Mary hadn't even clocked how aggressively she'd smoked her cigarette, but her first instinct was to grab her pack from her bag and extract another, putting it between her lips. Trying to be as quick as possible, she held the remains of her last one against the tip of the fresh one, dragging multiple times to make sure it lit, then dropped the last one on the ground, stamped it out, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke before dragging on it again.
"Damn girl, for someone that still keeps it a secret, I didn't have you pegged as a chain smoker" Marcus laughed.
"There's a lot you can still get to know about me" Mary smiled at him.
"Do I need to leave yous two alone for a minute bruv?" Keeley interrupted.
"If you could sis that'd be great" Marcus replied. The reaction on her face inplied she wasn't actually expecting to be sent away. He got out his wallet and handed Keeley some cash.
"Go to Maccas, I'll be there in a few yea?" He asked. Keeley snatched the money from his hand.
"Fine. Whaddaya want?" She asked, already backing a way.
"Just gimme a cheeseburger yea? Thanks Keels!" He shouted just as she turned a corner.
"Sorry bout her, she can be a bit of a bitch around other girls"
"It's aight, I'm used to it" Mary lied, exhaling another think stream of smoke as she said it.
"Love the hair by the way, colour suits ya" he said, reaching out to move a bit of her fringe out of her face. Mary could feel herself blushing, but tried to keep her cool.
"Thanks, just got it done actually" she smiled as she took another long drag on her cigarette. She was almost finished with this one now too. His hand lingered on the side of her head, tucking her hair behind her ear, making her feel all tingly inside, as he took a step closer.
"Hey listen Mare, I'm gonna be honest, I like you girl. You wanna chill later when you're done with ya Mum?"
"Yea sounds good" she smiled at him, failing to control the blushing. Then his face moved towards hers and she closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to touch hers. It was a small, gentle kiss, and it left Mary wanting more. As he moved his head away, she followed, firmly kissing him back. His hands moved to her waist and pulled her in tightly as they made out. Mary was slightly shocked they'd gotten this far already, then found herself sticking her tongue in his mouth like she had in her dream. It was her first proper kiss, but she was so turned on by it she would have likely taken it further if not for him ending the embrace and stepping back.
"How bout we save more of that for later yea? I better catch up with Keels"
" Y-yea of course" Mary stammered, losing her cool a little.
"Text me when your done yea?" He smiled, grabbing her hand and giving it a quick squeeze before walking away. He turned to look at her and winked before turning the corner Keeley had disappeared down.
Mary was left on her own, heart beating out of her chest. She still had a small amount of her last smoke left, so she quickly finished it to settle her nerves. Then sprayed herself down with perfume and popped some gum before heading back into the shopping center.
If her Mum suspected anything, she didn't bring it up at all for the rest of their day out. She even held back any questions on Mary's change in fashion sense, which while not slutty, was still very different to her usual outfits. Leggings, trackies and sports wear, vest tops and crop tops made up a large amount of her purchases, as well as a couple of pairs of white trainers and even a baseball cap, which surprised her Mother the most as Mary was never prone to wearing hats.
Once they were done and heading back to the car, Mary made her move.
" Hey Mum, thanks so much for today. It really made me feel better about myself"
"No problem at all sweetie, now what shall we pick up for food on the way home?"
"Actually Mum, do you mind if I go meet up with my friends again? They asked earlier if I wanted to catch up with them once we were done shopping" she asked nervously.
"Oh ok. Yea I guess that's okay if that's what you want to do now. Do you know when you'll be home? Do you want picking up?"
"I'll let you know when I know, but I'll probably be alright walking. Thank you again for today though, it really did help"
"That's okay honey, just keep me updated" she said, then held her arms open for a hug. Mary returned it, but couldn't help but feel like her Mum was sniffing her hair.
"Alright I'll text you in a bit then, love you." Mary said, before turning away and walking from the car, heading towards the nearest corner that would put her out of sight.