Nic At Night, Part 4

This fictional account contains adult language and themes.  If such language
and themes offend you, please do not read further.  The persons and events
described in this work are purely fictional.  Any similarity to actual persons
or events is strictly coincidental.  Copyright 2001 by SSTORYMAN.  All rights
reserved.  Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this story in any form
and for any purpose as long as this notice is reproduced and no financial
remuneration is received, directly or indirectly, by the person reproducing
it.

NIC AT NIGHT

4. Epilogue

   Linda Meeder was tired.  Her first night as a hostess at Giovanni's went
okay.  She caught onto the routine of greeting customers and ushering them to
the right seating area, either smoking or non-smoking or, if they weren't
eating, letting them go to the bar.  A girl named Kelly Sims trained her, and
she felt comfortable with Kelly.  She was nice, and seemed sure of what she
was doing.  It was obvious Kelly had been there awhile.

   That first night Linda didn't take a break.  She stayed at the hostess
stand and watched Kelly in action.  She wanted to understand what to do.
Paying attention to the senior girl's movements seemed smart.  Finally, at ten
o'clock Sue Ann told the two hostesses it was time for their outs.

   Linda was an attractive redhead, delectably cute, with curly hair and an
alluringly disarming face covered with adorable freckles.  She dutifully
tagged along behind Kelly to a small table in the back of the bar, where
silverware and napkins were laid out in preparation for the nightly wrapping
ritual that awaited them.

   Kelly showing her how to wrap silverware.  Linda started work and Kelly
made small talk.  "Linda, I have to say, you did fuckin' great tonight," she
smiled.  "You did much better than I did my first night on the job."

   "Gee, thanks, Kelly," the shy redhead replied as she rolled the silverware
and napkins.  "Honest, I almost couldn't believe my good luck when my mom said
she got me a job at the restaurant owned by her friend Sue Ann.  I'm only
fifteen.  I was bagging groceries at the local supermarket a week ago.  This
is a much cooler job, for sure."

   "Yeah, it sure is," Kelly agreed.  She sized up her cute, redheaded crony
and smiled lasciviously.  "And I have to say, Linda, you look real good in
that tight tank-top and short skirt.  Sue Ann likes all her girls to look
sexy.  And I'd say you fill the bill real well."

   "Wow, thanks," she blushed, looking at the ground with an embarrassed smile
on her pretty freckled face.

   It was true.  Linda did look good.  Her tight skirt clung to her thighs,
stressing the sumptuous curves of her hips and legs.  Her young, firm breasts
protruded magnificently from underneath the snug tank top.  In her outfit,
with her fire-engine red hair on her shoulders in page-boy fashion, Linda was
breathtaking, almost good enough to eat.

   Kelly admired the new girl.  Linda was as attractive as she was; well,
almost, but not quite.  Linda's breasts, though dazzling under her top, still
weren't quite in the same class as her own prominent tits.  Still, she _was_
damn cute.  Kelly wondered if Sue Ann offered her the job before or after
seeing the lovely girl in person.  Knowing Sue Ann, she probably insisted on
meeting her first.  Yes, Sue Ann could pick them.  But was there another
reason Sue Ann hired this new, redheaded wonder?  She suspected there was, and
it was time to find out.

   Without comment Kelly took out a new, gold-colored pack of Benson & Hedges.
She expertly tore off the cellophane wrapper and pulled the corner of the gold
paper, revealing tightly packed cigarettes inside.  Gently she tapped it on
her wrist.  Three or four white filters emerged.  Her fingernails took hold of
one, and with no hesitation she slid it out and put it in her mouth.

   She smiled at her friend.  "Oh, I'm sorry, Linda.  Would you like one?"

   "Uh, no thanks," the redhead stammered.  "I, uh, I don't smoke."

   "God, that's too bad," came Kelly's nonchalant answer, after pausing long
enough to light her long white cigarette.

   Linda looked confused as the cigarette crackled to life.  "What do you mean
it's too bad?"

   "Just what I said," Kelly smiled back, tipping her head and releasing a
strong exhale into the air between them.  "It's too bad you don't smoke.  But
don't worry.  You will soon enough."

   "Excuse me?  What do you mean?"

   Kelly gave Linda the look of someone who'd just been asked to explain
something simple to a complete idiot.  "Look, Linda, I'm saying, it's
inevitable.  Everybody who works here smokes.  Every single one of us.  You
may not have noticed, it being your first night, but just look around.  Sue
Ann's a smoker.  The cooks smoke, and all the servers and runners smoke.  The
hostesses are younger than the servers, but we all smoke, too.  That's what
I'm mean.  It's bound to happen to you, too, eventually, if you work here long
enough.  Or, you could go back to bagging groceries at the stupid
supermarket," she added with more than a hint of a threat.

   Linda was flustered.  "But smoking's bad for you.  It's a stupid habit."

   Kelly put her finger in front of her lips.  "Shh," she cautioned.  "God,
don't say that!  It really pisses Sue Ann off to hear people who work here
talk like that.  Our regular customers are smokers.  If Sue Ann hears you
throwing out anti-smoking bullshit like that, well, it's a sure-fire way to
get your ass canned!"

   "Sorry," Linda gulped.  "But it's true, Kelly.  Do you know what you're
doing to your body when you smoke like that?" 

   The blond girl was in the midst of an extended inhale.  "Yeah, I sure as
hell do," she smiled blissfully.  "You bet your ass!  Smoking makes me feel
great.  It feels really good, Linda, and that's why I do it all the time.  In
fact," she went on, casually pointing to her pack.  "This is the second pack
I've opened today.  You see, I smoke between a pack and a pack and a half
every day."

   Linda's eyes narrowed.  "My God!  But of course you're older," she
cautiously went on.  "That explains it.  You're like, seventeen or eighteen.
Right?"

   "Wrong again," Kelly smiled.  "I'm your age, Linda.  Crystal and I are
fifteen, like you."  Seeing her red-headed cohort's disbelief, she threw her
head back and laughed.  "Surprised?"

   Linda nodded.  She looked at Kelly's large chest, which in truth made her
look older.  "Wow.  I wouldn't have guessed," she admitted.  "I can't believe
you and Crystal are my age."

   "You see, Linda, smoking makes us look more sophisticated, more mature.
That's why Sue Ann promoted Crystal from being a hostess to being a server.
That, by the way, is also why Sue Ann hired you to be a new hostess.  Crystal
was ready to be a server.  Crystal smokes, and it gives her extra
self-confidence.  She looks older, more mature, even when she's not smoking."

   Linda said nothing.  Kelly took another long drag and pulled the smoke
inside her chest.  "Linda, I never thought I'd smoke when I started working
here," she went on, holding the smoke in her lungs.  She turned her head to
perform a perfect mixed mouth and nostril exhale.  "I was like you.  But
hanging out with Crystal, Gretchen and the other girls convinced me I should
give it a try."  She grinned.  "And once you try it, Linda, you find out.  Oh,
yeah!  Smoking's the best!  It feels good, and it gives you something to
really look forward to on your breaks.  Plus, it's even more fun to do when
everyone else is smoking, too."

   The redhead looked shaken.  "Gosh, I don't know," she mumbled.  "I mean,
I've tried it a couple times, you know, just to experiment, to fool around.
My mom smokes, and I've sneaked her cigarettes a few times.  But I didn't like
it much.  It made me sick."

   Kelly raised an eyebrow.  "Your mom smokes?"

   "Yeah.  My dad hate and I it, but Mom refuses to quit, even though we get
after her about it all the time."

   Kelly smiled.  "I see."  No one said anything, but she suspected she knew
something her new red-headed friend didn't.  "Linda, not to change the
subject, but you look like your feet hurt.  Are you having trouble getting
used to those high heels?"

   The red-head smiled.  "I sure am.  My mom took me out to buy these shoes
when Sue Ann told her I could have the job.  I hate 'em.  They pinch my feet
something terrible!"

   "Yep, they hurt like hell, don't they?" Kelly said with a sadistic smile.
"Yeah, I remember that from when I started wearing them, too.  But maybe your
mom can give you something when you get home, something to make you feel
better."  She crushed her cigarette and chained into a second one.  "So, you
said your mom is an old friend of Sue Ann's?"

   Linda nodded.  "Yeah.  My mom and Sue Ann work out at the same health club.
I guess they became friends when they found out they both smoke.  There
weren't too many smokers at the club, so they started hanging out together.
Anyway, that was good for me, because Sue Ann suggested she could offer me
this job as a favor to my mom.  That was nice, don't you think?"

   "Yeah, real nice, Linda," the blond smoker said almost too pleasantly.  "I
got hired because my mom is a friend of Sue Ann's, too.  It's a real
opportunity for lots of things, not the least of which is to start smoking.
Are you sure you don't want to try one?  I bet anything your mom won't care if
you decide to join her and become a smoker like she is.  And like I am," she
added with a winsome grin.

   "No thanks," Linda said graciously.  "You're probably right that my mom
wouldn't care, though.  Sometimes I almost thinks she wants me to.  But I
don't want to get hooked like she is."

   At that moment a tall, redheaded woman entered the restaurant.  Based on
the physical likeness, Kelly guessed this was Linda's mother.

   She called out.  "Linda, Sue Ann said I could pick you up at ten.  Are you
ready to go?"

   "Hi, Mom," Linda said with some embarrassment.  "Just a minute.  I don't
think Kelly and I are finished with our outs."

   The mature woman stared at Kelly.  She was as striking as her daughter,
with bright red hair and a pretty face.  "Hi, Mrs. Meeder," Kelly said
politely.  "I'm Kelly Sims.  I helped train Linda tonight.  She did a great
job, too.  I think we'll become good friends."

   "Nice to meet you, Kelly," the redhead smiled.  Her eyes looked a moment
too long at the burning cigarette in the younger girl's hand.  She smiled even
more.  "I'm Peggy Meeder.  I'm so glad Linda's already making friends."

   "Yes, Linda and I are going to be great friends," Kelly predicted.  "You go
on home, Linda.  I'll finish wrapping the silverware.  Get out of here and
take something for those aching feet."  She gave Mrs. Meeder a knowing look.
"Her feet are killing her.  You might want to give her something before she
goes to bed."

   Peggy Meeder smiled back.  "Thanks, Kelly.  That's a good idea.  Yes, I
sure will.  And I know just the thing, too.  I have some extra strength
Tylenol at home that'll do the trick."

   "I hope you don't mind that I smoke while Linda and I do our outs," Kelly
went on, trying to seem casual.  "Most of the girls here smoke, you know."

   Peggy smiled back.  "It doesn't bother me at all, Kelly.  Actually, you
know what?   The truth is, I smoke myself."

   "Yes, that's what I hear," replied the blond girl, taking a drag on her
B&H.  "By the way, have you ever met my mom?  Karen Sims?"

   "Yes, I have, Kelly.  Sue Ann introduced us a few days ago.  I wanted to
talk with someone else whose daughter worked here as a hostess.  Karen gave me
a lot of insight about how to make the transition with Linda," she added, with
her eyes sparkling at the blond girl.

   Kelly nodded.  "Yes, I'm sure she did.  I'm sure all her ideas were good
ones, too.  Well, Linda, see you tomorrow night.  Go home, take those shoes
off, and have a good night's sleep."

   "Thanks, Kelly.  Thanks for everything.  I will."

   Kelly watched the two redheads walk out.  As they reached the door, the
older woman took a pack of Newport 100's from her purse and slipped a
cigarette between her painted lips.  Kelly smiled and let out a contented sigh
as she watched Linda's mother light up.  

   Oh yes, Linda, she mused, you'll have a pleasant night.  You'll sleep
marvelously, and again tomorrow, too, as your mother initiates you into the
'nic at night' club.  The teenage blond smoker let out a delighted, evil
giggle.  Yeah, unless she missed her guess, Linda would be joining her for a
cigarette at work before she know what hit her.  Later she'd ask Sue Ann and
her mom for more details, but in the meantime she resolved to do everything
she could to assist the lovely Linda to quickly join their club and, very
soon, smoke like all the rest of the girls at the restaurant.  Happily, Kelly
lit up another B&H before finishing wrapping the silverware.  She looked
forward to returning the favor.

THE END

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