My girlfriend of three years is a smoker. In the beginning her smoking didn't bother me, but now it's a huge turn-off. I've started a new job where I work with cancer patients and I see the deadly effects of smoking every day. I've tried everything under the sun to get her to stop. She says she'll try, but never makes much of an effort. I don't like to kiss or be near her when she smokes. It ruined our sex life because she comes to bed smelling like cigarettes. If she doesn't stop I want to move out. I'll sacrifice the relationship before I succumb to cancer from secondhand smoke.
Nonsmoking Section
My regular readers know that I view this column as a sacred pact with my readers. People bring me their problems, seeking my assistance and insight, and I take that responsibility very seriously. But that doesn't stop me from occasionally auctioning off the right to give advice in this space to the highest bidder, and letting that person — whomever the hell it might be — dig through my e-mail inbox and answer a few questions.
Meet Cara McDermott, a 28-year-old who works on public-health projects in Seattle, Wash. A Savage Love reader for more than a decade, Cara was the winning bidder in an auction that benefited the anti-hunger agency Northwest Harvest. Here's Cara's advice, NS:
"I understand where you're coming from," says Cara. "I'm a former smoker myself who has worked with cancer patients and it's depressing to see what might be in store for your girlfriend. However, I also know that when I was a smoker, naggers like you bugged the shit out of me. If you don't want to be around secondhand smoke, then it's a fair request of your girlfriend that she not smoke in the house. If she smells like cigarettes, then suggest that she shower before bed. Most importantly, drop the nagging. I bet that once you bug your girlfriend less about her smoking, all of a sudden she might find the will to quit."
Cara may have purchased the right to give advice in this column but I never — never — auction off the right to the last word: Sorry, Cara, but smoking outside and/or taking showers doesn't really mask a smoker's all-body stench. If a smoker's stench doesn't bother you, then fuck smokers. But if it does bother you, NS, you're going to have to dump the girlfriend.
My wife and I decided it would be OK for her to fuck other guys. It turns me on to think of her getting pounded while I'm at work. I've always wanted her to sit on my face and let the other guy's cum run into my mouth. Given the health risks to both of us, this fantasy has to be left in the "don't do it, just think about it" (DDI-JTAI) file, but recently we tossed around the idea of pouring contents of a used condom into her pussy the day after it was filled. The AIDS virus only lives about 5 minutes out of the body, so there's no risk there. What other health risks could we be exposed to?
Day-Old-Spunk Eater
"Dan may disagree with me," says Cara, "but I have to say that this fantasy should stay in the DDI-JTAI file, DOSE. While you don't have to worry about the AIDS virus, you should think a lot about hepatitis. You don't have a guarantee that there is no blood mixed with the spunk — rare, but I feel I have to say it — and you don't have a guarantee that there's no fecal matter mixed in there (either through dirty hands or anal play). According to the CDC website, hep A can live outside the body for months, hep B can live outside the body for seven days and transmit infection and hep C can last for anywhere from 16 hours to four days outside the body. You can get shots for hep A and hep B, but there's nada available for hep C. Take the risk and maybe you fry your liver, maybe not."
You're right, Cara, I disagree with you. DOSE's extremely small risk of catching hep has to be weighed against the large benefit of fulfilling this monumentally disgusting fantasy — a fantasy that is the ultimate expression of the cuckold fetish: literally having your nose rubbed in the evidence of your mate's infidelity. And there's a relatively easy way to minimize your risk of catching anything. If your wife cheats with a regular dude, all she needs to do is make continued access to her pussy contingent on a full health screening.
I'm gay, and I've been in a relationship with my girlfriend for five years. I'm in love with her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her if possible. Problem No. 1: She's married and has been throughout our entire relationship. She tells me that she loves me and wants to be only with me, but she won't leave him. Her husband and I know each other quite well, but he knows nothing about us. Problem No. 2: She was my first and has been my only with everything sexual. Problem No. 3: She did leave him and we moved in together about a year ago; everything was going really well until she came down with an STD that I did not give her. When she moved in I was told that all sexual encounters with her husband had stopped. I found out that she had been giving him head. Now he has moved in with us and we don't even sleep in the same room anymore (for the sake of the kids). What do I do?
Lesbian Over Stressed Times
"I have a few pieces of advice for you," says Cara. "No. 1: If she loved you and only wanted to be with you, then she'd leave him. No. 2: Very few people have one sexual partner for their whole lives. For most of us, having different sexual partners exposes us to different people and different situations, teaching us a lot along the way. You need to sleep with more folks before settling down. No. 3: Finally, LOST, to be blunt, your girlfriend is a lying, cheating whore who is emotionally abusing you and possibly exposing you to some nasty STIs. DTMFA and good luck meeting the nice gal you deserve."
Hm. I have nothing whatsoever to add — good work, Cara!
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