The English Way, Part 2

English Way, Part 2 of 2
an4@anon.lelnet.com

    The party had been going on for about half an hour when Karen and Brenda 
arrived. The weather had cooperated in the end as expected. It was brisk 
enough that the short walk from the car had chilled Brenda to the bone, but 
the bar was so warm it was almost hot. There was a throng of people inside, 
an equal mix of people the women did and didn't recognize. As soon as they'd 
discarded their jackets, they lit twin VS120s and made their way towards the 
bar and were quickly handed beer.
    Their backs were to Sean and Anna, who were just wandering through the 
area by the bar.
    'Brenda- Karen- it's nice to see you guys he-'
    The women turned around. It was no surprise to see Karen taking a pull on 
her cigarette, but when Sean saw Brenda's hand pulling away from her mouth, 
followed by a long stream of milky smoke, his voice caught in his throat. 
    'Hi Sean. Hey, Anna,' Brenda said, as if Sean had finished his thought. 
'It's great to see you too,' she added with a little bit of unnecessary 
enthusiasm.
    Sean, at a loss to think entirely clearly, blurted out 'So you're 
smoking now, Brenda ?'
    Enjoying the look of confusion on his face, Karen jumped right in. 
'She's staying with me while she has hardwood floors installed and I have a 
strict smokers only roommate policy.'
    'I'm reliving my college days,' Brenda said after a deep inhale, 
speaking as smoke escaped from her mouth in a series of punctuated wisps. 
'Seriously though, Karen deserves credit for being there for me when I 
decided to pick up the habit again. I did smoke in high school and college. 
When I told her I was thinking of taking up smoking again, she was there for 
me.'
    Anna, not pleased with the drift apparent on Sean's face, knew just how 
to put her newest possession to best use. She pulled a cigarette from the 
small purse at her waist with her left hand and brought it up to her face.
    'Well then, welcome back.' She lit the cigarette with her other hand 
while she watched the faces of the two women to make sure that they were 
seeing the ring, which they did.
    'Oh my god, is that what I think it is ?' Brenda asked, a swirl of 
emotions cutting through her. She forced her voice to carry that tone that 
only women can manage when discussing an engagement even though she was not 
perhaps as thrilled about the event as it sounded.
    'Sean just proposed this afternoon,' she said, matching that tone 
perfectly. She then reached up with hand holding the cigarette, guided his 
head down to hers and engaged him in a passionate kiss.
    'I take it you said yes,' Karen said.
    They broke the kiss, and Sean, knowing his line already, looked at Karen 
and said 'She's made me the happiest man alive. But we're here to celebrate 
Phil and Jessica getting engaged, right ?'
    'That we are,' Brenda said. 'So where are our hosts ?' She finished the 
question with a deep pull on her cigarette and was pleased to see Sean follow 
it closely.
    Anna squeezed Sean's hand, took an equally sensual draw on her own 
cigarette, and spoke after exhaling directly at him.
    'I believe they're in the back. I saw Jessica talking to her sister and 
brother-in-law and Phil was talking with her niece.'
    

    At that precise moment Jessica was handing drinks to Donna and Rick, a 
gin and tonic and scotch respectively. It was their third each and the two of 
them had a pleasant glow on their faces. Jessica had a feeling that Kali 
would be driving them home tonight. They would never let themselves get more 
than pleasantly drunk, but still, Jessica wouldn't have been doing this if 
Kali didn't have a driver's license.
    She looked at Phil out of the corner of her eye and gave him a subtle 
head nod which he caught.
    'So Kali, I hear that you were caught smoking again. What happened ?'
    'You heard about that, huh ?' Kali shook her head to readjust the tight 
ponytail she'd pulled her long blonde hair into. Her dangling antique 
earrings caught light from a pinball machine and caught Phil's eye, drawing 
his attention to her pretty round face. She really was a gorgeous teenager, 
her blue eyes intelligent and mischievous despite being set in a sweet face 
that promised the polite, mature attitude she carried herself with. She 
unselfconsciously reached up and fiddled with one earring, a shyly enticing 
gesture. The hand drifted down to her neck to adjust the silver necklace she 
wearing, which highlighted the pale skin of her shoulders. That necklace drew 
one's eye and then the eye was destined to travel downward slightly to notice 
the way the scoop of her black lace dress accentuated her ample breasts.
    'Yes, in fact we were afraid you weren't coming at all.'
    'On Monday school was closed. The furnace failed on Sunday and it took 
them the better part of two days to get it fixed. I guess they decided that 
since we hadn't had any snow days yet they could afford to shut the school 
down. I figured I was safe all day to smoke if I wanted. I was out on the 
back porch writing a paper on Sister Carrie- you know, I feel that I always 
can think more clearly when I'm smoking. Don't you find that to be true ?'
    'Yes,' Phil said.
    'Although I bet you find yourself thinking less clearly when Jessica is 
smoking, don't you ?'
    'Kali !'
    Despite her general shyness, Kali was both perceptive and occasionally 
cunning. 'Come on, Phil, I can see that you enjoy watching a woman smoke, and 
Jessica- well, my hope is that one day I can be as attractive a smoker as she 
is.'
    'Can I tell you a secret, Kali ?' Phil asked.
    'Sure.'
    'We think you are an attractive smoker. Jessica was just saying today 
that you've picked it up marvelously.'
    'You do seem to appreciate it,' Kali said. 'And right now I would love 
to have a cigarette.' She looked over at her parents. Her mother had just lit 
a Marlboro Lights 100 and her father was working a cigar patiently. 'I don't 
suppose that you'd like to sneak out back with me ?'
    'Did you bring your cigarettes ?' Phil asked, trying not to sound too 
interested or eager.
    'Of course.'
    'Good. But why don't you finish telling me what happened.'
    'Well, I'm sitting there, just lit cigarette in my right hand, pen in my 
left, writing about the use of economic uncertainty as a central theme in the 
novel, and I see Daddy in the living room. He'd come home at lunchtime to get 
some work papers he'd left at home. I was so focused on what I was writing 
that I just looked at him and waved with my right hand. He saw the cigarette 
and was furious. He stormed out on the deck and gave me the strürmg und drang 
while I sat there smoking my cigarette.'
    'You didn't put it out ?'
    'I wasn't going to waste a cigarette. You know how much they cost these 
days and I have to go to two or three places sometimes before someone will 
let me buy.'
    Phil laughed.
    'He took my pack away- good thing when I do find someone to sell to me I 
buy a carton and keep it in my car- and told me I wasn't going to be coming 
to the party tonight.'
    'Well, ' Phil said. 'You're here now and I won't have you sneaking out 
back just to have a smoke. Go ahead and take out your cigarettes and I'll 
light you up.'
    'But mom and dad can see me !' Kali protested.
    'You let Jessica worry about her sister and do me the honour of allowing 
me to light a gorgeous young woman's cigarette.'
    Kali blushed. 'Uncle Phil. I'm not gorgeous.'
    'If I was sixteen and I wasn't engaged I'd fall right down at your feet 
and beg.'
    'You better watch yourself,' Kali joked. 'Talk like that could get you 
in trouble. This isn't Europe. Haven't you heard ? No sex or smoking until 
you're eighteen, no alcohol until you're twenty-one.'
    'Well, you're on your own with the sex, and seeing that Jessica's plan 
is working, you'd better stick to soda water so you can drive home. But screw 
the smoking laws.'
    'Aunt Jessica is getting the rents drunk, isn't she ?'
    'That's the plan. Now take out a cigarette so I can light it for you.'
    Donna and Mike were pleasantly drunk and they were enjoying their 
conversation with Jessica when they happened to look up together and see Phil 
applying the flame of his lighter to the cigarette  Kali was holding to her 
mouth with her left hand. She drew deeply on it, thanked him by lighting 
touch his hand with her free one, then pulled the cigarette from her lips and 
held it by her face while arching her head back to exhale a thick plume of 
smoke from between her pert lips.
    'What is Phil doing ?'
    'Looks like he just lit Kali's cigarette,' Jessica said, defiance 
already creeping into her voice.
    Donna looked at the drink in her hand. 'You planned this, didn't you ?'
    'Look at her, Donna. Kali is the most polite, intelligent young woman I 
know. She just happens to be a smoker- like you and you, Rick. Why are you 
giving her an hard time about that ?'   
    'That's what parents are supposed to do,' Rick said, looking at the 
cigar in his own hand uncomfortably. 'It's not as if you know more about 
that than we do.'
    He looked at his daughter, who was laughing. She reached out and put her 
hand on Phil's arm because she was laughing so hard she could hardly stand up 
straight. He remembered her laughing like that many times while he himself 
was telling some funny story, but it had been a while, hadn't it ? The truth 
was, their relationship had been filmed over with thin veneer of iciness ever 
since the smoking issue had been taken up, and it wasn't just a case of her 
being petulant about it, either.
    Rick looked at Donna, who was sharing the same thought.
    'You knew if you got us a little drunk first-' Donna said to her little 
sister accusatorially.
    'Oh, you're not really drunk just yet. Tight maybe, in that West Egg 
way, but not drunk. Still, you're absolutely right. I did plan this. I know 
it's a lot easier for me to say she should be allowed to smoke because I 
don't have that parental authority invested in her the way you do-'
    'Not that you mind undermining our authority by letting her smoke when 
she's with you,' Donna said, adding 'and she would never say that you did. I 
just know you. And maybe you're right- we all smoked when we were her age, 
and except for when I was pregnant, I've never quit or given any thought to 
it. It's just, well parents are parents, Jess. Even mom and dad didn't just 
roll over about our smoking-'
    'About your smoking. I have you to thank for wearing them out on the subj
ect. By the time I was ready to start, they'd given over to the notion we'd 
smoke- and who badgered me day and night for six weeks until I finally gave 
in and tried it ?'
    'I did,' Donna said. 'Well, Rick ?'
    They looked over to Phil and Kali. Now Kali was telling some story that 
was making Phil laugh and she-
    'She's so much more animated. Happy. All right. But there has to be some 
rules about when and where she can and can't smoke. And she shouldn't be 
running around buying her own cigarettes anymore either. She could get into a 
lot of trouble doing that.'
    Jessica flashed Phil a knowing smile and Donna and Rick talked about what 
the rules should be while their daughter smoked.

    Karen and Brenda had found a booth in the corner and were sitting 
together. Brenda was leaning her head against Karen's shoulder.
    'Are you okay ?' Karen asked.
    'Yeah,' Brenda said. She saw the look on Karen's face. 'Yes and no. I 
mean, right now it stings- a fucking lot- but honestly, I think tomorrow it 
will be better. Now I know that it's over, really over, and despite the fact 
that I'm not big on the psychological bullshit, closure can be good.'
    Karen lit a single cigarette, drew deeply on it, and handed it to Brenda, 
who drew equally deep and handed it back. Smoke filled the corner as they 
exhaled.
    'And you were right-'
    '˜About what ?'
    Brenda took the cigarette again and inhaled, then spoke through the 
exhale. 'About not smoking just for revenge. If that were what I had done, 
this would be my last cigarette. Instead, I'm just sorry I ever quit.'
    'Still, the look on his face and the way he stopped in mid-sentence was 
worth it, wasn't it ?'
    'Yeah, it certainly was. Talking about shock value. He almost wet 
himself.'
    Just then, as Karen was finishing an inhale and pressing the cigarette to 
Brenda's eager lips, Phil walked over, a tall, handsome man with a cigar 
jauntily protruding from him mouth trailing.
    'Kenneth !' Karen said. 'I wondered if you'd be here.'
    Brenda was just taking the cigarette from Karen and she looked up to see 
Kenneth. Their eyes met and she brought the cigarette to her mouth and made 
passionate love to it, her eyes never leaving his.
    'Brenda, this is Kenneth,' Phil said, somewhat unnecessarily.
    She stood up, offered him her free hand and a nose exhale.
    'Brenda, it's a pleasure to meet you. Karen's mentioned you but she 
never bothered to tell me how gorgeous you are. Shame on you, Karen.'
    Karen looked up at him with sarcastic mirth in her eyes and then lit 
another cigarette.
    'What a marvelous dress, Brenda,' Kenneth said, and Karen rolled her 
eyes. As if he'd never seen it before.
    'Thank you.'
    Just then the DJ slid out from techno and spoke briefly. 'This one is for 
all of you feeling a little romantic at our engagement party.'
    The first strains of Journey's Open Arms started, and Kenneth took his 
cue. 'Is there any chance I could persuade you to share a dance with me ?'
    He held out his hand to Brenda, who took it and allowed herself to be led 
to the dance floor.
    Phil slid into the booth next to Karen.
    'Well, that was easier than I expected.'
    'You could have told me you were going to try and set up Brenda with one 
of my best friends,' Karen said, punching Phil playfully on the arm.
    'Is that what I was doing ?'
    Karen inhaled, exhaled, and it came to her with crystal clarity.
    'You knew Sean was going to ask Anna to be engaged, didn't you ?'
    'Yes- but I didn't tell anyone, not even Jessica. I do have to admit 
that I wasn't expecting to see Brenda smoking, though. Did that-'
    'Yes and no. Everyone else has wondered if that wasn't part of why Sean 
cheated on Brenda. It was only natural that she would wonder herself. All I 
did was facilitate her desire to smoke, before you ask.'
    Phil hugged her. 'I wasn't being critical, dear.'
    'So, what do you think he'll do now that he's seen Brenda smoking ?'
    'He'll pretend he's fucking Brenda once or twice when he's fucking Anna 
and then it will pass. We're suckers for that British accent, you know.'
    Karen laughed. 'So what about me ?'
    'What ?'
    'Well, you've hooked her up. That just leaves me, sitting alone in a 
corner booth listening to a sappy dance tune-'
    Phil smiled. 'You would never respect me if I tried to do your work for 
you, would you ?'
    'It's been a long time since you haven't had sex regularly, hasn't it 
?' Karen said, but she was smiling.
    'Yes, it certainly has. But I am not complaining, trust me. So seriously, 
have you been dating anyone ?'
    'No.'
    'Then let's circulate you a little bit. You are fine looking tonight.'
    'Don't let you fiancé hear you talking that way.'
    'Oh, she says I can look as long as I don't touch. Come on,' he grabbed 
by the hand and led her into the throng.

    Teresa dropped Brittany off and went straight back to the dorm to get 
ready for the party. She walked into the door room and was not surprised to 
find it empty. She looked at the clock by her bed and saw that she had a full 
hour before it she needed to be ready to go, so she thought about whether or 
not to smoke another cigar.
    As much as she had enjoyed the last one, she decided to wait. Maybe after 
the party tonight she would come back here and smoke one with Melissa, but 
right now she wanted the no less ordinary pleasure of smoking a cigarette.
    The decision made her happy. She'd been secretly worried that after 
smoking a cigar, cigarettes would seem too ordinary, but there was nothing of 
the sort to it. She thought about Melissa and realised that her worries had 
been unfounded. No one loved a good cigar more than her and yet she was never 
shy about lighting up and enjoying a cigarette.
    'I've increased my smoking versatility,' Teresa said out loud as she lit 
the VS 120 and drew deeply on it.
    Just then the phone rang. She exhaled and picked it up.
    'Teresa ? Glad you're back. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be 
back in around half an hour. Don't leave for the party without me, okay ?'
    'Sure.' She hung up the phone, drew on her cigarette again, and thought 
back to her kiss with Brittany.
    That had also been a nice change of pace. She wasn't thinking that she 
was going to start lip-locking with women, but it was nice to have the 
experience, wasn't it ?
    Thinking about it some more, she found herself aroused enough to 
appreciate the fact that her roommate was going to be a little while.
    After locking the door, she slipped out of her pants and underwear and 
settled down on the bed, sitting cross-legged while slowly working her 
fingers inside herself. She began with a gentle circular pressure and then 
worked the fingers upwards, increasing the depth and variation of the 
stimulation. She smoked the cigarette slowly and passionately, the draws 
farther apart, but deeper, more smoke-filled.
    She finished the cigarette and used her right hand to pull another one 
from the pack, placed it in her mouth, and light it. Tossing the lighter back 
on the nightstand she pulled the cigarette from her mouth, exhaled, and then 
sped up the probing regular rhythm of her fingers.
    'I think I want to bring someone home with me tonight,' she said with a 
giggle and then her orgasm came to her, slow and fulfilling the way it always 
was when she took her time and waited for it to come to her.
    'Yes, I definitely do.'

    Stayed tuned for the final installment to find out who doesn't go home 
alone.

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