Smoke And Mirrors, Part 24

This fictional story contains adult themes and descriptions. If such offends
you, read no further.  All persons and situations depicted are fictional, any
similarities to real persons or events is purely coincidental. All rights
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of the author. You can notify the author at del999@yahoo.com.

Smoke & Mirrors
Part 24 The Habit Takes Hold:


The fact that Suzanne had made a new friend in Ashley had made Suzanne happy.
Belonging to this smoking club had real benefits, she thought to herself. Her
next class ended about 11:30. She had plenty of time to walk over to the
cafeteria where she would meet Jill and Paula. She noticed that her jeans
felt looser around her waist. She realized that her smoking had affected her
eating habits. She had always had to watch her weight all through high
school. She had always had baby fat, her face being a little too full for her
liking. She smiled, realizing that it must be her smoking that was causing
her to lose the weight. Since she had started, she no longer craved desserts
and snacks. This was an unanticipated benefit. Maybe I should have one before
lunch; it would certainly curb my appetite. She stopped for a moment, and
retrieved her package. She gently cupped her hand around the cigarette. She
brought the flame from the lighter carefully to her cigarette as she pulled
vigorously. She smiled. I'm really getting good at this, as the cigarette was
lit on her first try. Again, the feeling of relaxation washed over her body.

As she walked leisurely to her lunch date, she realized that this had been
her fifth cigarette of the day, and it wasn't even lunchtime. Oh well, I'm
enjoying it; I shouldn't beat myself up on this. I'll just smoke when I want.
It won't be hard to quit, if I decide. That's what Jill said. There was a lot
of stress being a college student. She would just smoke through college. So
what if she was smoking a bit more than she had originally expected. After
all, her relationship with Jill had improved since she had agreed to keep her
promise. Yes, she felt happy with herself. She brought the cigarette to her
lips and inhaled deeply to reaffirm her decision.

That day she smoked about 12 cigarettes. Throughout the week, she continued
to smoke at this pace, realizing that a pattern had begun to develop. A
couple in the morning. One on the way to class. One at mid-morning, a couple
at lunch, another at mid afternoon break, one when she got home, another
after dinner. And then usually a few with Jill or while she studied. She
seemed to be happy with this schedule, as her body was becoming accustomed to
it's regularly spaced intake of nicotine.

The weekends of course were different. With the total freedom and no
interruptions for classes, she was surprised that she was able to smoke a
pack in one day without any effort at all. Of course, Jill was usually there,
always smoking. She joined her regularly, often trying her stronger VS 100's
full strength. She actually enjoyed the flavor of the VS 100's. They seemed
to have just a little more of a kick, than her lights. Well, at least I'm not
smoking too much, except on weekends, she grimaced. She had it well under
control she thought. She didn't smoke half as much as Jill, who seemed to be
always smoking. She had developed a great friendship with Ashley. She was
happy to share her cigarettes. It was fun smoking with friends. It took her
just under two weeks for her to finish her carton. This surprised her,
remembering how she had thought that it would take much longer. She of course
had bought another carton, when she got down to her last two packs. She knew
somehow, that she did not want to run out.

She wondered what her high school days might have been like if she had taken
up smoking earlier. She had avoided a lot of people solely because they
smoked. She realized that she had been a bit narrow-minded. Of course her
mother had contributed to her attitude. Yes, her mother. She felt bad that
she had not talked to her for over the past two weeks. She was probably
worried about Suzanne. She wondered how she was doing.

Her attitude softened. She missed her a lot. Maybe she had been too harsh
with her. I'll give her a call this weekend. Yes, that is what she would do.
She would avoid the topic of smoking, no matter how insistent her mother
became. She knew that it was the right thing to do. She realized that
Thanksgiving was just around the corner. She would be going home for a few
days. What would she do then? She unconsciously knew that she would want to
smoke. Well, she already knows I smoke. I'll just smoke outside she thought.

If she becomes critical or condescending, she would light up right there in
front of her. She had better not rag on me about my smoking; otherwise she
would chain smoke to show off her newfound independence. She hoped that her
mother's opinion might have softened a bit, as the time had passed. She would
call her this weekend, and feel her out.

That Monday morning, Giselle had just finished making Serge his usual
breakfast of French toast and coffee. She had always been a dutiful wife,
keeping a clean house, cooking and doing household chores. After all she
didn't work. This was the role that she had decided to take. She enjoyed
being a wife. That morning she had been floating around like on a cloud. The
sex last night had been the best that they had had in years. She didn't know
what had happened to Serge, but somehow he had been able to fully satisfy her
needs. He had been so hard. He had seemed to have lasted forever. She smiled
again with the memories of their previous lovemaking.

Serge was in the final stages of preparing to leave for the office. Giselle
was washing up the dishes when Serge slowly came up behind her. He slowly
placed his arms around her and kissed her gently on the neck. Giselle, jerked
away with surprise, and then slowly relaxed to savor his gesture of
affection. Serge continued to kiss her gently.

She finally pulled back as she was beginning to get a bit too aroused.
"Serge! What has gotten in to you? You're acting like a teenager!"

Serge smiled. "I can't help myself, Giselle. Its just that our love making
was so wonderful last night."

"Yes, it was." she blushed. "I don't know what has sparked inside of you, but
don't let the fire go out. Okay?" she said, blushing.

"I don't think that will be a problem." Serge said, realizing that it was
Giselle's new adventurous smoking image that was arousing him. "Rest up for
tonight. I'll be home right after work and we'll pick up where we left off
last night." He said, smiling.

"By the way, aren't you going over to Danielle's today to watch the soaps?"
he questioned.

"Yes, I am. I'm looking forward to it." Giselle said smiling.

"I guess you'll have to smoke with her again," he said as his penis came to
attention.

Giselle's voice softened. "Well, I should keep practicing, if I want to get
better at it. It's only eight weeks, before Suzanne's visit."

"Yes, that makes sense. I just hope I haven't asked you to do something that
you find too difficult"

"Oh Serge, it's okay. I think I can do this. I really can. I just need a
little time to get used to it. That's all," she said.

"Okay, well good luck. I'll see you after work tonight." With that he headed
for his car.


Serge is so kind to be worrying about me. She was now filled with new
resolve. I can show him that I can do this. I'll just have to keep practicing
until it becomes more natural. Oh well, now is as good a time as any. She
went to the kitchen drawer where she had kept her cigarettes and lighter. She
quickly counted her cigarettes. Sixteen were left. Yesterday, she had met her
quota of five cigarettes easily. She would do it again today. She was fully
committed. After all it wasn't that difficult. She took one of her
cigarettes, and lit it carefully. She drew deeply on the cigarette, as she
walked over to open the sliding door. The exhale was long and full. Hmmm she
thought, this isn't that bad, not bad at all. This cigarette wasn't as good
as the ones she had had after dinner. But it certainly wasn't as disgusting
as it had once been she thought.

That morning she went to Danielle's. Danielle was excited to see Giselle. "So
tell me how did it go, yesterday? I mean with your smoking," she said
excitedly.

Giselle started to beam. "I managed to smoke my five cigarettes. In fact, I
had two after dinner with Serge outside."

"Oh my God, what did he say?" She began to formulate the white lie in her
head. "Well, I told him that I had taken his advice. You know, to try smoking
to relieve my stress. At first, he was a little concerned and said that he
had just been joking. But after he heard the determination in my voice and
saw me smoke, he naturally backed off. It was really funny; he even joined me
with a cigar that he had been given by one of his friends who just had a
baby. "

"That's unbelievable, Giselle. I'm really proud of you."

"You know Danielle, Serge somehow couldn't take his eyes off me last night
while I was smoking. I wonder why that was?" she said with a tone of
curiosity.

Danielle smiled slyly. "Maybe he likes your new image. I notice that
sometimes when I light up in a social situation, men become sort of
mesmerized, you know, they watch. Of course I'm a beautiful woman and I smoke
with style," she said laughingly, posing sexily with her cigarette. "My guess
is that cigarette advertising has had an effect on men. You know the models
all look so damn sexy in those cigarette ads. Then there are the movies.
Everyone smokes on the big screen. Remember the scene from Basic Instinct
when the heroine says `What are you going to do, arrest me for smoking?' That
was a great scene. It might be that men think it's naughty, when woman smoke.
Who knows?- Who cares?- I just smoke, because I love to smoke. Would you care
to join me Giselle? We have time before the show starts."

Giselle had brought her cigarettes knowing that Danielle would expect her to
smoke. "Yeah, okay. I brought mine with me."

"That's my girl," Danielle said as she offered Giselle a light. She watched
as she noted immediately that Giselle was now taking much larger drags and
she was still inhaling deeply, just as she had been taught. She could see
that Giselle seemed much more comfortable with her smoking this morning.

"Giselle, you are doing so much better than yesterday."

"Yes, I must admit, it is getting better. I was a bit concerned yesterday,
whether I could do this. But after last night, I can actually say that I
enjoyed my after dinner cigarette."

"I told you, it was great. After a while you'll just love it. You'll see,"
Danielle said, trying to hide her excitement.

Giselle smoked two cigarettes with Danielle - one before the show, and one
towards the end. She noted that it had been nice to smoke while she watched
her favorite TV show. It seemed so relaxing. She knew that she wouldn't mind
if this became a regular occurrence.

Danielle had been so supportive and complementary about Giselle's smoking.
She had felt proud that she was doing so well. Giselle had another cigarette
after she got home. And one before Serge arrived from work. And of course she
had another cigarette after dinner.

The after dinner cigarette with Serge became an everyday custom. In fact, a
few times Serge said, "Aren't you going to have your usual after dinner
cigarette?" Nodding with approval when she lit up. She was sure that Serge
somehow was enjoying her smoking as much as she was. Some evenings she even
had an extra cigarette, while they watched TV together. She found it very
relaxing and Serge didn't seem to mind at all.

She had adhered to the 5 cigarettes a day regimen for the first week.
Giselle's inhales had slowly matured. During the second week, she did not
think twice about smoking, starting to look forward to her scheduled
cigarettes. Her inhales had become more like Danielle's, and often it took
her a number of breaths for her to empty her lungs. A few times, she even
tried letting the smoke escape from her nose. She laughed the first time, as
the smoke tickled her nose. It wasn't long before the tickling sensation was
gone, and she naturally exhaled smoke through her nose. She using this
technique to clear her lungs of the now rather large drags that she had
unconsciously become accustomed to.

She had never ever carried her cigarettes with her, keeping her habit a
secret within the privacy of her own home.

During the third week, Danielle and Giselle had gone shopping. Danielle had
found a nice Italian restaurant not too far from the mall. As they sat down
in the smoking section, Danielle lit up. "Aren't you going to join me for a
cigarette, Giselle?"

"Well, I didn't bring mine with me." she said in an embarrassed tone.

Danielle pushed her pack and the lighter over towards Giselle.

Giselle said in a whispered tone, "What if someone sees me?"

"Oh, Giselle, you're a grown woman. No one cares. It's entirely your
business." She said, trying not to laugh. Danielle waved the open pack under
Giselle's nose.

Giselle nervously lit up, knowing that she would enjoy a cigarette. She
smoked the cigarette keeping it down by her side, hiding it from the view of
the many passersby. Her drags were very long and deep, trying to get the most
out of each guarded puff. She hoped that she would not see anyone she knew.

After the hearty lunch, Danielle quickly reached for her cigarettes nearly
automatically. She tapped the pack and two cigarettes came to attention out
of the pack. "Come on Giselle, have another cigarette with me. I hate smoking
by myself." Giselle felt less afraid. They both lit up again. She knew she
would enjoy her after lunch cigarette. It was well worth the chance. This
time she made no attempt to hide her smoking. Instead she just enjoyed
herself.

That was the way it started. Soon, she didn't even think twice about smoking.
She had slowly increased her consumption to 10 cigarettes per day. And after
all, she had all day to smoke. Serge was unaware of her increased smoking
pattern. She often went out on the deck when he was running errands to smoke
a quick cigarette. She had even smoked in her car a couple of times, when she
had gone shopping. And lately, she chose to smoke more and more often. She
kept reminding herself that she was doing this for Suzanne, not willing to
admit that now she was really enjoying her smoking.

Whenever she and Danielle went out, she now always took her cigarettes. She
preferred her brand she rationalized. She no longer considered her smoking to
be something that she needed to practice. It had become very natural.
Danielle often dropped over. They would sit and smoke and drink coffee. Last
Sunday, she had gone over to Danielle's while Serge was golfing. That
afternoon, she had smoked nearly seven cigarettes in just three hours. It was
so much fun smoking with Danielle. Smoking and chatting just seemed to go
together. And Danielle kept asking her to join her. She just somehow could
not refuse.

Serge could see that Giselle's smoking style was maturing. That Sunday night
as she had just lit her customary after dinner cigarette he noted that now
Giselle was smoking like an experienced smoker, with long thick voluminous
exhales. A smile came across her face, nearly every time she exhaled. Often,
small tendrils of smoke would escape from her nose as she completed her
exhale. Any sign of discomfort or reluctance on her part were now a thing of
the past.

"Giselle, it looks like you`ve getting more comfortable with your smoking,"
he said as she had just exhaled her third drag in a row.

"Oh yes, I think I am. I'm actually enjoying it, Serge. I find it very
relaxing," she said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "I would have never
believed in a million years that I would ever enjoy it?"

"I'm glad it has become easier for you, I certainly didn't want you to have
to punish yourself."

"Its not punishment at all Serge," she stressed.

"How much are you now smoking each day?" Serge asked carefully.

Giselle realized that she had better not tell Serge the truth. "Well, maybe
three or four a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less." She smiled; she knew it
was now well over ten a day.

"That's not many. That's good," he said trying to appear concerned.
Unconsciously, he knew he didn't want her to quit. Giselle seemed so relaxed
and happy these days. It was like he was married to a new woman. Their sexual
life had also taken a positive turn. It was more frequent and more intense.
He didn't know whether it was the new more relaxed Giselle or whether it was
his own developing fascination with her smoking. She looked good smoking. He
never thought he would ever think that. It made her look sexy, somehow,
carefree, reckless. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter to him; the sex had
been great regardless.

Giselle realized what Serge was getting at. He wanted to make sure she wasn't
getting addicted. She had never ever considered that she might get hooked.
After all she had only been smoking for three weeks. She couldn't get
addicted in such a short time. She quickly pushed this thought out of her
head. Of course now she was smoking whenever she wanted. The thought that she
might have to stop smoking somehow saddened her. Oh well, she would deal with
it when the time came. For now she would just smoke as much as she wanted.
After all, Danielle had been right. She now loved smoking.

That Sunday evening, she heard the phone ring. She hoped it was Suzanne.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi mom, how are you?" It was Suzanne.

Giselle's eyes began to tear up with joy. "Oh Suzanne, How are you? I've
missed you so much."

"Just fine mom. School has been very demanding. But I think I'm doing okay."
Suzanne said nervously.

Giselle sensed Suzanne's nervousness. "Oh, honey its so good to hear from
you." her voice softened. "I've missed you so much," she repeated herself.

"I've missed you too, Mom." She said, realizing that this was going better
than she had expected.

They continued to talk; making sure that both of them avoided the dreaded
topic of smoking. Suzanne filled her mother in about all her classes and her
professors and what college life was like.

The old Suzanne was back, Giselle thought. "Oh, Suzanne, I'm so happy that
you're doing so well at school. I know that it's very hard being away from
home competing against all those other kids in your classes. I want you to
know how very proud I am of you," she said sincerely.

Suzanne's eyes began to fill with tears. She had never heard her mother say
these words. "Mom- She paused to gather herself-Thank you so much for being
so understanding. It really means a lot to me, to know that I have your
support," recognizing that her mother had not mentioned her smoking once.

"Well, you know I love you. Dad and I are really looking forward to your
visit at Thanksgiving"

"I am too Mom. Well, I had better get going, I have a test tomorrow. I'll
call you next week. Okay?"

"Okay, good luck tomorrow, Honey. I love you- Bye," the phone clicked off.

As they hung up the phone, they both realized that this had been an emotional
charged exchange. It had gone well. Nearly simultaneously, both of Leblanc
girls looked around nervously. "What I could use right now is a cigarette."
Their cheeks hollowed deeply, as their lighters met their mark. They both
inhaled, holding the smoke in, trying to maximize its effect. Oh yes- that
was much better. They each continued to deeply inhale over and over again,
until there bodies were finally satisfied.

One thing was for certain. Suzanne's homecoming was going to be a smoky
reunion.

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