Fear Of Flying, Part 4

Fear of Flying
by kalithanatos
CHAPTER FOUR

Janet arrived at work having already smoked the remaining two cigarettes in
her car. She felt great as she started work that day, but a few hours later
she was informed a client was coming to her office and he was unhappy at the
service he had received from one of the assistants at Janet's firm. It was up
to Janet to resolve the problem, and she was not looking forward to it since
she had heard bad things about this particular client from Michelle, the
assistant in question. Michelle was understandably worried since she was new
at the firm, and the client was powerful enough that Michelle feared for her
job.

Janet called Michelle to her office to discuss the matter before the client
arrived, and when Michelle arrived she immediately burst into tears.

"He's going to get me fired, I know he will," Michelle cried.

"No, he won't, I won't let it come to that," Janet reassured.

"God, I hate this!" Michelle exclaimed, "Mr. Summers is so unreasonable, he
won't listen to my advice! What I'm telling him is the truth, and he won't
believe me," Michelle continued. "I wish I had a cigarette!"

Janet did not know Michelle smoked since she had never seen her go outside to
the smoking area with the rest of the smokers.

"Why don't you get your cigarettes and we can discuss this downstairs?" Janet
asked.

Michelle stopped ranting for a moment and looked at Janet. 

"I don't smoke, Janet. I used to smoke, but I don't anymore. What made you
ask me to get my cigarettes?"

Now it was Janet's turn to be puzzled.

"Didn't you just say `I wish I had a cigarette'?"

Michelle replied, "Oh, I did say that, didn't I? What I meant was, I could
really use one right now. Actually, come to think of it, I DO want one. Do
you smoke, Janet?"

"No," Janet lied, while thinking to herself, "I kind of do."

"Who around here could bum me a smoke?"

"What about Sarah?"

"Yeah, Sarah. Where is she?"

"I think I saw her going into the break room a minute ago," Janet replied.
Michelle immediately stood up and headed off to find Sarah. Seconds later she
returned and was beckoning Janet to hurry after her. Before Janet knew it she
was outside with Michelle in the smoking area of their building. Sarah had
seen the look on Michelle's face and knew that one cigarette would not do the
trick, so she had told her to keep the pack. Michelle had barely made it
outside before she had lit up.

"Oh, that's so much better!" Michelle said. "Makes me wonder why I gave up in
the first place."

"You really look like you're enjoying that," Janet said, a little jealous
that Michelle was smoking and she wasn't.

"Yeah, it's fantastic. You don't know what you're missing. Have you ever
tried smoking, Janet?"

Janet was now in an awkward situation. She did not know if she wanted to be
"outed" before she knew if she wanted to continue smoking, but she also did
not want to lie to Michelle. She decided to play it somewhere in the middle.

"I have tried it once or twice, actually."

"Really? You? Pardon me, but you don't look the type."

"What do you mean by that?" Janet asked, slightly insulted

"Well, you're a bit uptight, if you don't mind me saying. You just don't
strike me as the type of lady who would smoke, that's all. Did you like it?"

Janet was at a loss in how to respond. On the upside, Michelle had calmed
down a fair bit, but Janet was still wary of letting on to Michelle about her
recent smoking activities.

"Erm, well, I suppose I did like it. It's quite relaxing."

"It sure is," Michelle said, extracting another cigarette and lighting it.
"You look like you could do with one yourself. Why don't you have one with me
now?"

To be honest, there was nothing Janet would have liked more than to accept,
but the worry was still there; how would people react?

"No, thanks, Michelle. I'm fine, really."

"Come on, Mrs. Morris, you know you want to!" Michelle teased, deliberately
blowing smoke in Janet's direction. Janet turned her head away, but still got
a whiff of the smoke. It smelled lovely! She knew it then - she was powerless
to resist, and Michelle sensed it. Quickly pulling a second cigarette from
the pack, Michelle lit it and extended her hand towards Janet. Janet looked
and the cigarette, then to Michelle, then back to the cigarette before
finally giving in and accepting the gift. As she inhaled, she knew she had
done the right thing - the taste was incredible and to celebrate she
performed her first French inhale. She noticed right away that this cigarette
was more powerful and less minty than the menthols she was used to, but she
liked the sensations nonetheless. She inhaled again and Michelle was pleased
to see that her teasing had had the desired results.

After both women finished their cigarettes, they headed back indoors. Janet
had made Michelle promise not to divulge her smoking secret to anyone, and
Michelle was happy to accept. Michelle, now clear of head after the calming
effect of the cigarette, was able to make her case to the client with the aid
of Janet, and a resolution was agreed to which suited all parties. After the
client left, Michelle grabbed her jacket and as she walked towards the exit,
she waved her cigarettes covertly towards Janet. Janet, understanding the
significance of the motion, quickly collected her own jacket and followed
Michelle downstairs. To maintain Janet's secret away from all the other
office workers, the two women went to a nearby alley and smoked two
cigarettes each before heading back to the office. The illicit thrill of this
act excited Janet, who rather enjoyed being able to share her secret smoking
with another woman, especially since Michelle was also trying to conceal the
fact she had started smoking again, and an unspoken bond was forming.

Janet did not smoke again that day, although on the drive back home she felt
there was something missing from her hand. She understood this to be a
craving that she had heard other people speak of and tried to put it out of
her mind, but it was difficult.

David and Maria were home when she arrived back. Janet had tried to mask the
smell of smoke with perfume and breath-mints, but David still detected a
faint odour of cigarettes from his wife. When he questioned Janet about it,
she told him that she had given a colleague a run home and allowed her to
smoke in the car. David felt Janet was not being entirely truthful about
this. Yet again, the question sprung up in his mind - was Janet smoking? He
desperately hoped she was, but did not force the point; if she were, she
would let him know in her own time. That night in bed, their lovemaking had
the same passion as the previous evening, much to the delight of both of
them. Something had changed, and it was definitely for the best.

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