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Episode 3: Two is Better than One
By popular demand, this one contains some male hiccups, just for the girls. Tell me how you like them! I'm always open for suggestions. Once again, if you haven't read the previous two stories, you probably ought to, so you get to know the characters and the background for this story. I must say it was a little harder to write a story with male hiccups, but I had nothing better to do today, so here it is. And don't worry, guys, you think I would write one where Hannah doesn't have them too? --The Author
About a month had passed since the day at the pool, and there was no question that what had so simply started between Chris Beloit and Hannah Jamison that day definitely wasn't going away. He had even asked Hannah out a couple times, which, of course, had thoroughly delighted her. Mr. and Mrs. Beloit found it somewhat amusing, but they conceded that since Hannah was such a good girl, it couldn't hurt anything. "After all, dear," Mr. Beloit had told his wife, "the last girl he picked wasn't nice at all, so I think it's good that he is with a wonderful girl like Hannah."
Juliana loved to tease her friend about how much time she spent with Chris. But far from being envious, she was very happy for them; since Hannah and Chris had always been such good friends anyway, she thought it was great that they get to know and love each other even better. And Ellie would just giggle and say, "Ohhh, they're sooo cute together!"
On this particular evening, Hannah and Chris had decided to go for a walk together in a nearby park. When Hannah showed up at his door, Chris had been thrilled to hear that she had the hiccups once again. All right, so he was thrilled just to see his cute girlfriend! But he had quickly discovered over the past few weeks that for some unexplainable reason, he loved to see and hear Hannah with the hiccups. Of course, considering how often she got them, he had plenty to enjoy. It hadn't taken Hannah long to figure out that Chris liked her hiccups. Although she didn't really feel such an attraction to hiccups herself, she generally found them kind of fun, so she had no problem with it.
After they'd been walking and chatting for a while, Chris asked Hannah about her hiccups. "Wow, Hannah, your hiccups sound a little hard there! How long have you had them?"
Hannah laughed, "I *hic* knew you'd ask soo-*huck*-ner or later! *hic-cup* I got 'em a-*HULK* about two hours *hic* ago. And the w-*hilk*-ay they're going, they w-*huck* will probably last *HIC* a long time. *HIC-urk*" She giggled, "See, *HUCK* I got the hiccups *hic* just for you! *hic* Bad ones, too!"
"Aww, that's so sweet of you!" Chris teased.
They had sat for a while on a bench, just talking and watching the sun set behind the trees. Chris kept his arm around Hannah's bouncing shoulders the whole time. He started rubbing her back, and though that didn't affect her hiccups any, of course, she still found it very relaxing. "Oh Chris, *hic* you give s-*HUCK* such wonderful mass-*huck*-ages!" she exclaimed as they got up to leave.
Hannah had been hiccupping when she arrived at the Beloit's, she hiccupped through their entire time in the park, and she still had them when Chris left her at her house. After they said good night, Chris admonished, grinning, "Don't enjoy those hiccups too much!"
"Oh yes, *hic* that's gonna b-*HULK* be real tough! *HIC-uhh* Sleeping *HUCK* with the hiccups is s-*hic* such fun! *hic* Good night, silly," she laughed.
* * * * *
Chris awoke rather late the next morning, after spending the night dreaming about Hannah. No, actually, his dreams were totally senseless, as always, but you can be sure if he could have chosen them, they would have been about her. In fact, he was planning to go over to her house in a little bit. He got out of bed, stretched, and started to yawn. But a solitary, hard hiccup interrupted him in mid-yawn. Thinking nothing of it, he walked over towards the closet. Perhaps ten seconds later, though, another strong hiccup forced its way out of his body; and about the same amount later, a third one. "Oh no," he thought. As much as he loved it when Hannah had the hiccups, he had no desire to have them himself. Actually, he couldn't even remember the last time he had the hiccups. But he sure seemed to have them now. A few more assured him of that.
He was somewhat embarrassed to go out around the rest of his family with the hiccups like that, so he kept them quiet. Every ten seconds or so, his body would still jerk strangely, but maybe they wouldn't notice! And no one did, until they sat down at the breakfast table and Dad started asking them how they slept and such. When he turned to him and asked, "How are you this morning, Chris?" Chris didn't time his answer quite right.
He answered quickly, "Oh, pretty good. *HUP*" A stubborn hiccup escaped before he could shut his mouth on it.
His sisters burst out laughing. "Haha, Chris has the hiccups!" Sarah teased.
"I bet he caught them from Hannah!" Amanda suggested, still giggling.
Chris turned a little red. Having the hiccups didn't seem as fun as watching Hannah have them!
"Now you two stop teasing Chris," their mother admonished, coming in from the kitchen. "He can't help it if he has the hiccups, any more than Hannah can."
"And we all know she sure can't," Mr. Beloit added, chuckling.
"Oh, Philip!" Mom chided.
Chris was relieved when the hiccups disappeared a few minutes later, just as they all dug in to the delicious breakfast.
* * * * *
A little while after breakfast, though, as he was on his way over to Hannah's place, they came back. "Oh brother," he thought. "I was hoping they were gone. I'm not supposed to be the one hiccupping!"
When he arrived at her house, and knocked on the door, he heard a hiccup from within even before he heard an answer. "*huck* Come in!" Hannah called.
Upon entering, Chris saw Hannah's head sticking out from behind her bedroom door. "I'll *hic* be out in a minute, *hic* OK?"
"All right," Chris answered, without giving away his own hiccups.
A few minutes later, Hannah emerged. She was simply beautiful, as always, Chris thought. Her perfect body, cute face and eyes, beautiful blonde hair - nothing could be finer. And then, of course, he loved what the hiccups were doing to her, too. As it was summertime, she was dressed in shorts and a little sleeveless top, so it was very easy to see her neck suck in and her whole body bounce every few seconds. Then he remembered that his body was doing the exact same thing, except a little slower and without, well, some of the bounce. Somehow that didn't seem as pleasant - actually quite embarrassing. He couldn't understand how Hannah's very obvious hiccups seemed to totally fail to faze her.
"You can *hic* come out of your tr-*huck*-ance now," Hannah teased, winking at him. "Whatcha *hic* staring at?"
"Oh, I just can't get over how beautiful you are," Chris answered, grinning, and blushing a little - and shutting his mouth just before a hard hiccup jerked his head back.
Hannah giggled. "Come on, let's *hic* go." And the two left the house hand in hand. They hadn't made it more than two doors down the street before Hannah stopped and turned to Chris. "Look at me," she commanded. After a few seconds, she said, pretending to be very serious, "Young man, *hic* it seems to me th-*hic* that you have the hiccups! *HULK* OK… so I *hic* still have them, too," she added, laughing.
"That I do. *HUP* Oops, excuse me!" he said.
"Aww, *huck* you're so cute!" she giggled. "Don't *hic* worry about it. *hic-up* If I tried to s-*hic* say excuse me eve-*huck*-ry time I hiccupped, *hic* I'd never get any-*hic-uhh*-thing done!"
"But they're *HUP* so embarrassing!" Chris exclaimed. "How do they not embarrass you?"
"Come on, *hic* don't be silly," Hannah answered as they started walking down the sidewalk again. "Of course I *hic* get embarrassed some-*hic*-times. I just don't *huck* show it! *hic* I'll never forget when *hic* I went into the high-*huck*-way office to get *hic* my license last month. *hic* I was hiccupping *hic* like mad, way *hulk* worse than I am n-*hic* now, and I was sooo *hic* embarrassed cause I just *hic* knew the officer was g-*hic-cup* gonna think I'd been dr-*hic*-inking or something. *hic* Being all worried and *hilk* embarrassed just made them *hic* a lot worse. *hic* The officer just laughed wh-*huck*-en he heard how bad *hic* I had them. *hic* He felt *hic* sorry for me cause h-*huck* he could tell I *hic-cup* was really embarrassed. *hic* So anyway, I try *hic* not to think ab-*hic*-out how crazy I probably *hic* look - and sound. *HULK-uhh* Ouch, that one hurt… *hic* Yeah, and when *hulk* I have them for *hic* hours and hours like *hulk* this, they really *hic* start to hurt my *hic* stomach and throat."
"Wow, I would never have known *HUP* that they bother you so much." Chris said, suddenly not feeling so bad about his own rare hiccups.
"Oh no, *hic* it's not that they *hulk* annoy me," she corrected. "I'm usually n-*hic*-ot bothered at all. *hic* Like right now, I *hic* couldn't care less th-*huck*-at I've been hiccupping a-*hic*-ll night *hic* and that I'll pro-*huck*-bably have them most of *hic* the day. It's just that *hic* they would make me *hulk* really embarrassed and c-*hic*-rabby, if I let them. *hic* But instead I try t-*hic*-o either ignore them or *hulk* have fun with them. *hic* It's fun to watch *hic* how people react when *hulk* I go into a store *hic* or something, hiccupping like *hic* this. And look, *hic* now we both have th-*hic*-em! I'm sure we'll g-*hic* get all kinds of w-*hic*-ierd looks now!"
"Yeah… *HUP*" Chris mused, not quite as enthusiastic as Hannah. "You hiccup all you want. I'm gonna *HUP* try to keep mine quiet."
"Aw, you're *hic* so boring!" Hannah teased.
"Well, I think you are a lot *HUP* cuter with the hiccups than I am."
"Nah," Hannah laughed, poking Chris in the ribs playfully, "I have the h-*hic* hiccups all the time, *hic* but it's extra sp-*hic*-ecial when you have *huck* them! Now, I need *hic* to stop here at *hulk* the corner store to l-*hic*-ook for something. *hic*"
So they went into the store. Hannah, as always, did nothing to suppress her hiccups, but Chris kept his mouth tightly closed. They hadn't been inside for more than a minute before Mr. Tanner, one of Chris's dad's business partners, noticed them. "Hey, girl," he pleasantly greeted Hannah, "I knew all this noise had to be from you. How've you been doing?"
"I've *hic* been great!" Hannah answered cheerfully. "How abou-*hic*-t you and Valerie - *hulk* and the little one?"
"I'm well-blessed in spite of myself. Just came down here to get a few things because Val isn't feeling so good today."
"That's too bad. *hic-ulk* How is everything with *hic* the baby? Have you *hic* picked a name *hic* yet?"
"Nope, we still haven't decided on a name quite yet. And the doctor says he's doing well," Mr. Tanner answered. Turning to Chris, he asked, "And how about you? You taking good care of this sweetie here? What are you doing letting her have the hiccups like that?"
Chris laughed. "There isn't much I can do for her. Especially when I've *HUP* got them too!"
"Man, what did you do, catch them from her?"
"No, I'm afraid I got them *HUP* on my own. But yeah, everything's going good."
The three chatted on for a while, with Chris trying to say as little as possible, to avoid being interrupted every sentence or two by a hard *HUP*. A lot of them still made it out, though. At one point, Hannah and Chris even hiccupped loudly at exactly the same time, prompting Mr. Tanner to comment, "Wow, you too really are quite a couple, to even hiccup together like that!"
Eventually Mr. Tanner left. Chris shook his head, still amazed at how little Hannah was affected by her hiccups. "I don't see how you do it!"
Not finding what Hannah needed, the two left the store and continued down the street. Chris complained that now his hiccups were hurting his stomach.
"Let me *hic* feel your tummy and I'll *huck* tell you how they compa-*hic*-re to mine - whether you r-*hic* really should be complaining or *hic* not!" Hannah suggested, her own hiccups beginning to fade away. She put her arm around him, with her hand over his stomach. She felt it pop out forcefully with a couple hard hiccups, then nodded. "Well, I guess *hic* they are pretty hard. Harder *hic* than mine have been today. But *hic* still, you've had them for *hic* what? 30 minutes? I've had th-- -em for 18 hours! And like *hic* four times faster than you! *hic* So you aren't allowed to comp-- complain until I do."
Chris shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it's not *HUP* uhh, not so bad. Sounds like yours are about to go away, though."
"Good!" Hannah smiled. "Regardless of whether *hic* you like them or not, I think 18 hours is *hilk* enough for a while. I'm surprised they didn't last longer, though. Hearing yours must have soothed them!"
"I can't imagine how! *HUP*" Chris said, shaking his head.
In the next store they stopped in, they once again met someone they knew. This time it was one of the cashiers, a girl just a few years older than Hannah. Chris was even more embarrassed than before, since he was the only one hiccupping now! She immediately noticed that.
"Hey, you two have traded places! Usually it's you that has the hiccups, right?" she asked, pointing to Hannah.
"That's right," Hannah answered happily, "But this time it's his turn. Can't you tell he's enjoying them?"
Chris rolled his eyes. *HUP* "Oops, sorry. Yeah, I can't even remember the last time I had the hiccups, but I've *HUP* sure got them today."
"Isn't he cute?" Hannah giggled, putting her arm around her boyfriend.
The cashier laughed. "Oh yes, very. And I think the hiccups only make him cuter!"
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Hannah joked. "I need to find what gave them to him and make sure he gets some every day! They sure keep him from talking too much!"
This store had what Hannah needed, so after purchasing it, they headed back towards her house. Just for fun, she kept her hand on Chris's stomach the whole way back. "See, now I get to be in your place. I gotta say, watching you with the hiccups is pretty fun!"
"Glad y-*HUP* you enjoy it," Chris said. "I think I prefer it the other way, though."
"Aww, but I don't! So I think I shall enjoy every last one of yours!"
Just before they made it back to her house, Hannah turned to Chris, disappointed. "Oh no, they went away!"
"Hey, they sure did!" Chris said, relieved.
"But you still owe me about 17 hours of them, and that's only for today!" Hannah reminded him.
"Oh no, I was hoping you wouldn't think of that. But if you're not careful, I can make that even more than 17 hours!" he said, as he started tickling her on the ribs.
"Hey! No fair! Stop!!!" Hannah screamed, as the two chased each other back to her house, not stopping until they were inside and she fell onto the couch, still wriggling, trying to avoid his merciless tickling. Finally she fought him off and sat up. "*HUCK* Now look what you've d-*HIC* done! You've brought th-*HULK* them back worse *HIC* worse than they *HIC* w-*HUCK* worse than they were b-*HIC*-efore!" she pouted.
"Haha, so I did!" Chris teased, still poking at her. "I'm so mean, aren't *HUP* - uh oh…" he trailed off.
The two looked at each other, hiccupped, and burst out laughing. So what if it made their hiccups worse? They couldn't help it. And they laughed and laughed until they could laugh no longer.