The Holy Grail

"No, not that. I mean, you're great company. I've just been on pins and needles all day thinking about being able to smoke again," she said nearly giddy with excitement.

"Oh, that. Right," he said as though he'd forgotten.

"Did you have a chance to buy a pack?" she asked hopefully.

"To tell you the truth, Erin, I was hoping we could maybe spend some time getting acquainted. I don't want that to be the only thing our relationship is based on."

He was smiling and seemed sincere which Erin appreciated. But she was crestfallen and having a hard time not showing it.

"Oh, I see," she said not seeing at all.

"I mean, if you want to smoke I'd never stop you. I just didn't want you to think that was the only reason I was interested in you. It's not, you know."

"I've been told I don't hide disappointment well, but I'm doing my best here," she said forcing a smile.

"Did you want to do this another time?" he asked sincerely.

"No. Of course not," she told him still fighting the urge to be upset. She knew it was silly and she also knew he was right. Smoking wasn't the basis for a relationship. They needed to know whether or not they had things in common.

She forced a weak smile then said, "I'll be okay."

"Oh, good. Because I really enjoy being around you, and I'm hoping to find out this might have some legs."

"Legs?" she asked.

"Yes. Um...a future. Longevity. Possibilities."

"Ah, got it!" she said feeling slightly better. "Well, let's spend some time getting better acquainted then, shall we?"

For the next two hours they talked. And they talked. Erin was more than surprised at how quickly the conversation turned from the mundane, everyday kind of stuff two people talked about to heavier, weightier issues people tended to put off until much later in a relationship.

"I'm impressed," Cole finally said. "You are not only beautiful, but you're a very intelligent, very interesting woman, Erin."

"Thank you. But I'm the one who's impressed. I always thought you were so cute, but I guess I just assumed a pharmacist would be kind of, you know...."

"Nerdy?" he said with a smile.

"Sorry. Stereotypes can be pretty awful, huh?" she said feeling a little embarrassed.

"Yes they can. People often have preconceived notions about other people based on things like race or religion."

"Exactly! We should examine each person individually before coming to conclusions," she told him in complete agreement.

"It's really unfair," he told her.

The way he was looking at her was...unsettling. It wasn't 'weird' or 'sinister' it was just...different.

"It is unfair," she told him.

"That's true when it comes to smoking, too," he said still looking at her that way.

"Oh. Um, yeah, I suppose that's true," she said.

"Nowadays people make assumptions about someone once they learn the other person smokes. And sadly, the assumptions tend to be very negative. To me, that is extremely unfair."

He kept staring at her then said, "Especially when an attractive woman like yourself who smokes is so...incredibly beautiful."

"Thank you, but I'm obviously not smoking," she said. Erin looked down, unable to hold his stare as he reached out and gently touched her face.

"I've enjoyed talking to you, Erin. We have so many things in common."

"We do, don't we?" she replied.

"You know I'm very much looking for a long-term relationship now, right?" he said as he brushed her long hair back.

"I do," she told him, her heart beating fast.

"I'd like that to be with you," he told her quietly.

She willed herself to look at him then managed to say, "I'd like that, too, Cole. Very much."

He took her glass and set it on the coffee table then leaned over to kiss her. Erin's heart was beating like a drum and for the first time all evening, she forgot about smoking as she slowly moved toward him until his lips met hers.

The kiss was soft and gentle and only lasted a few seconds. No tongues were involved and yet it was incredibly sexy and delicious.

"Wow," she said as he pulled away.

"Wow indeed," he replied.

"Would you maybe like to move somewhere...more comfortable?" she asked barely able to speak.

"I would," he told her. "But not just yet, okay?"

"Oh, okay," she said again feeling a bit foolish at possibly being rejected.

"No, it isn't that," Cole said sensing what she was feeling. "I do want to be with you. Very much. But now that I've kissed you, I was hoping I could use that kiss as a basis of comparison."

"For?" she asked now thoroughly confused.

"For how you're kisses will taste after...."

He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a pack of her favorite cigarettes then handed them to her.

"Cole? I'm confused," she said.

"About what?"

"I thought you wanted me to smoke, but then...."

"Then what?" he said adding to her frustration.

"And then it seemed like you didn't. And now you do?" she asked.

"Yes. I do. I really did want to make sure we had chemistry first. I've been dying to watch you smoke, but I didn't want to be the cause of you starting again only to find we have nothing in common," he explained.

"I'm dying for a cigarette, but if I start again, I don't plan to ever quit," she told him with deep concern.

"Promise?" he asked with a smile.

"So...you definitely want me to?"

"Absolutely. And I definitely want to keep this going, Erin. I like you very much and now that I know we have a foundation to build on...."

He gently took the pack back then removed the cellophane.

As he opened the box, Erin said, "I can actually taste the smoke already. I feel like I'm about to have sex with a really talented lover right now."

"I'm kind of hoping that might still happen," he said with a smile as he raised one of the long, white cylinders above the others for her to take.

"I've literally dreamed about this a hundred times," she said as she removed it. She couldn't help smelling the unlit cigarette before holding it to her lips.

Cole produced a lighter and flicked the wheel.

"And I'll never ask you to go outside," he said as he watched the tip glow cherry red.

Erin's cheeks caved in to the point he thought they might touch as she pulled hard for as long as she could. She released the filter long enough to take in a bit more air then double pumped as hard as she could.

"Oh, my God! That is so wonderful!" she said as the nicotine hit her brain.

She exhaled a nice stream of smoke then took two more very deep drags back to back. This plume was exquisite, and Cole was mesmerized watching this beautiful woman enjoying the thing he loved most about any relationship with an attractive female.

"My God, you're sexy," he told her as he watched in awe.

"You have no idea how much I've missed this," she told him truthfully before taking another very deep drag.

As she exhaled he said, "May I compare?"

Erin smiled happily then said, "Yes, please," as she leaned toward him to accept his kiss.

Cole's deep groan told her all she needed to know.

"Jesus...fuck!" he said as he tried to savor every sensation of the experience.

"I take it that was okay?" she teased, thrilled with his reaction.

"Okay? That was so fucking hot!" he said before pulling her close and kissing her deeply and passionately.

"Hot enough to want to...fuck me?" she said unable not to laugh.

"Fuck, yeah!" he told her with a laugh of his own.

Erin not only let him fuck her, she smoked for him while he did as well as while she took his thick, hard cock into her mouth.

When they were finished, she lit another cigarette then said, "I honestly never even dreamed it could be like this. With my ex-husband, all I wanted was for him to not make a big deal out of my smoking. But this? This is...amazing."

She was on the verge of crying, overcome with emotion. Gratitude and acceptance were among the strongest. And while it was too early to say for sure, it seemed like love might just be swirling around somewhere along with them.

"My sentiments exactly," Cole told her. "I've dreamed about finding someone like you for so long. I just couldn't find...."

"Find what?" she asked before taking a monster drag.

"I don't want this to come across the wrong way," he told her.

"I'm not overly sensitive, Cole. Feel free to say it, whatever 'it' may be."

"Well, I could get close. I could find an attractive woman. I could even find an attractive woman who smokes. But finding one who was smart, funny, and someone with whom I have so many things in common—all the things you are—was the elusive Holy Grail."

Erin smiled as she exhaled a thick, rich plume of smoke and said, "I've been called a lot of things before, Cole. 'The Holy Grail' isn't one of them."

He rolled over on top of her and watched her cheeks hollow as she hungrily drew on her cigarette.

"That's what you are to me, Erin. You're The Holy Grail. You are so sexy and so beautiful and so perfect for me. I could watch you like this forever," he told her truthfully.

"I think I'd like that very much," she told him just as sincerely. "I still can't believe we found each other after being so close all those years."

"So close and yet so far, right?" he said as he brushed her hair back.

"Isn't this what relationships are all about?" Erin said. "Two people who meet one another's needs?"

"That's how I see it. Compromise is important in any relationship, but when it comes to major issues, I think two people should have them in common. You know, like politics, religion, child rearing."

Erin exhaled again then said, "Exactly. Or spending and saving money."

She inhaled one last time then said with a bright, happy smile, "Or...smoking?"

As she crushed it out, Cole told her, "Definitely," before kissing her while she exhaled. "My God you taste good!"

"Good enough to....?"

"Oh, yeah," he said as he felt himself getting hard.

*****

Most relationships take weeks or months to develop and often take even longer for two people to fall in love. But in the case of Cole and Erin, he told her he loved her just three days later and with tears in her eyes, Erin said it back to him.

He asked her to move in with him, and then, just a month later, he proposed. Erin happily said 'yes' as her divorce had just become final, and she was free and clear to marry this most amazing man who loved...everything about her.

They put her house up for sale and bought a new home as Cole moved out of the bachelor pad he'd been in for several years. As a single pharmacist, he'd saved a boatload of money, money they used to start their new lives together.

Erin continued to write short stories while her gorgeous husband continued working as a pharmacist. Each evening both of them counted the minutes until he came home when Erin would welcome him with a kiss hello, the delicious taste of smoke heavy on her lips.

The long dry spell had been replaced with what Erin had dubbed her 'wet spell' during which all she needed to do was light up a cigarette just before bedtime and smoke it knowing her husband was staring and fantasizing about making love to her. She was only too happy to smoke during their lovemaking or any other time her amazing husband asked.

The most interesting request had come on their wedding day when Cole had suggested Erin smoke while they exchanged their vows. Knowing the significance, she had happily agreed, and lit a cigarette as they told one another how much they loved each other. As Cole slid her wedding ring on her finger over the large engagement ring she wore, she inhaled deeply then kissed him during the exhale and promised to love, cherish, and...smoke for him...'until death do us part'.

As each anniversary came and went, the happy couple reflected on their good fortune to have found someone so perfect for them. Over dinner, Erin would smoke for her husband who would smile, kiss her, and tell her, "I love you so much, sweetheart. You are truly The Holy Grail of my life."