Page 27 of Except You

“Are you ticklish?” I say, my eyes moving to his armpits.

“Don’t you even dare,” Beau says, starting to wiggle beneath me. “I will scream.”

“And no one would hear you.”

“They so would. You’re a liar.”

“My neighbor is a hundred years old. She’s deaf and probably dead or asleep.”

He gasps at that and arches his hips up. “That is a terrible thing to say.”

“It’s the truth.”

He bucks again, and I place his wrists together, holding them with one hand while I tease him with my other.

“Do not… Max, I’m serious.”

He’s laughing and squirming, and when my fingers dig into his pit, he squeals so loudly that Doggo wakes up and joins the fight, his snout pushing into my neck.

“Not me, him,” I grunt as I continue to tickle one armpit and then the other, before moving to his sides. Beau is breathless now, tears trickling down his cheeks, his eyes bright and shining, his body bucking and wriggling under mine.

“Stop,” he wheezes and my fingers stop moving. His chest is heaving, his hair wild. “God, okay, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve learned it.”

“Have you?” I ask just as Doggo places his snout on Beau’s face and then licks his cheek.

“I have. I promise.”

I don’t believe him, but my hands release him. As soon as they do, he pokes at my side with a loud laugh, causing Doggo to shoot off the bed and start doing zoomies around the room.

I stare down at Beau and shake my head. “You asked for it.”

He pokes me again, and I grab his arms once more and hold them above his head, moving my hand down his sides, finding another spot that makes him squirm and squeal until he’s breathless.

“I’m sorry!” he screams, and I smile down at him, not letting up.

“I don’t think you are.”

His hips buck up again. “Please! I swear. I’ll stop. No more!” My hand pauses the assault, and I grin down at him, not letting him go as fast as I did before.

“I don’t believe you,” I say.

“I swear. Cross my heart, hope to die.”

I let him go, finger by finger until he’s completely free.

He doesn’t poke me again, just stares up at me, my arms bracketing his body.

“You’re tempted, aren’t you?” I say with a smirk.

“Yes, but god, no more tickles. I may wet the bed.”

My smile widens, and I sit up slightly, my hand tracing a line down his chest. I don’t expect to do it, but it happens anyways. Beau seems to hold his breath as my finger finds the edge of his shirt, and I tug it up.

“When did you get this?” I ask as I gently flick at his belly button ring.

“When I was sixteen. Hurt like a bitch.”

“I bet. Do you have anything else pierced?”