The man set it down gently and unraveled the hoses, handing one to both of them.

“Khayli mamnoon, agah” Oz said cheerfully.

“Khahesh mikonahm,” the man bowed.

He left and Oz turned to see Jordan scrutinizing the pipe in his hand, his brow furrowed.

“Here, hold it like this,” she showed him. “You’re supposed to breathe in the smoke and then let it out.” She put the pipe in her mouth and slowly breathed in, the water bubbling in the vase of the hookah. After a few moments, she relaxed her muscles and let the smoke billow out of her mouth. It mixed into the cool summer air and dissipated in the canopy above. Jordan leaned forward and sniffed. His ears twitched pleasingly. Then he looked down at the hookah.

“Is it supposed to make that noise when you breathe in?”

“Yes.”

“Does the smoke… sting or anything?”

“No, it is actually quite nice. But if you tighten your muscles you can choke on it and then it will sting a bit.”

Jordan stared hard at the pipe in his hand again. Oz slipped her arm through his and leaned against him. She looked up and watched his eyes darting and taking in every detail. His curious face was always something she liked to see. Purring, she fought the urge to nuzzle into him.

“Together?” She asked.

Jordan smiled, determined and excited now. “Let’s do it.”

“Ok, breathe in, hold it for a few minutes, then breathe it out.”

“Got it!”

They both drew in, the bubbles rumbling like a little storm in the hookah. There was a moment of calm. Then, they both breathed out. Oz puffed out a few expertly made smoke rings, then glanced over to see if she had impressed Jordan. He however, was staring at the little puff of smoke that came out of his mouth, baffled. The rest burst out from the gills on his neck in great furling plumes. Oz choked on the last of her smoke.

“Jordan *cough* n-no. Not the haha- the neck- ahaha! *cough* You-“

She fell onto the pillows in a fit of coughing and laughter. Jordan looked down at her, confused, then looked back at the hose.

“What did I do? Did I do it wrong? It actually felt kinda cool.”

Laughing too hard to speak, Oz could only motion at his neck.

“Oh! That? I can do that again!”

“Oh no, please don’t-“

But Jordan had already taken another shot from the hookah and was letting the smoke pour out of his gills again, a mischievous grin on his face. Oz shrieked in laughter.

“Y-you will kill me with that” she gasped, wiping the tears from her eyes. “It’s supposed to go through your mouth!”

“Nah, it’s more fun this way!”

Laughing, Jordan pulled her up and propped her back against his side. He nuzzled her head, which was still shaking from giggles, and pulled the tray of tea closer to them. Oz reached out for her cup and took a few sips, clearing out the bitter sting in her throat.

Jordan put his arm around her and she looked up and smiled into his eyes. “Now, what was that thing you did with the rings?: He asked. "I didn't know you could do that.” As Oz started talking again, Jordan grinned to himself. He’d found a new way to tease her. Hookah smoking was more fun than he thought.



~inspired by 's commission of mine and 's characters on their first hookah date. The first of many! http://www.furaffinity.net/view/130...../#cid:80991478