Stephanie's Story, Part 1

Stephanie's Story
Part 1 of 3

   My name is Stephanie.  I am a happily married 28-year old woman with a
loving husband and three wonderful children.  It wasn't always so rosy
though.  My story begins three years ago.

   It was a Friday afternoon.  My husband, Don, came home from work at the
usual time to once again find me exhausted and irritated at trying to cope
with our three-year old girl, Amy, and twin boys, Josh and Jamie, who were
seven-months old.  I had been stuck in the house for about the past year.
Shopping with three little kids was a nightmare.  I was lonely for adult
contact.  All my old friends were totally involved with their jobs or had
moved out-of-state.  I was frustrated that I had only this to look forward to
for about five more years until the kids went to school.  My college degree
had gone unused since I was pregnant when I graduated and we decided that I
should stay home and take care of the baby.  Then with the twins, I was at my
wit's end.

   Don said we had been invited to the new neighbor's house for a barbecue
on Saturday night.  Don had arranged the rental of the house next door to his
work associate Bob and his wife Diane.  Bob was transferred in from the
Atlanta office for a one to two-year assignment and renting a house instead
of buying.  From what I could tell by watching them through the window on
moving day, Bob and Diane were about our age.  Don said they and were anxious
to meet people in our area and that they had a two-year old girl.  We were to
bring the children and come in swimwear to try out their pool.  A barbecue
sounded great to me since I wouldn't have to cook, but I was a little
apprehensive about the swimwear.  I had been unable to lose about 30 pounds
since my last pregnancy, not that I had tried very hard.  I just couldn't
get motivated to diet or exercise since I wasn't going anywhere anyway.

   Saturday evening came and the five of us headed next door to meet the new
neighbors.  We could see that Bob was by the pool with their little girl so
we headed out back.  After the introductions and a little small talk, Diane
came out.  She was carrying a large tray of iced tea, beer and wine.  She was
a stunning blond with a great body.  She also had a long cigarette hanging
from the corner of her lips.  It seemed strange to me since I had never
really known any smokers and to see this beautiful girl with a cigarette in
her mouth seemed out of place.  She introduced herself and stood there
talking to us for a couple of minutes with the tray in her hands and the
cigarette bouncing up and down between her lips the whole time.  She seemed
completely at ease with her image, smoking like a chimney, yet almost unaware
she had left her cigarette in her mouth as she conversed with us.  Smoke was
continually pouring out of her nose and mouth as she talked to us yet she
didn't seem to mind.  At one point, a long ash broke off and fell onto the
tray but she kept right on talking without even noticing.  She finally set
the tray down and pulled the cigarette from her lips, and asked what we
wanted to drink.  The two guys took beers and I asked for an iced tea.  Diane
put the cigarette back in her mouth as she poured my tea.  As she handed me
the glass of tea, she picked up the wine bottle with her free hand.  She said
she was going to have a glass of wine after the day she had had.  Don offered
to open it for her but she insisted.  By the time she had opened and poured
her wine, the cigarette in her lips had burned down to the orange filter.
She pulled the cigarette from her lips with one more long drag and flipped
the butt onto the lawn.

   We sat around talking and taking care of the kids needs for about an hour
until the hamburgers went on the grill.  Diane tended to the cooking, once
again with a cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth.  Don was
constantly staring at Diane.  I was getting a little jealous of all the
attention she was getting but I was just so happy to be out of the house
interacting with other adults that I overlooked Don's roving eye.  I could
understand it though.  She was beautiful and slim.  I was no slouch in the
beauty department (former homecoming queen) but my body had gone to hell over
the last three years.

I found myself really enjoying the evening and our new neighbors.  Diane and
I really hit it off well and invited her to bring her daughter over Monday
for a visit.  Despite her heavy smoking habit, she seemed like a very
interesting and fun person.  It seemed to me that she lit a fresh cigarette
about every ten minutes all evening long.  She even smoked during dinner.  I
couldn't understand her devotion to her cigarettes.  Why didn't she just
quit like most other people?  

I was sad when the evening ended at about 8:30 since it was past the kid's
bedtime.  We packed up our things and said goodnight and I again reminded
Diane to come over Monday to see our house and get to know each other a
little better.  Don was going to be on the road for two weeks for business
and I would be desperate for some company.

Don actually caught a late-night flight on Sunday evening so when Diane rang
my doorbell rang at about 10:30 Monday morning, I was back to my normal
frazzled condition.  She had her daughter Jennifer in one arm and a large bag
of baby supplies in the other.  Between her lips was a cigarette butt with a
long ash.  She asked me to take the bag.  Once the hand was free, she raised
it to remove her cigarette.  She took a long drag, removed the cigarette from
her lips a few inches and reinserted it for another long drag.  Smoke was
streaming out her nose as she sucked more smoke into her mouth.  She repeated
the procedure one more time before flicking the cigarette butt onto my front
lawn.  She said, with smoke pouring from her nose and mouth, "The last part
is the best.  I love to smoke them right to the end."  

We spent the next hour watching the kids play together before putting them
down for a nap.  Diane and I sat down at the kitchen table with a fresh pot
of coffee.  No sooner had I poured the coffee when I looked up to see Diane
lighting a cigarette in my kitchen.  "I hope you don't mind," she said
with the cigarette bouncing between her lips, "I can't drink coffee without
smoking."  

"I guess its ok.  No one has ever smoked in our house before," I said.
"We don't even have any ashtrays."

"That's ok.  I'll just get another cup and fill it with water," Diane
said as she walked to the cupboard and helped herself to one of my cups,
filled it half full of water and returned to her seat.  She took a long drag
and finally took the cigarette out of her mouth.  A big ball of smoke
appeared from her mouth and went right into her nose.  She exhaled a bunch of
smoke rings.  

"You sure seem to like smoking," I said.  

"I love everything about smoking.  Cigarettes are very relaxing to me.  They
are like a friend when I'm alone.  They help me maintain my weight.  I wish
I could smoke even more, but there are only so many hours in the day." Diane
said as she pushed her pack across the table to me.  "Help yourself."

"Oh, no thanks," I said quickly.  "I've never been tempted to start.  I
was a swimmer in high school and college and the coaches always had strict no
smoking rules.  I always hung out with the girls on the team.  None of them
smoked.  In fact, you're the first friend I've ever had that smoked."

"You have led a sheltered life, haven't you?  No sneaking a smoke in the
bathroom or trying pot at parties?"

"Nope, nothing.  Why do you smoke with all the health warnings against it
and what about the effects on your family." 

"I'm only 25.  I figure that they will find a cure for cancer by the time I
am at risk for getting it.  And if they don't, I'll at least have the
pleasure of smoking my whole life.  I've been smoking more than 3 packs a
day of these Marlboro 100's for ten years now and I can say that I've
enjoyed every one of them."  Diane said as she took another drag and
repeated another nostril inhale and smoke ring exhale.  "Even though Bob
doesn't smoke, he loves watching me smoke.  He says it turns him on.  It's
true too.  I can get him hard by dangling a cigarette from my lips and
blowing smoke into his face.  We have a fantastic sex life even though that
part probably seems strange to a non-smoker like you." "You're lucky.  Our
sex life is getting pretty ordinary.  I mean we still do it a couple times a
week, but I don't get much out of it." I said.

"I can't imagine starting or finishing a day without sex.  When Bob is out
of town, I even take matters into my own hands," Diane said with a laugh and
a wink.

I put out a tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and helped myself to
one.  Diane refused a cookie.  She said she was on her c-s diet for a few
weeks.  I said I could use a diet and I asked about the c-s diet.

"Cigarettes and salad is the c-s diet." Diane said.  "Whenever I'm
tempted to snack or if I get hungry, I smoke a few cigarettes and that takes
away the urge to eat.  When mealtime comes, I smoke three or four cigarettes
in a row and that reduces my appetite to the point that a salad is enough
food for me.  In fact those cookies look so good, I'm going to have another
cigarette.  She took two hard drags on her cigarette butt and dropped it into
the cup.  She immediately shook out another cigarette and fitted it into the
corner of her mouth.  I watched as she flicked her lighter and sucked hard on
the cigarette.  Her lips parted slightly and smoke started to escape, only to
be sucked into her nose and mouth.  Without exhaling, she took another long
drag, again parting her lips to let some smoke escape from her mouth to her
nose.  She took one more long drag on the cigarette and pulled it from her
lips.  I kept waiting for the smoke to come out but she held it inside for at
least ten seconds.  When she did exhale, with an audible sigh and a contented
look on her face, I was surprised at how little smoke came out, considering
how much she took in.  I had to admit it.  She did have a sexy smoking style.
I was starting to see how a beautiful girl could mesmerize a man with her
smoking technique.  I watched her smoke for a few minutes and realized that
she really was enjoying every puff.

After awhile, I reached for another cookie but stopped with my hand just
above the plate.  "Could I try one of your cigarettes?" I said instead.

Diane put her cigarette back in the side of her mouth, picked up the pack of
cigarettes and shook one out for me to take as she said,  "I'll teach you.
First you put it in your mouth and when I touch the flame to the end you
start to suck lightly.  Then you take it out of your mouth and breath in
through your mouth.  Hold the smoke inside for a while, then blow it out.
It's really simple."

I put the cigarette in the center of my mouth and waited for Diane to flick
her lighter.  It seemed strange to look down and see a cigarette in my mouth.
As the flame sprang from the lighter, I started to draw smoke into my mouth,
being careful not to get too much.  I pulled the cigarette from my mouth and
breathed in.  I held the smoke inside for a few seconds and exhaled.  "That
was perfect.  You're a natural.  Most people cough a little at first.  I
know I did," Diane said and then she took her cigarette from her mouth with
the longest deepest drag I had seen her take yet.  She leaned back and
exhaled a huge cloud.  "You won't be able to inhale that deeply for a quite
a while."

"I don't want to be a regular smoker.  I just wanted to try it and maybe if
I like it enough, I'll try the c-s diet.  I've got to lose these 30 extra
pounds. Don would kill me if he found me smoking.  I might try the diet for
two weeks until Don gets home."  I said as I raised the cigarette for my
second puff.  This one was a little longer and I held it in for a few seconds
before letting it out.  The taste was different than I expected but I liked
it. 

"I doubt that Don would kill you if he caught you smoking.  The way he was
studying me the other night, I would guess he might also be attracted to a
woman who smokes."

 "I did see him staring at you."  I took another longer drag and held it in
for about five seconds.  I felt light-headed and very relaxed, like I had a
few drinks.  "Wow, I see what you mean about the relaxing effects of
smoking."   

"Yeah, that buzz isn't as noticeable after you've been smoking for a while
but you still get a relaxing lift." Diane said.  "There are ways to
increase that feeling but for now you need to learn the basics.  Just get
used to inhaling and try to take in a little more each time."

I still felt strange to have something burning in my hand but I grew more
comfortable with it as I smoked it down to the last half inch.  I was about
to drop the butt into the cup when Diane caught my wrist.  "Can I finish
that for you?  It's my favorite part of the cigarette."  I watched her
attack the last half-inch of tobacco with a series of four long hard drags.
Smoke flowed out of her nose even while she was sucking more into her mouth.
She dropped the sizzling butt into the cup and sat back and exhaled from her
nose and mouth.  "I can never get enough."

Ten minutes later, Diane reached for her cigarettes and extended the pack
toward me.  "Care to try again?"  

It seemed kind of soon but I accepted, half trying to please my new friend
and half curious about this new activity.  This time I tried to light my own.
I put the cigarette between my lips and picked up the lighter.  "How does
this thing work?" I mumbled awkwardly with the cigarette bouncing in the
center of my mouth.  After receiving verbal instructions, I flicked the wheel
several times before finally getting a flame.  I lit my cigarette and took a
long drag.  I was quite pleased with myself and I really enjoyed my second
cigarette.  I didn't even need help with "the best part" as I smoked it
all the way to the filter before dropping the butt into our cup of water.

Diane and I smoked several more cigarettes in the next hour.  My stomach was
feeling upset and there was no way I wanted to eat another cookie or lunch.
The diet was working although I didn't want to go through the next two weeks
of dieting with a stomach ache.  Diane said my body was just getting used to
nicotine and that I should sit out a few rounds of cigarettes.  Even though I
wasn't smoking, Diane had me get comfortable holding a cigarette between my
lips.  She said that I didn't have enough hands to smoke and take care of
three kids at the same time.  I felt like a hooker sitting there carrying on
a conversation for fifteen minutes with a cigarette in my mouth but I did get
used to it.  I liked the cigarette in the corner of the mouth position best
since it made it much easier to speak clearly.  Diane said I had good lips
for "dangling" a cigarette, nice and full and naturally parted but soft
enough to let the cigarette hang almost straight down from the corner of my
mouth.  Finally, Diane told me to light the cigarette and smoke it as long as
I could without taking it out of my mouth for practice.  My stomach ache had
subsided and I was ready for another cigarette anyway so I tried it.  I
managed to smoke one inch of it before the smoke in my eyes and nose was
making me uncomfortable and I removed it to flick off the ash.  No sooner had
I flicked the ash off when the sounds of a screaming baby brought an end to
the peaceful day.  

 I entered the nursery and knew by the sound that Jamie had a dirty diaper.
Diane was right.  I had no choice but to hold the cigarette in the corner of
my mouth while I changed the diaper.  Before that task completed, Josh woke
up and also needed a fresh diaper.  During this double diaper-changing
ordeal, I did discover how to exhale through my nose and it actually helped
to kill the smell of baby poop.  I reappeared in the kitchen looking very
much like Diane did when she arrived at my door earlier with a baby under
each arm and an almost burned-out cigarette butt in the corner of my mouth.
"Give me a hand and take one of them," I said.  Diane took Josh and with my
free hand, I did my best Diane imitation with a triple inhale and a
continuous nostril exhale.  "The last part is the best," I said as we both
laughed.  

When Diane had to go, she took a new pack of cigarettes from her bag and put
them on the kitchen table.  "I'll see you tomorrow about the same time.
Here's an extra pack and my lighter in case you feel overwhelmed or hungry
or lonely or just feel like you need a lift."

"I doubt that I will but thanks anyway.  I really enjoyed your visit today.
Come back any time," I said, giving Diane a hug.

     

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