What she really fucking wanted was a cigarette. Taking a bath had given her an opportunity to indulge in her vaping habit, but there was a weight and harshness to the effects of combustible tobacco that seemed to satisfy her on a much more visceral level. It was clear which method of nicotine administration was a facsimile of the other, borne out of convenience, social stigma, and a veneer of health consciousness and not out of sheer satisfaction. For that, smoking was unmatched as far as she was concerned.

She didn't have her own cigarettes, however, and certainly wasn't willing to drive somewhere to buy them in the middle of...