Strange Brew, Part 2

Strange Brew
Part 2 of 2
an4@anon.lelnet.com

'Sure,' he said, hiding his eagerness quite well.
    As they reached the top of the aisle, Tammy bounded up behind them, full 
of the eagerness of a teenager. 'Mind of I join you ? I am dying for a 
cigarette right now.'
    'No problem,' Elisa said.
    Nathan turned and looked at his '˜date'. 'I didn't know that you smoked 
?' he said, approval hopefully clear in his voice.
    Tammy laughed. 'Well, obviously it doesn't bother you. My whole family 
smokes.'
    'Even Veronica ?' Nathan asked, surprised.
    'Especially Veronica. Who do you think got me started ?'
    'Veronica ? But I've never seen her smoke- and I know Kenneth doesn't 
like smoking.'
    'Veronica was a pack a day smoker until she started dating your roomie. 
Now she's such a nazi. We share a car and she keeps yelling at me for smoking 
in the car. She's such an hypocrite. Do you know that she has two sets of 
clothes ? One for dating Kenneth, one for her secret life as a smoker.'
    'That's sad,' Elisa said as they walked outside into the smoking area.
    The two women lit the same type of cigarette and transported Nathan to a 
special place. Suddenly he found himself thinking that if things didn't work 
out with Elisa maybe Tammy would do quite nicely. They seemed to be going out 
of their way to put on a show for him, and sensing his enjoyment, both women 
leaned on him and wrapped their free hands in his. He began to get the mild 
sort of erection that brings pleasant feelings without embarrassment. He 
noticed that he was getting envious looks from other men.
    'I wonder where Veronica got the idea that Kenneth doesn't like smoking.'
    'What do you mean ?' Tammy asked. 'On their first date, they went out to 
eat and when the waitress asked Kenneth smoking or non, he said non.'
    'Kenneth loves cigars. But he doesn't smoke them that often. He must 
have just thought that Veronica wasn't a smoker. What an idiot.'
    'Well, that's only part of it. When they first started going out, he was 
always bitching about his old girlfriend Crystal. He made it sound like one 
of the reasons he broke up with her was because she smoked.'
    Kenneth rolled his eyes. 'Of course.'
    'Of course what ?' Tammy asked, and then she realised something. 'Hey, 
you're not smoking, Nathan !'
    'I don't indulge very often,' he said.
    'Well, that's not fair, is it, Tammy ?'
    'I certainly don't think so. If you want to watch us smoke, you'd better 
give us something to look at as well.'
    'I really don't think I'm that exciting a smoker, to be honest.'
    'Well, we're going to find out, right Tammy ?'
    'You bet.' Elisa pulled a cigarette from her pack, and brought it up to 
Nathan's mouth, where she held it while Tammy lit it. Elisa waited until 
he'd inhaled, then removed it. As soon as he exhaled, she brought it right 
back up to his mouth. Only after he'd inhaled again did she remove it and 
then hand it to him.
    'So, what's the of course, Nathan ?'
    The three smokers exhaled simultaneously. Nathan couldn't help but laugh 
a little when he thought about what had led Kenneth to lie- or at the very lea
st avoid the truth. What had happened with Crystal was certainly reason 
enough to do that. He let the laugh out loud, just a little one, and the 
women looked at him strangely. 'Come on, Nathan, talk to us,' Elisa said. 
She stroked his cheek with her hand. 'I'll give you a kiss.'
    'That's just the beer talking,' Nathan teased, not actually sure he 
wanted to tell his roommate's story. Or rather he was sure that his roommate 
wouldn't want him telling the story. With potentially good reason.
    'We'll both kiss you,' Tammy said.
    'Well, Kenneth kind old has a stick up his ass about Crystal. The reason 
has nothing to do with the fact that she smokes. That's got to be her best 
quality- well, that and she's almost as attractive as the two of you. The 
problem with Crystal- at least from his point of view is that she left him 
for another one of his old girlfriends. And she was a total bitch about it.'    
    Elisa finished a picture perfect nose exhale and smiled. 'So ? It happens 
a lot more than you think. There are a lot of closet lesbians who come out 
after they've been dating men. I have this friend, Tom, whose wife left him 
right after she found out she was pregnant. They'd been married three years. 
She moved in with her girlfriend and they are raising the little girl. She 
said she didn't want as daughter of hers growing up in the political violence 
of heterosexuality.'
    'Well,' Nathan asked, 'how did he take it ? Does he talk about it ?'
    Elisa and Tammy both finished their cigarettes and Elisa waited until she 
had lit another one to answer.
    'He gets laid constantly because all he does is talk about it to women 
who are sympathetic. Sure, his guy friends kid him all the time, but he 
doesn't give a flying fuck, he gets more than all of them put together. Tammy 
lit another cigarette as Nathan finished his, took a deep draw, and then 
exhaled with great show.
    'Time to pay up,' she said, and then grabbed Nathan and planted a deep 
kiss on him which he returned willingly.
    When they were done, Elisa handed him her cigarette and he knew enough to 
take a good long pull on it before letting her take her turn riding his lips. 
As they broke he returned the cigarette and looked deep into her eyes. 'I 
wish I had more secrets for the two of you to pry out of me.'
    'We'll think of something,' Tammy promised as she handed him her 
cigarette. He took his turn with it and the two women circled his waist with 
their arms. For another four minutes he was in heaven while they talked about 
the problems Kenneth had caused with all of his silliness. He was already 
thinking about how nice it was going to be to come back out after second 
period.

    Just as the horn sounded, Kenneth grabbed Nathan. 'Let's go get some 
beers.' Nathan was about to argue. Everyone except Veronica had already had 
four beers and were starting to feel it, but there was an insistence in both 
his voice and grip which made Nathan decide to go along. he looked at the 
women apologetically and they headed outside without waiting.
    'Was Tammy smoking when you went outside ? he asked impatiently as soon 
as they were up the stairs.
    'Yeah.'
    'Did she say whether or not Veronica smokes ?'
    'Yes, as a matter of fact she did.'
    The crowd thickened at that point and it was suddenly impossible to talk. 
Nathan didn't mind teasing his friend a little. They got into the line and 
Nathan said nothing.
    'Well, does she or doesn't she ?'
    'You're an idiot' was Nathan's impertinent answer.
    'What the hell does that mean ?'
    'Crystal the Bitch this. Crystal the Bitch that.'
    'Yes or no !'
    'Did you make it sound like you didn't like dating Crystal because she 
smokes by any chance ?'
    'Of course not.'
    Nathan looked him down and he cracked.
    'If I did it was unintentional, damn it.'
    'Tammy not only smokes, Veronica got her started. The whole family smokes 
and the only reason Veronica has been hiding that it because she thought you 
hated it and for some stupid fucking reason I can't see, she loves you, you 
asshole.'
    For a while, Kenneth didn't say anything and when he did speak, it 
wasn't what Nathan had expected.
    'So, is Tammy hot when she smokes ?'
    Nathan discarded a number of sarcastic comebacks because he wanted his 
roommate to suffer. 'Gorgeous. If I didn't already have a date I'd be all 
for the four us going back to our place- I don't care if she is eighteen.'
    'She was your date before Elisa.'
    'No, not really. So tell me. Now that you know your entire relationship 
is built on a lie, what are you going to do ?'
    They ordered their beers while Kenneth thought. He was still thinking 
when they got back to their seats. Veronica was nowhere to be seen.
    'Must have had to go to the bathroom.' Kenneth said, and Nathan smiled. '
    She's probably outside smoking, you idiot.'
    'Part of me hopes so, but most of me doesn't. God, she's been lying to 
me all along. That's what really hurt me about what Crystal did.'
    Nathan's laughed carried down to the ice and echoed back up. He let 
himself enjoy this because it was almost as much fun as watching Elisa and 
Tammy smoke- although if you threw in Veronica, it wasn't close.
    'You were the one lying to everyone.'
    'Were ? Did you tell Elisa and Tammy ?'
    Nathan swallowed hard. He told them. They would tell Veronica. Kenneth 
would hate him until one of them died. The math was simple.
    'Yeah, I did. They pried it out of me.'
    'Betrayed by a kiss, I bet,' Kenneth said sourly   .
    'Betrayed for a kiss, rather. Two of them actually.'
    'So you have your choice of two and I have nothing ? You bastard.'
    Nathan took a long swig of his beer and clapped his friend on the back- 
hard. 'You don't know that yet. Relax.'

    Ten minutes into the third period a fight broke out. In the middle of a 
five on five melee, the visiting goaltender slammed his stick against the 
glass behind the goal and it broke. People began heading for the aisles to 
take care of a variety of needs, knowing the game wasn't going to start up 
again anytime soon. Kenneth grabbed Veronica's hand and led her towards the 
smoking area without saying anything. 
    He could smell the smoke on her and he still wasn't sure how he felt.He 
wouldn't be sure until they got outside- and he saw her smoking. That would 
tell him what he needed to know.
    They walked through the doors and everyone except the two of them were 
lighting up.
    Kenneth waited to see if she made a move for her purse, which he know 
realised she never let out of her sight. Of course, because she was probably 
always carrying. Nathan was right. He was a total asshole. He wanted her to 
make the first move but she just stood there looking at him with tears in her 
eyes. There was this great big throbbing lie between them and one of them was 
going to have to break the spell.
    'I'm sorry,' he opened.
    'What for ?' Veronica asked sweetly.
    'For lying to you about why Crystal left me.'
    'And why did she leave you ?' Veronica asked, determined to make this 
hard for him because that was what he deserved.
    'Because I couldn't satisfy her. And I made you suffer for it. All this 
time, you've been denying yourself because of me-'
    That was enough. Veronica could see what he wanted her to do and she did 
it willingly, extracting her cigarettes and lighter from an hidden pouch in 
the purse and lighting not one but two. She handed one to him and he took it. 
He would have preferred a cigar but he wasn't going to argue with her about 
anything right now. Then she took his hand and squeezed it tightly.
    'You're an idiot,' she said, speaking as she exhaled.
    'I know. Maybe Elisa end Tammy will tell me that and we'll have a clean 
sweep, you know ?'
    She squeezed his hand again. 'She's a lesbian. That's not your fault. 
It's not like you drove her to it- certainly not with the way you fuck. Hell, 
that was probably the only thing holding her back, you stupid prick.'   
    He looked at her quizzically.
    'I've been waiting since my first period to be made love to the way you 
do it- and dying for a cigarette when it was over. You owe me.'
    'How can I make it up to you ?'
    Veronica smiled. 'I can't believe you acted like you hated smoking. And 
here you smoke cigars. I love the smell of cigar on a man.'
    'This isn't some father thing, is it ?' he asked uncomfortably.
    'Maybe a little, but you're not going to let that get in your way, are 
you ?'
    'Guess not.'
    'Good, because you're going to make it up to me, all right. You know how 
to play the adult version of Sit and Spin ?'
    'Yeah,' he said with a wide smile.
    'Well you'd better spin the fuck out of me.'

    They were sitting in the bar sharing one stool.
    'I would have given Tammy a ride home,' Elisa said, feeling Nathan swell 
under her as she drew smoke deep into her lungs. She wrapped them in the 
smoke and saw her ex watching them jealously out of the corner of her eye. 'I 
think you like having her around.'
    'Maybe on the second date,' Nathan joked.
    'A girl can hope,' Elisa said with a smoky smile and Nathan realised 
that she was not joking at all.
    'Any chance that we can go back to your place. Mine is going to be pretty 
busy, and if we don't  leave soon, I might just try to get fresh with you 
right here on this stool.'
    'This isn't that sort of place. But who said I'm that type of girl- 
first date and all.'
    'You ever hear '˜The Most Offensive Song Ever ?'
    Elisa smiled. 'I hope you're Kenny and not Mr. Hanky.'
    'Only one way to find out.'
    Elisa led him right to her car. She lit a cigarette just before pulling 
out of the parking lot and Nathan wondered how it was that heaven had turned 
out to be in Rochester. Watching her smoke and drive was enough to erase any 
lingering doubts. She drove holding the cigarette in her left hand, 
considerately leaving her window half open for anyone scoping for the fabled 
drive-by sighting that all men like him lived for.
    But it was one thing to look- another entirely to actually be in the car. 
By the time they reached her house she'd smoked three cigarettes and Nathan 
was ready to explode. She could see the look on his face and decided not to 
wait any longer. Still smoking, she unzipped his pants and easy threaded him 
out of his underwear. Between pulls on her shrinking cigarette she 
demonstrated her familiarity with that song by gently wrapping her lips 
around him and teasing his head with her tongue until he simply exploded. He 
tried to warn her but he couldn't speak and she swallowed willingly.
    'Is it too soon for me to be in love ?'
    'God, I hope not,' she said, and led him into the house.
    

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