Nicole's Smoking Story Part 39

Nikki continued to see Daniel for the next couple weeks and not only was she beginning to trust him, but he was also becoming more confident in his interactions with her. It was a completely different dynamic than her relationship with Esposito, who had more life experiences than she did. While Daniel was older, Nikki had significantly more experience socially, since h was not the type to take risks or have wild nights out.

As the end of summer approached, Nikki and Daniel decided to go the local carnival, which was something Esposito would never do. Daniel certainly appeared out of place with Nikki and her friends — Al, Greta, Jasmine and Erica were all there — all of whom were wearing Perrillo Family leather vests.

Since Daniel didn’t ride, they arrived at the carnival in Nikki’s Mercedes SUV, with Jasmine at the wheel, Al in the passenger seat and Nikki and Daniel in the back, with Greta and Erica following behind. Once parked, Greta walked up to the passenger window and handed Nikki a bag of white powder. She took a small amount on her index finger and sucked it through her nose before offering to Daniel, who declined, and then passing it to Al in the front seat.

As they walked through the street, Nikki grabbed Daniel’s hand and simply gave him a look that it was acceptable to be affectionate in public. When they reached a game in which throwing balls into a bucket earned a stuffed animal, she implored him to try the game.

“I’m not much of an athlete,” Daniel admitted.

“Oh, come on, babe,” Nikki insisted. “Let’s see what ya got.”

Daniel finally relented and pulled out his wallet to pay for his tickets. As he did, Nikki lit a cigarette and watched intently. He missed wildly on all three of his throws, but she once again cajoled him into trying once again. Daniel missed on his first two throws and Nikki stepped in to take the third one, which she nailed, even with a cigarette dangling from her lips while she did so.

Nikki picked out her stuffed animal and handed it to Daniel and whispered jokingly in his ear as they walked away from the game, “Honey, it’s a good thing you’ve got the big ol’ brain.”

At one point during the night, Nikki and Daniel were waiting in line for food when the former put a half-smoked cigarette in her lips as she simultaneously put her hair in a ponytail. During the process, Nikki noticed Daniel staring as she exhaled a large amount of smoke. She chalked it up to a coincidence and moved on with her night.

When they got home later that night, Daniel was sitting at the counter while Nikki took off her leather vest and put her gun on the countertop. “Why do you always carry a gun?” He asked.

“Because I’m a pretty girl with expensive taste,” Nikki said with a wink.

Nikki lit a cigarette as she cleaned some dirty dishes around her bedroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she could notice Daniel gawking at her once again. This time she was starting to believe it wasn’t a coincidence so she turned around said, “What?”

“Nothing,” Daniel responded.

After she finished with the dishes, she pulled Daniel onto the deck for a dip in the jacuzzi. Nikki stripped naked -- aside from her jewelry -- as Daniel did the same and she sparked another cigarette before getting in the warm tub. She immediately pressed her body against his, keeping both arms above water and began to kiss him. Nikki paused strategically to take a drag, this time purposely prolonging it and exhaling slowly into the night sky, but quickly dropped her head to once again catch her boyfriend watching her smoke.

“So are you enjoying the show, babe?” Nikki asked with a smirk on her face.

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked in an attempt to play it cool.

“You’re totally watching me smoke,” Nikki laughed. “I’ve caught you like three different times tonight.”

“No I’m not,” Daniel insisted.

“Oh, come on,” Nikki persisted. “It’s obvious.”

“OK, fine,” Daniel relented. “Is that weird?”

“I don’t know,” Nikki said, taking another puff. “I’ve never had anyone get their jollies off it. Why do you like it?”

“I don’t know,” Daniel answered. “I’ve never dated a smoker. Maybe I like that you have a little bad side.”

“Honey, you have no idea,” Nikki said with a smile and then leaned in for another kiss.

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked when he came up for air and she took another drag on her Marlboro.

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Nikki said. “Just enjoy the moment.”

“So you don’t think I’m a freak?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, but I already knew that,” Nikki joked before kissing him once again. “You can watch me smoke whenever you want, weirdo.”

____________________________________________________________________________

Just before her fall semester of college began, Daniel finally invited Nikki to meet his parents over dinner at the family home. She was beginning to completely trust Daniel, but of course it didn’t hurt that Nikki was undoubtedly the more dominant personality in the relationship.

Daniel seemed to embrace the things that Esposito was critical of, namely her smoking habit. Nikki was more than happy to feed in to his desire to watch him smoke, knowing she would never have to hear him complain about her frequent habit.

Nikki was well aware of how wealthy Daniel’s parents were, but she was still in the mindset of not caring what anyone thought of her or the lifestyle she chose to live. She did, however, hope to make a good impression on both of them since Daniel was important to her.

For the evening, Nikki wore a tight white tank top that fell just above her navel, with tight leather leggings and a thick black leather belt with silver rhinestones and a western buckle fitting loosely around her hips, her knee-high black leather boots with a stiletto heel overtop, her black leather vest and her customary gold jewelry, with a white bandana in her dark brown hair.

When her motorcycle came to a stop at the final red light before turning onto Daniel’s parents’ street, she reached into her pocket and quickly lit a cigarette. When she finally pulled into the driveway, Nikki took off her helmet, shaking her hair loose with a half-smoked cigarette dangling from her lips.

Daniel came out to greet her, and she could see his parents looking from the window, stunned at their son’s new girlfriend getting off a motorcycle, covered in tattoos, clad in leather, with a cigarette smoldering in her left hand.

After finishing her cigarette and discarding it in the driveway, Nikki followed Daniel -- arm-in-arm -- into the house to meet his parents. When the entered the expensive house, Nikki could tell immediately that they were taken aback by her appearance, which put her guard up as they sat down for dinner.

Daniel’s parents were indeed shocked the woman their son described as a student at Princeton and restaurant owner was a full-fledged biker. What Nikki hadn’t accounted for was a reason for why his parents were wealthy...they were intelligent.

Thomas and Susan Jensen were incredibly bright people and understood wearing leather and riding a motorcycle didn’t make someone a bad person. In fact, a significant percentage of Harley Davidson owners were wealthy due to the cost.

They took a liking to Nikki almost immediately, finding her witty, driven and strong-willed, not to mention their son had never dated a woman more stunning than her. Though, they would prefer her clothing wasn’t quite so revealing.

At the conclusion of an enjoyable dinner, Nikki excused herself to go outside for a customary after-dinner cigarette. Before heading out the side door she entered, she peered into the dining room to see Thomas and Susan smiling at their son in approval. As Nikki stood in the driveway sucking down her Marlboro, a satisfactory smile came over her, as she finally felt accepted once again.

Nikki returned to the dining room for dessert, but ended up on the porch shortly thereafter with Thomas after accepting a cigar and a glass of wine from him, which she had refrained from smoking since her split with Esposito. As she sat in a chair on the porch, legs crossed and left arm cocked at a 90-degree angle, her rolex sliding down her wrist and cigar burning between her fingers, she could feel Thomas was about to redirect the conversation from small talk.

“Nicole, I must say, you are a rarity in our son’s life,” Thomas said.

“How do you mean?” Nikki asked inquisitively as she pulled on her cigar.

“The majority of the women Daniel has brought home in the past have been shy and most concerned with books,” Thomas admitted. “Not that that is a bad thing, but they didn’t have much worldly experience or the desire for it.”

“So I’ve heard,” Nikki laughed.

“It’s probably because Daniel has been the same way,” Thomas continued.

“How do you mean?” Nikki inquired, now sitting more attentively in her chair.

“He has always been shy, focused on his academics,” Thomas said. “He’s always had a group of friends, but they had little interest in going out, getting involved with mischief -- things of that nature. He gets that from his mother.”

“I find your son incredibly interesting,” Nikki said. “I enjoy his bookish-ness and I think his shyness is adorable. He could stand to be a bit more confident, but we’ll get there.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Thomas began. “I love my son and I couldn’t be any prouder of him, but I’m glad he’s found someone like yourself to test his limits. I’m not asking you to get him into trouble, but push him as often as you can.”

“I’ll try to do that,” Nikki said with a smile.

When the night was finished, Nikki said her goodbyes and Daniel walked her back to her motorcycle. She lit a cigarette before getting on and stood there, looking into his eyes.

“What?” Daniel asked.

“Thank you for a great night,” Nikki said, giving him a passionate kiss on the lips. “I love your parents.”

“Really?” Daniel asked.

“Of course,” Nikki said. “They’re incredible people. Just like you.”

“I’m glad you like them,” Daniel replied. “You’re pretty incredible yourself.”

“Don’t I know that already?” Nikki joked.

She finished her cigarette and put her helmet on and straddled the motorcycle, putting the key in the ignition. Just before revving up her beloved Harley, Nikki asked if they could stay at her house for the night rather than his apartment because she didn’t have clothes for work the following day.

The truth was, she didn’t have the clothes she wanted. Nikki was finally feeling like her old self again and knew just the way to show it.

When Al came into her office the following day, she found Nikki standing behind her desk wearing a tight royal blue dress and a pair of six-inch black heels. Nikki greeted her best friend with a smile and Al simply said, “It’s good to have you back.”