Marita lays against her lover, their bodies damp with the sweat of their exertions.  His fingers stroke her hair gently as his breathing slowed.  She relaxes against him, her mind in the state of rest that always followed their lusty meetings.

The rasp of a lighter set her nerves on edge, and she looked up to see him lighting a Sobranie cigarette.   She stares at him for a long moment before she finds her voice, “Alex, what are you doing?”

He looks at her, mildly surprised, “Having a smoke.  Surely someone has told you that people smoke after they fuck.”

“Not in my apartment.  Go put it out.”

His eyes meet hers with impassive defiance.  After a long moment, he gets out of bed and goes into the bathroom.  He stands there, in the bathroom doorway, watching her as he inhales deeply from the cigarette, just once, and extinguishes it in the sink, then rinses the oily burn mark from the green glass bowl.

Never one for waste, he cuts off the burnt end with the pocket knife from his pants pocket and puts the stub back in the pack, with the others.  He lies back down, and puts his arm around her, stroking her hair.

“How long have you been smoking?” she asks after a few minutes.

“On and off, since I first joined the army.  I mostly smoke so I have an excuse to listen to what the soldiers have to say.”

“I’ve never seen you smoke before.”

“I don’t want to look like I’m emulating the smoking man.”

She laughs a little, “He might take it as a compliment.  Or he might think you’re mocking him.”

He chuckles, “Well, he might be a little bit right if he thought that.”

She shakes her head, “Sometimes you’re too bold.”

“There’s no such thing as too bold.  There’s only bad timing.”  He glanced at her, “Next time we stand around the conference table, maybe I should light up.”

“I dare you to ask him for a light.”

He was quiet for a long moment, “I just might do that.”

Step 1. Serve
Step 2. Resist from Within