A Lost Daughter Ch. 02

"Again?" Amber tempted.

Sienna just nodded and opened her mouth willingly this time, obliging Amber to place the cigarette in her mouth. This time she took a longer drag and before puffing it out she held it in her mouth, obviously trying to analyze what it tasted like. Finally, she pursed her lips and blew out a tiny stream of uninhaled smoke.

"I still don't know!" Sienna exclaimed before breaking into a giggle fit.

This time Amber and I joined in and started laughing ourselves.

"Seriously, I don't know what I would even say. I guess bitter? But also kind of just like it smells. But I get what you mean about the warmth. I do like that, I think I understand it now," Sienna explained, deciding that she had learned something worthwhile.

"The warmth is really the best when you inhale though, that's something else entirely," Amber replied, again tipping me off to an ulterior motive that was becoming harder and harder to deny.

"Wait, so I didn't actually do it right?" Sienna responded, suddenly sounding disappointed.

"Well, the point of smoking is really to inhale the smoke. That's what smoking is. If you just wanted to know the taste you don't have to inhale it. But to actually understand what smoking is and why people do it, you would have to inhale," Amber explained as if she were giving a dissertation on tobacco inhalation.

Sienna mulled this over for a moment, before taking on a determined look.

"I definitely want to inhale it then," stated Sienna.

"These are really strong, honey. I think they'd hurt your throat and make you cough. But I could inhale it first and then you could inhale my second-hand smoke. It would be much easier for you," Amber described, sending the most conflicting messages to my mind and body that I'd ever experienced.

Again Sienna seemed to think, before resuming her look of determination.

"What do I do?" Sienna asked.

"Just lay there with your mouth open and when I start blowing smoke into your mouth just breath in,"Amber instructed.

In response, Sienna relaxed her neck and parted her lips. Amber took two monstrous drags on her nearly diminished cigarette and then leaned down to the young girl laying in her lap. With their identically thick and pouty lips only inches apart Amber began to exhale a thick stream of smoke directly into Sienna's mouth. I watched as the smoke was blown out of Amber's mouth and into Sienna's and noticed Sienna's chest begin to rise visibly as she filled her young athletic lungs with smoke for the very first time in her 18 years.

Finally, Amber sat up and I marveled at Sienna as she slowly released the smoke from her lungs in one long exhale. The smoke was still visible but fainter than it was when Amber had exhaled it. It took nearly four full seconds for the smoke to be fully expelled. Sienna took a couple deep breaths and blinked her eyes exaggeratedly a few times before sitting up.

"Woah, I'm a little light-headed," Sienna remarked.

"Yeah, that will happen the first few times," Amber responded in a manner that suggested she expected there to be more than one time.

"It feels weird but kinda good. Like a warm, heavy feeling. And then when you blow it out you feel light. I think I actually understand it now," Sienna said, placing a particular emphasis on actually to differentiate her non-inhaling experience from her inhaling experience.

I took a quick glance at my watch and saw that it was after 11 pm. I figured it was a good time to call it a night before it got any more strange. I also really wanted to speak to Amber in private.

"Well, we're going to head to bed. You're free to stay out here and watch TV if you want," I said.

"I think I'm ready for bed too, actually. It's been a long, crazy day. But a good day," Sienna responded with a sleepy smile.

We all got up and headed down the hall. I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and Amber and Sienna went into the spare room. I could hear Amber wish Sienna a good night sleep and tell her that she loved her and then walk across the hall to our bedroom. I finished brushing my teeth and headed to the spare room to say goodnight.

I walked over to the bed where Sienna was already laying under the covers, looking like a spitting image of her mother at that age. She noticed me walking toward her and flashed me a big, beautiful smile that could have melted the polar ice caps. I smiled back and leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Night sweetheart," I whispered.

"Night dad, I love you," She replied.

"I love you too," I replied.

I walked out of her room and switched the light off as I walked to the other side of the hall and into my bedroom. Amber was already propped up in bed having her last cigarette of the night, as was her nightly ritual. I wasted no time and headed straight for the bed, practically diving under the covers.

"So, care to clue me in on anything?" I asked playfully.

"Like what?" Amber replied coyly.

"Like the couch blow-job and the smoking thing," I quipped back.

"Oh, that? What about it?" She replied, continuing to evade and tease.

"Where is it headed?" I asked, trying to remain as pointed as possible.

"Exactly where you expect it to," Amber replied cryptically.

"Which is where?" I pushed.

"Like mother, like daughter."