This is the second part of a new series, the next parts will be released soon, stay tuned !
- Smoking road trip (part 1)
- Smoking road trip (part 3)
- Smoking road trip (part 4)
- Smoking road trip (part 5)
The days began to blur together as Gwen and Megan settled into the rhythm of the road. Long hours of driving stretched between cities, broken only by meetings with grocery store managers and the occasional motel stop. Megan’s smoking had become a constant presence in the car.
On their third day, during a six-hour stretch through Indiana, Megan lit her first cigarette just ten minutes after they pulled out of the motel parking lot. She took a deep, hungry drag on her Marlboro Red, holding the smoke in her lungs for a full ten seconds before exhaling a thick, rich plume out the open passenger window. The morning sun caught the smoke as it swirled away, leaving behind a lingering scent that quickly filled the car despite the rushing air.
Gwen’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. The smell still bothered her, sharp, acrid, unmistakably tobacco, but she said nothing. Megan lit a second cigarette less than fifteen minutes later, then a third. Each drag was long and luxurious. Megan would tilt her head back slightly, pull the smoke deep into her chest, hold it with visible pleasure, and then release thick, creamy exhales that lingered in the car for a moment before being sucked outside.
By the time they reached their first store of the day, Megan had already smoked six cigarettes. She offered Gwen a bright smile. “Sorry if it’s bothering you. I can try to cut back.”
Gwen shook her head. “It’s fine. Just… keep the window down.”
Megan’s smoking quickly proved to be an unexpected asset during their store visits. At their second stop, a large regional grocery chain, the manager, a friendly man in his fifties, mentioned he was heading out for a smoke break. Megan’s eyes lit up. She pulled out her pack and offered him a Marlboro Red.
“Mind if I join you?” she asked with a charming grin.
Within minutes, they were outside laughing and talking shop while both chain-smoked. Megan took long, deep drags, holding the smoke expertly before exhaling thick streams into the air. The manager visibly relaxed, and by the end of their conversation, they had secured a better shelf placement and a promotional display.
Gwen watched from inside the store, feeling strangely left out. She was the senior salesperson, yet Megan’s easy camaraderie, built over shared cigarettes, seemed to be closing deals faster. The faint scent of smoke clung to Megan’s clothes when she returned, and Gwen caught herself noticing it more than she wanted to.
This pattern repeated across multiple stores that week. Megan would bond with managers and stock crew during their smoke breaks, offering cigarettes and laughing easily. Gwen would stand politely nearby, sometimes joining the conversation but never the smoking circle. She felt a quiet pang of exclusion each time.
At night, the motel rooms became another source of tension and subtle intimacy. They always had only one bed. After the first few nights, they stopped awkwardly offering to take the floor. They simply shared.
The smell of smoke on Megan had grown stronger. Every evening when they returned from dinner or a late store visit, Megan would immediately light up inside the room, and open the window. She would sit on the edge of the bed in her tank top and shorts, chain-smoking while they reviewed the next day’s schedule. Thick clouds of Marlboro Red smoke would drift through the small space as Megan took long, luxurious drags and held them deep in her lungs before exhaling with obvious satisfaction.
Gwen would lie on her side of the bed, trying to read or scroll on her phone, but she couldn’t ignore the scent. At first it had been unpleasant. Now it was… different. There was something strangely warm and intimate about it. The stale tobacco smell on the sheets, on Megan’s skin and hair, it no longer repulsed her. It had become associated with her new traveling companion. With Megan’s laughter, her stories, and the growing ease between them despite the twenty-year age gap.
One night, after a particularly long day, Megan lit a cigarette while they lay side by side in bed. The glow of the cherry illuminated her face as she took a deep drag.
“You’ve been really great about all this smoking,” Megan said softly, smoke curling from her lips. “I know it’s not easy sharing such a small space with a chain-smoker.”
Gwen turned her head slightly, watching the smoke drift toward the ceiling. “It’s… not as bad as I thought it would be,” she admitted quietly.
Megan smiled and offered her the cigarette. Gwen shook her head, but her eyes lingered on the glowing tip a moment longer than usual.
The turning point came during a brutal twelve-hour driving day through heavy rain in Missouri. The sky opened up halfway through the afternoon, rain pounding the windshield so hard they could barely see. Megan had been chain-smoking with the window cracked, but the rain began pouring inside.
“Shit, sorry,” Megan said, quickly closing the window. She held her half-smoked cigarette awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable.
Gwen glanced over. The car was already hazy. Megan looked genuinely distressed at not being able to smoke.
“…It’s okay,” Gwen heard herself say. “You can keep smoking. We’ll air it out when the rain stops.”
Megan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you sure?”
Gwen nodded.
Megan lit a fresh Marlboro Red immediately. With the windows closed, the smoke had nowhere to go. Thick clouds filled the car as Megan took long, grateful drags. She held each one deep, then exhaled heavily, the smoke swirling around them both. The interior grew dense and hazy. The rich, heavy aroma of Marlboro Reds saturated everything.
Gwen kept her eyes on the road, but inside she felt something shift. The enclosed smoke was intense, almost overwhelming, yet strangely comforting. The warm, intimate scent wrapped around her like an embrace. She found herself breathing a little deeper, secretly enjoying the thick, tobacco-filled air. It felt… cozy. Intimate. Like sharing something private with Megan.
Megan chain-smoked for the next two hours as the rain continued. Cigarette after cigarette. Deep drags. Long holds. Thick, creamy exhales that hung in the car. The smoke grew denser, the smell stronger, and Gwen, to her own quiet astonishment, didn’t mind at all.
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