‘I may have padded my estimate of how much money I needed a little bit-
like he cares how much money he gives me. If you decide that you want to keep
smoking after you finish the pack, I’ll pay for you to go on spring break. If
you decide that you don’t, you have to get your dad to cover it.’
Kelli drew on the cigarette thoughtfully and then offered Leeann another
hit, which she accepted willingly, all the while playing with her best
friends responsive nipples as Kelli fed her the cigarette.
‘That’s backwards, isn’t it ? Shouldn’t the bet be about whether or not
I start smoking again ? And how do you know dad will cover my end of it.’
‘Wasn’t he talking the other day about giving you the BMW so he can get
a Lexus ? I think he can afford it and he fucking adores you.’
‘You’re forgetting that he also makes Helen work in a grocery store for
her car money.’
‘Yeah, and he did the same thing with you when you were her age. And once
you hit college, he opened the bank vault. Who paid for your car- and the trip
to Montreal last year ?’
Kelli thought back fondly to that trip. She’d been a committed smoker
then, and in Montreal, smoking and breathing were inextricably twined. It had
been nice to spend a week in a city where smoking was an expected adult
behaviour and no effort was made to make you feel uncomfortable about your
personal choices.
‘True, but I still think this bet is backwards.’
‘But it’s not. I want my friend back. The easy-going smoker I used to
know.’
‘I’m letting you play with my nipples, aren’t I ?’
‘I’m going to do a lot more than that before we’re done. Say you’ll
take the wager.’
‘You’re horny, aren’t you ?’
Leeann laughed as Kelli drew on the cigarette.
‘Dave and I broke up a month ago !’
‘So, Fred and I broke up six months ago-‘
‘Well, one, you should never have been dating Fred, and two-‘
‘Here it comes-‘
‘You broke up with Fred and quit smoking all at the same time, and-‘
‘One had nothing to do with the other,’ Kelli said, and then drew
angrily- as angry as she could be with erect nipples-‘he cheated on me.’
‘With another smoker- and that’s what made you think your smoking was
the main reason he was going out with you-‘
‘I had good reason-‘
‘A few bookmarked fetish sites. Maybe you gave him that fetish. Did you
ever think of that ?’
‘Not really. I don’t think he’s that clever- and he certainly wasn’t
that devoted.’
‘Well, it’s the first time I ever heard of someone quitting smoking
because their boyfriend was too turned on by it.’
‘You know, if you keep playing with my nipples this way, you really are
going to have to take me in the bedroom and finish the job.’
‘That’s the idea.’
‘How come,’ Kelli asked, pausing to french curl, ‘you and I can do what
I’m quite sure we’re about to do and not worry about whether or not we’re
being lesbians ?’
‘Simple. We’re women.’ Leeann took a pull on Kelli’s cigarette,
exhaled, returned it. ‘One of the basic differences between men and women is
that women are confident enough about their sexuality to engage in
pleasurable activity with one another without getting all wrapped up in
whether or not it defines their sexual identity. If a guy takes it- or gives
it- in the ass once, they are either bisexual or homosexual. Male sexual
identity is one of the most fragile quantities, because male sexuality is
about power instead of enjoyment.’
Kelli blew a long cloud of smoke. ‘That’s pretty feminist.’
‘Feminism is a male word.’
‘Sometimes I don’t know about you.’
‘Well, let me clear that up for you.’
Kelli stubbed out her cigarette. ‘Are you going to take me into the
bedroom ?’
‘Pick up your cigarettes and I’m there.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of having an orgasm without them.’
The two women had stripped down and pulled their hair back into pony
tails. Kelli was lying on the bed, a just lit cigarette between her pale
lips. She drew deeply on the cigarette as Leeann clmbed on top of her. They
shared a smoky kiss and then Leeann slid down until her head was between
Kelli’s pale white legs. She slid her finger inside and then began patiently
working Kelli’s g-spot, which was conveniently located near the main exit, as
she liked to say, with her tongue.
She watched Kelli smoking as best she could, using her free hand to
fondle Kelli’s breasts, continuing to keep her nipples hard. Leeann had
always liked Kelli’s firm, supple breasts. They were neither small nor large,
just perfectly formed. Pert.
Leeann took it slow, modulating and slowing down as Kelli got more
excited, drawing it out for as long as she could.
It wasn’t until Kelli was nearly done with her cigarette that Leeann
turned it up again, her tongue now alive and working aside from her mind. Ke
lli began to quiver and moan and then her orgasm came, exciting and
fulfilling for both of them. When it was over, Leeann slithered back up the
bed and cuddled with Kelli. They smoked cigarettes and relaxed. There was no
rush.
Finally Kelli looked deep into Leeann’s eyes. No words were exchanged.
Leeann reached into her beside table drawer and pulled out a white tube.
Inside was a cigar, and Kelli knew what she was supposed to do with it.
‘You’re going to smoke this when I’m done, aren’t you ?’
‘That’s just the start of it. I have the most wicked idea imaginable.’
‘What ?’
Leeann lit her cigarette. ‘I’d rather tell you after my orgasm, if
that’s okay with you.’
Kelli took her place, wetting Leeann down expertly before sliding the
cigar tube in. Leeann’s g-spot was in a much different place and Kelli knew
just how to reach it. She began working the tube back and forth and contorted
so that she could slide up and kiss Leeann between inhales. They continued
this until well after Leeann’s cigarette was gone.
Leeann held her orgasm in, playing it out. It was hard to do, given how
long it had been, but she did it for both of them so that they could enjoy
the intimacy, the shared closeness that made the orgasms just part of the
experience. Kelli’s kisses became more urgent, deeper, more of an interaction
than an action, and finally, Leeann let herself go.
As soon as they were done, Kelli handed the cigar tube to Leeann, who was
too energised to cuddle.
Instead, she lit the cigar and then went and opened her closet. She
pulled out a digital video camera on a tripod and set it up in one corner and
then took a second cigar tube out of the drawer and handed it to Kelli as she
spread blue smoke around the room.
‘I don’t know, Leeann. I haven’t had a cigar in almost a year. You know
it’s not my thing. And what’s with the camera ?’
‘It’s a gift from Daddy. He said if he was going to drop five large on
spring break he wanted a record of it. Nothing kinky, just the where we went,
what we did with our clothes on type of thing. But I have another idea. What
say we send Fred a little one minute video of what he’s missing since he
fucked up and cheated on you. Two beautiful women smoking cigars, making out,
playing with each other’s nips.’
‘Jesus. What if he spreads it around ?’ Kelli asked, trying not to like
the idea.
‘He won’t. If he does, he has to admit what he gave up and he doesn’t
have the balls to do that, does it ?’
Kelli’s answer was to light the cigar.
Leeann checked the focus, set the automatic timer, told Kelli where to
stand, and for the next minute they smoked, posed, kissed, suckled one
another’s breasts, and generally hammed it up for the camera. When they were
done, Leeann plugged the camera into her G4’s firewire port and fired up
iMovie. While they smoked the cigars, Leeann edited the clip, adding music
from Now I am Nothing, from NIN’s Ultra-Rare Tracks. ‘˜I fucked it all away,
now I am nothing,’ the lyrics scorched over the raunchy video. Before Kelli
could have any further second thoughts, Leeann fired up her email and sent
the movie off to Fred’s email address.
The snow would have been oppressive, but Kelli had nowhere to go and
she’d done pretty well with her reading. It was almost noon and as she lit
the last cigarette from ‘˜her’ pack, she picked up the phone and called home.
She wasn’t really looking forward to calling Mom, but she had to. The pack
was empty, and before she thought about whether or not she was smoking her
last cigarette for a while, she needed to know what her options were.
‘Hello ?’
‘Mom ?’
‘Kelli. How’s my favourite little smoker ?’
‘Mom !’
‘Well, Helen told me you bought a carton of cigarettes- and not only did
she see you smoking out in the parking lot, but her friend Desiree saw you
smoking as well. It’s about time.’
Kelli exhaled silky white smoke.
‘Mom, I have an important question and really, I don’t want to talk
about the smoking thing. I mean-‘
‘Well, I certainly hope you weren’t just, like stressed out honey. I
hope you’re smoking again.’
‘How parental of you, mom.’
‘I don’t want to go into this either, but I want my daughter back. The
cute, lovable girl that I knew up until six months ago, not the one that
seems to have her panties in a bunch all the time.’
Kelli exhaled again and sighed. She hated having this conversation. It
didn’t make any sense. Mom should have been supportive of her decision to
quit, but it hadn’t been that way, not at all. She hated talking about
smoking with her. Hated it enough to want to shock her.
‘What would you say if I told your uptight daughter and Leeann just had
sex, Mom ?’
‘I’d say it was about time that you got your head out of your own ass
and into someone else’s, and at least you know exactly where Leeann’s been.
Now what did you want to ask me ?’
‘Mom !’
‘Listen, your dad’s out in this mess and he has his cell phone, so I
want to keep the line clear. What did you call about ? Try to make it quick.
We can talk again after Henry gets home.’
‘If Dad had to cover me going to Florida for spring break, would he ?’
‘Of course, you silly. What do you mean if ? Is there a boy ?’
Leeann snatched the phone from Kelli’s hand as though she knew what the
question was.
‘I told Kelli if she started smoking again, really smoking, I’d cover
her trip. If not, she’s on her own.’
Kelli’s mom actually laughed. ‘That’s so perfect. Thanks, Leeann.’
Leeann handed the phone back to her friend.
‘All I have to say is that if there’s what- 1500 dollars at stake- well,
the next time I see you Kelli, you’d better have a cigarette in your hand and
smoke coming out of your mouth.’
‘Mom !’
‘Gotta go.’ She hung up.
But now Kelli knew she could do whatever she wanted to. There was no way
that she would have let her friend pick up her spring break if dad wouldn’t
have as well. That wouldn’t be a real decision. That would just be taking
advantage.
‘So ?’ Leeann asked, watching as Kelli neared the end of what might just
be her last cigarette. ‘Do I give you another pack of cigarettes from that
carton and call Candy, or do you run home and get a check from daddy ?’
‘Let me think about it,’ was all Kelli said.
Dave was watching the movie in utter shock, and not because he hadn’t
even known that QuickTime was on his Vaio. He watched it to the end and then
heard one of his housemates coming up the stairs, taking a break from cold
pizza and Unreal Tournament. He rushed to close and lock the door, unsure if
he was going to cry or jerk off.
In the end he did a little of both.
Kelli and Leeann were standing by a tiny table in a corner of Club Lavela’s
Underground, taking in dark loud techno while the other girls were off in the
Thunderdome dancing. Leeann picked up her pack of cigarettes, nearly knocking
over her ten dollar drink, and lit one.
‘Aren’t you glad you’re here ?’ Leeann fairly screamed over the
industrial grind.
There was no other pack of cigarettes on the small table. Kelli nodded,
her tanned face bobbing like some disembodied form amidst the swirl of smoke
and noise. She looked really relaxed and happy for the first time in a while,
and if just for getting her here, Leeann was proud of herself. This was their
third night and her friend didn’t look half as tired as she felt- despite
getting almost no sleep since the Delta puddle-jumper from Atlanta had
deposited them, Kelli was radiant and energised .
Kelli reached into her jeans, pulled out her cigarettes and her lighter
and lit one. Leeann had finally lost count not just of how many cigarettes
Kelli had smoked since going back, but how many packs.
And that was the way it should be.
Kelli leaned forward, kissing her friend- on the cheek this time.
‘Thanks, Lee.’
‘Hey, any time.’
She thought about that for a moment.
‘On second thought- don’t do that to me again.’
Kelli drew deeply on her cigarette, exhaled, and smiled. ‘Don’t worry. I
won’t. Now tell me-‘
She pointed at a slender, medium height blonde with a sweet, handsome
face and a round, pert ass.
‘Him and me. You think ?’
‘Or him and me !’ Leeann said with a smile.
He looked at one of them, it was impossible to tell which, and smiled his
best smile.
Kelli blew a strong stream of smoke.
‘Or maybe him and me and you.’
Leeann clapped her friend on the back. ‘Now you’re talking.’
They went over and introduced themselves and one thing did lead to
another- and another.