Lisa's Quest, Part 4

    4. Sunday - Opposition Encountered.

    Lisa'd hoped Sunday would repeat the excitement and positive energy of
Saturday. So far, it had not. As she drove to work, cigarette in hand, she
wondered how it could possibly get worse. She'd smoked a cigarette in bed
right after waking up, amazed at how good it tasted. For the first time, she
decided, the great pleasure she experienced smoking was something she'd want
to continue even if the Johnson & Myers job didn't come through. But after the
enjoyment of her first cigarette, it was downhill.

    First her parents called. Since her dad's transfer, they talked each week
by telephone. Lisa's family was close, and she decided to tell them about her
decision to start smoking. They reacted badly. Her mother cried, and her
father pleaded with her to reconsider her decision. "No job is worth it," he
argued. The conversation was uncharacteristically heated. When Lisa told them
she was an adult and would make her own decisions, they told her she was
acting like a juvenile. Her sixteen year old sister, Cathy, on the phone
throughout the call, was the only one who reserved judgment. Hanging up the
phone, Lisa was upset. She tried sucking Tic-Tacs, but they left her
unsatisfied. Feeling guilty and irritable, Lisa chain-smoked three cigarettes
in a row.

    Then her roommate Kristen called. She was coming home from her parents
tonight instead of tomorrow night. After the debacle with her parents, Lisa
said nothing to Kristen about smoking. But Lisa knew another fight was
imminent. Kristen wouldn't want Lisa smoking in the apartment. During their
six months together, Lisa knew Kristen was strongly anti-smoking. For example,
Kristen refused to frequent restaurants which permitted smoking anywhere on
the premises, and she did not like Patti, primarily because she was a "stupid
smoker." This hadn't mattered before, but Kristen's early return posed a
problem. Lisa'd hoped to have all day Monday to smoke in peace and wait until
Monday night to figure out how to deal with Kristen. An early return would
complicate that, and Lisa wasn't sure what to do about it.

    As she arrived at the restaurant, Lisa threw her cigarette out the cracked
car window. It was her seventh cigarette, and it was only eleven o'clock. She
was early, so Lisa decided to smoke one more in the parking lot before going
in. She sensed that being upset made her want to smoke more. I may need that
job at J&M before this is over, she thought sarcastically. As the car's
lighter popped out, Lisa sucked hard on the unlit cigarette in her mouth until
it fired up. The familiar sensation of smoke filling her mouth felt good; Lisa
inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. God, she sighed, I don't want to give this
up.

    Holiday weekends were always busy for the restaurant and today was
understaffed. Lisa had to work the non-smoking section and the prospects for
taking a break looked bleak. But she was busy and didn't think about smoking
for the first couple hours. By two o'clock, though, Lisa found herself
becoming irritable. Walking back from a table filled with ill-mannered
children, Lisa found herself chanting, "Shit, shit, shit!" Matt, the shift
supervisor, took her aside. "Lisa," he suggested, "why don't you let April
handle your section for a few minutes? Take a short break."

    Lisa made a beeline for the smokeroom. Over three hours since her last
cigarette, Lisa knew this was a bona fide nicotine fit. Pulling them from her
apron pocket, Lisa fumbled with the pack and finally placed one in her mouth.
As the flame of the lighter hit the tip and the cigarette ignited, Lisa sucked
hard and breathed deeply, to pull as much smoke as she could into her lungs as
quickly as possible. "Finally," she said out loud, feeling the rush of relief
as the nicotine began its work. Lisa proceeded to take several successive long
drags in a row, inhaling each one as deeply as she could. The nicotine calmed
her nerves, and she began to smoke more deliberately. "I guess this is what
cravings are like," Lisa laughed to herself. She knew the smoke, which gave
her a pleasurable sensation as it filled her lungs, was also relaxing her
tense body.

    Lisa finished her cigarette in less than five minutes and immediately
chained into a second without thinking. When she returned to the floor a few
minutes later, she felt like a new woman. Pleasant and relaxed, Lisa thanked
April for subbing for her and handled the heavy flow of business with relative
ease. "If my goal was to become hooked on those things," she later told Patti,
"I suspected at that moment I'd reached my goal."

    In mid-afternoon things began to slow down. Lisa wanted another break.
Although she didn't feel frantic this time, she knew she'd welcome a chance to
inject more nicotine into her system. This time Nancy was there smoking a VS
120 when Lisa entered the smokeroom. Lisa sat down, got out her cigarettes and
lit up. Taking her first drag and leaving her cigarette in her mouth as she
typically did, Lisa asked Nancy, "Well, did you and Megan talk last night?"

    Nancy smiled and nodded. "Yes," she answered enthusiastically, "and it
went so well! Lisa, I took your advice and told Megan what I wished I'd heard
from my mother at her age." She took a drag on her VS 120. "I told Megan I
started smoking at age fourteen, too, and that at her age I didn't want
anybody to tell me what to do, either. So I told her I'd permit her to smoke
at home and with her friends as much as she wanted, provided that she limit
her smoking in public places until she's at least sixteen." Lisa smiled and
hit on her cigarette while she listened. "And how did Megan respond?" Lisa
asked. Nancy was beaming and there were tears in her eyes. "She gave me a big
hug and told me I was the most understanding mother in the whole world. And
then," Nancy wiped a tear away, "I suggested to Megan that we smoke a
cigarette together. Sort of like a peace pipe, making a treaty to be honest
and open with each other. God, Lisa, it was a special moment! I suppose I
should have felt guilty lighting a cigarette for my daughter, but I know I was
only acknowledging a choice she'd already made for herself. For better or
worse, it's the very same choice I made almost twenty years ago." Nancy put
down her cigarette and blew her nose. "Megan was nervous, but watching her
smoke reminded me of myself. She's obviously been stealing cigarettes for
awhile. When she lit up, she knew what to do! Seeing her enjoy smoking like
that made me glad I'd been understanding." Nancy picked up her cigarette again
and took one last, big puff. "So thank you, Lisa, and Megan thanks you, too. I
told her about our discussion yesterday."

    Lisa felt pleased as Nancy left. She was glad Nancy and Megan could openly
accept each other and their mutual love of smoking. Lisa wished her parents
had been able to respond in that mature, affirming way. Oh well, Lisa thought,
enjoying a big drag on her Marlboro Menthol, life is not always perfect. Lisa
decided to chain-smoke two more cigarettes before returning to her station.
The last was cigarette number twelve of the day. Gina came in for a break
before Lisa finished. She seemed glad to see her. "Lisa," Gina smiled as she
sat down, "it's good to see you smoking in here with us." She lit up, pulled
hard on her Marlboro 100, inhaled quickly and exhaled forcefully. "It's nice
to see someone START smoking for a change, instead of seeing everybody
quitting." "Gina," Lisa smiled, finishing her last cigarette, "I couldn't
agree more!"

    The rest of the work day was uneventful. Lisa had two more in the late
afternoon in the breakroom. But she was definitely ready for number fifteen
when she got in her car. She reached into her apron pocket, but found no
cigarettes and no lighter. "Oh, God," Lisa muttered, "I left 'em on the table
in the breakroom!" She went inside to look, but no luck. Someone must have
moved them or thrown them out. "Oh, shit!" Lisa muttered to herself as she
walked back to her car. "Shit, shit, shit!" Lisa had almost a whole carton at
home, but that was twenty minutes away. She wanted one now! She'd been pacing
herself for the last hour, looking forward to having another cigarette in the
car. She was very frustrated.

    Suddenly, Lisa remembered to look in her purse. In the bottom was the
unopened pack of Marlboro 100's she bought on Friday. She looked at the gold
pack. It didn't take Lisa long to decide what to do. "Gina smokes these," Lisa
told herself, "and even if they're stronger, how different can they be?"
Tearing the cellophane off the pack, Lisa took out a cigarette. Unlike the
Marlboro Menthol Light 100's, these had cork tips. She smelled it. It smelled
a bit different, but it smelled good. "What the hell," Lisa said, "I'm not
waiting until I get home."

    She started her car and pushed in the lighter. The cigarette came to life
when Lisa touched the element to the end, and she tasted a much stronger,
tobacco taste. It was different from the flavor she'd become accustomed to.
The cool feeling of menthol was missing, Lisa noticed, and the smoke felt
almost rough as she pulled it into her lungs. But then a strong wave of
satisfaction rolled over her as the nicotine from the full-flavor Marlboro
kicked in. Lisa liked it! "Yeah," she marveled, "these things taste good!" She
quickly took another drag. As she exhaled from her nose her body began to
relax. Lisa was interested in the different taste and feel of these
full-flavor, non-menthol cigarettes. She didn't notice Gina walking up to her
car.

    "Hey, kid," Gina said, knocking on the cracked window, "you forgot
something." In Gina's hands were Lisa's cigarettes and lighter. "Thanks,
Gina," Lisa said, rolling down the window and taking them. "No problem," Gina
began, and then said, "hey, what're you smoking?" Gina noticed the cork-tipped
filter on the cigarette in between Lisa's fingers. "Oh," Lisa smiled, "I
decided to try these," and she held up the gold pack of Marlboro 100's.
"They're pretty good, aren't they?" Gina grinned, her black eyes flashing.
"Damn right," she replied with a wink, "that's my brand. They're bigger,
they're badder, they're stronger! What do you think of 'em?" Lisa stopped to
take another drag and tap some ashes into the ashtray. Exhaling out the window
toward Gina, Lisa said, "They're different, but they're pretty good,
especially when you need a cigarette real bad!"

    Gina rolled her eyes. "You're bad, Lisa," she teased, "could I bum one?"
Lisa looked puzzled. "What do you mean, 'bum' one?" "I mean, can I have one of
those cigarettes?" Gina explained, "because I'm out!" "Oh, sure thing," Lisa
replied, a bit embarrassed. She handed Gina one of the Marlboro 100's through
the open window, then clicked the lighter. Gina leaned into the car and caught
the light. Taking her usual quick, hard drag, she inhaled and forcefully blew
smoke back into Lisa's face. "Thanks, Lisa," she said, "you're a saint. See
you tomorrow." As Gina walked away from the car, still puffing, Lisa called
out. "No," she explained, "you won't see me tomorrow. I'm off." Gina walked
back. "Well, then," Gina smiled, smoke escaping from her mouth, "I'll see you
whenever. Hey, if you don't want the rest of those, I'll take the pack off
your hands." Lisa thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No," she
answered, "I'm going to try these again. They're worth testing for the rest of
this pack." Gina nodded. "Be careful," Gina warned, "or when I see you next
time you'll be smoking Marlboro gold 100's!"

    Gina enjoyed smoking the Marlboro 100 as she drove home. She felt much
better by the time she finished. Then her thoughts began to turn to Kristen
and how to deal with her. Lisa knew Kristen would explode knowing that Lisa
was smoking in the apartment. Walking in the front door of the townhouse, she
knew there was no way to hide it. The smell of stale smoke still hung in the
air. "Shit," Lisa muttered, "I guess I'd better prepare to face the music."
Knowing conflict was coming made Lisa nervous, and her immediate reaction was
to light a cigarette. "Mmm," Lisa sighed as she lit up once again and inhaled,
"that's better." Lisa was back to her menthols, and she felt herself relax as
she sucked the cool, mentholated smoke into her lungs. The nicotine worked as
Lisa took a third consecutive drag. Now she could formulate a plan to deal
with Kristen. Whatever else happened, Lisa was not going to hide her new love
for smoking or her growing addiction to nicotine's pleasures.

    Lisa checked the answering machine, and three messages awaited her.

    "Lisa, it's just me, Patti. Just checking on ya, kid. Give me a call
tonight. I hope you're still smoking. Take care. Bye!"

    "Lisa, this is Nancy. Hey, I enjoyed talking with you in the smokeroom. I
was thinking about you getting that legal job. School's out, and Gina's
willing to work more hours. So if you want to start right away, that would be
okay. Give me a call and let me know. Or, if you like, stop over on Monday.
Megan and I will be home all day and she'd love to meet you. No need to call
first. Just bring your cigarettes!"

    "Hi, Lisa, it's Brian. Give me a call. I've thought about you a lot since
Friday night. If you don't have plans, I'd love to get together on Monday. I'd
give you a mid-term exam on smoking style but, based on what I saw Friday
night, you'd pass with flying colors! Hope things are going okay. Give me a
call if you'd like to get together."



    Lisa puffed thoughtfully as she listened to these messages. Without
realizing it, she lit a second cigarette and kept on smoking while the
messages played. Lisa decided she'd call Patti and tell her what'd happened
since Friday night. And she'd really like to meet Nancy's daughter, Megan,
because they could compare notes on starting smoking. Brian seemed really
interested. As Lisa took a big drag, she imagined herself going out with him.
Yeah, she smiled, this could get very interesting.

    Lisa called Patti and brought her up to date. She didn't want to be on the
phone when Kristen arrived; she wanted to get the call out of the way. While
on the phone with Patti, Lisa smoked constantly. At the end she looked at the
ashtray which was empty when she began. God, Lisa thought, we were on the
phone for less than half an hour and I smoked four cigarettes! Lisa then
called Brian. They chatted briefly, and again Lisa found herself lighting up.
Like Patti, Brian was interested in Lisa's continued progress as a smoker. He
wanted to know the details of her smoking; how many she'd smoked, when she lit
up, and so on. Lisa enjoyed talking about it with Brian. She surprised herself
by asking him to come with her to Heather's cookout. Brian kidded Lisa about a
first date, but he was pleased. And he was intrigued at the thought of meeting
people from the "smoking law firm." He said yes. Lisa'd pick him up before
eleven. Lisa smiled as she hung up the phone. Brian was a nice guy, and very
supportive of her smoking.

    Wandering into the living room, Lisa decided not to make extraordinary
efforts to hide her new habit before Kristen returned. Instead, she would
simply go about her business and treat her smoking like the most natural thing
in the world. Indeed, smoking was quickly becoming almost second nature to
Lisa.

    Kristen arrived home at 9:30. Lisa sat in the living room with a cigarette
in hand. As Kristen realized what was happening, she became visibly upset.
Lisa told Kristen why she began smoking, and firmly announced her decision to
smoke was not negotiable. Kristen was furious. After arguing whether it was
fair and voicing strong objections to smokers in general and second-hand smoke
in particular, Kristen retreated to her room and slammed the door.

    Lisa did not like conflict. The argument upset her more than she wanted to
admit. They'd been roommates for only six months. But they were friends. Lisa
had to stick to her guns, but sadly wondered whether one of them would wind up
moving out. This thought upset Lisa even more. So she resorted to what was
quickly becoming her normal way of dealing with stress; she pushed her long
blond hair back away from her face, lit another cigarette, and gratefully
allowed nicotine to work its magic on her frazzled nerves. She felt better
after the first cigarette, and quickly chained into a second.

    Halfway through the second cigarette, Lisa realized Kristen was standing
in the doorway watching her. Lisa turned to look. There was an odd look on
Kristen's face. It was not anger; Kristen's countenance was gentler, almost
wistful. Her strange expression reflected sadness, almost remorse. Lisa did
not put out her cigarette, but smiled and motioned for Kristen to enter the
room. Kristen did so without a word.

    "Hey, Lisa," Kristen smiled weakly, sitting down, "I'm sorry about blowing
up like that. You caught me off guard, that's all." Lisa took a drag as
Kristen spoke. She noticed Kristen watching her closely while she puffed and
then deeply inhaled some smoke. Slowly the lights went on! My God, Kristen is
jealous, Lisa realized. Kristen watched smoke begin to escape from Lisa's
nostrils in a slow stream. Yeah, Lisa decided, she wants a cigarette! Lisa
decided to probe a bit deeper.

    "Tell me, Kristen," Lisa asked, exhaling smoke through her nostrils, "did
you ever smoke?" Kristen smiled and pushed her strawberry blond hair away from
her face. "Yeah," she admitted, squirming in her seat, "I smoked about a pack
of day for five years." Lisa looked surprised, and Kristen blushed in
response. "Yeah, I started when I was 16. I quit a little over a year ago,"
she went on, "when I started going out with Brad." Lisa remembered Kristen
talk about Brad. They broke up before Kristen moved in with Lisa. "Brad's a
militant anti-smoker," Kristen continued, "and I thought he was Mr. Right. He
insisted I quit so I did." As Lisa took another drag, she saw tears in
Kristen's eyes. "Really, Brad didn't make me quit," she added, "it was my
decision. But I quit for him. We went to anti-smoker meetings together and I
became a real bitch as far as smoking goes." Kristen stopped to wipe her nose.
"I bought into the anti-smoking movement for him." Tears began to fall from
Kristen's eyes. "And you know what really, really pisses me off?" she said
with rising anger in her voice. "When he dumped me, he dumped me for a girl
who's a goddamn smoker!"

    Kristen was crying now. Lisa crushed her cigarette in the ashtray and
moved next to her on the couch. Kristen cried on Lisa's shoulder for a few
minutes and then calmed down. This was a golden opportunity to work on Kris,
Lisa realized. It seemed almost unfair, but Lisa wanted desperately to help
her backslide. "Kris," she asked gently, "how long since you've had a
cigarette?" Kristen looked at her through red eyes. "A little over a year,"
Kristen answered, sniffling. "Why?". "What brand did you smoke?" Lisa asked.
Kristen looked puzzled. "I smoked Salem Light 100's," she replied, "why?" Lisa
screwed up her courage. "Kris," she continued softly, "you'd like a cigarette
right now, wouldn't you?" Kristen looked shocked, but Lisa went on. "I saw the
look on your face as you watched me smoking. I saw a girl who wanted a
cigarette! Don't tell me you don't miss smoking! You do, at least a little
bit, don't you?"

    Kristen shook her head no. "Oh no, Lisa," she answered in a desperate
tone, "you don't know the hell I went through to quit! God, once you get
addicted...." Kristen shuddered involuntarily and didn't finish her sentence.
She went on. "Okay, I admit being jealous seeing you enjoy that cigarette. It
brought back memories. But I can't go back," Kris entreated, "I can't."
Kristen was weakening; Lisa could see it in her eyes. Lisa smiled at her, but
this smile had a naughty wrinkle. "Kris," Lisa continued in her most
persuasive tone of voice, "they were good memories, weren't they?" Kristen
didn't answer. "You loved smoking, Kris, I can tell. You always loved it. That
bastard Brad made you quit. You've never forgiven him, have you?" Kristen
didn't respond. "You know," Lisa added, "you could start smoking again right
now if you wanted to. You know you could. It would be so easy. And it would be
so pleasant." Kristen was visibly distraught. "The important question," Lisa
suggested slyly, "is not what that bastard Brad would approve of! It's not
what anyone else thinks. The question is what you, Kristen Kelly, want to do
right now?" Kristen still didn't respond, so Lisa kept up her assault. She
leaned over and picked up her lighter and pack of Marlboro Menthol Light 100's
from the table.

    "You know, Kris, I understand these are real similar to the Salems you
smoked, Kris." Lisa opened the box and took out a cigarette. She held it for a
moment and looked at it. "Menthols, right?" she asked rhetorically. Lisa put
the cigarette between her lips. "This is going to taste really good in just a
minute, Kris," Lisa said with an absolutely evil grin. "That is, just as soon
as I light it up." Lisa deliberately flicked her lighter and touched the flame
to the tip of the cigarette in her mouth, simultaneously pulling very slowly
but very hard on the filter. "Mmm," Lisa sighed, letting some smoke from the
first puff escape from her lips as she set her lighter down and continued,
"this is really good!" Kristen's attention was fixed on her, so Lisa played
the moment for dramatic effect. She enjoyed playing the temptress. Lisa took a
second drag and pulled the smoke deep inside her lungs. After holding it for a
long time, she slowly exhaled a steady stream of smoke toward the ceiling.
"God, that's great," Lisa sighed. "It is so good."

    Kristen looked extremely uncomfortable. So Lisa looked right at her.
"Kris," she smiled, with the same evil grin, "If I handed you this cigarette
right now, you'd take a big drag for me, wouldn't you?" Kris shook her head
no. "Lisa," she muttered half-heartedly, "I told you, I swore I'd never go
through the hell of quitting again!" Lisa nodded sympathetically as her
devilish grin grew even wider. "Why, Kristen," she replied with mock surprise,
purposely allowing smoke to escape while she talked, "I agree with you! That's
the most wonderful part. You see, you won't ever have to quit smoking again!"
Lisa smiled. "I'm not planning on quitting, and you won't have to, either. Not
ever! Brad and his filthy anti-smoking friends are gone, honey!" Kristen
didn't respond; but she did not move away. "And Kris," Lisa went on, "you'd
love to inhale and feel all that good smoke soaking into your lungs again!
Wouldn't you, honey? God, you've missed it so much over the last year! I know
you have, Kris." Lisa took another drag and tapped the first ashes into the
ashtray. The cigarette was still well over three-quarters of its original
length.

    "Now Kris," Lisa went on, "In a minute I'm going to light another
cigarette. But first, I'm going to put this one right here...." Lisa touched
Kristen's mouth with her fingers , using the hand holding the burning
cigarette. "I'm going to put it right between your sweet lips." Lisa looked
deep into Kristen's eyes. "And you're not going to stop me, are you, dear?"
Kristen said nothing, but she slowly nodded her head no. "Very good, Kris,"
Lisa purred, "that's a very good girl!" Slowly Lisa turned the cigarette
around in her hand and placed the filter up against Kristen's lips. "There
now, doesn't that smell good, Kris?" As Lisa held it there, the smoke began to
drift into Kristen's face. "Now, open up! C'mon, you know you want it! Open
wide!" Kristen shuddered and parted her lips slightly. Lisa carefully inserted
the filter tip of the burning Marlboro into Kristen's mouth. Kristen's eyes
were huge as she watched the smoldering cigarette hanging there, but she did
not move. "Okay, Kristen," Lisa said, ready to finish her off, "I'm going to
light up my own cigarette. That one's yours. I want you to take a puff right
now. It'll be so nice!"

    As Lisa lit up another smoke, Kristen slowly but surely sealed her lips
around the filter of the cigarette resting in her mouth. She sucked on it ever
so slightly. Kristen softly drew the smoke into her mouth, and then inhaled it
into her lungs. Slowly the smoke began to escape from Kristen's mouth around
the burning cigarette. "Again, honey," Lisa urged, exhaling the first drag of
her own fresh cigarette. "Do it again, but harder this time!" Obediently,
Kristen began to create suction on the filter tip of the cigarette. This time,
her reflex memory kicked in. Kristen's cheeks began to hollow and her fingers
raced toward her face to support the cigarette dangling in her lips. She took
her first real drag. "That's it, kid," Lisa urged while Kristen sucked, "now
isn't that good? Suck that good smoke down all the way into your lungs! That's
it!"

    Kristen inhaled deeply. Her fingers removed the cigarette from her lips. A
look of delight flashed across her face. "Oh my God," she said breathlessly,
holding smoke in her lungs. "Oh my God, this is good! I've missed this!"
Kristen exhaled slowly. Quickly she took a second drag. Inhaling again,
Kristen looked at Lisa and smiled for the first time. "Shit, Lisa," she said
with delight holding smoke in her lungs again, "you can't imagine how good
this feels!" Exhaling forcefully this time, Kristen immediately took another,
even bigger drag. "Yes, I can imagine," Lisa smiled with satisfaction,
"believe me, I can." Kris smoked the rest of the cigarette without hesitation.
As soon as she'd finished, she asked Lisa for another. Kristen admitted she
was experiencing a head rush from the nicotine . She felt a bit wobbly, but
she would not stop smoking. "I need to make up for lost time," she laughed.

    After her second cigarette, Kristen seemed relaxed. Her previous
anti-smoker persona had melted away with each drag she inhaled. "God," she
said finally, "I still want another one. Can I?" Lisa just laughed. "You
little bitch," she teased, "I should make you beg for it!" She handed Kris a
third cigarette and Kris eagerly lit up. "You know," Kris said as she exhaled,
"one of the great things about smoking is that it helps you lose weight."
Taking another drag, she continued. "I've probably gained at least ten pounds
since I quit smoking." Kristen exhaled leisurely as she spoke. "Now I can lose
that weight again." Lisa frowned. Kristen was not heavy but she was big.
Already attractive, Lisa shuddered to think how Kristen would look if she lost
weight. But she was delighted Kris had succumbed to the temptation and was
smoking again.

    Kristen's smoking style was sexy and feminine, almost seductive. She drew
on her cigarette with pursed lips when she puffed, as if she were kissing the
cigarette. Then she opened her mouth wide to inhale, allowing the smoke to
form a big ball in her mouth. When she inhaled, she did so slowly and deeply.
Kristen's exhales were long and leisurely, sometimes coming from her mouth,
sometimes from her nose, and sometimes a mixture of the two. She was a pro at
french-inhaling. Kristen's smoking style seemed designed to attract male
attention. When Lisa asked her about it, Kristen blushed. "Yeah," she
admitted, "I always wanted men to notice me when I smoked. That was why I quit
when Brad started in on me," she added, "he was the first guy I ever dated who
my smoking style couldn't heat up!"

    By the time the evening was over, Lisa and Kris smoked four cigarettes
together. At Lisa's request, Kristen taught her how to french-inhale. After a
few tries, Lisa perfected the skill of taking a drag, opening her mouth,
pulling the smoke up into her nose, and closing her mouth to finish the inhale
before allowing the smoke to trickle out her nostrils. "God," Lisa laughed,
"it tickles when you do this. But it also feels neat!"

    At 10:30 the two girls decided to head for bed. Lisa put her nightgown on
and crawled into bed. Her cigarettes and her ashtray sat on her nightstand for
one last cigarette. Lisa felt good about the way today had worked out. She
counted in her head the number of cigarettes she'd smoked. Well over a whole
pack! Lisa was proud of herself. She was ready to go to Heather's party
tomorrow. Even though the other were all experienced smokers, Lisa felt sure
she could hold her own smoking with them. And she thought about the fact that
her escort would be Brian, also a smoker. Before she turned out the light,
Lisa looked over Patti's list from Friday evening. She smiled; she could check
off almost everything on the list. She was almost a real smoker. Lisa giggled
when she re-read the open item involving smoking after having sex. "Maybe
that's not so far-fetched after all," she mused.

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