Author's Note: This is a continuation of my One Last Cigarette story, and part of my Smoking Family Affairs universe. This "episode" can stand alone, but is better understood and appreciated after reading those three chapters.
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Judy Mason paced around her kitchen, drinking a martini and chain-smoking, trying to screw up the nerve to call her ex-husband. It was nearly 5:00 on a Saturday, and she was desperate. She and her 18-year-old son had masturbated together the previous day. In fact, the boy had gotten himself off three times, including once when he finished his chores after school, all while she watched him and pleasured herself. It had been fabulous, naughty fun. But now she was dealing with an epic case of "the guilts".
The pretty brunette drained the last of her cocktail, then splashed in the last of the bottle of Grey Goose in the freezer. She lit a fresh Marlboro Light 100 from the smoldering butt of her last one, then glanced at her cell phone for the eleventh time in the past hour, as if Jack would magically call her. Which was, of course, silly.
The couple had divorced three years earlier. Irreconcilable differences, it said on their divorce papers. The two had tried to work through their issues, marriage counseling and all. Ultimately, they had decided to split. It had been amicable enough. Surprisingly, after the papers were finalized, their relationship had begun to thrive again. Without the pressure of having to answer to each other for everything, they had reverted back to being friends, as they had started out.
Friends with occasional benefits, Judy smirked to herself as she sucked on her smoldering cylinder. Drawing the delicious smoke deep into her lungs, the woman remembered having paid her husband several "booty calls" in the months after the divorce, usually when she was lonely and horny, only when she was drinking. Like now.
She was fairly drunk, but the adrenaline and anxiety kept her on the edge and at least semi-coherent. So the thought of a sexual encounter with her ex was the last thing on her mind at the moment. Well, she had to admit, maybe it was second to last...
The two best things about their marriage had been their sex life and their ability to be completely open and honest with each other, about even the most sensitive or embarrassing topics. Jack was literally the only person she knew that she could confide in about her present dilemma. She certainly couldn't tell any of her girlfriends, and she would die before she confided in her own mother or father.
Another sip of her martini and a double pump on her cigarette steeled the 40-something, and she punched in her ex-husband's number. She closed her eyes and counted the rings as she blew out a slowly swirling cloud.
The man answered after the fourth ring. "Hey, Jude. What's up?" came his friendly baritone voice.
The woman sighed in relief. "Hi, Jack, it's me," she replied unnecessarily.
Her ex-husband chuckled, noting the slight slur in her greeting. "Yes, I'm aware. Caller ID, dontcha know. So. What's up?" he repeated.
"Well, I, uh... Am I interrupting anything?"
Jack shook his head no through the invisible cell phone transmission. "Not at the moment, no."
"Okay," Judy sighed again before taking another quick drag on her all-white Marlboro. She inhaled, then continued. "Well, Jack, I... I really need to talk to someone. And honestly, you're the only one I think I can talk to about this."
Her ex took a deep breath and blew it out loudly enough for her to hear. "Wow. Must be serious," he chided, although he heard the tension in her voice. And he felt a sense of pride at still being her go-to for delicate matters. "So...?"
Judy took another nervous hit on her quickly-dwindling cigarette. "Well, I, uh... I'd really rather talk in person. Can you come over?" she asked, smoke wafting out of her strained mouth.
"What, like now?" He ground his teeth together. He didn't have any serious plans for the evening, but he also wasn't in the mood for drama.
"Well, tonight, maybe? Or, yeah, now would be great, if you could, please?" she almost whined. "You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
Or if you were sober, her ex thought to himself. But it was true. He knew her well enough to understand that she wouldn't bother him with a trivial matter. At least, not since their divorce.
Judy polished off the last of her vodka while waiting anxiously for his decision, then sucked down half of her remaining Marlboro.
Jack frowned, but then heard Judy exhale what was surely a chest-full of smoke. "Okay. Just... let me run through the shower and I'll head over, alright?"
His more-than-tipsy ex-wife replied mischievously, "Don't worry about that. You know I love your smell. But could you please pick up some..."
"Grey Goose?"
Judy laughed. "You know me too well, Jack. And maybe--"
"Cigarettes? Fine. Anything else? Eggs, milk, bread?" he teased.
"No, no, nothing else." She took a final puff. She DID need eggs. And milk. And... No, let's not push our luck, she chastised herself. "Just my vices, please. And you. Thank you so much, hun. See you soon. Bye."
She hung up before he could respond and immediately lit a fresh cigarette, slumping down into a kitchen chair. The pretty, busty brunette looked at her into martini glass and ground her teeth together. Please hurry up, Jack, she thought. I NEED you.
On his end, Jack put his phone down, shook his head, and silently his ex-wife. He hated that she could still have this effect on him, that he was still, at least somewhat, wrapped around her little finger.
And he REALLY hated the fact that he was out the door two minutes later...