House Of Them, Part 3

House of Them
by Wall Yams

Part 3

   She had made her decision two minutes later, having laid the pack
down and gone to the bathroom. She did her business and was stopped by
this pack. She examined it, noting again five were missing. She again
smiled. She sat the pack down and ran to her room. She grabbed an
ashtray off of her dresser, now ready to realize its usefulness, picked
up the pack off her bed and flopped belly-down onto it. She opened the
pack, pulled one of the long cigarettes out and stared at it. Was she
really ready? No, she wasn't. She then realized a lighter would make it
much easier to smoke. She got off the bed and went down into the kitchen
and grabbed a long lighter they used for the grill, having never
mastered your basic Bic. She hid it in her pocket and headed back up to
her room, this time with her lighter out and ready. She picked up the
unlit cigarette from the ashtray and put it in her lips. She pulled on
it, noting the crisp taste. She liked it. She thought it would be good
enough unlit. But she reasoned it was useless if she didn't light it, or
else the tobacco companies would be out of business. She hit the lighter
button and a flame failed to appear. Always happened with the damn
things. She tried it again and a flame bounced out of it. She put it to
her cigarette and sucked.  This time smoke hit her mouth, meaning it was
lit. She killed the lighter.

   She noted the smoke was cool and not very offensive like she
would've bet on. She blew out the smoke and watched it go to the
ceiling. She liked that. She took a slightly bigger puff just to see it
again. She liked it better that time. But her mom blew streams upwards,
not clouds. She also contained the smoke. Alicia tried holding the smoke
in her mouth, but came up with the same cloud. Then it hit her - her mom
breathed the smoke in. She wasn't inhaling!

   Quick to fix the problem, Alicia brought the cigarette back to her
mouth and drew a little of it in. She managed to somehow get it down
into her lungs, virgin even if she wasn't, and noted a warm feeling in
her chest. She liked it. She exhaled and noted a faint stream leave her
body. Well, she decided that just wouldn't do. She took a bigger drag,
inhaled, and naturally coughed. Not ready for it. She also felt
immediate lightheadedness. She put the cigarette into the ashtray and
let it burn while she buried her head into her bed. She breathed
whatever air she could find through her comforter and calmed herself
down. She looked up and did it again. This time she took an improved but
not too generous pull and noted her chest rising slightly and the warm
nicotine going through her veins and up to her brain. It made her feel
good. One more similar drag and the cigarette was spent. She placed the
butt in the ashtray and laid on her back to enjoy the sudden head rush.
Oh, she felt like the queen of the world.

   Bud came over that afternoon. Alicia hid the ashtray and cigarettes
when she invited him into her room. Though she hated her mom having to
work four hours overtime most nights, she was grateful today. Her mom
wouldn't be home until eight, and it was only two.  Five safe hours with
an extra one for luxury.

   She introduced Bud to her condom supply since it was only oral last
night, and in no time they were both working it very energetically.  By
the time dusk was ready to fall, Bud had pleased her and she had really
pleased him. He left just before seven, and Alicia hurriedly got
showered and changed her sheets. Her mom came home, noted the pack was
gone from the table and smiled. She found Alicia in her room, reading a
novel, and smiled at her incredible daughter.

 "How was today? Any luck with the men?"

 "A bit. One came over and we played a few games. He's really nice."

 "That's sweet. Anything unusual happen?"

  "Well, I suppose the fact that our neighbor didn't call to chat was a
bit odd, but that's as extreme as it gets today."

   "I brought some pizza home. The boss upped me to manager of my
department today so I decided it was time to celebrate, but it means
I'll probably leave around nine and get back well beyond twelve hours
later. Sorry to say it, but it looks like our time together is cut to a
constant three day weekend."

  Alicia playfully pouted at this news but agreed it was nice that her
mom had moved into a more secure and more rewarding job. Rewarding for
the both of them, really.

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