Summer Vacation, Part 4

Summer Vacation
by Dromedary Jone
Part Four

Kayla went into her sister's apartment and smelled the smoky air. When her
parents said they were going to Europe for the summer and asked her if she
wanted to stay at her sister's place for the summer, Kayla had readily
agreed. Perhaps she could bring her older sister Kendra back to the Lord. 

Kayla had never been around smokers growing up and hadn't prepared herself
for living in a smoky apartment all summer. She hated the smell of smoke and
wondered what her older sister liked about smoking.

Kendra quickly showed her around the apartment. Kendra's roommate had gone
home for the summer and had agreed to let Kayla stay in her room. 

The girls sat on the bed for a few minutes talking. Kayla thought about
bringing up her sister's new lifestyle, but figured there would be time to
preach later. Even though her sister was now a sinner, she did miss her and
was glad to be spending the summer with her.

Kendra lit up a Marlboro Light 100, Kayla gave her a dirty look And Kendra
quickly put it out in the ashtray.

"Sorry," said Kendra. "I'm just used to smoking everywhere in this apartment.
I forgot that there is going to be a non-smoker in this bedroom for the next
three months."

"It's okay," said Kayla nicely, "But I don't understand what you like about
smoking. It's such a nasty habit."

Kendra thought about it for a few seconds before responding. "It's a dirty
habit, but I enjoy it. You probably wouldn't understand."

"I don't think I would ever want to understand," responded Kayla.

The girls talked for a few more minutes before Kayla said she was tired from
the cross-country plane ride and wanted to take a nap.

The sisters hugged and Kayla quickly got in bed. Kendra had told her she had
gone to great lengths to get the smoky smell out of the room. Kayla took a
quick sniff of the air and realized the bedroom didn't really smell of smoke,
except for a little bit from the cigarette that her sister had just lit up
and immediately extinguished a few seconds later. Still, Kayla wondered what
her sister liked about smoking as she gazed at the cigarette which rested in
the ashtray next to her bed before she dozed off to sleep...

***

Sara clocked out for her thirty minute break. She had gotten over the initial
shock seeing her mother smoking the day before but was still curious why her
mother smoked. She decided to hang out with Tammy, her new friend at work who
was out back in the mall alley smoking on her break. 

Sara sat next to Tammy as they both leaned against the wall and talked about
life. Tammy was a gorgeous blond who was in her early twenties. Sara had even
witnessed to her about God a few times and Tammy had seemed receptive but
maybe she wasn't all that interested, but had simply been polite. Sara was
interested in becoming her friend, though.

"Why do you smoke, Tammy?" asked Sara.

Tammy took another drag off of her Virginia Slim. "Why you want to know?"

"I don't know. I guess my mom started smoking again because of the thing
going on with my dad and all and I guess I was just wondering what it does
for you."

Tammy thought for a second.  "It's kind of a long story how I started
smoking."

The girls talked for a few minutes about smoking and Sara mentioned that her
mother smoked the same brand that Tammy did.

"I like my Virginia Slims," said Tammy as she lit up another one.

"How did you start?" asked Sara.

Tammy took a drag off of her Virginia Slim and said, "Well, I was fourteen
years old and I was a lot like you - church girl and all and I hated that my
mom smoked. So I somehow got the idea that if I started smoking, my mom would
feel guilty about it and quit smoking."

"Really?" asked Sara.

"Yeah, really.  I just came home one day and said I was going to smoke until
my mom stopped smoking."

"I guess it didn't work," said Sara, watching her friend take yet another
hit.

Tammy laughed and said, "Actually it did work. My mom quit smoking a few
weeks later, but by then I had started enjoying smoking and had become hooked
on it. I secretly continued smoking for the next few years. My mom busted me
when I was sixteen, and I guess I sort of got her started smoking again."

Sara laughed at her friend's story and thought it was funny. The girls sat
there silently for a moment as Sara thought about what Tammy had just told
her. She knew her mom would react very badly to seeing Sara smoke. Sara was
actually considering starting, but the only thing that worried Sara was that
she might become addicted just like Tammy had years ago.

Sara thought some more and realized it was worth the risk. She loved her mom
more than anyone in the world and if it meant that she had to become addicted
to smoking to get her mom to quit, she would do that...

"Can you teach me how to smoke?" asked Sara

***

James smoked nervously as he waited impatiently in his apartment for Claire.
It was now ten minutes after five and he wondered if he had been set up.
Perhaps she had just wanted someone to sell her cigarettes. But would she
have really kissed him just to get him to sell her cigarettes? She had kissed
him after the purchase out by her car, so it didn't seem like a set up. But
after a few more minutes of waitng he feared that he had been stood up. If
she planned on him selling her cigarettes again, she had better think again.

The doorbell rang and James quickly took one last drag off his cigarette
before extinguishing it in the ashtray. He took a couple of deep breaths
before he opened the door. Claire was really standing in his doorway, looked
stunning in a beautiful red dress which was more revealing than he had
expected. Claire gave him a quick kiss on the lips and her tardiness was
quickly forgotten as James invited her in. He got her a drink as they sat on
the couch for a few minutes. 

"You mind if I smoke a cig before we go?" Claire asked as she dangled an
unlit Newport 100. 

"Only if you share it with me," replied James, nervous because he was sitting
on the couch with the girl he had wanted for so long. He had had several
girlfriends since he had first developed a crush on her, but all along he had
longed to be with her.

"Of course," said Claire flirtatiously, "I like sharing cooties with you."
She kissed him once again as residue smoke came out of her mouth. James was
getting really horny. Somehow in all his fantasies, he had never dreamed of
kissing Claire so soon. He had always figured she was a long term project. A
week or so earlier when he had seen Claire for the first time in a long time,
he had even thought about possibly cleaning up his lifestyle and maybe
getting into religion if it would help ignite a relationship with her.
Little did he know that her lifestyle not only moved in his direction, but he
didn't have to change at all for her's to match his.  He wondered how far he
would be able to go with her...

Claire and James sat on the couch making out as they smoked and talked of
their plans for the evening. James would take her to dinner and a movie and
then they'd go from there. 

Claire took one last hit off of the Newport as she teasingly blew the smoke
in James face. She got up, grabbed his hand, and led him out the door. As she
got to the car she handed him the keys and said, "You can drive."

James got behind the wheel of Claire's Mustang, which had the top down.
Claire lit up another Newport and he kissed her passionately before backing
out of the parking space. He thought back to when Claire had witnessed to him
in high school; a conversation about heaven. She had talked about the
mansions and the pearly gates and how wonderful it would be there. James
didn't know if there was a heaven, but if there was... he wanted to be there
with Claire and her Mustang...

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