“Smoking or non-smoking?” the hostess asked.
“Smoking,” Jean said proudly as she glanced over at Jessica who gave her a
wink. As soon as they sat down, they immediately all lit their cigarettes
and gaily filled their section of the restaurant with luscious smoke. Jean
had never felt so satisfied before as she joked and laughed with her friends.
It made no difference whether someone was still eating; when one was ready to
have a cigarette, they lit up without a second thought. Such was the
smoker’s paradise of Vegas where all inhibitions melted at the
California/Nevada state line. Steve stayed close to Jean, ready with a
lighter whenever she reached for her Virginia Slims. As they walked out of
the buffet, stuffed beyond belief, Steve and Jean were holding hands like two
lovers.
Tong, Luke and Jessica dispersed when they hit the casino, each gravitating
towards their favorite games, but Steve led Jean to the Blackjack table. She
was shocked when he brought her to a $10 minimum table. “Isn’t there
anything cheaper,” she asked, looking around the casino.
“Don’t worry,” he said pulling out a wad of $100 bills, “you’re covered.”
“No, Steve,” she protested, “I can’t let you do that.”
“Don’t worry,” he replied. “I rarely lose.”
The two sat down at a table with several players of all ages. Jean knew the
rules, of course, but had only played with her sister and friends. She
certainly wasn’t prepared for the sharks in Vegas and within just a few hands
was $60 in the hole. “I can’t do this,” she whispered to Steve, “I’m losing
all your money.”
He patted her hand and said, “Just be confident.”
Noticing that all of the women at the table were smoking, Jean pulled out her
pack of Virginia Slims and lit one. She drew the smoke deep into her lungs,
feeling its calming effect, and tried to start a new deal fresh. To her
surprise, she won. Within 20 minutes, she at least had broken even. When
she looked over at Steve, however, she noticed a pile of chips that he
continued to win.
“Had enough?” he said to her as he collected his winnings and got up from the
table.
“How’d you do that?” she asked in amazement as they walked through the
crowds.
Steve looked over both shoulders and whispered to her, “I count the cards.”
Jean stared at him with eyes wide open. She had heard of such an ability but
had never seen it in action. “I’ve never found a photogenic memory very
useful – except in Vegas. The trick is not to get too greedy by winning
every hand. Lose a few and then leave the table.” Jean was very impressed.
“There’s a real nice bar here,” he said, leading her by the hand. “Let’s get
a drink.”
++++++++++++++++++++++
The Lagoon Saloon is perhaps the most beautiful bar in the Mirage. Just on
the edge of the casino and sitting under a canopy of palm trees by the
hotel’s atrium, the bar offers an excellent view of the casino’s action while
also providing an intimate setting. Jean and Steve took a table in a quiet
corner and Steve went up to the bar to order some beers.
Jean could feel the butterflies in her stomach return. There were very few
times that she and Steve actually spent a moment alone over the last five
months. Mostly their conversations had always been pretty shallow, but she
felt that tonight would be different. She pulled her Virginia Slims out of
her purse and confidently put them on the table. She would wait to light one
until Steve got back.
“Here you go,” he said as he handed her a beer while taking his seat. He
then reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his pack of Marlboro
Lights, removing a cigarette before placing the pack on the table and
flicking his lighter. First he offered the flame to Jean, who accepted it
seductively, and then he lit his own cigarette.
“Is this the first time you’ve been to Vegas,” he asked as he set the lighter
down on the table.
Jean was just in the middle of a full a puff, the glow of the draw lighting
up her face in the dark confines of the saloon, and snapped back the smokey
contents in her mouth. She blew a stream over the table and replied, “Yes,
it is. My parents aren’t really gamblers. We’d usually go to Disneyland for
family trips.”
Steve sat back in his chair. “Well, that’s pretty much what Vegas has become
– one big family theme park,” he said with more than a little disdain. Then
he turned towards the casino as he brought the cigarette up to his mouth.
“But there’s still a little sin left in ‘Sin City,'” he said in an exhale.
Reaching to tap his cigarette over the ashtray, he added with a wink, “You
just need to know where to find it.”
Jean sat erect in her chair, holding the cigarette just to the side of her
face as she stared at Steve. Wow, she thought to herself, this guy really is
different in Vegas. “And I suppose you know where to find it,” she said
before inserting her 120 straight into her mouth and doing a nosehale.
“What I can’t find I make,” Steve replied as he rested his shoulders on the
table and looked straight into Jean’s eyes. “You know you are so gorgeous
when you smoke.”
Jean smiled and turned her eyes down as she reached for the ashtray.
“I’m sorry,” Steve said. “I don’t mean to embarrass you. I know it may seem
strange that I would say that. I mean, smoking is bad, right?” His voice
lowered to almost a whisper now. “But there’s something so beautiful about
an attractive Asian woman smoking.” He smiled. “It’s kinda like a loss of
innocence, you know?”
Rather than growing uncomfortable, Jean was enjoying the attention that Steve
was finally paying to her. “I’m no angel, you know,” she said before
seductively taking a puff and French inhaling a perfect ball of smoke.
“Oh, Jean,” Steve murmured out loud, “I hope you’re not.”
Over the next three hours, the two fell right into a comfortable conversation
about friends, school, families, and life in general. Jean was having a
terrific time, and was clearly enjoying the mixture of alcohol and
cigarettes. As the beer continued to flow, Jean felt no constraints about
telling Steve things that she otherwise would have held back. “I think
Jessica’s gay,” she said as if passing on a state secret after her fourth
beer. “I don’t mind, of course. I mean we’re really good friends and all.
But….” She paused to finish the beer in her glass. “It’s just
that…well, she’s pretty hot, you know? Sometimes, I just think like…wow,
let’s get it on!” and then she started to giggle.
Steve smiled as he shook his head. Here was a kindred spirit, he thought to
himself; someone who could really let herself run wild in Sin City if given
the chance.
“Oh my,” Jean said with her eyebrows raised, “I think I’m a little drunk.”
Steve, much better at holding his liquor than Jean, said to her, “It’s pretty
late. How about we continue this tomorrow?”
Jean didn’t want to leave his side, but she agreed that it was time for bed.
Jessica was probably back up in the room by now and would expect a full
report on the developments with Steve.
As they rode up in the elevator holding hands, the couple remained silent.
Then after a few seconds, Steve reached over to touch her face – and then
kissed her. For so many months Jean had fantasized about such a kiss. She
could taste the beer and the tobacco on his lips, and it excited her. Their
tongues, gently touching at first, became more passionate just as the
elevator came to a stop. “Floor 14,” the recording said.
“This is where I get off,” she whispered as she brought the palm of her hand
up to his cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow morning.”
++++++++++++++++++
As Jean walked slowly down towards her room, she felt like she was walking on
clouds as she replayed the evening with Steve over and over again in her
mind. Then she realized that she had told him she suspected Jessica was gay.
“Oh my God,” she thought to herself, “did I really tell him I think she’s
hot?” She couldn’t remember exactly. Jean always thought of herself as
straight. She was attracted to Steve, after all. But she so admired and
cared for Jessica. They had been great friends ever since they met their
sophomore year at UCLA. And to be honest, she did think Jessica was pretty
hot. She had so much confidence in herself – and a great body, too. Jean
always wondered, however, why her friend never had a steady boyfriend.
Enough of this, she said to herself. It’s Steve she wants – and though still
feeling tipsy from the beers, she was coherent enough to know that things
were going quite well so far – and all because she was smoking. She pulled
out the pack of Virginia Slims to see how many were left. She counted four.
“Holy shit,” she said to herself. “I’ve never smoked so many in one day.”
Her chest ached a bit and she wondered whether she was smoking too much.
“Don’t get addicted,” a voice in the back of her mind said. However, the
voice couldn’t stop her from putting a cigarette in her mouth and lighting it
as soon as she reached the door to her room. “Fuck it. It’s Vegas.”
Forgetting that she had a key, Jean knocked and then tried to steady herself
against the frame. “Jeanie!” Jessica squealed as she opened up the door in
just a tank-top and panties.
Yikes, Jean said to herself. “You’re lookin’ fine girlfriend. Are you
always this informal when you answer the door?”
“I was just getting comfortable,” Jessica replied as she pulled out a Benson
and Hedges from her pack on the dresser and lit it freehanded. “So how’d it
go with Steve?” she asked eagerly as she sat on the side of the bed.
Jean walked over to the dresser mirror and watched herself take a long draw
on her 120. “It went wonderful,” she said, spinning around to face her
friend and exhaling a stream of smoke in her direction. She put her arms up
over her head. “You’re a genius, Jessica,” she said, giving her whole body a
spin. “An absolute, frickin’ genius.” She became so dizzy that she fell
onto the bed next to Jessica. “All it took was THIS,” she said as she held
up the cigarette in front of her face, “and now he’s totally addicted to me!”
“Oh my God, Jean, are you drunk?” Jessica asked.
Jean held up her thumb and index finger and replied, “Just a little.” Then
she smiled and threw her arms up into the air and said, “but I’m a whole
lotta drunk on love.”
“I’m happy for you, Jeanie,” Jessica replied softly as she moved her fingers
to her friend’s cheek and began to stroke softly.
Jean looked up at Jessica’s face and smiled. Then she sat up. “So what do I
do next?”
“Well, you were looking pretty sexy out there in the lobby, so I’m not sure I
can show you any more moves. But if you get past first base this weekend,
there are a few things I could teach you.”
“Tell me,” Jean said with excitement as she pulled her knees up off the floor
and under her chin.
“Well…” Jessica paused for a moment and thought to herself, “Oh, how I’d
like to show you, girlfriend.” Then she said out loud, “You’ll need to know
how to give a smoky kiss.”
Jean responded with a quizzical look on her face. “What’s that?”
“Just what I said. Take a deep puff on your cigarette, open your mouth, and
start swirling tongues with Steve.”
The thought of a smoky kiss was turning Jean on even more than seeing her
best friend scantily dressed. “Show me,” she said softly, looking straight
into her friend’s eyes.
Jessica’s heart was pounding. Jean had never acted like this before. Was it
the alcohol? Or was it just Vegas? Jessica brought the Benson and Hedges up
to her lips, took a deep drag, and opened her mouth. She felt paralyzed
trying to discern what Jean really wanted. Just then Jean moved her face
closer to hers, put her hand on the back of Jessica’s neck, and gently
brought their mouths together.
Jean tenderly touched Jessica’s tongue with her own while simultaneously
breathing in the smoke from Jessica’s mouth. When she moved her face back,
she said with a nod, “A smoky kiss. That feels pretty good.”
Jessica, however, was shaking. “Jean, I…what’s going on here?”
“Shhh,” Jean replied as she brought her cigarette up to Jessica’s mouth.
“Don’t ask questions.” Jessica responded by sucking hard on Jean’s Virginia
Slim and inhaled as her friend began to bring the cigarette up to her own
lips. “Let’s just say it’s Vegas,” Jean whispered as she took an extended
puff and once again brought her mouth to Jessica’s, this time blowing a full
gust of smoke into her friend’s lungs. Jessica held the smoke in for several
seconds, feeling the nicotine from her friend’s breath soak into her lungs.
Jean stood up with a smile and started to undress herself in front of the
mirror. She lit a fresh cigarette and held the 120 in her mouth as she
unbuttoned her shirt, smoke pouring through her nostrils in an exhale.
Jessica came up behind her, a freshly lit Benson and Hedges dangling in her
mouth, and placed her hands on Jean’s hips, rhythmically moving her pelvis in
unison with Jean’s. She undid the clasp and the skirt fell to the floor.
Jean turned around and put her arms on Jessica’s shoulders. The two kissed
tenderly as Jessica moved her hands over Jean’s breasts. Jean took a puff
and cocked her head backwards, shooting a stream of smoke that cascaded
upwards. This was incredible, she thought to herself. Totally cool and
wicked.
Jessica fell to her knees and pulled down Jean’s underwear. There before her
was the wet pussy that she had craved for so many years. A deep puff and a
slow exhale bathed the bush in a creamy white cloud that floated upwards from
the hair like a heavy mist. She couldn’t wait any longer. Jessica brought
her tongue up to Jean’s cunt and began to lick. She took puff after puff,
soaking the pussy in a cloud of smoke.
Jean was nearing orgasm, but she didn’t want to come alone. She placed her
hands on Jessica’s head to make her stop and the two moved over to the bed
where they lay side by side. They began to finger each other vigorously as
Jean lay over Jessica, smothering her lips with smoky kisses. Their
excitement building, both felt ready to climax. “This is what you’ve always
wanted, isn’t it?” Jean asked her wickedly.
“Oh yes,” Jessica replied breathlessly. “Yes, I want you, Jean, I’ve always
wanted you…always…wanted…yoouuuahhhhhhh!!!!!!” Jessica wrapped her
arms tight around Jean and locked her tongue with hers. It was like a death
grip – nothing could release the hold she now had on her.
Jean smiled as she orgasmed in tandem with Jessica, continuing to kiss her
friend over and over again until the two drifted off to sleep.
END PART II