cigarette break

[Anonymous]

Celeste had been blessed with a few moments of free time since her last client.  As much as she loved her work--most of the time--she was still extremely grateful for this quick break.  Going on and on like that certainly did take a lot out of her, and her heart was still racing from it.  She had not yet been struck with any sort of below-the-waist soreness, but she had a nagging suspicion that the night would not end without it coming back around.

She took this time to step outside for a smoke, probably not the best idea for one in her profession, but she didn't think one little cigarette would make her smell that awful.  Besides, she needed that rush that came from that long-awaited first puff,.  That burst of energy was what would keep her going  through the rest of night, or at least she thought it would.

Celeste had no more modesty outside than she had inside; she was still quite obviously a sex worker.  Her dark red curls were piled on top of her head, and she wore nothing more than a green silk robe and high heels.  The robe was partially open, slipping off of one slender shoulder and showing a good deal of leg and chest, but nothing more.

A small wisp of smoke escaped her lips and lingered in the air before diffusing out and disappearing.  Celeste briefly wondered how long she had before she should head back in.  She quickly dismissed such thoughts.  If she was needed, she would know it.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Goddammit.

Kota swore silently to herself as she trudged back toward the Citadel, clicking the lighter a few more times before chucking it to the side of the road with a huff. Stupid thing, going out now of all times, and right when she needed a quick fix, as she always did after a mission. It didn't have anything to do with nerves--oh hell no, she loved the adrenaline rush, the life or death situations--but it did have to do with that strange low that always seemed to hit her as soon as she's disconnected from the Network. Indeed, she had a lot of addictions, but that was definitely the strongest. All the others were simply replacements and imitations, there to mimic that wonderful, wonderful high though they could never completely take its place. There was always that emptiness, always that anticipation until she could plug in again.

It hadn't been so bad in the beginning, but now that was the only time she truly felt whole.

In the meantime, though, she made do. At least until circumstance got in the way and denied her her simple pleasures, and then she just got pissed.

Why did the lighter have to stop working now?

Because you're a chain smoker, perhaps? came the mental reply, and Kota's eyebrow twitched. Here it came. Always the same old lecture. You're going to kill yourself, you know. You wear a mask outside, yet inside you create your own pollution to inhale. Did that ever strike you as ironic?

All the time, but I don't really care, you know that. If I get lung cancer I'll just go cyborg, Kota answered her Dragon curtly, absently chewing the end of the unlit cigarette she had poking out of her mouth. Where are you, anyway? You dumped me off at the entrance and said you had somewhere 'important' to be, but you never answered when I asked you what's up. Gonna tell me, yet?

Nope.

Kota sighed when she felt their connection suddenly close again, abruptly cut off from her Dragon's thoughts. She did that to her a lot, but she'd grown used to the lizard's evasiveness. Fine, then. So she'd been ditched and was being made to walk home for a change, and not only that but she had no lighter on her. Wonderful. Grumbling to herself, she turned her head to the side and was about to just spit the cigarette out when, right as as she was passing by Red Lit Desires she caught the faint, but wonderful scent of smoke. Cigarette smoke. And when she actually looked toward the source, she couldn't help but grin when she saw a woman standing outside who was, indeed, smoking.

Just her luck.

Maybe this was pathetic on her part, begging a light off random people, but hell if she cared. With a shrug, she turned and headed toward her target.

"Hey chicky, got a light? And that's not really a question, it's more of a demand," Kota said, stepping into the ring of light the building cast and leaning her shoulder against the door, arms folded across her chest. If someone wanted out of the building, well...hopefully they weren't too strong, but Kota wasn't thinking about getting knocked over or inconveniencing someone. She was in uniform still, anyway, so people had damned well better know their place.

It was then, as she waited for the woman's response, that she took the time to take in her appearance, and one eyebrow arched as her gray eyes swept briefly over her scantily clad body before coming to rest on the woman's face.

"Huh. You're a whore here, eh? Never seen you around." Of course, that was probably because it was only on rare occassions that she visited the more carnal sections of the place. Mostly she just came for the spa and a little pampering because that was a nice way to unwind after a particularly rough mission. No effort, no thinking involved, just you and the water melting all your aches and thoughts away. Sex? Oh, sure, she'd used the place as a brothel a few times when she really needed to cut loose, but it was a little annoying since she always got chewed out later for getting a little rough and injuring some Pilot's favorite fuck. Not her fault.

"Aren'tcha worried about screwing up your libido? Then again, I guess clogged lungs would add to the panting and gasping, eh?" she added with a smirk, reaching up to take the cigarette out of her mouth and hold it between her index and middle fingers. She waggled the cigarette impatiently. "C'mon, I don't got all day."

[Sorry that took so long! The intro post with a new character is always the death of me and...sorry for the rambling, too. That was me getting a feel for her. xD]

[Anonymous]

Celeste was not expecting her break to be interrupted, especially not in the form of someone asking for a light.  It would have been less of a surprise if the interrupter had asked her to march back inside and strip.  Still, she didn't let the small surprise phase her.  Ever since she was small, Celeste knew exactly how to act around anyone who wore a military uniform: polite, pleasant, and maybe coy.  The fact that this one seemed to be looking over her with an appraising glance only made the need to behave in such a manner greater.

A sweet and subtle smile ran across Celeste's face as she pulled a lighter out from the folds of her silk robe.  She clicked it on to produce that bright and tiny flame and held it up to the other woman's cigarette.  As she put the lighter away again she used her free hand to remove her own cigarette from her lips so she could speak clearly.  A voice muddled from anything, whether it be alcohol, a cigarette between the lips, or an unfortunate quality of the voice, was never attractive.

"I actually don't smoke that often, but if I did I think I'd still be alright with less of a libido.  I've been told that I'm not subtle enough."  Celeste couldn't help but let out a soft, girly giggle.  "I don't think I've seen you here either, which might be a good thing.  I really like servicing new customers."

[Rhi-Rhi]

Kota brought the cigarette to her lips and took a long drag, closing her eyes for a moment and holding her breath before exhaling with a sigh. Ah, nicotine. How she loved the stuff. Like she was worried about a little smoke when she put herself in danger regularly, stupid Dragon. She took another short puff and looked back at the woman, already feeling the tension leaving her body. Maybe the chemicals really had kicked in that quickly, or maybe it was just the placebo effect and she was just happy as a clam to finally have her damned cigarette. Whatever the case was, her smile became just a little more pleasant as she looked the woman over again.

"Huh, whaddya know? We have something in common. I've been told I'm too blunt...rather bluntly, for that matter," she said, bringing the cigarette to her lips again, though she pulled it away before speaking again, puffs of smoke leaving her mouth with each word. "I'm no newbie, though, sorry to disappoint. I mostly stick to the spas. Speaking of, you're not full today, are ya? Still got room?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Of course, even if the spa was full, that wouldn't be a deterrant. Might as well indulge for now, anyway, since she had nothing better to do. The mission was complete, her muscles were sore, she deserved a little time to unwind and get out of her sour mood. The whore didn't look too shabby, either. She was girly and feminine, just how she liked them, but she also seemed rather forward. Hm. Kota gave her a thoughful, appraising look, eyeing her up and down again. It was a possibility if her energy returned--stupid down time after disconnecting--she just didn't want to get wailed on later if some other Pilot had staked a claim. They could get so possessive sometimes. Unless she claimed her first.

[Anonymous]

Celeste took another quick drawn from her own cigarette before answering the woman's questions.  "Busy, but probably not full.  You could fit in somewhere, I'm sure."  Celeste smiled coyly.  "And even if you have been here before, we still haven't met, so that makes you new to me, and I wouldn't call that a disappointment.  My name's Celeste Liin."  Celeste had made a habit of giving her full name when introducing herself.  It was actually something she was quite proud of, the name of her successful whore mother.

She could feel those eye look her up and down, and surprisingly enough, it wasn't something Celeste was particularly comfortable with.  The dirty thoughts it implied was not what got to her, but part of her did fear that the observer would see the flaws she was more than aware of.  Even when she was younger, her mother always had something critical to say about her slim, curveless body, and later her employers seemed to think the same thing.  Though, Celeste had gotten quite a lot of practice in pretending to be perfectly confident.  She constantly told herself that some people had to like thin girls, otherwise, she'd be dead broke.

She let her only half-finished cigarette drop to the ground and snuff it out with her shoe before taking a few steps closer to this potential customer.  The smile on her face got brighter as she reached out to lightly place one hand on the other woman's arm.  "Did you have anything specific in mind?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"You don't gotta be so formal, you know," Kota said with a shake of her head, reaching up with her free hand afterward to push some of the longer purple-black bangs out of her face. "Anyway, name's Kota, Celeste. Nice to meetcha," she introduced, then snorted. "Kota Daitri if you wanna do the formal thing, though, but I don't expect you to remember that. Hell, I forget my own name half the time," she added with a chuckle, though the joke was more to herself than Celeste because, well...it was the truth, actually. There were days where she woke up unable to recall her own name and other bits of information as well, but she'd accepted it a long time ago. There was a price to pay for becoming a Pilot, and the price for her had been her memory. Well, she still had it; it was just fucked up.

Such was life. A broken memory was better than being broken completely as happened to some.

Celeste was fortunate in that Kota wasn't the picky sort. Sure, she noticed the woman was thin, quite unlike many of the other voluptuous workers, but she didn't really care. It wasn't like she was the curviest woman, either, but she didn't worry about it; in her line of work, breasts that didn't get in the way were pretty damned beneficial, and in any case whores weren't paid to judge, and she didn't judge the whores, either. They got paid, she got laid, everyone went home happy at the end of the day or night or whatever. Besides, thin or not, she had a pretty face and a pleasant voice and that was what counted in Kota's book.

She was about to take another drag on her cigarette, but Celeste snuffed out her own and stepped closer to her. For a second Kota stared down at the unfinished cigarette with something akin to horror--how could she let a good one go to waste?!--before a touch on her arm made her look back up. Then she gave a little half grin at the question and lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "The hot tubs open?" Kota asked before giving Celeste a meaningful look, reaching out with her free hand to graze her gloved knuckles lightly along the other woman's cheek. "More specifically, is there room for two?"

[Anonymous]

Celeste involuntarily closed her eyes out of sheer delight as that gloved hand brushed up against her face.  The mere thought of servicing a woman was still something that made her heart flutter with excitement.  They didn't come around as often as the men, but Celeste liked them much better.  They were the only ones she was ever really attracted to and, occasionally, foolishly attached to.  Attachment was especially foolish for her, since she was the scrawnier, less desirable girl and thus more of a quick fix than a long term mistress.  

"I'll see what I can do."  As she spoke, her eyes opened slowly, making strong contact with the other woman's eyes.  She gently placed her own hand up against the one that touched her cheek, and put on a smile that was both playful and sultry.  Celeste had never been very good at determining what sort of girl a particular customer wanted her to be, so she tended to cover a broad spectrum all at once.  Fewer slipped by like that, and this one was definitely not going to slip away from her.

Celeste leaned in closer, much closer, and place a soft, quick kiss on Kota's lips.  It was more of a friendly gesture than an intimate one.  After all, there would be plenty of intimacy soon enough.

[Rhi-Rhi]

The trouble with whores was that Kota could never quite decide whether their reactions were genuine or carefully planned and orchestrated. Of course she wasn't naive enough to believe that there wasn't any acting involved, but she always wondered where the line between acting and real pleasure finally blurred--if it ever did blur. It wasn't like it mattered, though, or like she really cared. Some people might get offended to find out the other person was faking it--it was a pride thing she supposed--but she liked to look at things realistically. This wasn't about romance, but about fantasy and a quick fix, like smoking a cigarette. That was it.

She still smiled when the woman closed her eyes at her touch and continued to lightly trace her fingers along her skin--at least until Celeste placed her own hand over her gloved one and opened her eyes. "Hmm...you do that, then," Kota said, meeting her eyes and deciding that, thin or not, the girl had a nice smile. Sexy and cute at the same time, the perfect combination, really. Damn, how had she not seen this one before? Well, she supposed she'd be easy to overlook among a perpetual sea of big breasts and wide hips.

That was when Celeste leaned in to kiss her, a quick, soft kiss--or it would have been that if Kota had let her get away with it. Before Celeste could completely withdraw, she slid her hand over Celeste's cheek and behind her head, holding her in place while she turned that chaste kiss into something a bit deeper. She didn't attempt to invade her mouth or anything, but she did teasingly run her tongue along the woman's bottom lip, wanting a quick sample. Satisfied, she uncurled her fingers from the woman's hair and took a step back.

Hrm...was it odd that she found it even better kissing a smoker than a non-smoker? That was probably the addiction talking.

"Y'know...we're not getting any closer to the spa standing out here," she said after a pause, finally letting her cigarette drop to the ground before grinding it out with the toe of her boot.

[Anonymous]

So, that kiss had turned into more than she had anticipated.  Celeste loved the subtle assertiveness, and feeling that tongue dance around her mouth and those fingers bury themselves in her hair made a warm wave of excitement rush down to her loins.  Yes, she was likely just as eager as her new customer, and that always made it better for the both of them.

"Right this way," she said softly as she wrapped an arm around Kota's waist and led her inside.  The lobby was beautiful and serene: dim lights, muted colors, potted plants, and artificial waterfalls.  Celeste spotted another whore: blonde and excessively curvy, one of the ones she often envied, though she did a fair job of hiding it.

"Janine, I need a hottub."

"Room seven should be open," replied the blonde girl.

Celeste turned her attention back to the woman at her side.  "Seven it is," she said with a sly smile as she led her customer down the halls, which kept up the same motif of dim light and soothing colors.