Just to recap: I grew up in the same neighborhood as my 2 best friends, Ryan and Jacob. At the time, we were only 13 years old. Ryan was the shortest, with dirty blond hair and blue eyes, while Jacob and I were about the same height with brown hair, my eyes being green and his being hazel.
This story takes place a few days after my last story, during the afternoon of on a summer day. The three of us, Jacob, Ryan, and I, were all at Jacob’s house playing basketball in the backyard, which was bordered by a nice lawn and surrounded by a woodsy area. We were planning on having a sleepover at my house later that day, but my parents weren’t going to be home until the evening, so the parents wanted us to all hang out at Jacob’s for the afternoon. It was a relatively warm sunny day, so we were all wearing athletic shorts with different colored t-shirts.
“Swish!†Jacob called from the corner after making a long shot, “You guys can’t beat me in a game of horse today! I’m on fire!â€
“Oh really?†I called, challenging Jacob with a shot, which unfortunately clanged off of the rim.
“After that shot, definitely,†Jacob joked. Ryan was in on it too, as he was often extremely competitive, which was a trait he inherited due to his small figure.
“How about we add something to it?†Ryan suggested. We all smiled and knew what was coming.
“How about first one to be out gets tied,†Jacob suggested, knowing he wasn’t going to be the first out as he was the best basketball shooter of the three of us. Ryan and I nodded in agreement.
“What about second place?†I asked.
“We’ll see,†said Jacob. He was being sly about it. But I was having none of it.
“How about winner gets to tie the two losers up tonight at the sleepover,†I offered. To my delight, we all agreed, excited about the bet and the prospect of playing another tie up game.
Ryan led us off, as he was usually the worst of the three. But things did not start off as planned. Ryan picked up an early lead, and Jacob and I were nervous with the shot at revenge on the line. However, Ryan seemed to feel the pressure, as Jacob and I whittled his lead down until he was done. First out, Ryan.
“HOW DID I CHOKE THAT?!†Ryan screamed. Jacob and I laughed.
“You’re just going to have to wait until the two of us finish this game, then….revenge,†I said, trying to insight fear into the definite prisoner of the basketball court. Then, it was up to me to decide my fate for the night.
Jacob and I were tied (no pun intended) at H-O-R-S, so we were both down to our last letter. It was my turn to shoot first, so I took a chance, airing out a long shot from the top of the key. Jacob buried his face in his hands when the shot banked off the backboard and into the basket. He had to make a long shot to determine his fate for the night. He missed the final shot. I had won. It was actually the first time I had beaten Jacob in a game of horse all summer. I was ecstatic, but remembered that we had a victim waiting in the wings…
Jacob and I wasted no time. Jacob ran inside and found some rope and tape from his dad’s garage (he was quite the handyman around the house) while I tried to envision a way to tie Ryan up. I looked around. I played with the idea of tying him to a tree, but I was worried the bark of the trees would scratch his back (I was planning on having him be tied shirtless). So I decided on the only other post around: the basketball goal. The ultimate humiliation

I ordered Ryan to take his shirt off, yet he grumbled a bit at the idea. “No way, man! Not out here… what if my mom sees me?â€
“Look, we all know that your mom is going to be locked in her office upstairs all day (she was a working woman that was working from home at the time). And if she sees it, I’m sure she won’t care,†I said, hoping to convince him.
“Alright, fine,†he said, taking off his shirt. He was tanned and thin (a little bit shorter than Jacob and I as well), and his dirty blond hair stuck out compared to the rest of his complexion. Jacob and I decided to tie him the same way he tied me…except outside to the basketball goal. We tied his hands in front in an X with the rope, then had him put his back against the goal, raising his hands up and tying them above his head. We then tied his ankles, parallel to each other, and tying them to the basketball goal. He was now helpless, wearing only shorts. We decided it was best not to gag him, just in case his mom yelled down at us to check in. But we were pretty sure we were safe. But then, Jacob whispered something in my ear, “Mikey…we’re missing something…notice how he’s wearing shorts, and we…weren’t.†I nodded in agreement. We both snickered, knowing that Ryan, as well, wore boxer briefs, sometimes briefs…we were about to find out.
“Hey…what are you snickering about?†Ryan said while struggling with his bonds. He wasn’t going anywhere. But his pants were coming off. Jacob ran up to Ryan, grabbed his shorts on either side, and pulled them down abruptly, revealing Ryan’s white…briefs.
“HEEEEEY!!!! NOT FAIR!†He yelled, trying to maneuver his body, embarrassed, away from our snickering eyes. His legs were still very tanned however, as he was on the swim team, as mentioned before, so you would think that he was used to being seen in public with little clothes on. But he was not expecting to be pantsed. Jacob and I beamed in satisfaction at his embarrassment, which he made more obvious by his constant glances around him, hoping no one would see him tied to the basketball goal, completely exposed, with his shorts around his ankles, wearing only tighty whities. Jacob and I then attacked his armpits and sides, one of us on each side, and he shrieked with laughter. His body was held taut by the ropes, and we were able to reach every ticklish spot on his body in a few minutes, minus his feet. We decided it was enough, and slid his shorts back on to untie him. He was not happy when he got free, and tried to wrestle with Jacob, who did the honors of completely exposing Ryan. He got over it quickly, as Ryan often did, and told us that he wanted to play another TUG that night at the sleepover, saying he wanted to take his chances…
…to be continued.
-Mikey J