Holding Nothing Back, The Sequel

It was from Bradley and McKinley once again wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I love the wrapping paper," she said as she gently pulled off the bow.

"You can keep a piece if you'd like," Bradley told her.

"Maybe," McKinley said as she carefully removed the ribbon. "I love this ribbon and the bow, too." She turned to Bradley and put her arms around her and thanked her before she even opened her first gift.

"You're so welcome, sweetheart. Go on now. Open it up."

McKinley ever-so carefully pulled off each piece of tape so as not to tear anything. Once the wrapping was off, she smoothed it out then laid it on the floor next to her feet. She opened the long white box then lifted back the crinkly paper inside and saw the very pretty white sweater.

McKinley threw her hands over her face covering her mouth as she said, "Oh, my gosh. It's so pretty!" She held it up and told Bradley, "It's perfect. I love it! Thank you so much!"

McKinley once again hugged Bradley and this time she kissed her on the cheek. She carefully folded the long-sleeved, rib-knit sweater up and gently laid it back in the box. Eric handed her the next one, also from Bradley and when she found the cute, short, black skater skirt inside, she was overwhelmed. "No one has ever done anything like this for me in my entire life. Thank you both!" she said blinking back more tears.

"Here. This one's from me, sweetie," Eric said.

"Oh! I didn't know you got her something, honey. How nice of you!"

She opened it up and found and entire box full of makeup and nail polish and toiletries. It was all quality stuff from Lancome. Foundation, blush, mascara, eye liner, numerous shade of eye shadows, an eyebrow pencil, and several tubes of lipstick. In the other half of the box were six bottles of nail polish which matched the color of the lipstick shades. He also threw in a small bottle of shampoo, scented soaps, and a small bottle of perfume.

McKinley sat there staring at them and tears just fell from her eyes. "I don't know what to say," she said as she sobbed. "I'm so...happy." She looked up and through her tears told them, "Thank you both so much!" She reached out to hug Eric who embraced her and told her, "Happy birthday, honey!"

Then she hugged Bradley who said, "Okay, how about we make you beautiful?" She took McKinley's hand and said, "You're already very pretty. We're just gonna give mother nature a little help. What do you say?"

"Really? You'd do that for me?" McKinley said her eyes open wide in disbelief.

"I would," Bradley said with a smile. "Come on. Let's get you in the bathroom and we'll wash and blow dry your hair and get started. Sound good?"

"Yes, that sounds wonderful!" she said, "I still can't believe this is happening to me. Thank you both again, so, so much!"

When they got in the bathroom McKinley asked sheepishly, "Would it be okay if I took a shower instead of just my hair? Ours doesn't exactly work so well."

"Oh. Well of course it would! We have several different choices of soaps and shampoos. Use whatever you like and I'll bring you a towel for your hair and one for you." She came back with the towels and said, "McKinley? If there's ever anything you want or need, please ask me, okay?"

"Okay," was all she could say. As Bradley closed the door, McKinley stood there looking at herself in the mirror. Her father had broken the only mirror in the house and their bathtub was clogged with hair and other stuff she hated thinking about. She cleaned herself up with a washcloth out of the sink the best she could each morning and washed her hair with a bar of soap every other day. A shower was an unheard of luxury. She stepped into the warm water and smiled. It felt so good she wanted to let it run for an hour but she'd been scolded far too many times for wasting water and kept it down to less than ten minutes which included washing her hair and rinsing it out twice.

She dried herself off and wrapped her hair in a towel, something she hadn't done in a very long time. Bradley had laid out a bra and pantie set that still had the tag on them letting McKinley know they'd never been worn. There were a pair of scissors next to them which she used to clip off the tag. She pulled them on and other than the bra cups being just a tiny bit too big, they fit perfectly. She looked down and saw a pair of shoes on the floor and picked them up. They were exactly her size—7s. Next to them was a thin paper envelope with three pairs of brand new panty hose in them.

McKinley had never, not once, worn anything so nice in her entire life. Everything she wore was brand new except the shoes and they were newer than most anything she owned. She pulled up her new skirt then pulled off the towel before slipping on the white sweater. Her hair was a tangled mess, but she looked and felt so clean!

She heard a tap on the door as Bradley said, "McKinley honey? Are you ready to do your hair and makeup?"

She opened the door and stood there quietly as Bradley looked at her. "Oh, baby, you look SO pretty! Look at you!" She stepped inside then turned her to the mirror and stood behind her.

"Okay, let's get your hair dried and combed, first." Fifteen minutes later, it was soft, silky, and shiny.

"I can't believe that's my hair," McKinley said. "It looks so pretty."

"Just like you," Bradley said in her ear. "Okay, sweetie. I have a makeup table in the bedroom. Let's take you from pretty to gorgeous, shall we?"

McKinley smiled and followed her new friend to the bedroom. As they walked by Eric said, "Whoa! Hold on there just a second. Bradley? Who is this stunningly beautiful girl following you around?"

She stopped and said dramatically, "This beautiful young lady's name is McKinley. You know, from upstairs."

"Really?" he said as he held his chin with his hand while walking around looking a her. "Are you sure? Because McKinley is very cute, but this girl is...WOW!"

McKinley laughed and again covered her face as she watched Eric watching her. "You look very pretty, McKinley," he told her sincerely. "Bradley's going to make you even prettier—if that's possible."

"Oh, it's possible, honey. Trust me on that. Give me an hour and you won't recognize her."

An hour later, almost to the minute Bradley said, "Okay, honey. Close your eyes."

Eric did so as Bradley took McKinley's hand and led her back into the living room. She stood in front of Eric and he could smell her perfume wafting his way.

"Okay. Open!"

When he did, he knew she'd be beautiful, but what he saw took his breath away. He stood up and said, "Oh...my...God! McKinley? Is that really you?"

'Yes," she said shyly as she smiled brightly.

"Turn around for me, okay?" he asked.

She spun in a circle and her short little skater skirt spun with her. McKinley held her hands to her sides with her dainty wrists held out. "Holy, cow. Honey, you've created a work of art. She's...gorgeous!"

Bradley bowed and said, "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, but all the credit goes to my beautiful canvas. I couldn't have done it without something so lovely to start with."

"So how do you feel?" Eric asked her.

"I feel...wonderful!" she said. McKinley couldn't stop smiling.

"I just can't believe you're the same girl," he said looking first at McKinley then back at Bradley. "Wow. Just...wow!"

"Thank you," she said to both of them.

"Well, now that my work is done, I think I'm going to step outside and have a cigarette."

McKinley looked at her and said, "You don't have to go outside unless you want to. My dad smokes so I'm used to it."

"Are you sure, honey?" she asked her.

"Positive. I don't mind at all. Really."

"Well, thank you. I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable on your first visit."

"My first visit?" McKinley asked not sure what Bradley meant.

"Oh, please sit down," she told McKinley. "Well, yes. I was hoping that we could...you know, become good friends. I would so love to have a girlfriend to spend time with. If you wanted to, you could stop by after work each day or as often as you like."

"Well, um...I guess maybe I could once I check on Daddy. As long as I'm just right downstairs that shouldn't be a problem. I'll have to ask though, okay?"

"Of course! But just know I'd love to have company in the afternoons or evenings. We could do all kinds of things together and I think we'd have so much fun."

"I'd like that," McKinley told her. "I've never really had a best friend before."

Bradley sat next to her and said, "Well you do now!" She brushed McKinley's long, silky hair back and said, "I knew you'd be beautiful, sweetheart. I just had no idea you'd be this pretty." She leaned toward and said, "Ha! My handsome husband hasn't stopped looking since we came out of the bedroom." She whispered but was still loud enough to be heard. "I think he thinks you're hot!"

McKinley smiled then giggled as she watched Eric point to himself mouthing the words, "Who...ME?" He shook his head in exaggerated denial and it made McKinley laugh.

"Yeah, he does," Bradley said in her normal voice. "But then...you are."

She reached for a cigarette then said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you by any chance want one? It's okay if you want to smoke in our house. I mean, you're a grown woman so..."

"Oh, no thank you. I've tried it a couple of times after my dad fell asleep." They both knew she meant 'passed out' but didn't say anything. "I coughed a lot and didn't really like it," she said smiling while looking at the pack of VS 120 menthol lights. "Do those have menthol in them?" she asked pointing to the pack with her long, red nails.

"Yes, they do. It makes them taste really good. They're so much nicer than non-menthol cigarettes. McKinley? Did you know I just started smoking last year?"

"Really?"

She withdrew one of the extra long cigarettes and held it between her fingers. She lit it and took a deep drag. As she exhaled she said, "Yes, really. Did you know there are a lot of men who think women who smoke are really hot?"

McKinley's eyes opened wide in surprise. Thanks to the eye shadow, liner, and mascara, they were sexy and sultry beyond words. Bradley was mesmerized by them and having a hard time concentrating and she knew Eric was, too. "I had no idea," she said with genuine disbelief. "I've never heard of that."

"Oh, yes. They're out there, right honey?" she said as she tapped the ash in the tray.

"Yes, we are!" he said with a smile.

"We?" McKinley asked not understanding.

"Yes—we. I'm one of those guys. I think attractive women become even more attractive and sexier when they smoke."

Bradley took a long drag and told McKinley, "That's why I started smoking. I promised Eric on his last birthday I would...you know...do something um...special for him." She leaned over again and whispered rather loudly, "In the bedroom."

McKinley threw her hands up over her face again as she burst out laughing. Bradley reached up and gently pulled them down. "Sweetheart? You are much too pretty to cover your face like that."

McKinley looked down and away from her then over at Eric who said, "She's right, you know. It should be a crime to cover up such a beautiful face."

McKinley blushed and Bradley leaned over again and said kind of quietly, "That's okay. Eric is very handsome so blushing is normal for a girl who's not used to being complimented. But it's going to start happening all the time now and you'll eventually get used to it. I promise."

"Well, thank you for saying that, Eric," she said demurely. "It's funny. But I almost feel pretty now."

"Almost?" Bradley said exhaling a long stream of smoke. "No, sweetheart. You are not 'almost' pretty, you are pretty."

"Very pretty," Eric chimed in. The redness around her neck came back again but not as furiously as before.

"Well, anyway. What I was saying was if you'd ever like to try smoking again, just ask. As I said, I'd love to have a girlfriend to spend time with and it would be extra special if she enjoyed smoking, too." Bradley touched her forearm again and said, "I'm not trying to talk you into anything, McKinley. I'm just letting you know you can do whatever you like in our home. Speaking of which, would you like some more champagne?"

"That sounds very nice!" she said smiling happily. "I really enjoyed that first glass."

"See? That's how you find out what you like. You try something and give it some time. Who knows, you might find yourself enjoying other things you've never tried." Bradley took another very long hit then ground out her cigarette.

As Eric brought their drinks, McKinley asked, "So do you enjoy smoking now?"

"Oh, my goodness! I love smoking." She took a sip of champagne and said, "I didn't at first, of course. It took some time to learn to enjoy it, but after a while I realized I didn't just enjoy it, but that I absolutely loved to smoke. Had I never tried it, I'd never have known and life's too short not to try new things, right?"

McKinley smiled and nodded. "That's true. I think about that a lot. It's just that with my dad and all, I don't get to try a whole lot of new things."

"Tell you what," she said to McKinley. "I have a ton of clothes I rarely ever wear. I was going to give them to Goodwill or have a yard sale, but you could have them instead if you like. We're about the same size so whenever you come over, you could try on...and keep...another outfit until they're all gone. Would you like that?"

"Oh, wow. I don't know, Bradley. I mean, it just seems wrong to take your things without paying for them and all."

"Don't be silly, sweetie. They'd just be given away to someone else. I'd rather my new best friend have them."

"Wow, that would be really nice."

"Then it's settled!" Bradley said raising her glass. "To new best friends!"

Eric said, "Here, here!" raising his glass before everyone took another sip.

McKinley finished her champagne a few minutes later and Bradley asked, "Would you like a little more, sweetheart?"

"Um, okay. Maybe just a little. I can really feel it this time. It feels all tingly and warm and...nice." She was looking at the coffee table and Bradley noticed.

"Is there something else you'd like, sweetie?"

"Well, I was wondering if maybe I could try...one of those?" she said pointing to Bradley's cigarettes.

"Hold on, okay? I want to make sure this is something you want to do. So...are you sure?" Bradley asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I dunno. I feel kind of like I've been given a second chance, you know? I want to take advantage of it. I have new friends, new clothes, and there are all these new experiences to try." She held up her glass and said, "Like champagne."

"Okay. If you're sure," Bradley said. She winked at Eric as she got up and headed to the kitchen. She came back with a pack of VS menthol ultra lights in the regular size and said, "Here. Try one of these instead. They're not as strong and that will make it less unpleasant."

"Unpleasant?" McKinley said with some concern.

"Remember, smoking is another acquired taste. It will take a lot of tries before you actually enjoy it. The first few times you have to be careful not to overdo it."

She opened the pack then offered one to McKinley who slid it out of the pack with her long, thin fingers and red nails. "Now before we light it, let's talk about a few things first, okay?"

Bradley got one of her own 120s out and said, "When you light it, don't inhale it, okay? What you do is take a small amount into your mouth, hold it there for a second and then inhale it. Not too much, though, the first few times. Here, let me show you." She lit her own cigarette and took a first puff then said, "Okay, like this." She took a quick puff, let McKinley know she was holding the smoke in her mouth, then inhaled. "And that is how you inhale without choking. Did that make sense?"

"I think so," McKinley said almost giggling. The champagne was having a definite effect. "So...should I try it now?" she asked looking for confirmation.

"Sure! Go ahead, sweetie." Bradley watched as Eric was boring holes into McKinley as she raised her cigarette to her newly-painted, red lips.

As the flame touched the end of McKinley's cigarette, it briefly glowed cherry red as she took in a tiny amount and immediately blew it out. She then took a very small puff and the couple could tell she was holding it in her mouth this time as she looked over at both of them before inhaling. They saw her raise up slightly as she took the smoke into her lungs, but she didn't cough. Her exhale was so thin it was practically invisible, but she had inhaled and she was smiling. "That wasn't so bad," she said. "My dad's are so strong and these are really mild." She held it out between her fingers and looked at it and said, "And I like the menthol taste. It's nice."

Eric and Bradley smiled encouragingly as McKinley took another small, but slightly deeper puff. She held it in her mouth for a shorter amount of time, then inhaled smoothly before exhaling a still-small, but visible stream. "Wow! That was really cool," McKinley said. "I got this tingling in the back of my neck. That was also very nice."

"Ah! The nicotine buzz. Enjoy it while it lasts, honey," Bradley told her. "It only happens a few times when you first start." She looked at McKinley then back at Eric before saying, "I'm not trying imply you're starting, I'm just stating a fact."

McKinley took a third, longer drag and this time there was a visible, weak stream of smoke slightly darker than the second attempt. Ultra lights produced very little smoke even when someone like Bradley smoked them and they were effectively invisible with a newcomer like McKinley. But she was smoking and the positive feedback was definitely a factor.

"You might want to stop after one or two more puffs, McKinley. You don't want to overdo it the first time and feel dizzy."

McKinley tapped her ash in the tray next to Bradley and took a fourth hit that was the longest yet. Her shoulders raised up again as the additional volume of smoke entered her body and she said, "Oh! I felt it again." She looked at her new friends and said, "This is really nice."

Bradley finished her 120 and said, "Well, I'm just glad to have a girlfriend and whenever you visit, you don't have to ask if you'd like to have a cigarette. In fact, why don't you take that pack of ultra lights with you...just in case?"

McKinley took one more moderately-sized puff, inhaled, then put it out. "I am getting a little bit dizzy."

"Don't let that discourage you, sweetheart. That will go away very soon. So if you enjoy smoking, just keep trying and you'll find out how pleasurable it can be." She looked over at Eric then told McKinley, "And you'll find out how guys like my handsome husband react to pretty girls who smoke."

McKinley smiled and went to cover her face again but stopped this time remembering what her favorite new couple had told her. "I probably should back upstairs now," McKinley said. "I don't want Daddy to get upset with me."

"Oh, okay. We understand, honey. We're just so, so glad you let us celebrate your birthday with us. This was really special for us," Bradley told her.

"It really was, McKinley," Eric agreed. "We really like you and we hope you feel the same about us."

"I do," McKinley said shyly. "I feel like I have an older brother and sister now."

Eric looked at Bradley with a 'say something now' kind of look. Bradley turned to her and said, "That's very sweet, McKinley. But we don't want to be your brother and sister. We want to be your special new friends. Friends who think you're very pretty and someone we both want to spend time with."

McKinley was looking down and they could tell she was very flattered. She just had no experience with handling compliments of any kind. They could only imagine what life was like for her one floor up with an alcoholic father. "I like spending time with you guys, too," she said. "So...I guess I should go home."