A Ticklish Problem

A TICKLISH PROBLEM by William Cooper Jae shut the lid of his laptop and leaned back in the bed. He turned his gaze to Kai, his best friend since they were toddlers. Kai sat only inches from him, hunched over a textbook and notebook. Jae couldn’t help but notice how cute Kai was when he was focused. Then again, he always thought Kai was cute. He had that boyish charm to him that always made Jae's heart melt every time he saw Kai smile. Jae slid his hand up Kai’s back, rubbing ever so gently. Kai rolled his eyes at his best friend and gently pushed him away before turning back to the text book. “Stop that. I’m studying.” Jae pouted. “You’re always studying!” “Because I have to keep my grades up. You know if I get anything less than a 4.0, my parents will murder me.” Jae returned his hand to Kai’s back and started rubbing him again. “You need to relax a bit. You’ll do fine in your class. Besides, your parents aren’t that bad.” “Yes, they are.” Kai gently pushed Jae away again. “Just because your parents are more easy going and just want you to be happy and try your best doesn’t mean mine are.” Kai sighed. “You know my father is very traditional. If I do anything other than get perfect grades, a good job, and marry a nice Chinese girl, my father will disembowel me himself.” “You’re nineteen now, Kai. You can’t let your father rule you forever.” Kai sighed and leaned back against the headboard. “Easy for you to say. Your family is rich, you’ve already got a fortune to your name. If I disobey my father, I’ll be stuck paying for school and my bills by myself.” Jae pulled Kai to him and planted a kiss on Kai’s tender lips. “Do you really think

I’d leave you stranded? Come on Kai! We’ve been dating for a year now and we’ve been best friends for longer than I can remember. You know I’d help you out.” “I know you would but I don’t want you to. It’d feel too much like I was taking your charity. I’ve only got a little over two years of school left. Once I have my degree, we’ll figure out what to do about my parent’s, okay?” Kai looked over a Jae and pleaded with him. Jae nodded. He understood Jae's worries. Kai's father could be a real ass if he didn't get his way. “Just promise me you’ll relax a bit more. If you keep studying twenty-four-seven like this you’re going to make yourself sick.” “I’ll try, I promise.” Kai turned and gave Jae a quick kiss on the cheek before turned his focus back to his text book. **** That night, as I was lying in bed not thinking of much of anything, Kai whispered into my ear. “You still awake?” Kai was spooned behind me with his arm draped over my chest. “Yeah, why?” “Can I ask you something?” “Of course.” I could only imagine what was going through his mind this late at night. “Why do you stay with me?” I couldn’t see Kai’s face, but I could picture him nibbling on his bottom lip. It was a habit he had had ever since he was little. “What do you mean?” Why wouldn’t I stay with him? “I mean... why have you stayed my boyfriend for so long? We’ve been dating

for over a year now and we haven’t done anything but hug and kiss....” I rolled over until I was facing Kai. He was indeed chewing on his bottom lip. “I’ve told you before, I love you. Sex isn’t all there is for a relationship, you know. I mean, I’d love to have sex with you,” Kai smiled slightly, “but that’s not the most important thing in the relationship.” Jae pressed his lips to Kai’s for a chaste kiss. “I love you. Always have, always will.” **** The following afternoon, Jae was tackled to the floor as soon as he walked into their shared dorm room. Kai straddled his hips and grinned down at Jae. "In a good mood, are we?" Jae asked. Kai responded to Jae's question by mashing his lips against Jae's and grinding his ass against Jae's crotch. Jae moaned into his lover's mouth as he arched his hips up to rub his hardening cock against Kai. He had no idea what had gotten into Kai, but at that moment, he really didn't care. Kai moved off of Jae, keeping their lips together, and pulled him toward the beds. Kai fell backwards onto the mess of blankets that was Jae's bed, pulling Jae down on top of him. When Kai moved his hands down to undo Jae's belt, Jae stopped him and pulled apart. "What's going on?" Kai shrugged. "Nothing... I just think it's time." "Why now?" "I've been thinking about it since last night and you're right. My grades are fine and this is something I've wanted to do for a while. So I figured why not now." Kai grinned up at Jae and pulled him back into a kiss. Jae pulled back again. "Are you sure?" When Kai rolled his eyes, Jae grinned at

him. "Okay, okay. I just wanted to be sure!" Jae brought his lips back to Kai's and slipped his tongue in to Kai's mouth as he slid his hands down to undo Kai's jeans. Kai moaned when Jae grasped his hard cock. It wasn't long before both boys were naked and grinding their bare cocks together. "How far do you want to go?" Jae asked between breaths. "Not all the way." Kai blushed. "Is that okay?" Jae kissed his way along Kai's jaw line. "Of course it is. How 'bout we just suck each other off?" Kai moaned as Jae started licking along his jaw. "Sounds good to me." Jae gave Kai a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to face Kai's cock. Kai almost came right away when Jae flicked his tongue across the head of Kai's dick. "Fuck that feels good," Kai said between pants. Once he was sure he wasn't going to come instantly, he reached up and grasped Jae's dick. Tentatively he slid his tongue out and ran it across the tip. Jae moaned as precum started to leak out of his shaft. Kai took this as encouragement and let his tongue explore more and more of Jae's throbbing member. Kai tried his best to mimic everything Jae was doing to his cock. He licked up and down Jae's shaft, suckled on his balls, and teased the head of Jae's dick. He wasn't sure how good of a job he was doing, but judging by the shivers that would go through Jae's body, he assumed he was doing decently. Jae, however, was sucking his cock like a pro. Every little thing Jae did with his tongue sent jolts of pleasure through Kai's body. Quite a few times, if Jae's dick hadn't been in his mouth, Kai would've moaned loud enough the people in the next room probably would've heard him. It wasn't long before Kai was practically shoving his cock down Jae's throat. He

pulled off of Jae's did and moaned out. "God, I'm close. You better pull off." In response, Jae took Kai's cock deeper and starting humming. Kai moaned out. "Fuck fuck fuck." The pleasure going through his body as he shot off was enough to cause him to see stars. After a few seconds of lying there panting, Kai grinned at Jae before taking Jae's cock into his mouth once more. He licked around the head while his hands played with Jae's shaft and balls. "I'm coming," Jae wheezed out. Seconds later, Jae's cum shot into Kai's mouth. Kai pulled off after the first shot and the rest covered his face. When Jae's orgasm subsided, he looked over at Kai and grinned. "That was amazing." He turned and grabbed some tissues off the nightstand between their bed and started to wipe the cum off Kai's face. "Really?" Kai looked at Jae hopefully. "I wasn't sure if I was doing it right, so I was just kinda trying to copy what you had done to me." Jae laid down next to Kai and laid his head on Kai's shoulder. "You were perfect." He ran his hands up and down Kai's chest. "It was a million times better than I ever could've imagined." Kai squirmed a bit as Jae caressed his chest. "Stop that, it tickles." "It tickles, huh?" Jae's smile widened. "Then I guess this will too!" He turned and began to mercilessly tickle Kai. Kai squirmed and tried to fight off Jae, but eventually became nothing more than a ball of giggles. "Okay okay! Stop!" Kai said between laughs. He glared at Jae when Jae stopped tickling him. "You're such an ass. You know I'm ticklish!" Jae laughed and kissed Kai on the cheek. "I know, but you're cute when you laugh."

Kai's face turned a light pink as he blushed. "I love you, Jae." "Love you too, Kai," Jae whispered into his ear." **** A few days later Jae and Kai were both hunched over their textbooks preparing for their final exams. As much as Jae teased Kai about having his nose in the books, Jae wasn’t much better. Both guys were startled out of their own little worlds when Kai’s cellphone went off. Once he found the phone under the pile of papers that covered his desk and flipped out open. “Yeah?” “Yeah, bro. What’s up? Is something wrong?” Kai’s face scrunched up in concern. “Yeah. Relax, Li, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Kai stood up and stuffed his phone in his pocket. I turned my swivel chair to face him. “What’s going on?” Kai sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “Something happened at home. Li was crying and asked me to pick him up at the park by our house.” “Shit any idea what happened?” Kai shook his head. “He just asked me to come get him. I figure I’ve got a better shot of finding out if I ask him in person.” “Want me to go with you?” “Would you?” The hopeful look on Kai’s face did something to Jae’s heart. “Of course.” He stood up from his desk and grabbed his own phone then grabbed his keys and wallet from the desk drawer. “Your car or mine?”

“We’ll take mine. I just put gas in it.” As the two walked down to the car, Jae slipped his arm around Kai’s waist. “Relax. I’m sure everything will be fine.” “Yeah, I know. I’m just trying to figure out what the hell Li got himself into that’s got him so upset. I don’t think I’ve heard the kid cry since he was little.” Jae laughed. “Then you’re not doing a very good job as a big brother!” **** When Jae pulled up at the park, Kai immediately spotted his brother hunched over on a bench near the soccer fields, crying. "Wait here," Kai said as he jumped out of the car. Kai tried to stay calm as he walked over to his brother. He sat down on the bench and put his arm around Li. "Hey, bro." Li turned to Kai and buried his face in Kai's chest. Kai instinctively wrapped his arms around his brother. "What happened?" Li mumbled something unintelligible into Kai's chest. "Relax and take a deep breath. I can't understand anything you're saying." Li took a couple deep breaths before he could talk. "I was in my room and Blake and I were kissing and Dad came in and got really mad and started yelling at me and calling me a name and then he kicked Blake out and started yelling at me some more so I ran into my room and locked the door and then crawled out the window and ran here and then called you and now you know that I'm gay and now you'll hate me too just like Dad." Kai blinked a couple times trying to decode Li's erratic speech. Then everything clicked in his head. Shit. Li was gay? Were he and Blake dating? "Relax, Li. I don't hate you." Kai patted his brother's back a bit to calm him down some more. "Why don't you come with me and Jae back to the dorm for a while and we can sit and talk? Sound good?"

Li nodded and let his brother pulled him toward the car. Once they were both in the car, Jae started driving back toward campus. He kept glancing at the rearview mirror at Li, making sure the kid was okay. When he glanced down at the dash he saw it was almost seven. "Should we grab something to eat on the way back?" Kai shrugged and turn to look at his brother. "Have you eaten anything yet?" Li shook his head and Kai turned back to Jae. "Yeah, let's grab a pizza on the way to campus." Half an hour later they arrived at their dorm with two large pieces and a two liter of Coke. Li still hadn't said anything since the park. Kai couldn't help feeling bad for his brother. That could've been him four years ago if he had allowed himself to fool around with Jae. Once they were all in the dorm with their share of pizza and coke, Kai turned to his brother. "Now what happened? Start from the beginning." Li's face blushed and he glanced toward Jae. Kai reached over to his brother and put his hand on Li's shoulder. "Relax, he's cool. He won't care, I promise." Li nodded and turned his gaze to his pizza. "Well you know Blake, right? Well, he was dropping hints that he liked me as more than a friend last year. I finally got up the courage and asked him if he liked me and when he said yes, I asked him to be my boyfriend." Li took a deep breath. "So we've been kinda dating for like a year now. You know how we'd go to his house after school? Well if we were home alone we'd fool around a bit." "What do you mean fool around?" Kai asked. Li's face turned red and he still wouldn't look up at his brother. "We'd just kiss and sometimes... sometimes we'd touch each other... We weren't having sex or

anything just messin' around." "It's okay, go on." Li nodded and continued his story. "Well, we knew his sister would be home today 'cause she didn't have lacrosse practice after school. And since Mom was visiting her sister today and Dad was supposed to be working late, we went to our house. We were in my room lying in bed kissing and kinda rubbing each other through our jeans when Dad came in." Kai sighed and rubbed his temples. "You and Blake shouldn't have been messing around at home. You know how Dad feels about gays." Li had heard enough of their father's rants at the TV any time something remotely gay came on. He should've been more careful not to get caught. Li nodded and used the back of his hand to wipe away the tears that were starting to form. Kai reached over and gently rubbed his brother's back. "Relax, Li. I don't care if you're gay. I'm not Dad." "Really?" For the first time in the conversation, Li looked up at Kai. His face was full of hope that his brother wouldn't hate him. Kai nodded. "Yeah, I don't care." He glanced over at Jae and saw Jae nod slightly. Taking a deep breath, Kai smiled at his brother. "In fact, I'm gay too." Li's eyes bugled. "No way! Now you're just messin' with me! That's not funny, Kai." "I'm serious. Jae and I have been dating a little over a year now." Li sat there stunned as he looked at Jae and Kai. When his shock wore off, Li turned and punched Kai in the shoulder. "You're an ass! Why didn't you ever say anything to me?"

Kai shrugged and looked away. "I didn't even really admit it to myself until half way through my senior year. I kept telling myself it was just a phase and that I'd grow out of it and eventually fall in love with a nice Chinese girl like Dad's always drilled into my head." "I tried that too. But I couldn't deny it. I really like Blake and he likes me. But now Dad knows and he's pissed. God he's going to kill me." Tears began to form at the edges of Li's eyes again. Kai reached over and patted his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, we'll figure something out. You can stay here tonight and tomorrow morning I'll take you home and we'll sort everything out. Okay?" Li nodded. "Yeah, okay." **** After Li had fallen asleep in Kai's bed, Kai and Jae crept out of the dorm to walk around campus. Since it was dark and the campus was fairly empty, the two held hands as they walked. "Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Jae asked. Kai nodded. "A little bit. I'm not sure what I'll do if Li's right and Dad does freak out. I keep hoping he'll come to his senses and realize Li's his son, but I doubt he will." "We can always get a place off campus together and Li can live with us. The apartments just off campus aren't expensive. We could afford one easily." Kai looked over at Jae. "You mean you could afford one easily. I doubt my father would pay for an apartment for me to live in with Li if he kicks Li out." Jae rolled his eyes. "Why are you always so fixated on money? I've told you

before I don't mind sharing what I have with you. You don't have to worry about that." "I know, I know. I just feel like if I did that I'd be living off your charity." Kai sighed. "I'm probably over thinking things, but I can't help it. If we have to do that, I'll get a part-time job or something and pay some of the bills. That way you're not paying for everything. Okay?" Jae laughed and kissed Kai on the cheek. "If that'll make you feel better, then it's okay with me." The two walked in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other's company. After a few minutes, Kai started chewing on his lip as he glanced up at Jae. "Jae?" "Hmm?" "What would you think if I came out to my parents tomorrow?" Jae stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to face Kai and watched him. "You're going to come out?" "I don't know, maybe." Kai looked down at the ground and kicked the dirt. "I figure if Li is out to them, there's no point in me lying to them anymore." "If you want to come out to your family, I'll support you. But you don't have to, I'll back you up either way." Kai wrapped his arms around Jae and squeezed. "Thanks. You're amazing." **** Kai patted his brother's back and gave him an encouraging smile. "You can do this. Everything will be fine." "But what if it's not? What if he tells me to leave and not come back?"

Kai took a deep breath and looked Li in the eye. "Then we both leave. If he throws you out, then he loses both of us. I'm tired of hiding everything. I'm tired of putting his wants first and what I want second." Li stared at him with his mouth open. "You're really going to come out to him?" Kai nodded. "Does Jae know?" "Yup, we discussed it together last night. He said he'll support me either way." Li smiled and gave Kai a quick hug. "Then I guess we better get it over with." Li took a deep breath and opened the door. The two of them walked in together and found their parents both sitting in the living room. Their father looked up at them when they walked in and glared at Li. "What are you doing back here? I figured you'd be long gone by now. I told you, you're not my son anymore." Kai glared at his father in return. "You don't have to be an ass to him, Dad." "Excuse me? I can talk to him how ever I want. What he was doing with that friend of his was disgusting." Their father stood and crossed his arms. "I want him out of here." Kai crossed his arms in a similar manner, while Li had shrunk back behind his brother. "It's not disgusting. It's called being gay and there's nothing wrong with it." Kai looked over at his mother. "Are you just going to let him insult Li like that?" Their mother just blushed and looked down at her lap. Kai sighed and shook his head. "I guess it was too much to ask for you to

understand us and be there for us." Their mother's head snapped up. "Us? You're gay too?!" "Yes, Mother, I am." Kai tried to remain calm, but his brain was on overdrive. His heart started pounding so hard he was sure Li could hear it. Their father's eyes bulged and his anger increased. "This isn't something to joke about, Kai." "I'm not joking." Kai glared at his father. "I'm gay. Always have been, always will be. And if you can't accept that, then we're leaving." "Then leave! Get out of here and don't come back." "We'll leave, but we'll be back for Li's stuff another day. Preferably when you're not here to get in our way." With that, Kai turned and walked out of the house, Li barely trailing behind him. Once they were both outside, Kai leaned against the house and sighed. He could still hear his father ranting inside to his mother. "I can't believe you stood up to him like that!" Kai let out a laugh. "Neither can I. I'm shaking from it." Kai held his arm up to show Li that he was indeed shaking. "I thought he was going to punch me any minute." "What do we do now?" Kai shrugged. "We head back to the dorm. You can stay there with Jae and I until we can find an apartment off campus." Kai stood up straight and put his arm around Li's shoulders. "Maybe Dad will come to his senses." Li snorted. "I doubt it." THE END

Author bio: William Cooper began writing at the age of twelve. Now, he spends hours each day sitting at his desk typing away on his computer. Most of his time is spent either reading, writing, or editing gay romances. He currently has four pieces published – three contemporary short stories with Dreamspinner Press and one twincest novella with Silver Publishing. You can also find his story "Christmas Gifts" in the free anthology Stuff My Stocking: M/M Romance Stories that are Nice and… Naughty.