Kim and Mark, Part 4

From: stinger27@gnn.com

Chapter 4

Kim's schedule the following week had been extremely hectic.  Dr. Robbin's
had asked her to work half days the entire week and full-time on her normal
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  Her routine remained basically the same
except for the cigarette she enjoyed with her morning coffee.  Work had been
reduced to just Friday morning in the office.  Dr. Robbins had been at a
conference all week and Rita had been able to handle the office routine
herself.  This had given Kim an opportunity to take care of a number of
errands that had been piling up, but it also left her with even more free
time.  Time to think of how much she missed Mark and hoping that he would be
able to call soon. 

When she returned from shopping about 4pm on Tuesday afternoon, Kim went to
check the mail, and found a letter from Mark.  She ran inside and tore it
open.  She stopped herself, forcing herself to slow down so she could savor
every word.  She dropped her coat and purse, sat down in her favorite chair
and decided to have a cigarette as she read the letter.  She lit up and took
a deep puff, letting the smoke fill her lungs.  It seemed that this was the
fifth one she had had today, and it tasted particularly satisfying to her.
She took one more, long, deep puff and exhaled slowly, relaxing the tense
muscles in her neck before opening the letter. 

Kim found herself absorbed in every thought, every word.  Mark was doing
fine, and everything was going well for him and his men.  He wrote tenderly
about his love for Kim and how she filled his thoughts, how she made his
life complete.  She had become so absorbed in the letter that she scarcely
noticed that she had just performed what Rita had called what was it--a
'double pump'?  Kim had inhaled very deeply and without thinking, took
another especially long drag before exhaling a very dark cloud of smoke.  It
took several exhales to clear her lungs completely and Kim felt a small
tingling as she had when she first started.  This, coupled with the
excitement of the letter, proved to be a very pleasant sensation.  As she
finished both the letter and her cigarette, she made sure to imitate Rita's
inhale each time, letting a puffy ball of smoke escape just before snatching
it back into her mouth and lungs. 

After finishing the last line of the letter, she couldn't wait to read it
again but decided to brew a cup of coffee and have a second cigarette as she
did so.  The coffee pot finished brewing, and Kim poured herself a cup of
the strong, dark liquid.  She realized that she was beginning to realize for
herself that coffee did go wonderfully well with a cigarette.  She had
always liked a little cream in her coffee, but had tried it black a couple
of times this week early in the morning with her cigarette of the day and
found she enjoyed the full, rich taste of the coffee itself. 

This time she sat in front of the mirror so that she could 'monitor' her
progress.  Each time she paused to smoke, she would lay the letter in lap
and carefully observe her style as well as her inhale technique.  She still
needing some refining on letting out just enough smoke but not too much.
This was something she looked forward to working on.  She had to admit that
parting her lips while exhaling looked somewhat like the look fashion
photographers seek in models.  Lips parted with that 'come take me look'.
When she internalized the thought and related it to Mark, she wanted to look
as sexy as possible without looking gawdy or 'slutty'.  She inhaled very
deeply, then double pumped, taking in the extra smoke on top of the first.
She held it as long as she could, then exhaled.  The letter reread, Kim
found herself unable to think of much else besides Mark and had to make
herself get up and get moving. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Kim had smoked a half a pack each day for the
first time.  When she ran out of cigarettes after less than two days, she
decided that it was time to run to the store and pick up her first carton.
It was 8pm when Kim returned home and she sat watching a romantic comedy
from the video rental store by herself.  About half way through, she found
herself unconsciously reaching for another cigarette, the second since the
movie started.  She was unaware of lighting it and smoking it slowly all the
way down the filter.  Kim found that she now enjoyed the last puff as much,
if not more, than the first one. 

As she got ready for bedtime, she decided she would have one last cigarette
before going to sleep and sat the ashtray next to her as she climbed into
bed.  Although she had already brushed her teeth, Kim wanted a cigarette
just before bed as it helped her relax and get to sleep.  Also, Mark had
mentioned among several other things, how much he wanted to kiss her just
after she had finished a cigarette.  The thought, he said, was driving him
out of his mind.  Kim knew she had just the cure for him. 

Friday morning, Kim dressed in her best business suit, a gray blazer and
skirt that fell about four inches above her knee.  She had gotten ready ten
minutes early and decided there was time for another cigarette before she
had to go so she took one from the pack on the purse and relaxed for a few
minutes, inhaling deeply each time.  She noticed that she just about had the
'look' she wanted.  Her long, soft brown hair cascaded down her neck giving
her an elegant look, while the light makeup she wore, which included a
glossy lipstick made her seem even more beautiful.  Her style seemed nearly
perfect and she finally felt comfortable smoking at the cafeteria during
lunch with Rita.  In fact, one of the guys from another office had
definitely been staring at her whenever she smoked.  Kim was sure Mark
wasn't the only guy with a 'smoking fetish.' 

By 11 o'clock, Kim began to feel somewhat strange, almost tingly. Her head
didn't hurt, but it felt as though there were a slight pressure there.  By
lunch, she feared she had gotten a headache but hadn't brought any aspirin
with her.  She thought that getting something to eat would help, so she just
toughed it out until noon. 

Almost as soon as they sat down, both ladies reached for their cigarettes
and lighters.  Rita commented, "Well, you didn't even seem to think twice
about smoking here today.  How's it been going?"  Kim felt better after the
first puff and suddenly felt the desire to 'double pump'.  The strange
feelings went away and Kim realized what had just happened.  Her body was
telling her that it had gone without nicotine for too long and wanted--no,
needed more.  "So that's how a craving feels,"  Kim said outloud.  She
hadn't heard Rita's initial question but said, "I guess I didn't realize
that at home all week, I was smoking whenever I wanted and then this
morning, I had to wait four hours before having one.  I thought I was
getting a headache or something and then as soon as I had a cigarette, I
felt fine."  "Congratulations, hon!  I think you've made the transition from
non-smoker to smoker in record time!  How much have you been smoking?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but I think I smoked pretty close to a whole pack
yesterday.  You know, being at home all day it's just so easy to pick one up
whenever you want.  I guess I should try and keep it down.  That seems like
a lot when I think about it although I just smoked whenever I felt like it.
Well, at least now I know why you 'run to the lounge' during your morning
break!  I guess you'll be having company from now on Rita!"  Kim finished
her cigarette, then lunch and went back to the office to tidy up for Monday.
On the way home, the urge to smoke welled up within her again, but this time
she knew immediately what to do.  At the traffic light, she took out a
Virginia Slim and lit it, enjoying the feel of the smoke in her lungs as the
craving subsided.  As she smoked driving home, she thought again of Mark and
smiled in anticipation of that first night together.  

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