Chapter 2: Karen

A week later, while shopping, Tara saw Mark holding hands with her friend, Karen, as they walked into a bar together. They were chatting and smiling like young lovers. Tara knew that Karen liked to smoke and that when she was partying, she would sleep with damn near anyone who would buy her drinks. Years earlier, she had also confessed to Tara that she had the hots for Mark, and she never missed an opportunity to flirt with him.

Tara felt the flames of anger. It was not that Mark was on a date - she had granted him that in exchange for her own freedom. But she couldn’t believe that Karen would betray her like that. Tara pulled out a pack of Virginia Slims cigarettes and removed one of the long, white, cylinders from its pretty package. She placed it between her pretty lips, lit it up, and took a satisfying drag, inhaling pure confidence. It was time to show Mark, Karen, and everyone else that she could not be trifled with.

With a set jaw, Tara straightened her shoulders, adjusted her black leather jacket, and marched towards the bar entrance. As she stepped inside, heads turned to look at her. Tara scanned the room until she spotted Mark and Karen sitting at a corner booth, smiling, smoking, holding hands, and making out. Her heart raced as she made her way through the crowd, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake. Upon reaching the booth, Tara leaned down close to Mark’s ear, making sure he could hear every word.

Tara’s voice was low and sultry as she whispered directly into Mark’s ear, ensuring that only he could hear her words, “Hey, baby,” she purred, “I see you’ve found yourself a new playmate. I won’t interfere with your fun tonight, but I have something to show you later.” She gave him a mischievous smile before turning around and striding away, hips swaying seductively, trailing wafts of smoke behind her.

Karen looked shocked at Tara’s sudden arrival and departure. She felt bad that Tara had caught her with Mark, but she didn’t want to let him go. He was just the type of guy she liked to party with, and she had wanted to be with him for ages. Karen asked him in a flirtatious, yet guilty, voice what Tara had said. Mark absently told her that it was nothing important but, while he tried to enjoy Karen’s company as if nothing significant had happened, he was preoccupied with Tara’s bold confrontation, and at her smoking a cigarette. And what on earth did she want to show him later?

Karen distracted him from his thoughts by lighting up a cigarette and purring to him that she would make his night. Mark tried to cast all thoughts of Tara from his mind, and the couple went back to Karen’s place for the evening.

Tara arrived home, her heart still racing from the confrontation at the bar. She slipped off her jacket and kicked off her shoes, feeling the weight of her decision to become her true self begin to settle in. Tara went to her bedroom, poured herself a large glass of brandy and lit a long and elegant Virginia Slims cigarette. With each sip of her drink, and inhale of smoke, her nerves settled, and her resolve strengthened. There was no way in hell that her backstabbing friend would take Mark from her!