Chapter 16

"I love you too."

My head snapped up so quickly I almost gave myself whiplash.  For one awful moment I thought I may have imagined it, but her gentle smile destroyed my fears.  She slowly leaned toward me, her hands cupping my face as her lips met mine.  

I cried again, maybe even harder.  I couldn't believe this was happening, that this was possible.  I had lost all hope of a real-life happy ending, but suddenly she was here and she was kissing me and we were crying and laughing and . . . fuck.  Just beautiful.

"When do you get off?" she finally asked.

"That depends on you," I smirked.

For a moment she looked at me in shock, but then burst out laughing.  I laughed too, my heart alive and my shoulders no longer bearing such a terrible burden of regret.  

"I'm done at 3 today," I told her.

"Well, then I'll be expecting you at my place at 3:15," Heather laughed.  "We never had break-up sex, so I expect tonight be legendary."

I giggled, then stopped suddenly as a nightmarish thought came to mind.

"Ohmygosh," I whispered in horror.  "Heather, I . . . oh no . . . I slept with someone else."

I told her all about my visit to the buffet, and how I let Stephanie come home with me.  I feared the disappointment and judgment sure to be in her eyes as I finished the story.

"I don't care," Heather said when I was done.

I looked at her in surprise.  "Wha- really?!"

"I don't even want to think about the time we were apart," she replied.  "It was all just a horrible mistake.  Maybe necessary, so we could learn what we really wanted, but still horrible.  We're together now, I love you and you love me, so let's just forget it.  And if we go to the buffet sometime, I'll just make it very clear to this Stephanie that you're with me now, and I don't like to share!"

I started to cry again, so overwhelmed by her love.  Seriously, this whole falling-in-love thing is making me such a fucking girl.  We kissed again before I went back into the store.  Heather had the day off, and she was going shopping to get ready for time together later.  When I walked back into the store I think my big silly grin told everyone exactly what had happened, and Jimmy ended up letting me leave 10 minutes early that day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was pizza, lasagna, subs, chips, potato salad, and more covering Heather's kitchen table.  After forty minutes of eating we had barely made a dent.  I had stretched out my stomach quite a bit over the past few months, but strangely I felt satisfied after a small (for me) meal.  

"Whatsa matter?" Heather asked as she chewed a huge bite of turkey sub.

"I dunno, I'm just kinda full," I told her.  "When we were . . . you know . . . I kept eating until I was painfully stuffed, trying to fill up an emptiness.  Now that I'm with you again . . . I'm not empty anymore."

"Awww," she mumbled, giving me a sloppy kiss on the cheek then wiping away the mayonnaise.

"But I'll eat more, just for you," I reassured her, sliding a piece of lasagna onto my plate.

"Don't eat for me," Heather said.  "I just want to see you happy with who you are."

I shoved a huge bite in my mouth.  "Couldn't be happier."

About an hour later most of the food was gone.  I had eaten until my pants had to be unbuttoned, but not to the point of being woozy or in pain.  Heather had put on a truly impressive show, her round belly swelling up from her constant stuffing.  She burped softly, rubbing the sides of her bloated tummy.  

"How much do you *hic* weigh now?" she asked.

I admitted that I hadn't checked in quite a while.  With some grunting and groaning we finally got to our feet and walked to her bathroom to weigh ourselves.  I relished the sight of her undressing, it was something I had feared I would never see again.  It was clear that she was a little rounder than the last time I had seen her naked, but by no means had she blimped up like I had.