resumed the process of helping her into and out of several pairs of shoes. After Kate had tried on all of the shoes, she asked for my opinions.

"The Dr. Scholl's are a must," I said. "Those look absolutely adorable on you, and Ben will love them."

Kate got this weird smile on her face and just stared at me.

"I remember these now," Kate laughed as she looked at the pair of Dr. Scholl's. "When we were little, anytime I wore Dr. Scholl's to grandmother's, you would chase me around the house all day and tickle my feet. I had to stop wearing them for reasons of self-defense."

I felt a little awkward and apologized, but Kate just laughed.

"If I were holding a grudge I wouldn't be sitting here with you now," Kate smiled.

We both laughed and Kate asked me to continue my assessment.

"If you really want to catch Ben's attention, you need to buy those pumps as well," I explained.

Kate asked me to elaborate, and while I was talking, she began to dangle her right shoe. She would arch her foot, let the shoe dangle from her toes, and then put it back on again. I watched every graceful movement as Kate arched her beautiful foot and her tendons flexed.

It's impossible to be sure, but I think three or four minutes passed while I sat there mesmerized. Then it dawned on me that this foot-show had to be a deliberate act on Kate's part. I looked up to find her smiling, staring right at me, and giggling. My face turned bright red, and it was obvious that Kate had been studying my reactions to her efforts.

"I just wanted to see if these shoes work on guys who like feet, and apparently they do," Kate laughed.

In response to Kate's comments, I buried my face in my hands and shook my head. After I composed myself, Kate and I walked to the checkout counter. She bought the Dr. Scholl's, one pair of black pumps, and one pair of high heels. Kate put on the Dr. Scholl's the moment she had paid for them, and we left the mall. She was very satisfied with her purchases and thanked me for my help.

By the time we got back to the car, I was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. Just as it had happened at our grandmother's house, I suddenly felt uneasy about being so hopelessly drawn to my cousin's feet. Kate was staring at me very intently, and I could tell that she knew how I was feeling.

"I really wish you wouldn't beat yourself up about this anymore," Kate said in a very reassuring voice. "The fact that you have a foot fetish is something I've known about for years, and it doesn't bother me."

I thanked Kate for her support, and she gave me a hug.

"Besides, you need to get over this because I'm counting on you to give me a foot massage later," Kate said with a smile.

Kate's reassurances and her trademark sarcasm made me feel much better, and I began driving us back to the hotel. Along the way, we stopped at a beautiful restaurant near the lake. Over dinner, Kate and I talked about many things. When we finally reached the hotel, Kate had me feeling completely at ease and I was looking forward to the rest of our weekend.

As we were pulling into the hotel parking lot, it started to rain. Kate didn't want to get her new shoes wet, so she took them off and dashed to the building barefoot. We were about to step inside when she realized that she left her purse in the car. She asked me to carry her shopping bags inside while she retrieved her purse. I agreed and handed her the keys. Before entering the building, the last thing I saw was Kate dashing barefoot across the hotel lawn on her way to the parking lot.

When I reached our hotel room, I placed Kate's shopping bags in the corner. I was really tired, and I plopped down on the bed to rest. I could almost feel myself drifting off to sleep when someone pounded on the window. The noise startled me, and I leaped to my feet to find Kate standing there. She was emphatically gesturing for me to come to the door. I knew she couldn't be locked out, but I did as she asked.

I got to the door and found Kate standing there with a strange look on her face, and she made no effort to come in. This seemed odd, and I was concerned that perhaps she was sick or injured, so I asked her what was wrong.

"I stepped in dog poop," Kate whimpered in a disgusted voice.

"Please tell me that you are kidding," I replied.

I looked down to discover that Kate wasn't kidding. Her feet were so completely plastered that I wondered if she hadn't stepped in elephant droppings. Kate couldn't walk into the hotel like that, and she had no means of washing her feet in the parking lot.

After thinking it over, I decided to carry Kate back to our room. We had almost made it when an elderly couple stopped us. Because of the way I was carrying Kate they assumed we were newlyweds. Rather than starting a lengthy discussion by trying to explain our situation, we just accepted their congratulations and smiled.

My hands were obviously full, so Kate helped me open the door. I carried her to the bathroom and set her down on the countertop. When I turned to leave she stopped me.

"Would you wash my feet?" Kate asked with a pleading look on her face.

She emphasized her request by flexing her dirty feet at me as I watched and laughed.

"I know what you are doing," I said. "You're playing on my foot fetish so you won't have to touch that dog poop you stepped in."

Kate pretended to be deeply hurt by my statement, and she stared at me with a sad expression. Then she flashed me a very coy smile.

"You're absolutely right," Kate smiled. "Did it work?"

Both of us laughed for a moment, and I smiled back at Kate.

"Maybe," I said while trying to muster my best poker face.

Kate could tell that we had just made a deal.

"Thank you," she exclaimed in a grateful voice. "This is really gross, and I didn't want to touch it."

Kate watched with interest as I rolled up the legs of her pants. Then, I turned on the shower and carried her to the bathtub the same way I had carried her to the hotel room. While I stood there holding Kate, I dangled her bare feet under the shower as sort of a preliminary rinse cycle.

Even after four minutes of rinsing, Kate's feet were still not clean. I knew that I was going to have to wash them by hand, so I carried her back to the counter and set her down near the sink.

The countertop in this elegant old bathroom was long enough for Kate to lie down on. I grabbed blankets and pillows from the other room and spread them out across the counter. Then I placed a pillow near the edge of the sink and covered it with a big bath towel. I had Kate lie face down with her feet hanging just over the edge of the sink.

After she was in position, it dawned on me that I didn't have any soap that would be ideal for this particular job. I looked around the bathroom, but there was only bar soap and hotel shampoo. Kate asked me what I was looking for. When I told her that I needed a lathering soap to wash her feet with, she just started laughing.

"Go in my suitcase," Kate said with a big smile. "You will find a large plastic bag filled with Freeman foot care products, including two bottles of liquid foot soap."

I walked over and stared into Kate's eyes. She had packed quite the arsenal of foot care products, and I wanted to know why.

"If you haven't noticed, it is Saturday night," Kate laughed. "Even though we're not at grandmother's house I'm still expecting you to give me one of your deluxe, two-hour, spa caliber foot massages."

Both of us laughed, and I promised Kate that she could have a foot massage before she went to bed. Then I ran to the other room and grabbed the supplies from Kate's suitcase.

I came back to the bathroom and made sure Kate was comfortable. Using the Freeman foot soap, I gently massaged her feet until both soles were covered in a rich, foamy lather. Throughout the process, Kate gently arched her feet and wiggled her toes.

"This feels absolutely wonderful," Kate sighed. "Even after you get my feet clean you can just keep doing that."

As I continued to lather Kate's feet, I could feel the intricate wrinkles on her soles. I spent a few minutes savoring the softness of Kate's feet and caressing her arches before moving on to massage her toes.

Placing the smallest toe of Kate's right foot between my thumb and forefinger, I applied a series of gentle massage techniques. The profuse lubrication of the soap and water must have made Kate's feet more sensitive because she began to squirm about on the countertop.

"He-he-he... that tickles," Kate said as she scrunched and her toes and giggled.

Although the tickling was intense enough to make Kate laugh, it was obviously a gentle sensation. She was handling it well, so I decided to continue. I applied a drop of foot soap to the space between Kate's smallest toe and its neighbor and began working it into a lather. Within seconds, Kate began to writhe and laugh with a bit more intensity.

"He-he-he-he-he... that tickles more," Kate said through her giggles.

This process seemed to be working very well... tickling a toe and then the spaces in between. As I continued, Kate became increasingly ticklish and could no longer stop laughing.

"He-he-he-he-he-he-he... I'm trying to let you have your fun... ha-ha-ha... but this really tickles," Kate complained as she continued to laugh and squirm. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

The fact that Kate was trying to let me tickle her feet really meant a lot. I suspect she wanted to be sure that I wasn't still feeling guilty about my foot fetish, and she was volunteering her feet as a show of support. In light of Kate's gesture, I decided to be gentle.

"Just a little longer sweetie," I said in a warm, affectionate voice.

I had now reached the space between Kate's big toe and its neighbor. I applied a drop of foot soap and inserted my finger into the space. The moment my finger started to move, the bathroom filled with the sounds of Kate's laughter.

"HAAAAAA!!!" Kate shrieked. "HEEHEE...IT TEEEHEEHEEKLES... HAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"I know," I said in a very tender voice. "Kitchy kitchy kooooooo!"

Kate was clutching her pillow, wiggling her toes, and wildly squirming all over the counter. I didn't want her to feel tortured, so I decided to lighten my touch and move on. I started tracing random circular patterns on the balls of Kate's feet with my fingernails.

"He-he-he-he-he-he...ho-ho-ho-ha-ha... that part tickles really bad!!!" Kate said through her laughter. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Kate was responding to the milder tickling very well. Her laughter was coming much more freely, her voice had taken on a bubbly tone, and she had relaxed noticeably. Since Kate was obviously feeling more comfortable, I decided to continue.

With methodical strokes, I dragged my fingernails up Kate's arches to the balls of her feet and back down toward her heels. Even though I was still trying to be gentle, Kate began laughing hysterically and pounding the countertop with her fists.

"HA-HA-HEE-HEE-HA-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAH... NOT MY ARCHES!!!" Kate squealed.

"Almost done," I said. "Kitchy kitchy koooo!"

Kate had been an incredibly good sport to let me do this. I felt it was time to stop, but there was one more thing I had to try. I wildly scribbled my fingers from Kate's heels to her toes and back again, including several passes across her arches. She began flailing so violently that she nearly threw herself off of the counter.

"OH MY GAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHD!!!" Kate screamed through her laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! PLEEEEEHEEE-HEE-HEEEEZE ST-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!!!"

"I promise this will be the last of it Kate," I said. "Tickle tickle tickle!!!"

I administered ten seconds of brutal tickling during which Kate writhed and laughed helplessly. When I stopped, she continued giggling and squirming for almost a minute.

"Oh you little foot monster," Kate said in a breathless, giggly voice. "You have always loved tickling my feet."

"Uh huh," I replied with a smile.

Both of us laughed as I resumed washing Kate's feet. For the first several seconds, Kate seemed rather tense, and I think she was expecting me to tickle her again. I assured her that the tickling was over and urged her to relax.

Just as I had done earlier, I applied a generous amount of foot soap to Kate's feet and worked it into a creamy, luxurious lather. Using deep, soothing strokes I massaged and caressed her arches for over ten minutes. I had gotten lost in what I was doing and my mind was starting to wander when I noticed that Kate had propped herself up on her elbows and was staring at me with a big smile on her face.

"So, are they clean yet?" Kate asked sarcastically. "It seems like we've been doing this for a long time."

Kate had been watching me for several minutes while I stood spellbound by her beautiful feet. I was more than slightly embarrassed, and I couldn't answer her question intelligently.

"Um... well... maybe," I uttered in a confused tone.

Kate was having a wonderful time watching me blush and stammer in response to her question.

"Relax foot monster," Kate laughed. "I'm thankful that you are doing this for me."

I appreciated Kate's kind words, but I wasn't feeling very articulate so I didn't say anything. I carefully rinsed Kate's feet, and with the lather washed away, I could see that they were perfectly clean.

"Spotless," I announced proudly. "We're done. All I have to do now is dry your feet."

Kate sat up and dangled her legs over the edge of the countertop. She was still smiling at me, amused by my responses to her feet.

I knelt in front of Kate with her feet a few inches from my face. I had started drying them with a soft towel when I noticed that she had a sour expression on her face.

"I hate to ask this, but do my feet smell like dog poop?" Kate asked.

There was only one way to answer Kate's question. I pulled her feet close to my face and inhaled deeply. The sight of me on my knees smelling Kate's feet made her giggle.

"Actually, your feet smell like flowers," I smiled.

"Thank you," Kate laughed.

Kate wanted to jump down from the countertop, but I asked her to wait. I ran to the other room and grabbed a bottle of peppermint foot powder, a pair of clean socks, and Kate's white canvas sneakers. When I returned to the bathroom, she wondered what I was up to.

"We just spent all of that time getting your feet clean," I said. "There's no point in getting them dirty right away."

Kate laughed as I knelt down in front of her again. I applied the foot powder and spent a few moments spreading it around. Then I put her shoes and socks on helped her down from the countertop.

"Thanks again," Kate said as she giggled and hugged me. "My feet feel wonderful."

As soon as we left the bathroom, Kate wanted to make plans for the rest of the evening.

"Where would you like to go?" she asked.

I didn't have any set plans, but there were some smaller stores I wanted to visit. Also, there was a jazz festival down by the lake. Kate was positively gleeful about the idea of shopping with me, and she was enthusiastic about the festival too.

Our first stop was Nature's Wonder, a small store that specialized in natural skin creams and lotions, as well as homemade soaps. I always loved shopping there because they carried products that couldn't be found anywhere else.

When we reached the store, Kate attacked the shelves like a linebacker pursuing a quarterback. She was positively enthralled with all of the facial moisturizers and skin creams. I left Kate to her shopping while I did some browsing of my own.

Nature's Wonder had just come out with an expanded line of foot creams, lotions, and homemade foot soaps. I probably looked like a child on Christmas morning as I rifled through the shelves making my selections. It only took me a matter of minutes to choose a large plastic foot basin, a container of coconut foot cream, and a bar of peppermint foot soap. I decided to check out while Kate was still shopping so I could surprise her with my purchases later.

At the cash register, the store manager offered me a discount on a pocket size container of homemade coconut foot massage lotion. I couldn't refuse. Before the weekend was over, this purchase would prove useful.

Kate was still engrossed in her shopping, so I used the opportunity stash my purchases in the car. When I returned, she was making her way to the front counter. Kate's shopping basket was so full that I was surprised she could lift it. Before I had the chance to make a sarcastic comment, she questioned me about my purchases.

"Didn't you buy anything?" Kate asked.

"No," I replied. "I really didn't see anything I liked."

The manager just stared at me and smiled, but she didn't tell Kate about the items I bought.

Kate and I left the store and drove immediately to the park. The jazz festival had already started, and I wasn't in the mood to scrounge for good seats. At Kate's suggestion, we decided to take a walk along the lake.

I really enjoyed this opportunity to hang out with Kate. We had always been close, and some of our best childhood memories took place in this area. Walking by the lake gave us a chance to talk. The conversation had nothing to do with feet, and we reminisced at length about previous family trips to this area and all of the fun times we'd had together.

About an hour later, it started to rain and we returned to the hotel. We got back to our room and Kate began unpacking her shopping bags. I offered to help, and she started giggling.

"I saw you near the foot massage supplies at the store," Kate laughed. "What did you buy for me?"

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Are you kidding?" Kate responded. "The moment we arrived at that store I knew what you were there for. Now what did you get for me?"

The fact that Kate could see right through me so easily left me feeling self-conscious. Kate could tell that I was slightly embarrassed, and she responded in a very nurturing tone.

"Honey, your foot massages are better than a visit to a spa," she said in a very gentle voice. "Now show me what you bought."

Kate smiled brightly as she looked at the items I bought.

"You really stocked up," Kate said with a smile. "Were you planning to spend the entire night pampering me with foot massages?"

"Well... if that's okay," I said.

Kate leaned over and hugged me before voicing her approval.

"Of course it's okay!" Kate replied cheerfully. "How shall we start?"

I asked Kate to sit on the end of the bed, and I carefully removed her shoes and socks. I gave each of her feet a quick tickle before running to the bathroom to fill the foot basin with warm water and peppermint foot soap. When I returned, Kate was eager to begin, and she lowered her feet into the basin.

After taking a moment to cover myself with bath towels, I placed Kate's wet feet in my lap. I poured a generous amount of foot soap onto my hands and massaged Kate's feet with it for several minutes. This new soap lathered up like shaving foam and quickly filled the room with the scent of fresh flowers and peppermint.

For roughly five minutes, I focused my massage techniques on Kate's arches. She was enjoying herself and thanked me for making her feel so pampered.

"You do this so well, and it all feels wonderful," Kate said. "I almost feel a little guilty for sitting here while you work so hard to pamper me."

"I feel a little guilty too," I smiled. "There is absolutely no way I can get through the rest of this evening without tickling your feet."

Kate just laughed in response to my comment.

"I knew it," Kate said. "You've been tickling my feet since I was only four years old, and I can sometimes tell when it's coming. Just be gentle so I don't get all tense."

The level of cooperation I was getting from Kate delighted me, and I promised not to torture her.

"I'll start with your left foot," I explained. "Are you ready?"

"Ready," Kate smiled nervously.

I used my index finger and slowly traced the outside edge of Kate's heel. Almost immediately, her lips started to quiver, and an involuntary smile was making its way across her face. I applied just a little bit more pressure, and that was all it took. Kate's toes were wiggling and she had started to giggle.

"He-he-he-he... be gentle there... he-he-he...that tickles!!!" Kate said though her laughter.

"I'm trying to be gentle but it's still supposed to tickle," I said in a teasing voice. "Kitchy kitchy kooooooo!"

From there, I dragged my finger all the way up Kate's arch. That had always been her weak spot, and her laughter started taking on a more frantic tone.

"Ooooooh my gaaaawwwd... you're tickling me-hee-hee-hee-hee!" Kate squealed in a high-pitched voice. "Hee hee hee hee hee... it tickles... HAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"Just let me make you laugh Kate," I said. "Tickle tickle tickle!"

Kate's laughter and squirming intensified as I casually traced my fingernails over the balls of her foot and inserted my fingers between her toes, making sure to tickle every side of each toe.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHOOO... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kate shrieked. "NOT MY TOES!!! Pleee-ase st-ahahahahahp."

I didn't want Kate to feel that I had broken my word, so I stopped tickling her foot. It took her a while to stop giggling and catch her breath.

"Whew!" Kate sighed. "I'm glad that's over."

"Sure," I replied. "Now I just need to tickle the other foot and then you're done."

Kate's eyes widened as I grabbed her right foot. Using a very delicate touch, I rapidly scribbled my fingers from her heel to the balls of her foot and back again several times. Along the way I made sure to visit Kate's arch for more than twenty seconds. In response to my technique, Kate threw herself back on the bed, and the sounds of her involuntary laughter echoed through our hotel room.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... OHHHHHH PLEEEEEHEEEASE," Kate begged. "IT TEEEEHEEKLES TOO MUCH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Kate was squirming all over the bed and her feet were wiggling desperately. It almost seemed like they had minds of their own and were trying to get away from my fingers. Although I was enjoying this, I had promised to be gentle, so I eased up a little.

As I went to work on Kate's toes, she was still laughing uncontrollably, but it was much easier for her to breath and her voice didn't have quite such an anxious tone.

"Hoo haa haaheee hee hee heeeee heeeeeee haa haa haa!" Kate laughed. "Haa haa haa haaheee hee heeeeeeehaaheee! Can we-hee-hee stop yet?"

Kate looked at me with a pleading expression on her face, but she could tell that I was having too much fun to stop.

"Just a few minutes longer," I replied.

I stroked Kate's toes from every conceivable angle as she wiggled and laughed. She was coping with my techniques until I decided to tickle all of the spaces between her toes simultaneously. That set off another round of frantic begging and hysterical laughter.

" PLEEEEEHEEE-HEEEEZE ST-HA-HA-HA-HAP!!!" Kate begged through her laughter.

Kate tried to negotiate with me, but she was laughing too hard to speak. I reduced my efforts just enough so she could talk.

"Hee hee hee... pleeease... hee hee hee... I'll go barefoot for you all weekend... hoo hoo hoo... I'll let you play foot doctor... hee heeeee heeee... just staaahahahahap tickling me-hee!" Kate shrieked.

The fact that Kate was begging so emphatically told me I should stop. Nearly three minutes passed as she struggled to catch her breath and stop giggling. When she finally spoke, I was pleased to find her in very good spirits.

"I've always wondered how you do that," Kate giggled. "When you were a kid, did your parents send you to a special school where you learned how to tickle feet?"

"Who needed a school," I smiled. "I always had you."

Kate smiled and whacked me upside the head with a pillow.

"Enough already," Kate laughed. "I was a good sport about letting you tickle-torture me. Now I expect a foot massage."

I was only too happy to honor Kate's request, and I resumed the process of bathing her feet with peppermint foot soap. Kate was enjoying this, but I knew that her feet would turn into prunes if I didn't get them out of the water.

Because I only had one basin, there was no great way for me to rinse Kate's feet. The obvious solution was to carry her to the bathroom and rinse her feet in the shower as I had done earlier. Kate had great fun watching me carry her around for the third time that day.

After I turned off the shower, I carried Kate to the bed and propped up her feet with pillows. She made herself comfortable while I organized my supplies and began the massage.

Nearly ten minutes passed as I carefully massaged each of Kate's toes. At Kate's request, I switched gears and applied a variety of massage techniques to her arches. This process left her relaxed and very chatty.

Kate opened up to me about her friends, her school, and this guy she was interested in. She also offered me advice on dating, fashion, and offered to take me shopping before school started. I appreciated the offer, especially in light of Kate's vast social successes.

While I continued massaging Kate's feet, she spoke at length about our relationship and how much fun she'd had spending time with me over the years. Not too surprisingly, that brought the conversation back to the subject of feet.

Kate couldn't resist teasing me about the countless childhood games I had invented exclusively for the purpose of playing with her feet. She told me that shoe store and foot doctor were here favorites. Frankly, they were mine as well.

"Do you remember Sunday mornings at grandmother's house?" Kate laughed.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I said while blushing.

Sunday mornings had produced some of the best foot and tickling memories of my life. Every Sunday, I always arrived at grandmother's house an hour or so before Kate woke up. Once Kate was awake we would go to the playroom to share breakfast in private.

Kate and I had developed a ritual of sorts for our breakfasts. She would sit at the playroom table and eat while I sat on the floor and played with her bare feet. Her only rule was that no tickling was allowed while she ate.

After breakfast, Kate picked out clothes and shoes to wear to church. I would walk with her to the bathroom and chat for a few minutes before leaving so she could shower and change. On my way out of the bathroom, I always grabbed Kate's shoes and socks. From there I would go back to the playroom.

Kate typically joined me within twenty minutes to retrieve her footwear. As with our other activities, we had done this so many times that we had a routine of sorts. Kate would sit down in the playroom recliner and place her bare feet on the footrest while I tickled her for five minutes. If Kate withdrew her feet from the footrest, I would repeat the tickling until she made a satisfactory effort to let herself be tickled. This never failed to make her buck and laugh hysterically, but she went along with all of it willingly.

"How many times do you think we did that Sunday morning routine together?" I asked while massaging Kate's toes.

"I wouldn't even want to guess," Kate giggled. "From my perspective it seemed like thousands of times."

Kate and I continued talking for another hour, by which time my massage techniques were taking effect. Kate became so deeply relaxed that she looked as if she had been sedated. Shortly thereafter, she fell asleep, which effectively ended our conversation for the evening. Massaging Kate's feet had always been one of my favorite pastimes, so I decided to continue.

For the next hour, I varied my techniques, alternating between massaging Kate's toes and rubbing her arches. This process gave me the opportunity to study every line, wrinkle, and curvature of Kate's beautiful feet.

At about one o'clock in the morning, Kate briefly woke up. She found it humorous that I was still massaging her feet, and she smiled and watched me work for a few minutes.

"Goodnight foot monster," Kate said in a drowsy voice as she fell asleep again.

I knew that if I wanted to keep up with Kate the next day, I would need to get some sleep. This seemed like a good place to stop. I dried and powdered her feet so they wouldn't stick to the sheets. Then I tucked her in and went to my own bed.

When I awoke on Sunday morning, I was shocked to see that we had apparently slept through the entire day. As I looked out the window, there was a beautiful sunset in progress. This didn't seem possible. How could Kate and I, light sleepers by nature, snooze our way through an entire day of our vacation?

I called the front desk to verify the time, and they assured me it was morning. Some storms were approaching, and the unusual cloud cover was deflecting the sunlight, making it look like sunset. I was thankful to hear that Kate and I hadn't missed the entire day. The fact that storms were coming did have me worried though.

One evening when Kate was about eight years old, a series of extremely bad thunderstorms rolled through her town. High winds, large hail, lightning, and a handful of tornados pounded the city throughout the night. When morning came, Kate's house had been badly damaged, and her hometown looked like it had been hit by artillery fire. Kate and her parents were fortunate to come through that experience uninjured.

More than once in the years that followed, I saw Kate have panic attacks during bad thunderstorms. I don't mean to imply that Kate went to pieces every time it rained, because that was not the case. Violent storms, however, did cause her to experience substantial anxiety. I was truly concerned how she would cope with things if we had a big storm while we were in this hotel, hours from home.

While Kate was still asleep, I decided to get a look at the weather forecast. I turned on the local television station to find radar images and a storm warning splashed across the screen. There was a massive storm front approaching, and it nearly spanned the width of the state. Much like the storm that frightened Kate as a child, these thunderstorms were producing lightning, hail, damaging winds, and they had even spawned a few tornados.

After viewing the weather report, I didn't quite know how to proceed. Because the storm front was so large, it would take it several hours to blow through the area. I didn't want Kate to wake up in the middle of raging storm, but I also didn't feel I should tell her that a big storm was coming. I walked over and sat on the bed next to Kate. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gently nudged her a few times.

"Kate, it's time to get up," I said. "You're wasting the last day of our vacation."

Although Kate was a fairly light sleeper, it took her several seconds to open her eyes. When she did, it was clear that she wasn't enthusiastic about getting up just yet. She looked at me, squinted, and pulled the covers over her head.

"Come on Kate," I said in a more persistent voice as I nudged her again.

Kate responded by placing a pillow over her face. Through the pillow she mumbled that I should let her sleep.

"I'll get up soon," Kate said. "I just need a little more sleep."

Based on the weather forecast, Kate had no more than thirty minutes to wake up and get dressed before the storm arrived. I attempted to nudge her once again, and this time she didn't respond at all. With nothing else working, I resorted to a tactic I hadn't used since we were kids.

I went to the end of the bed, peeled back the blankets, and uncovered Kate's feet. She must have fallen asleep again because she made no effort to resist as I wrapped my arms around her ankles and began to tickle her feet.

Kate remained motionless as I scribbled my fingers over the most ticklish regions of her feet. After about twenty seconds, she suddenly began to flail about and shriek from beneath her blankets.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH!!!" Kate screamed. "PLEEEEEHEEHEEEEZE DOOHOHOHON'T TEEEEHEEKLE!!! GAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHD!!! PLEEE-HEE-HEEZE S-STOP!!! SSSSS-SSTTTOP!!! SSSSSSTTTOP!!!"

Kate's whole body was in spasm, but I had her ankles in a tight grip so there was no way for her to retract her feet. About all she could do was frantically wiggle her toes and thrash her upper body. Under different circumstances it would have been great fun to sit there and continue tickling Kate for a while, but that wasn't my goal.

"Will you please get up now?" I asked.

Kate was laughing too hard to answer me, but she nodded. Since Kate was willing to get out of bed, I stopped tickling her feet.

For nearly a minute, Kate laid there giggling out loud and working to catch her breath. She finally composed herself, stood up, and grabbed a change of clothes from her suitcase.

"Just for that mister, you get to buy breakfast," she said.

Kate smiled and punched me in the shoulder on her way to the bathroom. It was a relief to see that she was going to get dressed and hadn't noticed the unusual appearance of the sky. If we needed to take cover, she'd be ready to go. There was only one problem: I had no idea where I could take Kate if the storm got serious.

While Kate was still in the shower, I called the front desk and asked to speak to the manager. His name was Steve, and he was a kind, elderly gentleman who Kate and I had spoken to on many of our previous trips. He remembered me, and I explained Kate's fear of severe storms. He was eager to help and came to our room. I asked to speak with him in the hallway so Kate wouldn't overhear our conversation.

"This may just turn out to be an ordinary thunderstorm," I said. "But if things do get severe, I need someplace to take Kate."

Steve thought about the situation for a moment and suggested a room in the basement that he felt would be ideal.

"There is one room downstairs which is especially comfortable and well furnished," Steve explained. "I sometimes go there to do paperwork when I can't get any peace and quiet on first floor. I'd be happy to let you and your cousin use it until the storm passes."

This was the best solution I could have hoped for, and I thanked Steve for his efforts. He could tell that I was concerned about Kate and attempted to reassure me.

"Try not to worry," Steve said. "Every summer they put out those storm warnings, and most of the time it never amounts to more than a little rain. With any luck, that's all this will be."

Steve and I continued to make conversation for a while, and Kate came out of the bathroom. She heard Steve's voice and told me to invite him in. The three of us talked as Kate sat by the window putting on her shoes. That's when she noticed how strange the sky looked.

"Are we expecting rain?" Kate said.

I explained that there were some storms coming, and we didn't know how substantial it would be. Kate didn't seem at all concerned, but Steve decided to tell her about our arrangement anyway.

"Your cousin has really been looking out for you," Steve said. "He told me that you're not a big fan of storms, and he asked me to find you someplace comfortable to stay while the storms pass. I've got a nice room in the basement, and I'll take you down there whenever you're ready."

Kate appreciated my efforts to look after her. She thanked me, gave me a hug, and the three of us left together. As I was leaving our hotel room, I could see that the sky was suddenly getting darker.

Steve led us to the atrium, a beautiful room in the center of the hotel with skylights in the ceiling. We had to walk through that room to get to the basement stairs. As we reached the middle of the atrium, the sky became very dark. Standing under the skylights, it seemed like nightfall had come.

Although she was a little troubled by the sudden onset of darkness, Kate was still holding up well. Then the storm's first bolt of lightning shot across the sky. It was followed by a tumultuous wave of thunder that rattled the skylights, shook the hotel, and startled a number of the guests.

Kate began to look more anxious, but I held her hand and assured her that things were going to be fine. My words would have carried far more weight if the storm hadn't picked that exact moment to intensify. Heavy rain started pelting the skylights, rapid bursts of lighting were violently exploding across the sky like a fireworks display, and a seemingly continuous clap of thunder was rumbling through the hotel.

The noise and ferocity of the storm was beginning to alarm many of the hotel's guests, and anxiety was getting the best of Kate. She was staring up at the skylights and turning pale. Her instincts were telling her that we should leave.

"Maybe we could just go home," Kate said nervously. "If we leave now, we could beat the storm."

"Honey, the storm is already here, and the last place you want to be right now is a car." I said in a claming voice. "That would be far more scary than being in the basement of this hotel. Let's go to Steve's office and hang out for a while."

Despite being so scared, Kate trusted me enough to take my advice, and we finally reached the basement. I was surprised to see how large and elegant it was. The hallways were adorned in antique woodwork, and there were a number of spacious rooms.

When I saw Steve's office, I couldn't have been more pleased. It was very cozy, and the wallpaper was similar to that of our grandmother's living room. There were a number of comfortable chairs, a heavy oak desk, and a couch. The office even had a private bathroom. Steve explained that he needed to attend to the other hotel guests, and he encouraged us to make ourselves at home for the duration of the storm.

By this point, torrential rains were pounding the hotel, and the roar of the wind could be heard from the basement. Deafening claps of thunder rumbled through the building almost non-stop. This was easily the loudest storm I had ever encountered.

Amidst this constant bombardment, it was very difficult to help Kate relax. Every time that she appeared to be getting comfortable in Steve's office, there was an abrupt lightning strike accompanied by thunder and intermittent power outages.

Steve was kind enough to check in on us and deliver a battery-powered lantern. Since electrical power in the hotel was faltering, I decided to turn out the lights and illuminate the room solely with the lantern. This spared Kate from being startled every time the storm knocked out the electricity.

With a bit of coaxing, I persuaded Kate to sit down. I held her hand and encouraged her to take slow, deep breaths. This seemed to be helping until she started feeling ill. The storm was no longer Kate's only problem.

We never did get around to having breakfast before we went to the basement, and Kate had always been a bit hypoglycemic. Ever since we were children, if Kate didn't eat regular meals, she got lightheaded and queasy. She had even passed out on a few previous family trips where she didn't take time to eat.

Kate was badly shaken by the storm, and not eating breakfast only compounded the problem. If I didn't want an already tense situation to grow worse, I would have to get some food for Kate.

There was no food in the basement. Thunderstorms, unlike hurricanes, are usually of very short duration. Many people subsequently don't take provisions with them when they take cover. The hotel staff had ushered people to the basement to seek shelter, and serving breakfast was not a priority.

Getting food for Kate would require a trip to first floor. Although I did not share Kate's phobia of storms, I was nervous about going up there under the current circumstances. Just the same, I knew I had to.

Before I could leave, I had to spend a few minutes helping Kate calm down. I was doing well until a deafening clap of thunder made several other hotel guests scream.

I crawled under Steve's desk and motioned for Kate to join me. The two of us huddled together for a few minutes and I tried to reassure Kate that nothing could happen to her in the basement. She was still scared, but I felt like she was stable enough for me to leave.

"I promise I will only be a minute," I said. "I'll get us some food and come right back."

As I dashed down the basement hallway, I could feel cool breezes flowing through the building. There was a fair amount of noise coming from the stairwell, and things got progressively louder as I approached first floor. When I reached the top of the stairs, I could see that at least five skylights in the atrium had been shattered. Rain and very strong winds were blowing through the openings, and there were several small tree branches on the floor.

"I really wish I would have remembered to take food with us earlier," I muttered to myself.

The sky was quite dark aside from the flashes of lightning which illuminated it every few seconds. I was the only person in the atrium, the room had an eerie feel to it, and I really wanted to go back downstairs. At that moment, I spotted what I was looking for.

Someone from the hotel staff had abandoned a courtesy cart on the far end of the atrium, just outside the door of an open hotel suite. It was loaded with complimentary breakfasts and other supplies. I ran across the atrium and began looting the courtesy cart.

On the bottom shelf, there was a box of clean garbage bags. I grabbed one and began hurriedly stuffing it with cartons of milk, orange juice, bottled water, granola bars, tiny little boxes of hotel cereal, and cinnamon rolls. I even dumped a tray full of butter and jam into the bag.

The radio in a nearby room had been left on, and while I was raiding the courtesy cart, I could hear weather warnings being recited by a local meteorologist. He was urging area residents to seek shelter immediately because several funnel clouds had been spotted in the county. There was another volley of lightning followed by thunder that sounded like an artillery bombardment. Then the hotel lost power again.

After hearing the weather report, I decided it was time to get back downstairs. I grabbed my supplies and dashed across the atrium. As I reached the basement stairs, the local tornado siren sounded, and I could hear hailstones striking the floor of the atrium.

I rejoined Kate in Steve's office. She was still huddled under the desk, and I could tell she was afraid. She was looking to me for support and encouragement, and I did my best not to disappoint her.

"It's going to be okay Kate," I said in a soothing voice. "The storm is picking up, but this basement is very safe. Nothing can hurt you down here."

My words seemed to provide Kate with some comfort, but she still needed to eat. At my request, she picked a granola bar and a carton of milk. I placed my hands over Kate's to steady her while she ate.

"I feel like such an idiot," Kate said with tears in her eyes. "You and I are essentially adults, and I'm sitting here like a frightened child because of a storm."

"You are NOT an idiot," I replied. "This is a huge, extremely noisy storm, and everyone in the building is scared. Besides, lots of people from your hometown still get scared by storms, so you're not the only one."

Kate leaned into me as I continued to help her with her breakfast. It took her several minutes to finish eating, but I could tell that she was feeling better. I thought I finally had things under control when there was a violent crashing sound that seemed to come from inside the hotel. As it turned out, a large oak tree was struck by lightning and slammed into the side of the building. This did nothing to soothe Kate's nerves.

In desperation, I began talking with Kate about our childhood and the many bad storms we experienced at our grandmother's house over the years. I reminded her how we rode out those storms from our grandfather's basement office, a room very similar to the one we were in now. That comparison seemed to help, but Kate was still quite jittery, and I was running out of ideas.

"Too bad you don't have your foot massage supplies with you," Kate said nervously. "Your foot massages always seem to relax me. The one you gave me last night put me to sleep."

"Um, I don't want you to think that I'm a complete foot freak, but I am carrying some foot massage supplies with me," I said.

I showed Kate the pocket-sized container of foot cream I had purchased the night before and her eyes lit up.

"I know you've been taking care of me a lot this morning," Kate said. "Would you mind giving me a foot massage?"

"I don't mind taking care of you, and you don't have to beg for a foot massage," I said. "Let's see what I can do to make you more comfortable."

Under different circumstances, this would have been one of my favorite foot fetish activities. At the moment, however, I was genuinely concerned about helping my cousin relax, and that was my primary motivation.

I pulled the cushions off of the couch and lined them up so Kate could lie down comfortably with only her feet sticking out from beneath the desk. Once she was settled I removed her shoes and socks. I will admit that even under all of this duress I noticed how pretty Kate's feet were.

For the next 10 minutes, I massaged Kate's feet while she focused on her breathing and tried to relax. My efforts paid off, and Kate appeared to be calmer.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"This feels wonderful," Kate replied as she wiggled her toes. "I do wish the storm would stop, but this is very relaxing, and I'm feeling much better. Thanks."

A member of the hotel staff turned on a radio out in the hallway, and I could overhear the weather report. The first wave of thunderstorms was about to pass but there was another larger one right behind it.

"Do you mean we've got another hour or more of this to go?" Kate asked nervously as the noise of the storm increased.

"It looks that way," I replied. "But don't worry. We'll be fine in this sturdy old basement."

Kate couldn't believe how calm I was, and it almost seemed to frustrate her just a little.

"This really doesn't bother you," Kate said anxiously. "How can you stay so focused and relaxed with the noise that storm is making?"

Just then, lightning struck somewhere nearby, and there was another deafening clap of thunder that frightened several other guests and made Kate flinch. I wanted her to remain as calm and comfortable as possible, so I tried to keep the mood in the room somewhat jovial.

"Are you kidding?" I smiled. "I am so busy massaging these pretty feet that I keep forgetting about the storm."

For the first time during the storm, Kate actually smiled and laughed.

"Do you honestly mean to tell me that your foot fetish is strong enough to help you mentally block out the storm?" Kate asked.

"Yup," I smiled. "By the way, did you paint your toes with Revlon's new color Cherry Crush?"

"How did you know my nail polish color?" Kate asked.

"I can't speak for all foot guys, but I like to keep up on things like the latest nail polish colors, the newest lines of foot massage products, and so on," I explained as I played with Kate's toes. "I'm pretty sure that I can correctly identify most of Revlon's current colors by memory."

Kate just shook her head and laughed.

"You really are my favorite person in the whole world but I do worry about you sometimes," Kate laughed. "At the moment I'm just grateful that you're taking care of me."

I didn't have a chance to respond because the storm picked up again. There was a barrage of lightning and thunder followed by the sounds of large hailstones striking the hotel and the town tornado siren going off again and.

"I don't want you to stop what you're doing, but I'm starting to feel antsy again," Kate said. "Any ideas?"

I sat for a moment thinking about things, and then I had an idea.

"I think you need a change of venue," I said. "Sit tight, and I'll be right back."

I went into the bathroom and filled the bathtub with about eighteen inches of soothing warm water. Then I came back for Kate, our food, and the lantern.

When we reached the bathroom, I placed the lantern on the countertop and tucked some napkins into Kate's shirt like a bib (an action which she found slightly entertaining). Then I rolled up the legs of her pants and had her step into the water and sit down on the edge of the tub.

I rifled through our bag of food and selected some cinnamon rolls and a container of milk for Kate. Once she had started eating, I got down on my knees, reached into the tub and began lathering her feet with a cheap bar of hotel soap.

"All of my foot soap is in our hotel room so we'll have to improvise," I explained. "Unless you want me to dash upstairs again."

Kate knew I was only kidding about going back upstairs, but she responded anyway.

"This will do just fine," she said. "Thanks."

As I continued to apply the soap, Kate wiggled her toes and arched her feet. Kate's foot poses were driving me crazy, but I tried to stay focused on my goal of helping her remain calm.

The noise of the storm was slightly less pronounced in the bathroom, but it was still bad enough to upset Kate. Nonetheless, she was doing her best to relax. As I continued to work on her feet, she playfully splashed around in the water.

We made conversation, and things were going better when it suddenly sounded as if a hurricane were rolling through town. It was painfully obvious that a tornado was somewhere close by, and Kate started looking more anxious again. In her defense, many other guests were now starting to panic as well.

As quickly as possible, I rinsed and dried Kate's feet so I could get her out of the bathtub. After that, I had her sit beneath the bathroom countertop under the guise that it would provide additional shelter. Truthfully, the hotel's basement was a fortress and I don't think we were ever in any danger down there. Even so, I had to be as convincing as possible for Kate.

I crawled under the bathroom counter and wrapped my arms around Kate. She was trembling noticeably, and I'm sure many other hotel guests were as well. The roar of the wind increased dramatically, and Kate squeezed me so hard that I thought she had broken my ribs.

"It's going to be okay," I said. "We've weathered worse storms than this at grandmother's house. We'll come through this one too."

The growing noise of the storm had Kate spooked, and she tried to stand up. I didn't want her to panic and leave Steve's office, so I stopped her.

"You can't leave now," I said. "I'm scared too."

Kate knew I wasn't scared, and she stared at me with an annoyed look on her face.

"Just stay here with me and take long, slow breaths," I said in a calming voice. "This basement is very deep and very safe. As long as we stay right here we'll be fine."

Kate was not entirely convinced, but she followed my suggestions. The deep breathing seemed to help, and she slowly began to calm down. This was quite an accomplishment, especially considering the fact that a number of hotel guests were freaking out and screaming in response to the tornadic winds that were raging outside.

As the noise of the storm increased, Kate clung to me the same way she did during bad storms when we were children. After another thirty minutes, the last of the storms finally passed, and I helped Kate put her shoes and socks on. As we were leaving, I noticed that Steve's office reeked of coconut and peppermint. Over the years, I've always wondered what he thought went on in there.

The basement hallway was crowded with guests. Kate and I fell into line and made our way upstairs to find that it was now a beautiful day. Sunshine was beaming down through the remaining skylights of the atrium, and Kate just stood there looking at the debris which was strewn all over the room.

"My God, this place looks like a war zone," Kate said. "I can't believe you ran up here during the storm to get breakfast for me."

"It's okay," I said as I patted her on the back. "You needed to eat. It's no big deal."

To Kate, it was a very big deal. When she realized how far I had gone to take care of her during the storm, she was stunned.

We stepped outside to find several trees down in the yard of the Belmont, including two that had struck the hotel. Most of the buildings close to the Belmont had suffered substantial damage. I wanted to walk around town a little but Kate was not terribly eager to see the aftermath of the storm just yet.

"Would you mind if we just go hang out in our room for a while?" Kate asked.

"Whatever you're comfortable with is fine with me," I said.

When we got back to the room, there wasn't anything on TV because the local stations had been temporarily knocked off the air by the storm.

"I'm not trying to bore you or anything, but I think I'm going to lie down for a while," Kate said. "Then we'll go have lunch."

I sat in the corner looking out the window while Kate got comfortable on the bed and fell asleep. The stress of the storm left her exhausted, and she was out like a light. While Kate slept, I thought I would take a walk around the neighborhood and explore the storm damage.

As I got up to leave the room, my foot fetish started getting the best of me. Kate was lying on the bed wearing her cutest pair of white canvas sneakers and adorable white cotton ankle socks. This was more than I could resist, and I very quietly sat down on the end of the bed with my back to her.

Since Kate was sound asleep, I figured she wouldn't notice if I had a little harmless foot fun. I carefully unlaced her sneakers and pulled them off. Then I spent a few minutes rubbing her feet before removing her socks.

To this day I have no idea what I was thinking. There was no way I could replace Kate's shoes and socks without waking her up. When she awoke barefoot she'd know I was responsible. None of that had entered my mind when I embarked on this operation.

Several minutes passed as I caressed Kate's bare feet, completely fascinated by their softness. Her toes were irresistible, and I played with each of them for quite a while. I had just started to massage Kate's arches when I felt a hand on my left shoulder. Kate was awake, sitting up, and smiling at me.

"Hi there," she said in a playful voice. "What are you doing?"

Kate had genuinely startled me. I was completely tongue-tied and could barely speak.

"Oh well... um... you were asleep, and I was over there... and sitting down, the thing of it was... they just fell off," I babbled.

Kate wasn't the least bit angry with me, and she roared with laughter upon hearing my explanation.

"Foot monster, you are so busted," she laughed. "Your foot fetish got the best of you, and you decided to play with my feet while I was sleeping. You just never counted on me waking up so soon."

"That's a working theory too," I mumbled. "Sorry Kate."

"It's okay," Kate smiled. "That actually felt good. Besides, you've taken really good care of me today, so don't sweat it."

Before I could say anything else, Kate jumped off the bed and gave me a hug. She was about to put her shoes on when she abruptly stopped herself.

"If I put these sneakers on you'll probably just spend the rest of the day trying to get them off again," Kate laughed.

She reached into her shopping bag and put on her new pair of Dr. Scholl's instead. Then she winked at me and took my hand. She was eager to get to Salundino's, our favorite local pizza place.

When we arrived at the restaurant, their trademark awning was smashed and the front window was cracked. Aside from that, Salundino's was unscathed and open for business. I think most people assumed the restaurant would be closed due to storm damage, and there were very few customers.

Since we had our choice of seats, Kate and I went to a comfortable booth in the corner and placed our order with the waiter. While we waited for our food, Kate repeatedly thanked me for helping her during the storm.

"I want to do something nice for you," she explained. "Maybe I could take you shopping... if the stores are still standing."

"You and I have looked out for each other since we were little kids," I said. "Of course I took care of you during the storm. You don't have to buy anything for me."

Kate genuinely wanted to show her appreciation, and the fact that I wouldn't let her buy me gifts left her frustrated. Then she got a very silly look on her face and started giggling.

"Fine," she said in a triumphant voice. "I'll just do something nice for you which doesn't involve money."

Seconds later, I heard the unmistakable clunk of Kate's shoes hitting the floor, and her bare feet appeared in my lap. Kate giggled as she explained that she planned to afford me an excess of foot massage and foot tickling opportunities for the remainder of our vacation. I should have declined Kate's offer, but I didn't have that kind of willpower. I reached under the tablecloth and began playing with her toes.

"I appreciate the gesture, but you don't need to do this," I said. "You've taken care of me many times over the years," I said.

Years earlier, when our grandfather died, I was a mess. Kate was the only person who could even communicate with me, and I don't think I could have endured that experience without her support.

When I was in sixth grade, I came down with a horrible, highly contagious upper respiratory infection the day before our family Christmas party. Since I couldn't attend the family gathering, Kate demanded to be brought to my house even though she couldn't come inside. It was cold and snowing heavily outside as Kate set up a lawn chair in front of my living room window. The two of us sat there, separated by glass, and opened our presents while communicating on walkie-talkies.

There were many other occasions when Kate had been supportive of me during difficult times. I reminded her of these incidents as we continued to wait for our food, but it didn't change her mind.

"You really don't understand how badly storms upset me," Kate said as she gripped my fingers with her toes. "I was terrified this morning, and the way you took care of me means a lot."

At that moment, our waiter returned with a fresh pizza and a pitcher of soda. He noticed me playing with Kate's toes and stared at us for a moment before returning to the kitchen.

I continued fondling Kate's feet before selecting my first slice of pizza. Kate was slightly grossed out by the fact that I went from handling her feet to touching my food without washing my hands. I decided to really turn her stomach by licking my fingers.

"In case you didn't notice, I spent most of the morning washing your feet," I said sarcastically. "Your toes are cleaner than the dinner plates in this restaurant."

Kate buried her face in her napkin and laughed before proceeding with her meal.

"Does that mean you're planning to eat pizza off of my feet?" she asked jokingly.

"No," I replied. "That sounds like fun, but because you're my cousin, I think it would raise too many moral and ethical issues."

We both laughed and continued with our lunch. As we ate, city crews diligently worked to clear debris from the street. They had only been at it for an hour, but they were making progress.

After lunch, Kate and I started walking back to the Belmont. Along the way, we encountered a police officer. He asked where we were from, and I told him we were going home in just a few hours.

"That's not a good idea kids," he said. "There are trees and power lines down all over the place, we've got isolated flooding, and a number of county roads are blocked. Accidents have the state highways log-jammed, and you'd be better off to drive home tomorrow."

To be honest, Kate and I were delighted by the prospect of extending our weekend. Hanging out in our favorite vacation spot for an extra day sounded like great fun.

At the hotel, phone service had been restored. This was a minor miracle in and of itself because at least half of the town was without phone service or electricity. We decided to call home and let our parents know what was going on. They were relieved to hear that we were okay, and they urged us to stay put rather than trying to drive home on treacherous roads.

Kate had perked up considerably. Knowing that the storms were gone gave her tremendous confidence, and she wanted to see more of the town.

It was easy to make out the path of the storm from our car. The tornado had missed the primary residential neighborhoods, but it did cut a visible path along the lakefront. We could see an expensive motorboat dangling from an oak tree, and two other small boats had been tossed further inland and were lying in the street.

We made our way back toward the center of town and found that most buildings had suffered damage. Many of the best tourist attractions were closed, but we were still having fun driving around together. Being in our favorite vacation town without our parents almost seemed like an adventure of sorts.

With so many local businesses closed, we decided to visit a small community park on the edge of town. I could see some downed trees, but the walking trails appeared to be fine, and all of the picnic tables were still in place. The parking lot was empty, and we were the only ones there.

While walking on one of our favorite trails, Kate and I talked about many things, mostly related to family. We also spoke about the upcoming school year. Kate wanted to introduce me to her friends from the big city, and she was certain that we'd all have a great time hanging out together.

Kate's offer to jump-start my social life was appreciated. My hometown was small, and it had limited social options. Kate's high school, however, was socially diverse, and she had an extensive social circle. The prospect of socializing with Kate and her friends was appealing.

We reached a bend in the trail, and Kate sat down on a picnic table while I sat beneath her on the bench. Kate then slipped off her Dr. Scholl's and placed her bare feet in my lap. She was trying to make good on the offer she made at the restaurant.

"Are you really sure you want to do this?" I asked.

Kate just smiled at me and nodded while playfully grabbing my fingers with her toes. With Kate encouraging me, any inhibitions I might normally have were gone. My foot fetish took over, and I couldn't resist the urge to tickle-torture Kate.

I wrapped my arms around Kate's ankles, and she immediately knew what I was going to do. Under any other circumstances, Kate would have been begging me not to tickle her. This time, she was trying to let me tickle her, and she made no effort to resist.

Using both hands, I zeroed in on Kate's most ticklish spots with the cruelest tickling techniques I could muster. Kate responded by frantically thrashing all over the picnic table while screaming and laughing hysterically. If we hadn't been alone in the park, I think someone would have assumed that a woman was being assaulted and called the police.

"HAHAHA...WHOA... HAHAHAHAHAHA... NONONONO... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kate screamed. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...HEEHEEHEEE... AHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Tell me how it feels Kate," I teased.

I knew Kate was in ticklish agony, but I always loved getting her to tell me how it felt when she was being tickled.

"GAAAHAHAHAHAHAHD IT TEEEHEEHEEKLES!" Kate shrieked. "PLEEEEEHEEE-HEE-HEEEEZE ST-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! IT TEEEHEEHEEKLES! ST-HAA-HA-HAP! ST-HAA-HA-HAP! IT TEEEHEEHEEKLES!"

Kate laughter was coming in frenzied screams. The intensity of my tickling was simply too much for her. It would have been extremely cruel to continue tickling her in this fashion. I reduced my efforts to a point where Kate was still being thoroughly tickled, but the sensations were somewhat less torturous.

"HAHAHA... hooooo hoo hoo hee hee hee hee... that still tickles... hee hee hee!" Kate laughed.

"It's supposed to," I replied in a gentle voice. "Tickle tickle tickle!"

Kate's entire body was wriggling, and she couldn't have stopped laughing and smiling if her life depended on it. She was also flexing her feet and wiggling her toes.

"Just keep laughing Kate," I said. "We're not done yet."

I decided that I wanted to tickle Kate's toes, but she almost seemed to read my mind. Kate clenched her toes so tightly that I couldn't get my fingers in between them.

"Unclench your toes Kate," I said.

Kate shook her head in protest and clenched her toes even more tightly.

"Come on sweetie," I said. "I'm not going to stop until I tickle your toes. If you don't unclench them, I'll tickle your feet all day until you cooperate."

Kate knew I wasn't kidding, and she relaxed her feet. I immediately inserted my fingers and began raking the undersides of Kate's toes. This technique produced another chorus of hysterical laughter that undoubtedly echoed through the park.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Kate squealed. "HAHAHA... NOT BETWEEN MY TOES... AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH... NOT THAT!!!"

"Oh yes," I replied. "I'm going to tickle those pretty little toes."

I refined my technique, making sure to stroke every side of Kate's toes, as well as the spaces between. She responded by laughing hysterically and thrashing so hard that I thought she would break the picnic table.

"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" Kate screamed. "NOOOOOOOO... HEHEHEHEHE... OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! N-n-not on my toes! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... no faaaaaiiir tickling between my toes! Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo... plea-heeeeeeeeeeeze stop it!!! AAHHHHHHHHH!"

"Cootchy cootchy coo!!!" I teased.

As I continued tickling Kate's toes, she entered a state of silent laughter. Her mouth was open and her body was in spasm, but no sound was coming out. I tickled her for a few seconds longer, and then I stopped because I didn't think she could breath.

Kate went limp on the picnic table and struggled to catch her breath. I gently rubbed her feet to try and help her relax. It took a few minutes, but she finally stopped giggling and sat up.

"You rat!" Kate said as she slapped my back. "You tortured me!"

"Sorry Kate," I said. "I just couldn't resist the urge to go tickle crazy."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did," Kate laughed. "You handled my bare feet for the entire morning and didn't try to tickle me once. That has to be a personal record for you."

We sat there talking for a moment while Kate put her sandals on. As soon as I tried to stand up, she leaped onto my shoulders and demanded that I give her a piggyback ride to the car. I came very close to falling over and dropping us both, but I managed to maintain my balance.

We left the park, and Kate wanted to drive around town again to see if any businesses had opened up. We quickly discovered that our choices were few. The most attractive option was the video arcade. Kate didn't want to spend her entire day inside doing things we could have done back home, but she thought a few games would be fun. Half an hour later, we resumed our search for entertainment.

The local train museum was up and running, so we decided to take a tour. Kate and I had our picture taken aboard a fancy locomotive that used to belong to FDR. We also took a ride on a miniature train that ran on a mile-long course through the museum yard.

Our search for something to do eventually led us back to our favorite shopping district. Nature's Wonder had only sustained very minor damage, and the store was open. Kate was always willing to shop, but she felt that we had probably purchased everything the store had to offer.

"You did say that I could give you another foot massage before we go home...right?" I asked.

Kate playfully threw her arm around my neck and messed up my hair.

"You can give me as many foot massages as you want," she smiled. "If I were rich, I'd hang out in spas and get my feet massaged every day. Either that or I'd hire you."

"Didn't you also say you'd let me to tickle your feet?" I asked shyly.

Kate smiled, reached over, and yanked on my ear the way she used to do when we were kids.

"If you don't go completely insane and relentlessly torture me, I'll let you tickle my feet," Kate laughed as she let go of my ear and shoved me.

We walked inside, and this time, Kate went with me to look at the foot massage supplies. Going through the shelves, I came across a few items that I had overlooked on our first visit.

Nature's Wonder had a line of moisturizing foot socks. For those of you who haven't used these, you apply lotion to your feet and then put on the socks. They trap in the moisture and leave your feet warm and soft. This seemed like an ideal choice for Kate, and I tossed a pair into my shopping basket.

Around the corner there was a new display that had been set up since our last visit. The store was selling a line of Jacuzzi footbaths. I had to buy one, especially since I knew how I'd be spending my evening with Kate.

I thought I was done shopping when Kate ran up to me with a pair of sponge shower gloves. Unlike rough exfoliating shower gloves, these were made from a soft sponge material that was supposed to be ideal for generating lather. Kate wanted me wash her feet with these, and I was more than willing to comply.

As we finished our shopping trip, Kate pointed out that it was time to start thinking about dinner. The only places open were a seafood restaurant and Salundino's. I didn't care for seafood, and Kate said she wouldn't mind having pizza two meals in a row.

Before our food arrived, Kate disposed of her shoes and placed her bare feet in my lap just the way she had done at lunch. Ironically, the same waiter who served us at lunch was still on duty. He stood there gawking at us while I massaged Kate's feet. Either he had a foot fetish too, or he found our conduct offensive.

After dinner, Kate and I returned to our hotel room with our purchases. For Kate, the realization that we had another evening at the Belmont without our parents was just sinking in. She saw this as a license to act like little kids and do whatever we wanted with no rules, no curfew, and best of all, no adults. Kate was becoming more silly and playful by the minute.

When we stepped inside, I was a little tired, and I plopped down on the bed to rest for a few minutes. Within seconds, the entire bed rocked as Kate leaped onto the mattress and landed face down with her feet resting across my chest. Her bare soles were facing up, mere inches from my face, and she was wiggling her toes at me.

Kate restated her pledge that she'd let me tickle her feet if I did it gently. This sounded like a good arrangement, and I really didn't want to betray her trust, especially since she was going out of her way to let me indulge my foot fetish.

I carefully drew figure eights on the soles of Kate's feet with a single fingernail. This delicate technique was working well enough to make her twitch and intermittently giggle, but it wasn't making her tense. We even managed a conversation as I tickled her.

"So what would you like to do tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well, I... hee hee hee... would like to go... ho-ho-ho... see... ha-ha-ha... if any of our favorite... hee hee hee... that tickles... tourist attractions... ha-ha-ha...are open," Kate said as I tickled her feet.

"I really want to extend our day," I said. "On the way home, I think it would be fun to stop in a few of the places that grandfather used to take us. I just don't want to get in the car and drive straight home."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha... same here... hee hee hee," Kate managed. "I always hated it...HAHAHA... tickles... when our parents would drive... AAHHHH... right back home. That just isn't the way... eeeeek... tickles... to end a fun weekend."

For the next twenty minutes, Kate and I discussed our plans as I tickled her feet. Throughout the process, Kate's dialogue was repeatedly interrupted by her own ticklish laughter. I found it particularly enjoyable watching her respond to my tickling in mid-sentence.

Kate had been unbelievably tolerant, and I didn't want to take things too far. I stopped tickling Kate's feet and asked her if she still wanted a foot massage.

"Absolutely!" she said as she cheerfully leaped off of the bed.

It was becoming clear that Kate loved foot massages and being pampered every bit as much as I loved women's feet. On this particular weekend, it worked out well for both of us.

I think Kate knew that she might fall asleep during the foot massage because she ran to the bathroom and changed into summer pajamas. When she returned, I had already set up the Jacuzzi footbath. I gently lowered Kate's feet into the water and engaged the jets. She wiggled her feet around in the water, and it was apparent that she was enjoying herself.

As Kate soaked her feet, I brought her some chocolates and an iced beverage. She laughed and commented that she didn't get this kind of service at the spa she visited.

"I'm glad you're having a good time," I said. "If we reach a point where this isn't something you want to do anymore, just speak up."

"That won't happen," Kate laughed. "You've never seen me at the spa. I'm a glutton for foot massages, and yours are the best."

After basking in Kate's compliment for a moment, I put on the sponge shower gloves and began massaging Kate's feet with peppermint foot soap. The lather generated by these gloves was almost thicker than shaving cream. Kate loved the way the gloves and the lather felt against her feet, and she asked me to continue.

After twenty minutes, I was afraid the soapsuds would clog the jets on the footbath. I rinsed and dried Kate's feet and asked her to lie down on the bed. I elevated her feet and massaged them for a few minutes with a profuse amount of coconut foot cream.

Next, I helped Kate put on the moisturizing socks. I told her that she needed to wait for a while and let the socks moisturize her feet. She didn't mind, and she invited me to lie down next to her and talk for a while.

Kate wanted to know all about my social life and how things were going for me. Frankly, there weren't many people at my school that I had much in common with. I often suspected that I would have been happier in a larger city like New York or Chicago. Kate agreed with my assessment, and she was determined to introduce me to some of her friends.

My dating life had been very sporadic as well. There just weren't many girls at my school that I clicked with. The ones I had gone out with were very nice, but we just didn't have enough in common. In addition to the obvious lack of common interests, there were other issues. The last two girls I dated categorically hated foot massages and didn't like anyone touching their feet, something that Kate found quite funny.

"What kind of women are you meeting?" Kate asked. "I can't imagine any girl turning down a foot massage."

I didn't have a good answer for Kate, but she seemed to feel that she could solve my problem.

"When school starts, I'll have you come to visit," she said. "I'm sure there is someone at my school who you would hit it off with."

Kate and I continued our conversation. We were brainstorming about my social circumstances when she suddenly got an idea.

"I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner!" Kate said. "I do know someone who would love to meet you."

Kate explained that one of her friends, Kelly, would be perfect for me. She was very pretty, a good student, and despite the fact that Kelly's family had money, she was very down to earth. Kate also explained that Kelly loved going to a local spa for pedicures and foot massages, which is another reason she thought we might hit it off.

When Kate told me how pretty her friend was, I was a bit skeptical. I had been fixed up before, and those encounters were nothing less than frightening. Kate detected my skepticism and reached for her purse. She produced three photos of Kelly, and I was pleasantly surprised. Kelly was a pretty blonde, and in abstract, she looked a bit like Kelly Rippa.

"When we get home, I'll introduce you two," Kate promised.

I thanked Kate, and I removed the moisturizing socks so I could continue rubbing her feet. I applied a generous amount of coconut foot cream and massaged Kate's arches with some of her favorite techniques. Over the next two hours, I massaged Kate's feet as we talked. Sometime after midnight, Kate drifted off to sleep, and I decided to go to bed as well.

The next morning, Kate was in an incredibly good mood. She was enjoying our vacation, and she was determined to savor every last minute of it. Kate was also still behaving like a playful child.

She started jumping on the bed the way she did when we were kids. She invited me to join her, and then smacked me in the head with a pillow. As she stepped off of the bed, Kate was laughing, and she hugged me.

"Thanks for the foot massage you gave me last night," Kate said as she wiggled her toes. "My feet still feel wonderful this morning."

Kate and I were standing there talking when there was a knock at the door. It was Steve, and he had a copy of the morning newspaper for us. The headline read, "WORST STORM IN 65 YEARS". I still couldn't believe that such an enormous storm struck during the one weekend when Kate and I were on vacation.

Steve also brought us a complimentary hotel breakfast, and I thanked him again for helping us during the storm. After he left, Kate sat down at the table to eat. I was about to join her when she looked at me and started giggling.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Our conversation last night got me thinking about all of the things we used to do at grandmother's house when we were kids," Kate giggled. "I still remember how you used to sit at my feet during breakfast on Sunday mornings."

As we ate, Kate recounted her favorite memories of my many childhood foot games. Then she started talking about the day we spent together at my grandmother's house just a month earlier.

"You know, that was actually a lot of fun," she said. "I liked hanging out with you in grandfather's office. We haven't played together like that together in years."

"And?" I asked, hoping Kate would elaborate.

"I'm just saying that it was a lot of fun," Kate said as she placed her bare feet in my lap.

"Are you suggesting that we should play some of our old games right now?" I asked in the silliest voice I could muster.

"It might be fun," Kate laughed. "There's just something about being here without our parents that makes me feel like a little kid."

I shared Kate's feelings about our situation.

"Whenever I hang out with you it seems like I regress from being a young adult to being a six year old child," Kate said. "The upside is that we always have fun together."

While I believed that Kate was being sincere with me, I also suspected that she wanted to play these games for my benefit because she knew how much I would love it. Regardless of Kate's motives, there was no way I would have turned her down.

I already knew what I wanted to do first, and I began searching the dresser drawers as Kate watched me. I found a pen and some paper, and I set them down on the table. She just looked at me with a blank stare. She had no idea what these items were for.

I took Kate by the hand and led her to a corner of our room where there was a section of exposed hardwood floor. When I knelt in front of her and placed the paper on the floor, she realized what I was doing and smiled.

"What is so great about tracing my feet?" Kate laughed. "You used to fill entire notebooks with tracings of my feet when we were kids. I remember one afternoon when we were seven and you did this for over an hour."

"I don't know if I can explain it," I replied. "It's just always been one of my favorite things."

I provided Kate with a chair to hold onto so she wouldn't lose her balance. Then I centered her left foot on the stationary.

With Kate's foot in place, I began tracing. As my pen tickled its way around Kate's foot, her tendons started to flex and she scrunched her toes.

"Hee hee hee... this part always tickles," Kate giggled.

As my pen grazed Kate's arch, she started squirming and it was difficult for her to remain still. She had a huge involuntary smile on her face and she couldn't hold back the giggles.

On the outside edge of Kate's foot, I hit a number of ticklish spots. I dragged my pen from her smallest toe to her heel, and Kate squealed loudly and almost fell over. Somehow she managed to stay upright and keep her foot on the paper.

After tracing Kate's left foot, I repeated the process on her right foot. We did this eight times on each foot before moving on to the next of our activities.

Kate had expressed considerable enthusiasm about playing foot doctor. I was eager to do this as well because it was always my favorite game.

We rearranged the few pieces of hotel furniture that could be moved to try and create a makeshift lobby for the podiatrist's office. Then I ran into the bathroom and covered the countertop with pillows and blankets as I had done on Saturday. I was about to start the game when Kate stopped me.

"The forms," Kate smiled. "It wouldn't be the same without those forms you used to dream up."

Obviously I didn't have any forms with me, so I used the pen to improvise some forms and prescriptions on hotel stationary. This only took about five minutes, and Kate insisted on approving my work. When it was time to start the game, Kate stepped out of the room and returned in character.

"Hello again," I said. "It's good to see you. What brings you back?"

"I'm just here for a follow-up appointment," Kate replied.

"That would be fine," I said. "I know we've done this before, but I'll need you to fill out some forms before we start. Have a seat.

I handed Kate a pen and the forms I had scribbled down on hotel stationary. She thanked me and sat down at the table. It only took her a few minutes to fill everything out.

"I'm ready," Kate said.

"Good," I said. "Come with me please."

I escorted Kate to the bed and asked her to lie down. I propped her feet up on pillows and read her comments on the form. Then I pretended to examine her feet carefully for about three minutes.

"Have you stepped in dog poop recently?" I asked.

Kate laughed in response to my question.

"Yes doctor," Kate replied. "It happened just a few days ago. Is there a problem?"

"Well, you have contracted a bacterial skin infection," I said. "I'll have to scrub your feet with a special antibacterial soap, but you'll be fine. Come with me."

Kate commented that she loved the way I could improvise my storylines and diagnoses on the spot. She said that my storytelling and acting were probably her favorite part of our games of foot doctor. Then she encouraged me to continue the game.

I led Kate to the bathroom and had her lie face down on the counter with her feet hanging over the edge of the sink. I applied warm water and a profuse amount of peppermint foot soap to her feet. When her feet were covered in a rich lather, I produced an electric toothbrush. The moment those spinning bristles whirled to life, Kate screamed with ticklish laughter. To her credit, she remained in character.

"AAHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Kate screamed. "HEHEHEHEHE... DOCTOR!!! OH MY GOD IT TICKLES!!! PLEEEEEHEEE-HEE-HEEEEZE ST-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!"

"The tickling sensation means that the healing process has begun," I explained. "We want it to tickle."

"NO WE DON'T...HAHAHAHA!" Kate replied. "IT TEEEEHEEKLES TOO MUCH... PLEEEHEE-HEEEEZE ST-HA-HA-HAP DOCTOR!"

"Almost finished," I said in a gentle voice. "We just have to scrub the toes and then we're done."

Before Kate could protest, I applied the spinning bristles to her rapidly wiggling toes. I scrubbed the top and bottom of each toe and then went to work on the spaces in between. Kate screamed so loudly that I'm surprised someone didn't call the police.

"Alright," I said. "I'm finished. We can stop now."

Kate's breath was coming in heaves, and I allowed her a few minutes to compose herself. As I walked Kate back to the other room, she was still giggling and wiping tears from her eyes.

"Doctor, that it is the hardest you've ever tickled me," Kate said with a smile as she punched me in the chest.

"Sorry dear," I replied trying to sound sincere.

"I'll just bet you are," she said sarcastically.

I asked Kate to lie down on the bed and propped her feet up with pillows. Then I prepared to continue the game.

"I think that went well," I explained. "I just need to perform a brief examination to look for signs of swelling or soreness. Let me know if you feel any pain as I'm touching your feet."

I began the examination with a series of deep massage techniques that seemed to help Kate relax. There was no way I could justify torturing her again, so I decided to apply the gentle tickling techniques which had worked so well the night before. Using a delicate touch, I probed the most ticklish areas of Kate's feet. Within seconds, she was gently wiggling her toes and smiling.

"Just try to relax and tell me how this feels," I said while remaining in character.

"Doctor... ha-ha-ha... it tickles... hee hee hee," Kate giggled.

"It's just a little tickling therapy," I explained.

I continued the tickling for another minute, during which I slightly increased the intensity. Kate began to fidget and an endless stream of giggles resonated somewhere deep within her chest. At that point, I felt it was best to stop before Kate felt overwhelmed.

"Well, you seem quite healthy," I explained. "I'd like to refer you to a specialist for foot massage therapy. Did you like the person I sent you to last time?"

"Oh yes," Kate said. "He's got a raging foot fetish and he's a little odd, but he's also very sweet and he gives the best foot massages ever."

Kate punctuated her remarks by extending her foot and pinching my nose between her toes.

"Well, I'll write an authorization for you to see him," I said. "I'd like you to have at least two foot massages before you get home tonight."

Kate laughed when she heard my instructions.

"I think I can fit that into my schedule," she said as she winked at me.

When we finished playing foot doctor, Kate just looked at me and giggled. There was still one more game left to play.

In the end, we didn't play a true game of shoe store. Instead, Kate sat on the table while I sat beneath her in a chair and helped her try on all of the new shoes she just purchased. Partway through the process, Kate started giggling as more childhood memories began to surface.

"I remember when we were about seven years old," Kate laughed. "That shoe store near grandmother's house went out of business and they sold a bunch of their furniture and equipment really cheap. You actually took some of your birthday money and bought one of those Brannock foot-measuring tools for our games of shoe store."

"It was my hobby and I took it very seriously," I responded while trying to sound almost credible.

It really was funny that I was so into women's feet by such a young age, and both of us sat there and laughed about it for a few minutes. Then the conversation shifted to talk of Kate's dating life. She was genuinely interested in catching Ben's attention, and she asked me for more pointers.

"Well, for starters, that thing you do when you arch your foot and let your shoe dangle from your toes... that just about kills me," I said. "Do that a few times and he'll be yours, assuming that he really does like women's feet."

Kate thought all of this was incredibly funny, but she sincerely appreciated my feedback. I looked at the clock and realized that we had been playing foot games for nearly two hours. We both agreed that it was time to venture out and get on with our vacation.

Kate and I showered, changed, and left our room to visit the Belmont's souvenir shop. On previous vacations, our parents strictly limited how many souvenirs we could buy (and looking back on it, I really don't blame them). For the first time, we were here on our own, and there were no restrictions. Kate and I gleefully bought every postcard, decorative shot-glass, cigarette lighter, and trashy tourist trinket that we could find.

We decided to check out a little early so we wouldn't have to rush back to the hotel at mid-day to sign out. It didn't take us long to pack, although I laughed when I realized that my foot massage supplies seemed to weigh as much as the rest of my luggage.

It was a perfect day outside, and Kate wanted to explore the town. We found that our favorite tourist attractions were open again, and we visited them all. A few hours later, it was time to think about lunch. Kate and I stared at each other and laughed as we mutually decided that we should go back to Salundino's one last time.

"If that creepy waiter is there again today, I want to have some fun with him," Kate said.

We got to the restaurant, and sure enough, our favorite waiter was still there. He stared at us briefly as we walked to the corner booth. While he was still looking, Kate made sure that he noticed as she removed her shoes and socks and placed her bare feet in my lap. As I started massaging Kate's feet, he rolled his eyes at us and went about his business. I was pleased when a different waiter came to serve us. The new waiter was a young woman, and she thought it was sweet that I was giving Kate a foot massage during her lunch.

The pizza was fantastic, and I honestly think I could have eaten it for a few more consecutive meals. Kate and I had a great conversation during our meal. Although I was rubbing her feet under the table, we didn't talk about my foot fetish at all.

With lunch out of the way, it was time get going. There were several places I wanted to take Kate on the way home, and I wanted to make sure we'd have plenty of extra time.

Our first stop was a quaint countryside market called "The Barn". They squeezed all of their fruit juices fresh on site, and they also made these incredible apple cider Popsicles that had always been Kate's favorite. I bought one for each of us and we sat down at a table.

Kate was feeling very nostalgic. This was a place our grandfather loved, and we'd been there many times before. The two of us sat there talking and absorbing the atmosphere of the place as we finished our Popsicles. At Kate's request, we stayed at the market for almost an hour before moving on.

The traffic was very light, and we made a number of stops at picnic areas we'd been to on prior vacations. Then we came upon Lake Winnetka. When we were children, our parents almost had to bodily drag us from the lake.

The shoreline was adorned with beautiful rocks that had been naturally polished over time by the waves crashing the beach. Kate and I used to spend hours gathering rocks to take home with us. I still have at least a few boxes of those rocks in my basement. The rest ended up scattered in my grandmother's flower garden.

Monday was not a busy tourism day for the lake, and Kate and I were the only ones on that portion of the shore. We found a picnic table in a scenic spot overlooking the water and sat down. I'm not really sure how long we stayed there talking, but we had a good time just being together. As we got back to the car, I noticed that Kate was walking with a limp. Once we were seated in the car I questioned her about it.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I think I got a bunch of little rocks in my shoes when we were down on the beach," she replied.

I immediately recognized this as a golden opportunity and graciously volunteered to remove the rocks from Kate's shoes. Before should could accept or decline my offer, I grabbed her ankles and lifted her feet into my lap.

It only took me a few seconds to remove Kate's shoes, and I don't even have the words to describe how cute her feet looked in those silky white ankle socks. Sure enough, there were about a dozen small pebbles in Kate's shoes. I tossed them out the window, and then I started pulling Kate's socks off.

"Um, I doubt there's anything in my socks," Kate smiled, knowing what I was up to.

"Better safe than sorry," I said. "Besides, I should check and make sure you didn't injure your feet on those pebbles."

Kate giggled at my ability to improvise excuses for playing with her feet, but she didn't protest. She sat there willingly as I finished removing her socks.

There was suddenly a distinct aroma in the car, and I raised Kate's feet to my nose and inhaled deeply. Even after all of these hours, her feet still smelled strongly of peppermint and coconut foot massage products, with just a hint of floral scent as well. Kate howled with laughter at the sight of me smelling her feet.

Over the next few minutes, the car got very quiet. I knew that we would be going home soon, and this might be my last good foot tickling opportunity of the day. The expression on my face must have given me away because Kate stared at me with a growing smile, and she seemed to know that I was planning some additional foot fun.

"Foot monster, what are you thinking?" Kate asked in a silly voice.

Kate had been really wonderful to me that weekend. For three days, she had gone to great lengths to make sure that I wasn't feeling dirty or guilty about my foot fetish, and she had shared her feet with me willingly. I didn't feel it would have been right to tickle-torture her at that moment, so I stroked the soles of her feet with one of my gentlest techniques as she began to laugh and squirm.

"HAHAHA...hee hee hee... I knew it... ho-ho-ho," Kate giggled. "Hee hee hee... I knew you would tickle my feet before we got home... ha-ha-ha!"

"I promise I'll be gentle, so just relax," I said.

For the next five minutes, Kate sat patiently as I tickled her feet and made her laugh. I think she appreciated the fact that I was respecting her limits. Her feet flexed and her toes wiggled as she freely giggled in response to my techniques. A few minutes later, she playfully protested as I dug into her arches a bit more deeply.

"EEEEEEEK...he-he-he-he-he-he... cut it out... hohoho... that's my worst tickle spot...haaheee hee hee heeeee," Kate squealed. "HAHAHAHAHAHA... that really ti-hi-hi-hi-hi-hickles... HAHAHA!"

"Just hang on a few minutes longer", I said. "Kitchy kitchy coo!"

Kate was still doing her best to cooperate, and I didn't want to ruin things. I kept my techniques gentle as I casually raked my fingernails over the balls of her feet and snaked my fingers in between her toes. These areas proved to be extremely ticklish, and my techniques produced quite a reaction from Kate.

"AAHHHHHHHHHH!" she laughed. "HEHEHEHEHE... watch the toes! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... not between my toes... hoo hoo hoo... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

" Kitchy kitchy coo!!!" I teased.

"HEHEHEHEHE... oh my... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... hoo hoo hoo... HAHAHA... how much more?" Kate asked. "HAHAHAHA!"

"If you'll let me go a little faster, I can be done in about two minutes," I said.

Kate knew that my faster techniques would tickle more, but she wanted to get the tickling over with so she told me to go ahead.

"Here we go," I said in a teasing voice.

I scribbled my fingers up and down Kate's soles as wildly and deeply as possible, and she responded by arching her back and repeatedly launching herself off of the seat.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA GAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHD!!!" Kate screamed. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! PLEEEEEHEEE-HEE-HEEEEZE... IT TEEEHEEHEEKLES! HEHEHEHEHE...ST-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!!!"

" Kitchy kitchy coo!!!" I teased. "Tickle tickle tickle!"

"AAHHHHHHHHH... TEEEHEEHEEKLES TOO MUCH... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH," Kate screamed. "PLEEEHEEEEZE ST-HA-HAP... HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!"

My techniques were literally proving to be torture for Kate, and I just couldn't bring myself to continue. When I stopped, she sat there panting for a few minutes, and she never stopped smiling.

"I haven't laughed that hard since I was a little girl," Kate giggled in a breathless voice.

Once Kate had recovered, she put her shoes and socks back on and we resumed our drive home. We had been back on the road for about an hour when I veered off of the highway and took us to a place called Benjamin Falls. It was deep inside of a state park, and many tourists seemed to overlook it.

Benjamin Falls was so small that I'm not sure it would fit the legal definition of a waterfall. It was located on Indian Creek, a small stream that ran through the county. The waterfall itself only dropped a little more than fifteen feet. Regardless of the definitions, it was a beautiful place.

The banks on either side of the stream were covered in wildflowers, and the grass was a deep, rich green. There was an oak picnic shelter just a short walk from the parking lot, and it had a drinking fountain that was tapped directly into a fresh-water spring. This had always been one of Kate's favorite places to visit.

I grabbed a lawn chair and my sports bag from the car and escorted Kate to the picnic shelter. She honestly had no idea what I was up to, and she seemed to think we were going for a walk. When we got to the shelter, I told her to have a seat and wait for me. She was very suspicious of my efforts, but she complied.

A short walk from the picnic shelter, there was a grassy knoll near a grove of trees. That's where I decided to set up my supplies. I spread out a large picnic blanket and set the lawn chair in the middle of it. My collection of foot massage supplies had grown considerably on our trip, and I spread them out on a towel next to the lawn chair. I also nuked the area with a fogger to keep away any mosquitoes.

I had two small presents for Kate and a cooler with some beverages, and I placed those next to the lawn chair. The last item in my sports bag was a pair of pink bedroom slippers. I took those and ran back to the shelter to get Kate. When I arrived, Kate stared at me with a curious smile.

"I need you to take off your shoes and socks," I said. "Then you can come with me."

I'm pretty sure that Kate was expecting me to tickle her again, but with a little coaxing, she did as I asked and put on the slippers. When we reached the clearing, Kate looked like a little kid in a candy store.

"Is this for me?" she asked gleefully.

"I did promise you another foot massage, and I thought this might be a nice setting," I explained. "But if you don't want to do this, just tell me and I'll drive you home."

"Are you kidding?" Kate asked. "This is probably the sweetest thing anyone has done for me in a long time. You're not getting out of this!"

With Kate all but ordering me to proceed, I knelt beside the chair and served her a glass of chilled soda and more of the expensive chocolates I had purchased at the Belmont. Then I handed her two presents and assumed my position at the end of the lawn chair and removed her slippers.

Kate had always loved receiving presents, and she ripped through the wrapping paper in a matter of seconds. Her first present was a t-shirt with the front page of the local newspaper printed on it.

"This was the first time you ever survived a bad storm far away from home," I said. "I thought this t-shirt with the storm headline on it might be a nice souvenir."

Kate thanked me and opened her second present. It was a box of Granola bars and complimentary breakfast from the Belmont, including a plastic bag full of with sample containers of butter and jelly.

"I thought this might be a nice reminder of the breakfast we shared together during the storm," I said in a lighthearted tone.

"Trust me, I'll never forget that breakfast or the things you had to go through to get it for me," Kate said with a smile. "That storm was so loud, and I can't imagine what it must have been like for you running around that huge dark room with the skylights blown out looking for food. I'll never forget what you did."

"It's okay," I said as I held Kate's feet up to my face. "You've been really good to me this weekend, so we're even."

Kate didn't agree that we were even, but we didn't argue about it. More than an hour passed as I massaged Kate's feet with the relaxing sounds of the waterfall in the background. Kate was slowly wiggling her toes in response to my massage techniques, and she was looking very comfortable as she studied the beautiful scenery. Then she made a comment that really threw me.

"This is so sad," Kate said. "As a matter of fact it's just a tiny bit pathetic."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

I thought Kate meant that I was doing something wrong, or that the place I had chosen was dumb. Then she explained herself.

"The past few guys I've dated just weren't the type who would ever do something really sweet like what you're doing for me now," Kate said. "If I want to be taken to a beautiful waterfall in the woods for a cozy picnic, presents, and a foot massage, I have to turn to my cousin!"

Kate delivered her last statement with her trademark hand gestures and comic delivery. It took me a moment to stop laughing so I could respond.

"How do you think I feel?" I asked sarcastically. "The only woman in my life with pretty feet who likes foot massages is my cousin!"

Kate found my comments extremely funny and both of us laughed.

"When we get home I promise to find you a pretty girl who loves foot massages," Kate said. "I still think Kelly is going to flip when I tell her about you. She is always talking about the foot massages she gets at the spa, and I just can't help but feel that you two would get along really well."

I was thrilled by the prospect of meeting Kelly, and Kate promised to introduce us sometime after we got home. I was already looking forward to it.

For the next two hours, I massaged Kate's feet with every technique I knew. I don't think I've ever seen her quite that relaxed. Eventually, we realized that we needed to get back on the road.

As I drove, we talked about our childhood at length. We replayed every childhood incident we could think of, many of which had nothing to do with feet. My personal favorite was the time Kate glued her hands to my grandmother's brand new refrigerator with Crazy Glue and I managed to free her with nail polish remover before any of the adults found out what happened.

By the time we reached town, a mood of childlike silliness had overtaken us both. As we approached my grandmother's house, Kate looked at me and started giggling. It took us a few moments to compose ourselves before going inside. I hoped nobody would notice that we both smelled of coconut foot cream, and I had a footprint on the back of my shirt where Kate had kicked me while her foot was lubricated with massage lotion.

Everyone was very happy to see us, especially our grandmother. After we all visited and the adults had a chance to interrogate us about our trip, Kate's parents announced that they needed to be going. Kate and I said our goodbyes, and she giggled as she looked back at me on her way out the door.

The following weekend, my parents went on a trip of their own. A casino had opened in a town five hours away, and they left on Friday morning. I was a non-drinker, and I'd never been known for throwing wild parties, so my parents let me stay behind.

I thought it would be fun to have a few guests for the weekend. Unfortunately, when Friday evening rolled around, my friends all had dates or other plans. I called Kate and she said she couldn't make it, although she did grill me about my plans. I didn't appear to have any options left, so I resigned myself to a boring evening of hanging out in an empty house watching television.

It got to be seven o'clock, and I was flipping through the television channels when I heard someone knock. I opened the door and found that Kate had come to surprise me. This wasn't that unusual. Kate had popped in to visit me a number of times since she got her license. I welcomed her in and tried to close the door. That's when I discovered there was someone else behind Kate. It was her friend, Kelly.

Although I had already seen her picture, I couldn't get over how beautiful Kelly she was. She had incredible blue eyes, a gorgeous smile, and a fantastic figure. She was wearing an expensive black leather coat, a white blouse, jeans, and a pair of open heels with straps. Kelly's feet were flawless. She had shapely ankles, curvaceous arches, and long slender toes painted in one of my favorite shades of red.

I'm ashamed to admit this, but I wasn't terribly well composed. In less than a minute I had gone from being alone and bored to having this beautiful young woman standing in my living room. I simply wasn't prepared, and for a moment, I alternated between gazing into Kelly's eyes and staring at her feet. I must have had an extremely stupid expression on my face because Kate reached over and closed my mouth with her hand.

"Your jaw was on the floor sweetie," Kate whispered into my ear. "When you have a second, it might be a good idea to put your eyes back in their sockets too. Just a suggestion."

I stood there speechless for another moment, continuing to stare at Kelly's feet. Kate noticed, and she leaned over to whisper in Kelly's ear.

"My cousin really likes your feet," Kate said.

Kelly thought my reactions to her were cute, and both girls started giggling. Kate decided to have mercy on me by breaking the ice and introducing us.

"Foot monster, this is my friend Kelly," Kate said. "Kelly, this is my cousin. He's a really nice guy and he gives the best foot massages in the world."

I was mildly embarrassed that Kate had addressed me by my childhood nickname in front of her friend. All was forgiven when Kelly walked over and hugged me.

"Kate has told me all about you," Kelly said. "She thought it might be fun for all of us to hang out together this weekend."

By the end of the weekend, I almost felt like I had tendonitis in my wrists from giving Kate and Kelly so many foot massages and playful tickles. It was worth it though, and I'm pleased to report that I had several other fun experiences with Kelly in the months that followed.

My parents returned on Sunday, and the house looked flawless. There was no visible evidence to show that I had entertained guests. There was still a strong scent of flowers, coconut, and peppermint that hung in the air. My mother inquired about the scent, and I feigned ignorance.

"I have no idea where that scent came from," I said as I casually retreated to my room.

To this day, I haven't said a word.