floating

Having been a smoker since the age of sixteen, Marti made many attempts to break the habit. She first went cold turkey at nineteen when she couldn’t afford to buy cigarettes, but found herself bumming smokes at every opportunity.

At twenty-two, her boyfriend introduced her to nicotine gum. It tasted unsavory and did little for her cravings, so she dumped both the gum and the boyfriend.

At the age of twenty-five, she tried the patch. After making herself sick from applying too many at once, she found smoking to be safer after all.

“Financial services, this is Eric. How can I help you?”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Oh, hey, honey! Are you at the doctor’s office yet?”

“Yep, they just started my physical a couple minutes ago. Thought I’d give you a call.”

“Ah, good. Are you naked?”

“What do you think? Of course I am.”

“Awesome. How’s it coming so far?”

“Oh, you know the drill… I’m all belly… Is now a bad time?”

“Oh, no, not at all, of course not. It’s Friday, things are pretty slow here.”

Mary shivered in the brisk autumn air as she jogged down the path. She knew that most people would think she was nuts for being outside in such flimsy attire. But she liked the exercise, the crisp evening atmosphere, and the solitude of the lake behind her home. And when she met a cute guy on the path, she liked showing off her shapely body in this tight leotard.

Distracted by the cold and by her music player, Mary let her guard down. And so, when a bee landed on the back of her neck, a moment’s hesitation was all it took for her to get stung.