Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words(66)

I laugh through my tears and shake my head at him.

“I can’t believe you… told Aubrey all of those things,” I say in awe, nodding in the direction of the booth. “And all of her readers. You know she has like, hundreds of thousands of them, right?”

Brent lets go of one of my hands to press his palm against my cheek.

“I didn’t know what else to do. It almost broke me knowing I made you feel embarrassed or humiliated because of what I did. I never want you to feel that way, especially because of something I did. So I thought the best way to make up for that was to completely humiliate myself.”

He starts softly rubbing his thumb back and forth against my cheek, and I close my eyes for a minute and press my cheek harder into his hand. After not being this close to him and not feeling his hands on me in over a week, I just want to enjoy every second of this moment. But I know I can’t afford to do that. Not until I tell him what I need to.

Opening my eyes, I look up at him.

“I’m sorry I ran away from you. I’m sorry I didn’t believe all of those things you said to me. I should have stayed and fought. I promise, if you still want to be with me after all this, I’ll never leave again. I will stay, and I will listen, and I will fight, because you’re worth fighting for. And because I don’t want to make a mistake like my grandfather almost did with Dirty Neck Bertha, and because I don’t want to call our son up when he’s twenty-seven to talk to him about erections for the first time, and I don’t want our daughter to spend a week smelling like cheese.”

Brent doesn’t even look at me like I’m crazy.

“Noted,” he says. “We’ll discuss erections with our son at an age-appropriate time, and make sure our daughter showers regularly.”

How in the world did I get so lucky? And how could I be so stupid to almost throw all of this away?

“I’m also sorry that I may or may not have told our entire story in every single detail for my podcast,” I add with a wince.

“I know.” He laughs. “I listened. Wait, is it too soon for that? Is there a certain statute of limitations where I’m not supposed to remind you of stupid shit I did?”

I shake my head at him with a smile. “No. I’m glad you listened. Now you really know how crazy I am. Also, did you really lose your virginity to a Serta Plush twin size bed?” I ask, trying my hardest not to smile.

“It was a full size, thank you very much. And I’m still wounded by the fact that it never called me back. I gave that thing some of my best work. It cuts me deep, Heidi. It cuts me deep.”

I throw my head back and laugh.

“I just have one question,” I say when the laughter subsides. “If you liked me from the moment you met me, why didn’t you ever ask me out?”

“Not to sound like a complete middle school wuss, but I didn’t think you liked me back. And then when I heard your podcast and found out how you felt, I almost yanked my earbuds out and came running over to your house. But then I kept listening. And you said you were lost. I couldn’t be the one who made you disappear completely because I took charge and made all the decisions. You needed to figure it out on your own. I couldn’t just hand you Brent Miller on a silver platter.” He gives me a wink.

“God, you’re ridiculous. And I love you so much,” I tell him, not at all shocked that I let it fly right out of my mouth without any hesitation or nerves.

He deserves to know. After what he just put himself through, and after what I’m sure Aubrey’s readers will put him through once she uploads that thing, he definitely deserves it.

A groan of relief comes out of Brent’s mouth before his arms are suddenly around me and he’s yanking me against his chest. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and bury my head into the side of his neck, breathing him in for the first time in far too long as he kisses the top of my head.

“I love you too, Heidi Larson,” he whispers as I lift my face from his neck, push up on my toes, and give him a real kiss.

A kiss I’ve been dreaming about for a week. A kiss better than any kiss we’ve ever shared before, because everything is finally out in the open—the good, the bad, and the embarrassing.

We break apart a few minutes later, and Brent laces his fingers through mine as we walk out of the studio.

“You know, you’re going to have to change the name of Heidi’s Discount Erotica now,” Brent tells me as we walk hand-in-hand down the hallway.

“Why’s that?” I ask.

“Babe, there’s nothing discount about you. You are top shelf, premium, expensive erotica.”

I roll my eyes at him good-naturedly as we get out into the reception area.

Huh. Heidi’s Top Shelf Erotica. That does have a nice ring to it.





Epilogue





Heidi’s Top Shelf Erotica, Episode 62


“Welcome to Heidi’s Top Shelf Erotica, brought to you by the Pleasure Palace, making all your erotic fantasies come true, with sex toys of every shape and size to fit every need you could possibly imagine.

“You guys, I know Heidi’s Top Shelf Erotica has been syndicated for a few months now, but it’s still crazy to me that I actually have sponsors!

“Okay, onto the good stuff.

“First and foremost, my honeymoon two weeks ago was amazing. Better than I ever could have imagined. Brent and I spent a relaxing and, dare I say, absolutely erotic time in Bali.