As she walked into the party, she looked around and realized that she didn’t know a soul there. There was a hosted bar, and she went up and ordered a margarita. She moved away from the bar and saw a group of people enjoying their drinks and meeting one another so she joined them.

She introduced herself and met six other people attending the conference. A few had arrived a little earlier than Janice and looked like they had gotten a head start on the free drinks. One of the ladies said that she needed a cigarette and would anyone like to join her. Janice volunteered as well as one of the guys.

They stepped outside and brought out their cigarettes. The woman was named Kathy and smoked Virginia Slim 120s Menthols. The guy introduced himself as Neil and he smoked Marlboro Reds. Janice felt very comfortable among the other smokers and they were soon making small talk, laughing, and having fun.

Janice observed Kathy’s smoking style. Long drags with her lips sliding down the cigarette until it popped out of her mouth with a little sound. Open mouth wide and gulp the smoke down. Purse lips and exhale at an upward angle. Very sexy. She noticed that Neil was watching Kathy closely and realized he liked what he was seeing. She decided to put on a show of her own and pulled a cigarette out of the pack and demurely asked Neil for a light.

As he extended his lighter, she grabbed his hand as she lit her cigarette. She smiled and blew the smoke straight out toward his face. Neil blushed as he put his lighter away.

Janice posed with her cigarette held up near her breasts with her other hand on her elbow supporting her arm. She took a drag and exhaled the smoke like she had practised. It had the desired effect on Neil as he was standing there gawking.

Janice was enjoying this and as they finished their cigarettes she asked Neil how long he had been a smoker. He told her he had been smoking since he was ten. He had stolen cigarettes from his mother and had come out in public when he was in college.

He didn’t think about it anymore except with all the smoking bans in place, it made it more difficult to enjoy smoking. He added that the only thing the smoking bans had done for him were to make him more determined than ever to remain a smoker and to stop doing business with places where he had formerly been able to smoke. He felt that the only way the smoking ban advocates were going to get the message was if businesses were hurting to the point that they were storming the legislature with complaints.

Kathy said she agreed and was quite angry with how the Government had decided we needed to be protected from one another. Janice had never really thought much about it before and was impressed with how passionate he was on the subject.

Neil smiled at her and suggested they go back inside and get another drink. Janice thought that was a marvelous idea and went inside with Neil and Kathy. As they headed for the bar, Kathy whispered to Janice that Neil was quite a good looking man. Janice just smiled.