This story has come from a Reddit dweller. With her important job she understandably wants and likes to remain anonymous. This means that she doesn't post her own smoking content. She kindly reached out to give me praise for my stories (Thank you!). I have subsequently chatted and in turn extracted her own smoking story for us all to enjoy.
Jennifer the Real Deal.
Jennifer is a slim American gym loving thirty-year-old, with dark blonde hair. For her job, her appearance is everything. She is effectively selling both herself and houses. Jennifer works hard to build relationships with her customers in her job in real estate. She knows that her customers will make their life changing decisions with her. She also hopes that they will return to her when the time comes for them to sell, and either downsize or hopefully upsize when they make their next move too.
Yet behind the expensive clothes, salon done hair, dentist whitened teeth, along with the glorious glossy lipstick coated smile. Amongst the shiny positive brightness permeating mixed with a sweet perfume from her, there is a little wedge, a slither of darkness hiding behind the beautiful pristine faΓ§ade.
Jennifer currently smokes over a pack a day of Parliament 100's. She is lucky that her mom also smokes a few cigarettes a day herself. Which is particularly lucky in that she currently works for her mom, who owns the real estate business. Her mom totally understands what Jennifer is doing when she pulls up in the car a few blocks away from the house, winds down the window and lights up. There is that underlying need to settle the nerves in the stomach. However, before Jennifer arrives at the property, she will have doused herself in expensive perfume and chewed on a mint. She knows she needs to come across as the perfect realtor to sell her houses.
The chase for perfection started during her early teenage years. She was very much part of the "anti-smoking camp". Overtly and overly critical of her mom's smoking and especially to any of her friends. She made her views abundantly clear. The science told you smoking was bad for you, and because of that it was something that both she and you shouldn't be doing.
Things all changed, in a one hundred- and eighty-degrees sort of way when she headed off to college. The science, however important and real that it was, was parked in a nice leafy side street.
She was now eighteen, as a freshman on a night out when she had one of her first life changing decisions made for her. Her housemate Sara first offered her a cigarette. It was after a couple of drinks so the "good life" and sensible resolution including knowing what was good and bad for her was then a little hazy. She was chasing fun. It should have been an easy no. However, in the situation, it was a yes. Her spirits were up, she was having fun. Sara was by then already very much a committed smoker having started a few years ago. For a few weeks for Jennifer, it was just one or two cigarettes on a Saturday night, nothing special in the scheme of things. Just trying to placate her new friend and not seem rude.
Jennifer was not really aware at the time that she was smoking. After all, at the time she was more often than not beyond a little tipsy. She was still very much enjoying the moment. She was away from home just trying to make friends. It sort of happened, but on Sunday afternoon, to recompense, she was back in the nearby gym.
Her actual life changing decision from a nicotine addiction point of view was again made for her one Saturday morning a few weeks before Thanksgiving. On Friday night they both went out, and at that party they both got seriously drunk. More than they had before. Especially for Jennifer. The evening had been great fun dancing, drinking along with potentially a cigarette or two. As such on the Saturday morning Jennifer and Sara were feeling spectacularly ill.
However, many coffees Jennifer drank, they were just not working. The hangover was in danger of lasting all day and she was at that moment scared it was threatening to go into Sunday as well. With a grin Sara came up with the brainwave solution for Jennifer. One that would change the course of her history. That a cigarette would definitely help Jennifer with the situation.
With her thumping headache and washing machine churning stomach. Anything that would help her would be a bonus. Even if that "medicinal help" came in the contradictory form of a potentially cancerous tobacco filled Marlboro Light 100.