The next time I saw Edie, it was almost finals time. I’d gone out to have a beer after working late, and I bumped into her at the bar. “Hey, Gary… I need some help,” she whispered into my ear. “I’m a little drunk tonight, and… I’ve been left here by my friends. Besides, there’s this guy who thinks I’m interested in him. Please?” So much for that beer. We went back to my apartment and I made coffee for her. About halfway into her first cup she pulled out a pack of Virginia Slims Lights Menthol.
“Thanks for everything,” she said as I lit her cigarette. “You are such a nice guy to be around. I don’t know why I can’t settle down. But if I did, I’d want to settle down with you.” She exhaled noisily. “How’s graduate school?” We talked about several things, and I made her another pot. She was sobering up, and I figured that I’d drive her back soon. She asked for a More, lit it, and took a long drag punctuated with a big, slow, creamy french-inhale. “I always gotta have one of these when I see you,” she grinned. “I really did like them, but I don’t wanna smoke them in public any more. It’s kinda like smoking a 164. Too much attention.” I fell madly in lust. The topic turned to Andrea, and I started to get extremely horny between the memories and the sexy way Edie was smoking the More.
When we hit a lull in conversation, she looked at the clock. “I didn’t know how late it was!” she exclaimed. “I can’t ask you to drive me back now.” I told her she wasn’t going to walk back at this time of night. “But I’m sober now, and I’m awake,” she protested. I shook my head firmly. She lit a Virginia Slim, and exhaled loudly in exasperation. “It’s not fair to you,” she argued, but I wasn’t budging.
“Look, I can drive you home. I’m awake, too,” I said. “Or, you could spend the night here, and we could have sex. And it’s on my mind because you look so damn sexy that I could just drag you into the bedroom right now.”
She exhaled in a big hurry. “Gary!!!” she exclaimed in surprise.
“Hey, I’m just being honest. I know that I can make you feel real good, and so do you. So how about it, Edie? Let’s fuck.”
She put out the half-smoked Virginia Slim and gave me a kiss, her mouth still tasting of her last drag. “Yes,” she growled. “I didn’t want to spend the night by myself anyway.” Her blue eyes were flashing, and I grabbed her ass as we headed around the corner.
She walked back into my bedroom about an hour later, with a glass of water and a freshly-lit More. “Wanna share?” she cooed, standing seductively positioned in the doorway as she took a long drag, snap-inhaled, paused, and lifted her chin to exhale towards the ceiling. The More was smoked in record time, the water unused until much later. We fell asleep in each others arms.
The next morning, we had the inevitable talk about us. “I’m just not a one-guy girl right now, Gary. If I was—” She took a drag from her Virginia Slim Light. “You’d be the guy right now. But I’m only 21, I’m from rural North Dakota, and I want to live a little before I settle down.” She took another drag, exhaling in her usual slow, deliberate fashion. I knew I could give her better sex than she was getting on a regular basis, and if sex was the only issue, we could easily remedy that. But there was something that made her think that I wasn’t right for her. “But we can still see each other, right?”
She was a sexy smoker and enthusiastic in bed. At that point in my life, I was more pragmatic than I am now. No matter what I wanted out of her, Edie was, whenever she chose to come my way, a near-effortless lay. I was still unsure of myself in the bar scene, and frankly, too busy to chase women every weekend. “Sure. You know I’ll be around for another year or so,” I said, resigning myself to the occasional night of great sex.
Edie came over the day before she left for home. She wanted one last wild fling before a summer under her parent’s roof. She picked me because, “You always know how to make me orgasm.” We went out for lunch, and then we stopped by the tobacco shop, where Edie picked up a couple packs of Eve Lights 120s menthol. “They stopped selling these in the school store,” she said, explaining her recent brand choice. “I like the Virginia Slims Lights, but I miss the length. If Virginia Slims sold a 120, I’d smoke those in a minute.” We eclipsed our previous record of three, finally wearing each other out shortly after midnight. As she dressed the next morning, she lit a fresh Eve, dragging on it as she fastened her front-clasp bra and sending smoke through her nostrils. She took another hands-free drag and nostril exhale while she was fiddling with her earrings. When she was finished, she took a drag, french-inhaled it slowly, and lifted her chin, exhaling with a barely audible hiss. That could have been a precursor to five, but she took one last drag, inhaled it, then kissed me as she exhaled before saying, “Gotta go, or I’ll miss my flight. See you in August?” I nodded dumbly, and grabbed my keys to drive her back to her dorm.
When August arrived, I was exasperated, the research project had stopped working so well, and my course and teaching load was heavy because my advisor believed that I could handle it, so I could see that free time was going to be at a premium even before classes started. Edie stopped by as soon as she had unpacked. She now had her own car. “Andrea says hi,” she smiled as she came into my apartment. “She said that if I wasn’t going anywhere for spring break, she’d like to come here again.” Edie tossed a pack of More Menthols at me, and pulled a pack of Virginia Slims Menthol Lights from her purse. “I’ve bummed enough from you,” she laughed before lighting up. “I didn’t want anything to—interrupt. I haven’t gotten laid all summer.” We were kissing, then fondling, and then undressing and in bed in less than ten minutes.
Edie lit a Virginia Slim, taking a big snap-inhale, and exhaled very slowly. “That is the best-tasting drag,” she purred. “Right after sex. Really, really good sex,” she smiled and kissed me, exhaling again into my mouth. “Oh. Sorry. Next time, I’ll make sure it’s a More,” she giggled, “so you’re not smoking one of my girly cigarettes.” I was getting hard again, and Edie decided to speed up the pace a bit. She took a drag and then slurped my half-hard cock into her mouth. I guess she exhaled through her nose. I just watched my first smoky blowjob in fascination but it didn’t last long. Edie took a final puff, put the cigarette out, and climbed on top of me. “Ohmygod! You’ve—mmmf—never—ohhh—beenthishard—ohhh... fuck!—before,” she panted, thrusting at me. My cock was covered in her thick white goo long before I came. Spent, we both napped until dark.
We showered together and went to a late dinner. Edie drove, and when we got back, she kissed me at the door, spun and headed for the bedroom. “You don’t think I’m done with you yet,” she called. A little while later, we were laying next to each other, sharing a More. Edie had smoked the last of her Virginia Slims during coffee at the restaurant. Edie put her head on my chest. “Best welcome back to school I’ve ever had, Gary. Thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
“I was thinking that maybe I ought to come visit more—often. Now that I have my own car’n’all that.”
“Promise me you won’t drink and drive,” I said.
“I don’t even like to drink and walk,” she giggled. She patted my cock. “Can we do this again?” I asked her to let me recover a little while longer. “Sure,” she smiled, kissed me… and then went to sleep. The next morning, I was recovered, and she was ready. She walked out the door with a burning More in her hand. “See you soon!”
It proved to be a false promise. Now that Edie had a car, more horizons for attention were open to her. The next time I saw her was during her fall break, and that was by accident. She was out carousing at one of the local bars and I was having drinks with my group at the same place after a long, long day at the lab. Edie was with somebody and gave me a brief “hi,” before turning her attention back to her date. I saw her pull out a Virginia Slim Light, which he lit for her.
She called me the week before Thanksgiving break. “Hey, Gary. Are you going to be going anywhere for Thanksgiving? I don’t want to drive home because I’d spend most of my holiday on the road, and I can’t afford to fly. I was thinkin’… maybe we could spend some time together. I haven’t seen you since last month, and we haven’t… ummm… been together in, like, forever.” I knew she could have spent the holiday with one of her sorority sisters who lived much closer, but it was obvious that she wanted to be laid by me, and I was horny enough not to care that she was “using” me as a recreational stud. We made plans, and the next day, I told my advisor that I wouldn’t be in over Thanksgiving.
She came by Tuesday evening, after my last class. I hadn’t forgotten how good she looked, but she was definitely all grown up now. “So, how ya been?” she asked as she plopped onto my sofa. I told her about being finished with the research project, and that I was going to be writing all next semester. “Well, I’ve applied to social work graduate schools. I’m hoping I get to go to New Orleans,” she said. The thought of Edie on the loose in Hedonism Central made me shudder just a little. “Where would you like to go to dinner?”
After dinner, we were watching something on television. “Gary, can I have a More?” she asked, ignoring her full pack of Virginia Slims Menthol Lights sitting on the table. “I like the different taste every once in a while. And I’m still a big fan of extra-long cigarettes.” I lit the More, and she took a long drag, held it, obviously savoring the smoke, before exhaling slowly, silently. “Maybe I’ll get some 164’s tomorrow. You wouldn’t mind if I smoked those here, would you? They’re just a little too… different. My sorority sisters gave me so much shit when I smoked the last one from the box I bought last year, but I like them better than the Fantasias.” I told her no, I wouldn’t mind. I wound up on top of her an hour later, thrusting away energetically. She felt great inside and moved with me as if we’d always been joined like that. The resulting orgasms left us drained and we fell asleep, Edie’s head on my chest, her warm and soft body snuggled against mine.
On Wednesday, we went shopping for “a proper Thanksgiving dinner,” as Edie put it. She volunteered to cook. “I do this all the time at home for Thanksgiving. The men folk watch football while us women folk do the cookin’ and the cleanin’.” We laughed. The thought of Edie being so completely domesticated had never entered my head, and I found it hilarious. We stopped by the tobacco store, where Edie bought a carton of Virginia Slims Menthol Lights, a box of Sherman 164’s, and a new holder. “My other ones got broke when I moved home,” she half-apologized, “and I want something to keep the tobacco out of my mouth.” I helped her in the kitchen, and when everything had been adequately prepared for the next day’s cooking, we settled in for the evening. It was cold outside, so I made some hot apple cider, and poured a generous amount of rum into both mugs.
“Gary, can you bring my purse with you when you get done in there?” she called from the living room. I handed the mug to her first when I got there. She reached into the purse and pulled out her new holder; it was only a couple of inches long, and black, but she hadn’t bought it for reasons of style. She carefully removed the cellophane from the box of 164’s, pulled out one of the long, brown cigarettes and carefully inserted it into the holder. “Would you like one, too?” she asked. I accepted, making her smile, which warmed me more than the spiked cider ever could. I lit hers first. Her first drag was slowly french-inhaled. Her second exhale was completely through the nostrils, chin barely lifted. “Y’know, Gary, I like being able to smoke like this around you. I don’t think anybody else would understand that I like smoking these. I like the way they taste. I can really enjoy a smoke with you. It’s getting harder to find places like that. She snap-inhaled, slowly, before raising her chin, and after a few seconds, finally exhaling.
“Andrea n’me got together an’ordered some Fantasias by mail last summer,” Edie resumed. “She really likes the colors, I think. She still loves her Salem Slim Lights. We’ve got like eight boxes left, tucked away in one of their freezers, because there wasn’t really anywhere to smoke them at. The boys back home didn’t get it.”
“Didn’t get what?”
“They didn’t get being sexy when you smoke. They didn’t get fashion or style.” She paused to take another slow drag, her natural, brief french-inhale taking the stage. “Of course, it’s North Dakota, what do you expect, right?” Edie exhaled, smoke coming in bursts with every word. “Sometimes, when I’m with you, it’s like… like… I can be relaxed, I can be stylish, I can be sexy.” She took another long, slow drag, and french-inhaled in slow-motion for an eternity. She waited to exhale, a regal air about her with her chin raised, as the smoke began to flow from her lips in a long soundless stream. She looked at her holdered 164, which wasn’t even half-smoked, and then she looked at me. “Gary?” she hoarsely whispered.
“What, Edie?” I asked, with a little bit of puzzlement.
“Put out your cigarette now.” I saw the expression on her face, and any questions I may have had were answered without a word.
Edie never said if she had figured out smoking and its effect on me. I don’t think it was that she realized that I had a fetish, but that she enjoyed my willingness to indulge her style and glamour fantasies involved with her smoking. Friday night found us at the Fine Art Theater, in the couples section again. She complained when she found out that you could only smoke in the lobby now, but she wore no panties, and I fingered her to a couple of small orgasms during the movies. When we got home, she echoed a line from one of the movies, giggling, “Mind if I smoke while you eat?” and lit a Virginia Slim as I went to give her head. “I think I’ll stick—” she gasped afterwards, “—to smoking after sex. Whew!!! I don’t want to cause a fire.”
“But my hose is full,” I suggestively said, waving my erection at her.
“Then I need to drain it,” she shot back, climbing on her hands and knees. I entered her doggy-style. “Ohhhh… wowwwww… You’re long tonight…” she moaned, the new position sending me deeper into her. “Oh Gary I’m gonna come quick… ohgodohgodohgodohg—!!! ” She smoked a More between rounds, and had just lit another second one when I was hard again. She mounted me, fresh cigarette still between her fingers, and took a couple of drags. She managed to take a third, then put it in the ashtray before leaning forward and kissing me deeply as she exhaled. We shared a 164, had more sex, and then passed out.
We finally woke up at three on Saturday afternoon. We had sex in the shower. She knelt in front of me during her after-dinner Virginia Slim and sucked my cock, smoking in between licks. I licked her pussy when she finished the cigarette, but not the blowjob, and then we returned to the bed for more fucking. Sunday afternoon was the last time we did it, a long, slow screw that caused Edie to turn purple before screaming her release. My orgasm was weak and painful, my cock tender, but it still felt great. She licked my cock clean, something we’d seen at the theater (live from a couple in the audience as we were leaving, and on the screen,) but that she’d never done. After dinner on Sunday, Edie gave me a warm hug and a lingering kiss on the cheek and then my neck. “Gary, thank you so much. I’ll never forget this week,” she whispered in my ear. As she left I thought for sure that I’d made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, and that I’d be hearing from her shortly.
Wrong. I didn’t see her during reading week, which was kind of odd. She’d always turned to me for some “stress release.” during exams. I didn’t’ see her after the Christmas holiday, either. Edie called me in February to let me know that she had started getting acceptances to grad school. When I suggested getting together to celebrate, she politely declined, saying that she had other obligations. I could understand that. I was working late almost every night, trying to finish my thesis before a self-imposed deadline. Because of that, there was no spring break for me, but it didn’t matter since Edie went to Daytona Beach with a group of Xi girls. She called me to invite me to her graduation; her whole family was going to be there. Unfortunately, it coincided with my own graduation, and we could never work it out to get together. She was going to Florida for grad school, and I had accepted a co-op job locally, one that would allow me to get my Ph.D. while earning a real living. Edie stopped by my apartment while I was moving, and left a note saying that she was sorry she had missed me, but that she was going home for a month before heading to Florida.
I had learned to let go much better, and it wasn’t as traumatic as I thought would be. I was single, available, and somewhat attractive. I was also still very busy academically. One evening after work, I saw a familiar red car in front of my apartment building. I was earning enough to have moved out of student digs into a real apartment. Edie was standing at my door, looking in her purse for something, looking awesome in a bright sundress. “Edie!” I called, trying to restrain myself.
“Gary!!!” she squeaked and ran to me, giving me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I was so afraid I was going to miss you! I’m headed to Florida, and I just stopped in town to see some old friends!” I invited her in. “I can’t stay too long. I’ve got to meet Janet Rich for dinner. One of my old sorority sisters from here.”
“Oh.” It may have been quite a while since we’d been together, and not such a long time since I’d had sex, I was still disappointed. But she came inside any way. “Nice place!” she enthused. It’s a lot bigger than the old one.” She sat on the sofa. “I’m glad you kept the sofa, though. We had some good times on this sofa,” she smiled impishly, before returning her attentions to her purse.
“Would you like a More? For old times’ sake?” I asked.
Edie paused for a second to look at me. “Oh, no thanks.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a pack. It was definitely a pack of Virginia Slims, but it looked… longer. “I found these in New York last week; we were on family vacation both mine and Andrea’s family. I guess they listened to me, huh? Virginia Slims Lights 120’s. Luxury Length.” She took a long, deep drag as she lit it, exhaling smoke through her nose while she put the lighter and the pack into her purse. Then she took another long drag, fingers splayed, inhaling deeply without any tricks. Her exhale was still the same head tilt, silent stream, but the smoke trail lasted longer. I began to get hard. “Remember when I said I’d smoke Virginia Slims 120’s in a heartbeat?” I nodded. She shifted position. “So, what are you up to these days?”
I told her about the new job and the Ph.D. work. “Dr. Gary…” she giggled. “Somehow, that doesn’t seem right.” We talked a little bit about her future and how things were for Andrea, who was, at least for the moment, stuck in North Dakota. We both carefully avoided making any reference to our past sexual history. She finished her cigarette, and said, “I’ve gotta go. Janet’s expecting me in like ten minutes, and I’m going to be late as it is.” We stood, and she grasped my hand. “Take care of yourself, Gary. Good luck,” she said, tenderly, and for a moment, her eyes took on a dewy, sexy cast. Just as quickly as it happened, it was gone. She gave me a big, tender, long, hug. “I won’t ever forget you, I promise,” she whispered. I thought I heard a little bit of regret in her voice. Then there was a kiss to my neck, and she was gone.
As fate would have it, that wasn’t the last time I saw Edie. I saw her about nine months later, at my favorite watering hole. She was with somebody. “Gary!!! I’m so glad to see you!” she bubbled. “I’m in town for Janet’s wedding! Please sit down with us!” I sat across the table from her and a rather well-built man. He was maybe a little older than I was, but he was buff, tanned, and sandy-haired. “Josh,” she said, “this is my friend Gary. He helped me through calculus freshman year; if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have ever made it to Florida and we never would have met.”
The guy’s grip was like a vise, but there wasn’t any enmity in it. “I’m glad to meet you,” he said in a deep voice with a friendly smile, after giving Edie a quick look that said, “I’m all for romance, but don’t you think that’s stretching it a little?” Josh was Edie’s fiancé. After I got over the initial shock of the wild party girl suddenly wanting to settle down, I was happy for her. For her part, she showed no concern over anything that I might say. I discreetly noted the pack of Virginia Slims Menthol Lights 120’s on the table. We talked about how things were going; other than the fact that I was completely unattached and sex-starved, my life was great. My job was good, school was going great, and I wasn’t in debt.
She pulled a cigarette from the pack. As she raised the lighter, Josh took it out of her hands and gallantly lit it for her. Her drag was brief this time, but her cute, natural french-inhale punctuated it. She exhaled quickly, but her face was all aglow. “Isn’t he such a gentleman?” she enthused. I spent about an hour with them before I left; I didn’t want to intrude on the young lovers, and as over Edie as I thought I was, I wasn’t sure how well I’d handle seeing her kiss somebody else with more feeling than she ever kissed me.
Fate must enjoy fucking with my head. Five years after her graduation, and the day after I’d officially become “Dr. Gary B. Collins, Ph.D.”, I saw Edie at the same watering hole. I wasn’t sure if it was her or whether my lying eyes were deceiving me. “Edie?” I whispered cautiously after tapping her on the shoulder. She spun, her blue eyes wide in surprise.
“Oh my god! Gary!!! It’s been forever!!!” she said, girlish enthusiasm gone from her voice, replaced by a mature, deeper tone of surprise. She hugged me tightly. “How have you been? I can’t believe that I ran into you!” I told her that I was finished with school, finally. “I am so happy for you,” she smiled. “I’m in town for my fifth reunion! Do you remember…” She introduced me to the women in her group, many of whom I’d known socially at the fraternity, and most of them remembered me, if only as “Edie’s college boyfriend.” That caused an unexpected pang of regret that… hurt.
“So… ummm… what’s been goin’ on in your life?” I asked, hesitantly. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know.
“Well…” she brightly began, then stopped. “Actually, a lot,” she finished, sounding serious. “Let’s have a seat—over here. I’ll be right back,” she called to her friends. We sat away from the hubbub. “Well… I got divorced last year. From Josh,” she sighed. “He wasn’t the romantic prince I thought he was, and I decided to get out.” Edie pulled a pack of menthol Capris from her purse, smiling. “I still like… distinctive cigarettes. They sell the 120’s in New Orleans, but not here. Aren’t they cute?” I remembered hearing her say that exact phrase, but the voice was less girlish now. “Anyway, I moved to New Orleans, and got a job at Tulane. I left him in Florida.” She lit the super slim cigarette, and took a cheek-hollowing drag, exhaling a very long trail of smoke after a delay.
“Oh.” I had a feeling there was a lot more that she wasn’t saying, but I wasn’t going to pry.
“I like it there, and Mardi Gras is just too crazy for words, but I think I’m gonna leave town for the next one. My co-workers tell me that’s a sign that I'm becoming a native Crescent City dweller,” she chuckled. She slowly french-inhaled her last drag from the Capri, before turning her head to the side and exhaling. The lighting was perfect. Oh, fuck… she had to go and do that. “Remember that?” she smiled, reverting to the impish nineteen year-old from North Dakota for the briefest moment. “I haven’t done that in a couple of years, not since Andrea’s bachelorette party. You know, she has a couple of kids now? She and her family are living in Kansas City now. She’s a stay-at-home mom.” I sensed a little bit of wistfulness. That could have been you, too, Edie. I made my best offer.
She picked up my hand and held it. “I’ve thought about that. About us, especially since the divorce,” she said, almost as if she read my mind. “I’d kind of like to settle down like she did. But I wasn’t ready when you were, and I wanted my life to take me somewhere else, and you were tied to here. I thought it was the best thing for me to just… let go,” she admitted, her big blue eyes searching my face for understanding. “I still haven’t forgotten you, and I won’t.” She heaved a big sigh, and then reached for another Capri.
“But after five years, it’s too late.” I said.
She nodded, sadly. “I like my life now, even if I am sort of… chaste these days. It’s scary out there, y’know. It’s not like it was five years ago. I love New Orleans, even the hot, muggy weather. I like what I’m doing and well…”
“Edie, it’s OK. We had fun. And you never led me on,” I interrupted. “I knew where I stood. And you are still incredibly sexy as all hell and I wish I could take you back to my place right now.”
She french-inhaled again, with a teasing glimmer in her eye. “Thanks, Gary. I needed to hear that.” She grew quiet almost instantly and looked at the floor. “But… I’m not there right now,” she softly apologized. Before anything else could be said, one of her sorority sisters stopped by the table to announce that it was time for the group to go to dinner. We stood, hugged for what was the last time, and kissed each other, briefly, gently, and lovingly. She left with her group, turning left down the sidewalk, while I thought for a second, and then I left the bar, turning to the right, heading for my car, without looking back.