Smoke And Mirrors, Part 29

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
reserved. This story cannot be reproduced without the written prior approval
of the author. You can notify the author at del999@yahoo.com.

Smoke & Mirrors
Part 29: The Night Out With The Girls:

That Monday night, with Jill's encouragement, Suzanne had moved up to full
strength smoking. She now kept her carton of VS 100's full flavor menthol in
her desk drawer, close at hand. She had smoked the first one inhaling very
deeply as Jill had advised. These cigarettes were a bit stronger, and she was
inhaling more deeply. It only made sense that she would need to smoke less.
She was pleasantly surprised that these drew very easily and they had a
richer stronger tobacco taste. That night she only smoked four cigarettes,
two fewer than she usually did with the lights. She somehow felt more
satisfied with the new cigarettes. She was making the most of each one,
enjoying each cigarette to its fullest. Her drags now were very long and
deep, just as Jill had advised. She smoked each cigarette in this fashion.
She was simply savoring each cigarette. Tuesday was a good day. She only
smoked two cigarettes to start that day, being satisfied with the reduced
quantity. She spaced out her smoking, consciously limiting herself to having
a cigarette only when she felt she really needed one. Even Ashley remarked
that she was enjoying the full flavor cigarettes better than the lights. By
the end of Tuesday night, she did a quick count and was relieved to find she
had only smoked 12 cigarettes. It was working, she was not feeling deprived
at all.

That Tuesday, Giselle woke up at her usual 7:00 AM. Her mouth was
uncharacteristically dry, and her throat was a little sore. She felt very
lethargic, her brain feeling rather muddled. She put on a pot of coffee, and
picked up the morning paper from the doorstep. As she walked into the
kitchen, she saw her cigarettes and the two spent cigarettes in the ashtray
that she had smoked last night before she had gone to bed. It was day two of
her challenge and she knew exactly what would make her feel better. She had
been up only 10 minutes, but she knew she wanted a cigarette. She shook one
loose from her pack. She moved very slowly and deliberately, appreciating her
freedom. She liked the fact that she didn't have to wait until she had
prepared Serge's breakfast and he had left for work, as was her usual custom.
She lit up, not even bothering to open the patio door. She knew that she
would have to address the issue of smoking in the house when Serge returned.
She might as well enjoy herself, before he returned. She remembered how good
her double pump had been the day before, and gave her cigarette a double
drag. She again felt the wonderful feeling of relief and calmness come over
her. She watched the thick smoke as she exhaled it upwards in a long stream.
She continued to smoke as the coffee slowly made its way into the waiting
pot. She started to scan the newspaper.

In the life style section of the newspaper she came upon an article
describing the dramatic rise in teenage girl smoking. She scanned the
statistics and was amazed to see that over 40% of women between the ages of
19 and 23 were every day smokers. She also read that it had been
scientifically proven that women had a much lower tolerance to nicotine, and
found it nearly twice as difficult to quit.

This was an extensive study. It went on to describe the reasons that were
given by the women as to why they smoked. She started to make a mental notes
as she read the reasons: to relieve stress, found it relaxing, smoked to be
like friends, smoked because parents smoked, enjoyed the taste, enjoyed the
feeling, liked the handling aspect, thought it looked sexy, and finally they
didn't know why, they just liked it. The reasons she were enjoying her
smoking were no different than that of the women who had been surveyed. She
felt slightly relieved. She and her daughter had simply become one of the
40%. She had no reason to feel guilty, a lot of people smoked. She continued
to drag deeply, not even realizing that she was smoking.

She poured herself a fresh cup of coffee, and noticed that her cigarette was
nearly finished. She had seen women use their existing cigarette to light
their next cigarette a couple of times. She wondered what that would be like.
She removed another cigarette. She slowly brought the burning cigarette to
the tip. She carefully sucked deeply. The new cigarette lit easily. She
inhaled deeply. She had done it.  She continued to enjoy her smoking. She
wondered if this was what they called chain smoking. She didn't care; she
just wanted to continue her morning smoking session. She continued to smoke,
enjoying the peace and quiet with her newspaper.

She showered and then had another cigarette. After tidying up, she realized
it was closing in on 10:00 am and it was time to go to Danielle's. This time
she got through what had become her usual five cigarettes with ease,
carefully pacing herself. Danielle looked on approvingly as she lit each and
every of Giselle's cigarettes. They talked about the bridge party. Vanessa
would be the other lady who would be playing cards tonight. It was great that
all these ladies went to her church. She commented to Danielle that they
would be the last people she would have ever expected to smoke.

Danielle laughed. "Giselle, don't be so naïve. A lot of people smoke. You'll
see. It's just a great big club!" Danielle said, laughing.

Giselle left Danielle's house just before lunch. She felt nervous about the
upcoming card game. Could she smoke in front of these ladies? Of course she
could. She had smoked with Tammy. The world had not ended She knew she would
do okay, but she was still was a little self conscious about smoking in front
of strangers.

She continued to smoke throughout the afternoon, smoking six cigarettes,
smoking in her car both ways when she went out to pick up some groceries. She
had a light supper and then another cigarette. She went to Danielle's at 7:00
PM. They quickly got into Danielle's Camry and were off in a cloud of smoke.
They both lit up before the car had left the driveway. Giselle was now
growing accustomed to smoking in the car. In fact she enjoyed it. It just
seemed to make the trip more enjoyable. She had become rather an expert at
exhaling out the window, attempting to minimize the amount of smoke that
stayed in the car, again worrying what Serge would say. Smoking in Danielle's
car was a special treat to be able to not worry about the ashes blowing
around, and being able to exhale wherever you liked.


After the fifteen-minute ride, they arrived at a very large brick house. It
was an estate type home. As the large ornate door opened, Giselle was taken
aback at the size of the foyer. A very attractive woman about five feet tall
was standing there. Bonnie was a brunet, with straight brown hair to her
shoulders. She was very attractive, wearing tasteful gold jewelry. She had a
perfect figure. She was casually dressed, in a bright red blouse, with black
pants that fit where it counted. Her nails were painted a bright red that
matched her blouse perfectly. In her left hand was the longest cigarette that
Giselle had ever seen. The cigarette seemed so natural in her hand but looked
exceptionally long for this rather compact short woman. She extended her
right hand, "Hi. My name is Bonnie Taylor, glad you could join our game
tonight." She smiled and paused. She then bought the long cigarette to her
lips and executed a precise snap inhale, blowing the thick smoke straight up
above all their heads. "It's a nasty habit, but we just love it, don't we?"
Bonnie said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Please come this way, Vanessa is here already," she continued.

As Giselle walked through the house, she was overwhelmed, by its size. It was
filled with expensive furnishings. Whatever Bonnie's husband did, he was very
successful. The other woman was already there, sitting around an ornate round
oak table. As Giselle scanned the table, she saw ashtrays located beside
every chair. Danielle had been right; smoking at Bonnie's house was
mandatory. Vanessa had a freshly lit cigarette in the ashtray in front of
her. She quickly noted the brand of the packages in front of each of the
chairs. As she was introduced to Vanessa she noted that she smoked Marlboro
Gold's. She noticed that there was a package of cigarettes beside a glass of
wine in an empty chair. The package looked very long. Those must have been
Bonnie's cigarettes. Giselle strained to look at the package and was
surprised to see that it was colored similar to her brand. In fact she
realized that they were Virginia Slims. She then remembered that VS often had
magazine ads with these long cigarettes. Both women were dressed to the
nines. This was going to be an interesting evening. She started to feel very
nervous and a craving hit her with full force.

"Well, let's get going. What can I get you to drink?" Bonnie shouted from the
nearby custom bar.

"A glass of wine would be fine." Giselle motioned to the glass by Bonnie's
seat. Danielle nodded in agreement.

"Two glasses of wine coming up," Bonnie said with enthusiasm.

The girls took their places. Giselle carefully reached into her purse and
extracted the pack of cigarettes that she had brought. It had ten cigarettes,
which she thought would be more than enough. She retrieved her gold lighter
and placed it gently on the table. When the girls saw the lighter, they
almost said in unison. "Nice Lighter!"

"Why thank you, it was a gift from my husband." Giselle said as she lit up
rather deliberately. It was show time. She would show these women that at
least she knew how to smoke. The deep drag relaxed her and gave her
confidence. She took a large sip of the wine.

The game was spirited and friendly. The girls all smoked nearly continuously.
Each had their own smoking style, with Bonnie smoking the most feminine. She
seemed to make it look so womanly, posing with the cigarette by her face.
Giselle actually admired how good Bonnie looked as she smoked. She seemed to
make it look like the most natural and attractive thing a woman could do.

Vanessa on the other hand always drew very hard on her Marlboro's, but seemed
to smoke almost mechanically.

Giselle kept up with the smoking pace of the other ladies. It seemed that
someone was lighting up every five minutes. It became an unconscious act,
until at about 10:00 pm. The game had been played at a furious pace, and she
had been totally absorbed in the cards. When she reached into her pack and
she was shocked to realize that she had smoked all her cigarettes. She
crumpled the package as she said, "Damn, I'm out of cigarettes!"

Nearly simultaneously there were three different packages under her nose. She
glanced down at the choices. Danielle was smiling from ear to ear.

Should she play it safe and smoke one of Danielle's or should be adventurous
and try something new? She wanted to try one of Bonnie's long ones; there was
no doubt about it. The wine had made her lose some of her shyness. "I think
I'll have one of Bonnie's. After all, they are the same brand." Giselle said.
She took her lighter and actually had difficulty lighting the longer
cigarette. All the girls sort of laughed as she struggled to light the long
cigarette.

Bonnie piped up, "Don't let those girls give you a hard time about my long
cigarettes. They don't have the style or the ability to pull off smoking one
of these. I know you do. Relax and enjoy."

Giselle felt relieved. She pulled hard on the cigarette. The smoke slipped
down her throat effortlessly. It was smooth and easy to smoke, a bit milder
than her brand. She was a little disappointed that they did not have more of
a kick, but she would make due. She double pumped nearly unconsciously,
trying to increase the amount of smoke to what she had become used to. The
tobacco taste filled her mouth, and the smoke was thick as she exhaled
slowly. This was not lost on the experienced smokers.

Vanessa interrupted, "Those are a bit light, aren't they? The next time, you
should try one of mine. They are what smoking is all about," she said.

Giselle blushed, not wanting to embarrass her host. "No, these are fine,
honestly."

Giselle continued to take long slow drags as the game progressed. Despite her
frequent drags, the extra length made the cigarette seem to last forever.

The last round had been very close, and the game continued longer than anyone
expected. Vanessa picked up her pack of Marlboro 100's and said, "Are you
ready for a real cigarette now?" as extended a cork tip to Giselle. She knew
it would be rude to refuse. She lit Vanessa's cigarette first, then lit up
herself. She took a usual large drag, as she always did. The smoke started to
catch in her throat, but she was able to squelch the cough that her body so
desperately wanted her to initiate. These were very strong, and there was no
minty taste. But they did have a real tobacco taste. She started to feel
herself get dizzy, as she got carried away with her smoking during the heat
of the game. She slowly backed off and let the cigarette burn a while. She
felt herself gaining her composure. She was getting more experienced after
the bad experience she had had at Danielle's place on Monday. She smoked the
rest of the Gold carefully, being careful not to inhale too large a drag. The
more she smoked them, the better they got. They were different, but not that
bad.

Finally, it was the last hand and the game was finally over with Danielle and
Giselle being victorious in a very close game. The girls thanked Bonnie for
her hospitality and apologized for winning. Bonnie laughed and said "Get out
of here. And remember Giselle, longer is better than stronger." The girls all
laughed as they left Bonnie's house

As the car started, Danielle reached for her cigarettes; she offered one
almost automatically to Giselle. Giselle paused for a moment. "No thanks, I
think if I had one more cigarette, I would explode," she said laughing nearly
hysterically. "Are you a bit drunk Giselle?" Danielle said, laughing.

"Well maybe a bit-just a wee bit." Giselle feigned a slur.

"It certainly got smoky in there, didn't it? Those girls really smoke up a
storm. How much did you smoke today, including the card game?"

Giselle started to count. "Three this morning, five at you place, six this
afternoon, one after dinner, one on the way, my pack had ten and one each
from the girls. I guess that makes- let me see- Twenty-eight. Nearly a pack
and a half," Giselle said proudly.

Danielle wanted to provide some encouragement. "Well, little lady, if you
keep it up at that rate you've been smoking, you are going to out smoke me. I
never thought you had it in you."

Danielle glanced over to Giselle. Giselle was motioning her to pass her the
lit cigarette. Danielle laughed as Giselle took the cigarette from her
fingers and took an extra long hit. Yes, there was no doubt about it. Giselle
was hooked. Good and hooked. She was now a real smoker. She had totally
surrendered to the habit, Danielle  felt more amused than guilty. Actually to
tell the truth she felt relieved. Her friend was now a real smoker.

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