Nicole's Smoking Story Part 37

If Nikki’s plan was going to come to fruition, she knew more man-power was needed, but she wasn’t looking to expand her own organization much further considering it may attract more attention. What she wanted was to add more partnerships like she had done with Sons of Guns. What better place than to do so than at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally?

It was a place Nikki had wanted to go since she started to ride, but her relationship with Esposito prevented it the previous summer as he was not a motorcycle enthusiast. She was also hoping this vacation would go better than the last one.

Nikki road with Jasmine, Al, Greta, Gina and Erica from New Jersey to South Dakota, leaving Christine at home to run the normal operations. The trip took three days, riding 10 hours the first two days. Upon arrival, the event was everything Nikki hoped it would be.

However, It didn’t take long for Nikki to realize she was a different breed than the majority of the women associated with clubs. Few weren’t attached to men and she was likely the only one with jewelry that cost more than a motorcycle, but that didn’t faze her.

Throughout the week, Nikki had a blast. Sobriety was a more rare occurrence than innebreation, as was the case for the rest of the women in her crew. Yet, she also knew she was there for more than just pleasure. She had already secured a partnership with a club in New Jersey, but now she wanted clubs from New York and Pennsylvania as well.

It didn’t take long for her to talk a club from Pennsylvania into an agreement, so it was down to just a club from New York before she left. Although she was having a bit more trouble than anticipated. In fact, Nikki thought a deal had been lined up with a club in the Albany area — the King of Spades — but it slipped through without a legitimate explanation.

On the last night of the rally, the women all decided to have some fun, but Nikki was still subdued. She wasn’t going to accomplish the mission she intended.

As she stood at the bar, wearing a black Perrillo Family tank top tucked into a pair of black jeans, a thick black leather belt with rhinestones and a western buckle and black cowboy boots and her Perrillo Family leather vest, she noticed the president of the Spades speaking to a familiar face. He was talking to the president of the Kingsmen.

Nikki tapped Al on the shoulder and whispered in her ear and they decided to walk outside. She wondered if Mark was there, but she was certain that the Kingsmen were responsible for her deal falling through with the Spades.

As they walked out onto the crowded street packed with bikes and bikers, Nikki took a cigarette out of her vest pocket and lit up. She surveyed the streets - her senses on high alert - for Mark, but instead she saw Marge walking down the street towards the bar.

She decided they would intercept her, first making a phone call for a safety net. When they met her, Nikki acted as if Marge was her long lost best friend.

“Hey girl!” Nikki exclaimed, hugging Marge.

“Wow, Nicole,” Marge said uncomfortably. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I know, I’m a busy woman nowadays,” Nikki smiled. “How have you been?”

“Pretty good,” Marge said. “I suppose you would know if you were still around.”

“Well, I had to do what was best for me,” Nikki said. “You know what that’s like.”

“Yeah, I’ve got to get going,” Marge said curtly.

“Where are you headed?” Nikki asked, flicking her cigarette to the side after lighting another with tip of the first. “We’ll walk with you.”

Just before the bar, Nikki had Jasmine usher Marge down a back alley with subtle force. Marge had a feeling about what was coming.

“Before you do anything, you should know the rest of the club will never let you leave this town alive,” Marge said.

“Us?” Nikki laughed wickedly. “We’re just a bunch of classy women with an affinity for bikes.”

“What do you want with me?” Marge asked.

“Well Marge, we’ve always gotten along well,” Nikki began, pausing to take a drag on her cigarette. “So I want you to tell me why your man interfered in my business today.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marge said.

“Come on, babe, you don’t have to make this harder than it has to be,” Nikki said softly, blowing smoke directly in Marge’s face.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Marge repeated.

Nikki shrugged, taking another drag before nodding to Jasmine. The muscular black woman socked Marge directly in the gut, forcing her to gasp for air.

“Are you ready to talk yet?” Nikki asked fiercely, lifting her face by the chin to meet eye-to-eye.

“I don’t have anything to say,” Marge spat.

Again Nikki motioned to Jasmine to deliver another blow to her gut, sending Marge to one knee. Nikki knelt down in front of her, patience wearing thin.

“OK, Marge,” Nikki said forcefully. “This is your last chance.”

Marge didn’t respond, so Nikki stood up, put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. Rather than making another signal to Jasmine, Nikki dangled her nearly-spent cigarette between her lips and delivered a hard knee to Marge’s face, putting the older woman on her back. Nikki once again knelt down and extinguished her cigarette directly on Marge’s breast before standing up and giving her a stiff kick, her right cowboy boot striking directly in the ribs.

Nikki then turned to her followers and said, “Mom and Jas, come with me. Ladies, you know what to do.”

Knowing Gina didn’t want to partake in any crimes, Nikki had her  and Jasmine accompany her as she walked back out of the alley towards the bar, while Al, Jasmine, Greta and Erica began to stomp away on Marge as she squirmed on the ground.

Nikki was headed back to the bar to find Marge’s husband, dead set on making a point. When she found him, Nikki tapped him on the shoulder and said, “I think you and your boys better follow us. There’s something you’re gonna want to see.”

Without another word, Nikki turned and led the men out of the bar with a smug look on her face. As the got back to the alley, Marge was lying in a pool of her own blood, barely conscious, causing the president to run to her aid.

“You have no idea what you just did!” He screamed.

“I think I do,” Nikki said defiantly. “This is what happens when you fuck with my business.”

“Do you think we’re really going to be intimidated by a bunch of women?” He laughed.

“Oh honey, do you think I would make a move without an insurance policy?” Nikki laughed right back.

Nikki pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and made a quick call, simply saying, “We’re ready.”

Seconds after hanging up the phone, the very same Philadelphia-based club she brokered a deal with earlier in the week appeared in the alley. Not only did they even the odds, but they put the Kingsmen at a serious disadvantage.

“So now that we have all the bullshit out of the way, let me make some things clear,” Nikki began. “I don’t know what my snivelling ex-boyfriend told you, but it’s time to move on. I’m not going to live in the past and if you want to, this is what’s going to happen to you.”

Nobody from the opposition said a word, so Nikki continued to speak, pointing at Marge laying on the ground.

“If this isn’t enough and you want some payback, I can assure you we can take care of our business and we have plenty of friends,” Nikki barked. “And if you try to stick your fucking noses in my business again, next time I’ll pop that cunt.”

Without waiting for a response, Nikki lit another cigarette and led her crew from the alley, her new friends following after her.

Nikki left Sturgis getting half of what she came for, but she had other plans to make up for it. Her experience with the clubs taught her to find her own followers. The other thing that was reaffirmed was her love for the biker lifestyle. It was something she wasn’t able to delve into often during her relationship with Esposito and she was ready to dive back in head-first.

____________________________________________________________________________

In the ensuing weeks, Nikki began to fully embrace the single life in a way she never had before. She began to frequent bars on a more consistent basis than ever before, which ended with bringing a man home from time to time.

Her wild lifestyle would have to take a hiatus as she would have to return to the lake with her mother for a family reunion. Nikki hadn’t seen her aunts, uncles or cousins since she graduated high school. Part of her was intrigued, but she also wasn’t looking forward to all of the questions she was inevitably going to receive.

It also gave Nikki an opportunity to ride her Harley on a long trip, which she was never going to be upset about. Although, riding on the highway at 75 miles per hour didn’t give her much opportunity to smoke and that was something she considered to be one of the few downfalls to riding.

As they neared their destination, it occurred to Nikki that her family had not seen Gina in more than a year either, which meant they had not seen her changes during that time. She took great amusement in that thought, inducing an ear-to-ear smile.

When they pulled into the driveway at the lakehouse, Nikki immediately hopped off her motorcycle and lit a cigarette, even before taking off her helmet. Wearing an orange Harley Davidson tank top, tucked into a pair of tight black boot-cut jeans, tied together with a thick black leather belt with silver rhinestones and a western buckle, gold necklaces around her neck and a gold Rolex on her left wrist and black cowboy boots on her feet, not to mention her Perrillo Family leather vest, Nikki sucked in the nicotine as fast as she could.

Gina was a bit slower to the party, but it wasn’t long after she got off her motorcycle that she lit up a Marlboro Light 100.

Nikki dangled her Marlboro Red Label 100 between her lips as she adjust her black bandana and attempted to erase signs of helmet hair in her curly brown locks. She took the cigarette from her mouth and let out a massive exhale and said, “That last half hour took forever. I needed a smoke so bad.”

Gina nodded agreement, while at the same time taking a double-pump drag on her all-white cigarette to prove it, causing smoke to to billow from her nose and mouth at the same time. Nikki moved on to her second cigarette as Gina reached the halfway point of her first. When their nicotine levels were finally stabilized, they decided to dump their belongings inside and relax for a few minutes before heading across the way to her aunt and uncle’s house.

After about an hour of lounging on the couch, Gina summoned Nikki up to head down to greet their relatives, although most would be coming the following day. She replaced her bandana with her full-shield designer sunglasses and grabbed her half-empty pack of cigarettes out of her purse, pulling one out and putting the box in her back pocket, leaving the peeking out for easier access.

“Mom, do you want your smokes?” Nikki called to her mother -- who was already on the porch -- as her gold bracelets slid down her wrist as she picked up the white and gold pack on the counter.

Gina paused for a moment before answering. She stood, looking at her reflection in the window, wearing a white Harley Davidson tank top, tucked into a pair of dark blue straight-leg jeans and a thick brown leather belt around her waist, brown Ariat cowboy boots on her feet, her silver Michael Kors watch around her left wrist and her own Perrillo Family leather vest.

“You’re gonna regret it later if you don’t take them,” Nikki prodded before Gina could answer. “I’m not letting you bum any of mine.”

“Oh, I suppose you’re right,” Gina answered nervously, nervously grabbing the pack from her daughter’s hand and stuffing it into the inside pocket of her vest.

“Way to be inconspicuous,” Nikki said sarcastically as she watched her mother. “What’s your deal?”

“Gee, I don’t know, maybe I’m a bit nervous about what people might say,” Gina answered in a similar sarcastic tone. “You’re only 20 so wait 30 years and make as many huge changes in your life like I did and then come talk to me.”

Nikki lit her cigarette, exhaled and then said, “Well I already do or did everything you started a year ago, so that might be tough. Plus, you’ll be 80 and won’t remember anything I tell you anyway.”

Gina laughed at the joke, which temporarily loosened her up as the two walked across the property to reach her brother’s house and braced herself for all the stares she was about to receive when she walked in. Meanwhile, Nikki reveled in her mother’s angst, recalling similar feelings in her life. Nikki’s angst, however, came at the age of 15, not 51, like her mother’s.

Nikki tossed her cigarette in the road as they neared the house, letting out one last exhale before they walked around to the back deck. When they appeared to find her aunt, uncle and two cousins sitting on the deck, there was a wealth of screaming and hugs to go around.

When they stepped back for a second, they finally realized how much Gina had changed. A year ago, she wa a typical married teacher and mother of three. Now she stood before them as a full-fledged biker with tattoos covering her entire right arm.

In the moment nobody said a word about Gina’s new appearance, which in some ways upset Nikki, given all of the turmoil during her years in high school. Although, she didn’t wish that upon her mother either.

The six adults managed to keep conversation cordial through dinner, with talk surrounded by getting reacquainted and informing each other of new happenings in their lives. When dinner was finished, Nikki grabbed her beer off the table and moved to the other side of the deck, taking her pack of cigarettes from her back pocket and lighting up.

Nikki knew Gina was itching to smoke since she had not since they arrived at the lake, and combined with dinner, she knew the smell of her own cigarette would intensify those cravings. She stood in the corner by herself, curiously and discretely watching to see what her mother would do.

Sure enough, as Nikki reached the halfway point of her cigarette, Gina got up from the table and walked over to her daughter. Nikki continued to watch to see if she would follow through with it, but her mother reached into her vest pocket and pulled out her pack, placing a long all-white cigarette between her lips and lit without hesitation.

She then whispered to Nikki, with smoke trickling from her nose and mouth, “I guess I can’t hide who I am.” Nikki smiled and continued to smoke as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

Surprisingly, nobody said a word to Gina about smoking, which she did at will the remainder of the night, making it clear that she was now a heavy and accomplished smoker.

____________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Nikki was laying on the dock in a skimpy black bikini as she watched her mother clean off the pontoon boat wearing an all-white bikini — not nearly as revealing as hers — with tattoos covering her entire right arm and an all-white cigarette dangling from her lips. Nikki simply smiled in appreciation for how far her mother had come.

Later in the day, Nikki was lying on the dock with her cousin Katie, her tattooed golden-brown skin glistening, with gold necklaces around her neck, bracelets on her right wrist and her large gold Rolex on the left, along with designer full-shield sunglasses covering her face.

Nikki sat up, reached for her cigarettes and extracted one from the half-empty pack on the dock. She popped it between her lips and lit up, before standing up and descending the ladder into the lake and walking out to waist-high water, cigarette still dangling from her mouth.

After a few minutes, she climbed out, took a few more puffs before discarding her cigarette in a can on the side of the dock and sat back down next to her more portly cousin.

“So I see you have been doing well,” Katie remarked. “I’m sorry about your engagement though.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Nikki said as she lathered sunscreen on her arms. “He was a piece of shit. I’m better off without him.”

“So how have you been able to afford all of your jewelry and a motorcycle?” Katie asked bluntly.

“I’m just a good businesswoman,” Nikki laughed.

“It’s crazy that you are able to afford all that and you’re only 20,” Katie said. “You’re not dealing drugs, are you?”

“I’m a restaurant owner,” Nikki said flatly.

“How about your mom?” Katie asked, continuing her line of questioning.

“What about her?” Nikki asked, lighting up another cigarette simultaneously.

“She has changed so much in a year,” Katie said. “Like Is she going through a midlife crisis or something since she got divorced?”

“No, she’s doing amazing,” Nikki responded, exhaling through her nose. “The best thing that ever happened to her was my idiot father leaving.”

“How is he?” Katie asked again.

“Who cares?” Nikki shot back. “Look, he abandoned me a long time ago and he did the same thing to my mom. He can rot in hell for all I care.”

“You don’t miss him at all?” Katie asked with a sad look on her face.

“No,” Nikk barked. “I’ve got no time for dumbass motherfuckers like him. I’m making a fucking name for myself right now. You’re either with me or you’re not. Mom is with me. My dad isn’t. End of story.”

With that Nikki got up, gathered her belongings and stalked off, cigarette still in her left hand. A few hours later, Katie came to the house and apologized, while also inviting her to go to karaoke with a family friend later that night. Nikki said she’d think about the offer, but she was still a little annoyed from her line of questioning earlier in the day. After a bit of prodding from Gina, Nikki agreed to go out for the night.

She donned a more casual look for the night, wearing a white Harley Davidson long-sleeved shirt, tucked into a pair of Daisy Dukes, with a thick black leather belt with rhinestones and a western buckle, along with her Rolex and bracelets on her wrists and black cowboy boots on her feet. Nikki put a white bandana in her curly brown hair, her leather vest and a full pack of cigarettes in her back pocket and headed down to her cousin’s house to leave.

This would be the first time Nikki had spent time alone with Katie and Kelley since the incident in Myrtle Beach a few years prior, but she figured a karaoke at a casual restaurant would be a lowkey night for her and her cousins. For the first hour or so, she was correct in her assumption as the three women, along with their family friend who was in her early-30s, sat around watching people acting ridiculous, while chatting and drinking beer.

A new group of people arrived later in the evening and Nikki could immediately tell they were locals rather than lake users, which had the potential for a flammable situation if provoked. The four women remained in the corner of the patio enjoying themselves in a haze of smoke and empty beer bottles.

After finishing another cigarette and extinguishing it in the ashtray on the table, it was time for Nikki to use the restroom and get another beer at the bar. On her way out of the bathroom, she bumped into one of the local women that arrived with the group and it was obvious she did not live a wealthy life. She was in her 40s, a bit heavy-set and her teeth were in need of a trip to the dentist. On the way out, the woman simply stared at Nikki up and down, but it was enough that she knew the woman didn’t think highly of her.

Nikki then maneuvered her way over to the bar and waited for her turn to order the next round. The bartender was a bit overwhelmed, however, and the woman approached the bar and stood next to her.

“So you think you’re a biker, huh girlie?” The woman asked, referring to Nikki’s vest and Harley shirt.

“I am a biker, honey,” Nikki said curtly without taking her eyes off the bartender across counter.

“I don’t see no bike out there,” The woman said, pointing to the parking lot. “There ain’t too many prissy-looking bikers out there either.”

“Well, since I’m with people that don’t ride, it didn’t make much sense,” Nikki responded as the bartender approached. “Plus, I’m drinking and I’m kind of a big fan of my face so I don’t really want to bounce it off the road.”

“All you rich people that come here in the summer are in love with themselves,” She spat, while Nikki placed her order.

“Well, I’ve got my drinks so we can split up and you don’t have to deal with us,” Nikki said, avoiding any potential confrontation.

“Typical,” The woman said as Nikki walked away.

Towards the end of the night the crowd dwindled down and the only two groups remaining at the restaurant were Nikki’s and the local group. The girls Nikki was with were a bit tipsy, while the locals were past that point and the woman was beginning to get mouthy.

The four women decided to leave before the situation escalated, but she followed them outside to the barely lit parking lot and continued her verbal assault.

“Why are you leavin’ so soon?” She shouted across the parking lot. “It ain’t like you gotta get up for work in the morning. Y’all probably never worked a day in your life.”

The girls did not respond, but the woman continued to follow as they walked to the car at the end of the parking lot.

“What’s the matter biker princess?” She continued. “Ain’t got no spine? I bet you’re some rich boy’s bitch.”

Nikki, who had just lit a cigarette, had enough of the woman’s mouth. So she turned around and walked a few short steps back to the woman and pulled the glock from the inside of her vest, raising it to the woman’s head.

“What did you say to me?” Nikki demanded.

“You ain’t gonna use that on me!” The woman scoffed.

Nikki took the butt end of the gun and smacked the woman in the side of the head, sending her to one knee.

“Say it again!” Nikki barked.

Before the woman could answer, the rest of her group began to make their way into the parking lot and rushed towards the situation. Nikki raised her gun again, pointing it directly at the woman in front of her.

“You come any closer, I’ll drop this fucking bitch,” Nikki said. “This is between us.”

They stopped in their tracks, while Nikki put her cigarette between her lips before continuing her assault. Once again she cracked the woman in the head with the end of her gun before putting it back into her vest. She then walked over to the woman and kicked her hard in the ribs, the toe of her cowboy boot making solid contact. As the woman rolled over, Nikki kicked her square in the back. She mounted the woman, grabbing her by the hair and delivered three hard right hands to her face, cigarette still dangling from her lips, the orange tip glowing in the darkness.

Nikki finally got off the woman, took the cigarette from her lips, releasing a long stream of smoke before bringing the woman to her knees by her hair.

“You run your fucking mouth to me again, I’ll put you at the bottom of the lake, bitch,” Nikki said. She then gave her a hard to knee to the face, causing her to slump to the ground in a heap and turned to her friends. “If you say a damn word about this, I’ll get you next.”

Nikki then took a second to look at her handy work as an evil smile crept across her face, took one last drag on her cigarette and flicked it towards her body. She turned around and walked back to her friends, clearly proud of what she accomplished. Nikki walked right past the three women, who were stunned at one they had just seen, but she paid them no mind.