#7 of 100

“You aren’t fooling anyone with this little act,” Elizabeth tells Cindy, wobbling back and forth to keep her balance on her, “I clearly remember you letting Ariel do this a couple weeks ago, and I know she does this to you all the time,” referring to Christie, “so why are you trying so hard to get me off?”

“Because I have to pee,” Cindy pleads with a grip on her friends ankles to get her feet to stop moving.

“Why didn’t you just say so then,” Elizabeth says with a sly grin and a quick, firm hop on the stomach before stepping off.

Cindy huffs in relief and sits up, “It’s hard to speak with you two constantly crushing my full bladder.”

“Hey! We’re not that heavy,” Elizabeth quips.

“Yeah, and since when has trampling ever lead to you having to pee?” Christie asks Cindy.

“Since someone insisted that I have water to keep me hydrated after working up a sweat,” she replies, smacking her lightly on the leg before getting up and heading off to the bathroom. “Besides, with what you’ve been teaching her today, you don’t make it easy to hold it in.”

“We were going to wait for Brian to get here, but you’re the one who volunteered to get on the floor first.”

Cindy softly chuckles with sarcasm, “Yeah yeah, sure sure,” as she leaves the room.

“Yeah, she was turned on,” Elizabeth says to Christie, turning back to the couch, “I heard that little whimper you tried to cover for her.”

Christie giggles, “Your toes are more talented than she was expecting,” following her over and taking a seat with her.

“I’m only as good as my mentor.”

“Mmmhm, charmed. I only gave you suggestions though. The rest was all you.”

“If I recall right, you gave me similar suggestions when we walked on Brian last time. Something tells me that trampling isn’t your only Fetish, chica.”

“What,” Christie replies in an innocent tone, “I can’t help it if I like seeing people enjoy themselves under my feet as well as under my friends’.” Leaning in, “You didn’t exactly decline any suggestions either you know.”

“You can thank Ariel for that.”

“Oh I’m sure,” Christie says, laughing, “but she’s not the reason you’re favoring those little hops though, is she?”

With a blushing grin lighting up her face, Elizabeth says, “It’s addictive, not gonna lie.”

“Didn’t want to let her up, did ya?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” nudging her with her shoulder while smiling big with excitement. “When my squishy man gets here, we can work on some, um, more aggressive ideas….if you like,” Christie says nibbling her lip.

“But he’s your boyfriend now. I’m not sure what fun he’d be for you if he were crippled.”

“A guy forever stuck on the floor? I could think of a few ideas. I wouldn’t worry about crippling him though, he’s a tuffy, he can handle us,” wrapping her arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders, “that’s why I fell for him after all. Plus I Love the enjoyment he gets out of it too. Just makes my day to feel him turn to butter,” she says, wiggling her toes out in front of her.

“You’re too cute,” Elizabeth replies with a soft giggle, squeezing and caressing Christie’s arm. “What does Cindy think of you two?”

Right as she raises her question, Cindy returns from the bathroom. Christie can tell by her facial expression alone that she heard the question before she came into their line of sight.

“She has….reserved thoughts on the matter,” shooting her a pouty smile along with an air-kiss and a wink.

Cindy maintains her silence, taking a drink from her water bottle as she keeps her focus on Christie.

“Is he a touchy subject?” Elizabeth asks.

“Not at all,” Christie replies.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem…. is that he’s not one,” Cindy confesses.

Elizabeth glances between the two, “Huh?”

“She’s not used to me knowing a guy this long without there being a problem, let alone dating him for longer than a week, so her habitual bodyguard instincts are kicking in,” Christie explains.

“Oh,” looking over to Cindy who in turn looks to the floor, “Ok. Well you know if he does become a problem, Ariel and I have your back.”

Christie chuckles, “Thank you sweetie, but I don’t believe that will be necessary. Brian’s different, mark my words.”

She gets up from the couch and walks over to Cindy.

“As for you, missy, if you think it’ll help you feel any better about him, I’ll let you put him through your own little ringer,” resting her hand lightly against her cheek, “but I guarantee you he’ll pass with flying colors.”

“That’s what worries me about him. It’s not normal for guys to be as nice as he is without some kind of agenda.”

“Funny, that’s what he has said about us.”

Cindy smirks a little.

“Looks like you two have a few things to work out,” Christie says. Applying a kiss to two fingers and pressing them against Cindy’s lips, she then makes her way backwards towards the front door, “Just do me a favor and don’t hurt him too much.”

“Where are you going?” Elizabeth asks.

Resting her hand on the knob, “To let him in.”

Two seconds later, Brian knocks. Christie smiles at Elizabeth’s visible confusion before opening the door to him.

“Well hello there!”

“Hey,” he replies. Holding up a pizza box and a small bag of sauces, “As requested, lunch!”

“Yay!” Taking the bag from his hand in exchange for a kiss on the cheek, she then pulls him inside, “Right over here on the counter will be fine, dear. Look Cindy, he brought lunch! Isn’t that just the nicest thing?” she asks rhetorically.

“What a peach,” she replies.

Tapping her on the side of the thigh, “Why don’t you be one as well and get us some plates, yes?”

“Of course,” grinning through clinched teeth back at Christie as well as at Brian as she passes by him on her way into the kitchen.

He smiles back briefly before acknowledging Elizabeth.

“Hi,” he says with a quick wave.

She smiles and waves back.

“Haven’t seen you in a while. Still don’t talk much, huh?”

Christie snickers behind him.

“What?” he asks.

“She talks plenty, hun. Try asking her what toppings she wants.”

“Umm, yeah, what she said,” he says to Elizabeth.

“What are my options?”

“Hoooly crap, she does talk,” a response that earns him a playful smack on the shoulder from Christie, “um, right, options. It’s split four ways; there’s Hawaiian, beef and pepperoni, green pepper and olives, and cheese.”

“Hmm, surprise me,” she says with a smirk.

He turns to Christie, “You heard the lady; surprise her.”

She is one step ahead of him and already has a plate ready with Elizabeth’s preferred choice. He takes it and without missing a beat, he blocks Elizabeth’s view with a napkin as he approaches her.

“Ta-da,” he says in a flat, smartass tone, pulling the napkin to the side, “surprise.”

Now with a full-on smile, she tells him, “Thank you,” crossing her leg and grazing his shin with her foot.

Her trick for getting him to notice her French-tip-over-pink-based pedicure works as he looks down at the foot that touched him, and smiles at her before returning to the counter with the others.

Seeing that they already have their choices picked out, he goes to reach for his own plate, but his hand is pressed onto the countertop and held in place as Christie forces her way in between.

“Not so fast my squishy,” she says with a seductive grin. “What’s say I make a little more space in that belly of yours first?”

His eyes widen in awe.

“Seriously? Now?” he asks, smiling.

She kisses him while massaging his stomach with her hand, “If you don’t mind that is,” nibbling her lip once again.

His lips move like he wants to respond, but nothing comes out. He barely glances over her head at Cindy, and stops himself short of looking back to Elizabeth, but ultimately doesn’t care that either are still in the room.

Pulling her hand up that was pinning his, he gives her fingers a polite kiss with his eyes locked on hers, and then takes a seat on the floor.

Bracing the countertop’s edge, she immediately steps onto his stomach sideways and bounces on it to get him to lie back quicker. Her lightweight profile of a hundred and twenty-four pounds has little effect, and only results in him blushing as he smiles up at her.

“Four minutes,” Cindy says, “I think that’s a new record for you to start trampling a guy after he gets here.”

Christie laughs, “Well it does help that I know this one loves it. Right my squishy pooh-bear?” she asks, turning to face him on her tip toes.

Again, he wants to verbally respond, but her movements continue to leave him speechless. All he can do to is moan in delight as he exhales, allowing her to sink into him more.

“Sounds like a yes to me,” Elizabeth says, smiling. After a moment of observation, “I could’ve sworn we flattened him more than that last time, at least when it came to his stomach. But I guess you’re right, we flattened hers more.”

Brian snaps back to reality, “Hers? Hers who?”

Christie nods at Cindy.

“Whaaaat? No way.”

As Christie nods again in confirmation, Cindy walks around the counter island and plops her foot on the side of his head, covering his ear.

“You’re going to pretend like you heard nothing,” she tells him.

“The hell I am,” he retaliates. “I gotta see-“

He is cut off by Cindy’s foot stomping down on his throat.

“I said you heard nothing!”

Christie snickers lightly, and Elizabeth watches intently.

After a few coughs, “Had to tap out, didn’t ya?” he asks his assailant.

With a heavy sigh of annoyance, Cindy steps onto his neck with all of her weight on one foot, leans back against the counter, and rests her other foot on his mouth.

“I’m sorry, you were saying?” she asks.

Gripping her foot on his neck at first, he struggles with her weight to find an air pocket as her sudden approach didn’t allow him to prepare one. It takes him a minute, but he manages to get his hands under her foot in a way that allows him to push her up and get air in through his nose.

He tries to speak, despite Christie’s constant kneading of his stomach, but his words are muffled by Cindy’s foot that remains over his mouth. Growing annoyed as well, he turns his head to his left so that her toes can’t clamp his lips, and tries to speak again.

“What the hell crawled up your Ass?” he asks.

Christie’s and Elizabeth’s eyes widen in shock at the fact that he’s fighting back.

“Would you give us a minute?” Cindy asks Christie, implying for her to get off him.

Christie looks down at him, gauges his efforts, and looks back up. “Very well, but only a minute,” stepping down to the side between him and the counter.

Cindy steps down as well, but in the same movement, she rests her right leg across his neck to keep him pinned. She lets him catch his breath before she speaks.

“Alright, listen up smarty pants, and listen well,” she says, stabilizing herself as he fidgets beneath her, “I am onto your little nice guy act, and I would strongly suggest you cut it out before someone gets hurt.”

Her words cease his movements.

“What are you talking about?” he asks.

“This whole ‘polite gentleman’ thing you’ve been doing,” she says with finger quotes, “it might work on her for now, but I know how guys are. You can’t keep this up forever, so quit now while you’re ahead.”

His mind scrambles from her accusations.

“Are you freakin’ kidding me right now?! I’m being blasted for just being me?!”

“Just being you? Seriously? What kind of nice guy honestly lets a bunch of girls push him beyond his limits under the ruse of caring about what they want, or whatever your excuse is? You really think this little act would outlast me beating the snot out of you?”

“Thirty seconds remaining,” Christie announces.

Brian looks up at her, then back to Cindy, “It’s not an act, but yeah. To the death, remember?”

Cindy squints in disbelief, “Yeah, I remember, but that doesn’t make it any less suspicious. SO…tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to let you up and you’re going to walk out that door so that no one has to get hurt here. It’s been fun, but go now while your legs still work…and while I still allow it.”

The ultimatum hits Brian right in the heart.

Their sights lock on each other, and she sees his eyes turn red from being on the brink of welling tears.

He looks over to Elizabeth, noting her saddened frown, but also that she’s not in any hurry to protest. He then looks up to Christie again, and something about the worried look on her pretty face tells him something isn’t right, but he plops his head back with a defeated sigh.

“Fine,” he says quietly, holding his hands up in surrender.

Not expecting him to give in so easily, Cindy looks back at Christie with uncertainty. She sees that same worried look. With Brian in her sights again, her ascent to Free him is slow and shaky as she mentally questions what’s happening here.

Then he strikes!

Cindy is leveled to the floor face down, garnering a squeal from Elizabeth as she lands inches from her feet with her arms propped up behind her back and her legs entangled with his.

“Now tell me, is this any way to treat someone who just brought over lunch,” Brian asks, fighting to keep her pinned, “and let’s not forget who invited who over? I know you live here, but I don’t believe it was you.”

Cindy struggles to break Free, but groans when that attempt fails.

“As for this act you think I’m putting on — that kinda hurts. If you’re so used to guys acting like crap, why would you try to get rid of one who isn’t?”

He looks up at Elizabeth.

“What about you, hm? You want me gone too?”

She nervously shakes her head ‘No’.

Returning his focus to Cindy, “So what’s your problem then? You think I’m not good enough for your roommate? Need I remind you that she picked me? Hm?!”

Cindy groans again, louder.

He releases her and pushes her away in frustration, standing up and leaving her sprawled out on the floor.

Looking over to Christie, “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You have changed my whole world, and that means everything to me. You all do,” he says, looking back at Cindy, “no matter what some may think.”

“Oh sweetie,” Christie cries, scurrying over to him for a hug, “you mean everything to me too!”

Cindy gets up with Elizabeth’s help and rests against the couch’s seat cushions. “I had to be sure,” she says, catching her breath.

There is a slight pause before Brian responds.

“Of?” he asks, continuing to hold Christie in his arms.

“Of the integrity of your resolve,” Cindy replies, looking back at him as she gets back to her feet, “to see if you’d be scared off or if you would actually stick around and fight for her.”

He takes a moment to process this, glancing at Christie for a second, then back to Cindy. “You mean this was a test?” he asks.

“More or less.”

“Did I pass?”

“With flying colors,” Christie cheers, kissing him on the cheek.

He kisses her back with a short celebratory hug, then asks her, “Then why does she still have the look of doom and gloom?” pointing back to Cindy.

Christie turns to her, “Honey?”

As Cindy’s focus falls to the floor, Christie’s telepathic gift takes over their conversation. The moment is silent for Brian and Elizabeth as they simply watch the two lock eyes on each other a few seconds later.

“Do you two mind if we have a minute in the other room?” Christie asks.

“Not at all,” Brian says.

Elizabeth merely shakes her head ‘No’ again, but in a calm manner along with a smile.

“Thanks,” she says with a kiss to his lips, then takes Cindy by the arm and guides her out of the living room. “Feel Free to have some of this in the meantime,” she adds, pointing to the lunch on the counter.

“Sure,” he replies, watching them disappear around the corner and hears the door click down the hallway a short time later. He stares at the pizza box, analyzing what just happened in his head and concluding that it was as random as the layout of the toppings.

Making his way over to the counter, he picks up a few stray toppings that have fallen off and tosses them on one of the cheese sections before having a bite.

Elizabeth watches him. She can tell by the way he stares off into space one minute and then down the hall the next that Cindy’s actions are still fresh in his mind, and rightfully so.

“Are you ok?” she asks.

He looks across the room to her, “I’m fine.”

“How’s your neck?”

“It’s fine too, all things considered,” taking another bite.

She smiles briefly. “You know why she’s protective of Christie, right?”

He looks down the hallway once more, swallows, looks back and replies, “Please, enlighten me.”

“They were an item before they met you, and Cindy thought you would have screwed up by now so that they could be together again.”

Following a thoughtful pause, “She told you this?”

“Not in so many words, but I’m not blind. She’s clearly jealous of you.”

“What about me could she possibly be jealous of? Christie practically asked ME out, remember? If there’s anyone she should have an issue with, it should be her.”

“Yeah, I totally agree, but Christie can do no wrong in her eyes. The problems always come from everyone else.”

“You mean like her? She started this whole mess.”

“Yeah, I know, I saw the whole thing. Honestly, I don’t think she was expecting you to stand up for yourself, especially on Christie’s behalf.”

“Yeah, well she’s got a new thing coming if she thinks I won’t do it again.”

Elizabeth smiles again as she ponders thoughts of her own, grabs her plate, gets up from the couch and walks over to the counter, remaining on the opposite side of it to continue facing him.

“You know, I’ve only known them for three, maybe four months now. I’ve seen them do what they did with you to at least five guys in that time, and not one of them ever stood up for themselves.”

“What they did with me… you mean just now, or when we all first met?”

“Well, both actually.”

“Hm. I suppose Cindy is a special kind of crazy to be reckoned with.”

“Can you really blame her though? Christie’s pretty special too, don’t you think?”

“Well yeah, of course.” His eyes shift back and forth in confusion, “What exactly are we talking about?”

Elizabeth leans forward on the counter and says at a low volume, “Haven’t you noticed how she seems to be hyper-intuitive?”

“Um….maybe.” He reciprocates the forward lean, “Come to think of it, Kacie has shared similar thoughts about her before when we’ve hung out. Do you think it’s a bad thing?”

“No, but it might be what Cindy is so protective of.”

“Why are we whispering about this then?”

Elizabeth snickers to herself, “Just trying to spare you her wrath.”

“Ahh,” he says, unsure of what exactly she means by that. He then raises his voice to a level that Cindy can likely hear through the closed door, “well if her wrath was anything to worry about, she wouldn’t have let me up!”

His comment paralyzes Elizabeth; it also garners the attention he’s after as the bedroom door opens. He boldly takes another bite of his pizza as he watches Cindy quietly approach at a calm pace.

“Tell me,” she says getting right in his face, “I let you up once. Why should I let you up again?”

“Cindy? Behave,” Christie says, having followed her out.

“No, no,” Brian says, “let her speak.”

“I HAVE spoken. I asked you a question.”

“Alright, fine. Before I answer that, let me ask you something first. That stick that is up your Ass, why is it preventing you from answering my simple question about whether or not these two stepped on you?”

Elizabeth’s eyes widen in shock, Christie’s widen in pseudo-curiosity, and they are both looking at Cindy.

She smirks patiently, returning a glance to Christie, “He’s got balls, hun.”