RISK! – The Best of Love Stories #4 (February 12, 2026)
Episode Overview
This episode of RISK!—hosted by Kevin Allison—dives into two deeply personal and unusually honest love stories. Far from conventional romance, these stories explore love's resilience in the face of addiction and unconventional healing through sexual intimacy. As always, RISK! delivers humor, rawness, and revelations people “never thought they’d dare to share in public.”
Key Stories & Discussion Points
1. "Pleasant Mountain" by Smith Galtney
Time: 03:21–22:04
Context
Smith recounts his struggles as a meth addict in a committed relationship with his partner, John, focusing on a pivotal hike up Maine's "Pleasant Mountain." This is a story about love’s endurance through the most challenging times.
Major Discussion Points
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Denial and Secrecy:
Smith describes hiding his meth addiction by covering track marks and making excuses for odd behavior. John, meanwhile, is depicted as loving but in denial, believing Smith’s issues are simply “depression”.“I’m addicted to crystal meth, but shh. It’s a secret.” – Smith Galtney [03:28]
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Tension on Pleasant Mountain:
A simple hike becomes a metaphor for their relationship’s struggle: Smith’s physical inability to climb due to addiction, John’s emotional isolation.“You said this was going to be a Pleasant Mountain hike.”
“Pleasant is the name of the mountain. We're hiking on Pleasant Mountain.” – Smith & John [03:41] -
Addiction Escalation:
Smith details disappearing for days, ending up in an orgy led by a local psychic, his bulldog gnawing a dildo, and getting arrested after a breakdown.“I leashed my dog to a dining room table... when I come to, I gotta find my dog... there’s my sweet puppy, gnawing away at a dildo.” – Smith [08:52]
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Hitting Rock Bottom & Rehab:
Smith is arrested, enters rehab, and describes the relief and absurd comfort of a luxury facility, juxtaposed with the reality of addiction recovery.“I’m not gonna lie... I went to a really nice rehab in Arizona in the desert. There was a swimming pool. We got acupuncture. It was great for my old needle thing.” – Smith [13:14]
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Relationship Repair Through Transparency and Small Steps:
After relapsing post-rehab, Smith finally owns his behavior. John, instead of leaving, encourages him to truly try. Smith describes starting to make coffee, waffles, and take up photography as small, meaningful actions.“Hitting rock bottom is a weird place because you’ve totally fucked your entire life up, but the bar is so low that the smallest amount of effort radiates through your entire world.” – Smith [16:14]
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Climbing Pleasant Mountain Again – A Turning Point:
Two years later, sober and stronger, Smith and John climb Pleasant Mountain together.“Is this the point where I ask to turn back?”
“We are so past that point. That was so long ago.” – Smith & John [19:28]
Notable Quote & Moment
- Proposal on the Summit:
“He looked at me and said, ‘So I was wondering if you wanted to get married.’ ...I grabbed my camera, held it out, and snapped the picture, and in it, we’re both smiling. You almost can’t tell us apart. And you certainly can’t tell who pulls who up the mountain.” – Smith [20:47]
2. "Healing Tits" by Reba Sparrow
Time: 24:30–39:09
Context
Reba, storyteller and former co-host of Portland’s Mystery Box Show, recounts discovering healing in her body image and sexuality through sharing a partner’s “mommy” kink, directly confronting her trauma and insecurities around motherhood and her breasts.
Major Discussion Points
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Sexual Trust and Openness:
Reba sets the stage, describing a sex-positive early relationship with Michael filled with trust and willingness to explore fantasies.“We’d only been together for about four months, but we had developed a very quick sexual trust... so when he said, ‘I have a request,’ I was like, bring it on.” – Reba [24:36]
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Triggering Fantasy:
Michael expresses he wants to “suck on your tits and call you mommy while I get myself off,” triggering Reba’s deepest insecurities rooted in failed breastfeeding.“Now, being the very open person that I am, this wasn’t that big of a request. But coming from my background, he couldn’t have said more terrifying words.” – Reba [26:14]
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Backstory – Breastfeeding Trauma:
She flashes back to postpartum pain: family teasing about her chest, struggles breastfeeding, the shame of using a nipple shield, a sense of bodily failure, and subsequent postpartum depression.“The nurse knows my tits are inadequate... before, their purpose and function was to be voluptuous and sexy and attractive. They failed. So now they have the opportunity to redeem themselves in motherhood. And I was like, oh my god, I fail already.” – Reba [29:01]
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The Moment of Challenge:
Despite her panic, she chooses to fulfill her partner’s fantasy, robotically re-enacting the nursing pose from her traumatic past.“Hush, baby. It's time to eat. And I formed my hand into the letter C and I cupped the breast, exposed, started massaging, attached man child.” – Reba [34:14]
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Breakthrough and Healing:
As Michael’s pleasure grows, Reba feels empowered, laughs as he says, "Mmm, mommy. Tastes like cantaloupe," and experiences both sexual and emotional catharsis.“Just seeing him take pleasure in me was hot... I felt like really sexy. And then I felt a completely hands free orgasm.” – Reba [37:04]
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Lasting Change:
Reba closes with a reflection on how that experience lifted years of resentment about her body and capacity as a mother.“All that resentment I had for those women, for eight years, gone. …for me, taking something negative and deriving pleasure out of it really helped with that healing process.” – Reba [38:30]
Notable Quote & Moment
- Release Through Laughter:
“He pulls away and looks up and says, ‘Mmm, mommy. Tastes like cantaloupe.’ …which is a super weird thing to hear while you’re having sex. So I laughed. I couldn’t help it. …and that helped me relax even more.” – Reba [36:35]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On hitting rock bottom and recovery:
“Coming home from rehab is really weird... everything’s exactly the same and you just immediately slump. …I didn’t do half the things I pledged I was going to do in my exit interview. And wouldn’t you know, I used…” – Smith Galtney [14:36]
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On support in recovery:
“Instead he just was like, ‘You haven't been trying, you haven't been doing anything. …You can do this. You just have to work at it.’ So I listened to him. For once I actually heard everything he said." – Smith Galtney [15:29]
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On small effort after hitting bottom:
“If you get up before 10 o’clock, like, everybody is like [uproarious reaction]. If you take a shower, everyone’s like, ‘I’m showering!’…If you say you’re going to go outside, everybody just flips the fuck out.” – Smith Galtney [16:40]
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On healing and gratitude:
“I looked at him and I was like, ‘You know, we have a great life. Do you know that?’ And he was like, ‘That’s the best gift you could have ever given me this year. Just gratitude.’” – Smith Galtney [18:26]
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On transforming trauma through intimacy:
“Taking something negative and deriving pleasure out of it really helped with that healing process. So now I am the very first person to ask my partner if they’ll suck on my tits and maybe call me mommy.” – Reba Sparrow [38:38]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- Pleasant Mountain — Smith Galtney’s story: 03:21–22:04
- Pivotal proposal on the summit: 20:45–22:04
- Healing Tits — Reba Sparrow’s story: 24:30–39:09
- Resolution and transformation: 38:30
- Host’s close and next episode pitch: 39:10
Tone and Language
- Candid, humorous, intimate: Both stories are told with self-deprecating humor and searing honesty about shame, addiction, sexuality, and healing.
- Empowering and redemptive: Despite dark subject matter, both storytellers end in a place of love, gratitude, and hope.
Summary:
Episode #4 in "The Best of Love Stories" series is not about love at its sweetest, but about real, messy, embodied, and sometimes risqué love. Through Smith’s journey out of addiction and back to partnership, and Reba’s sexual healing from maternal trauma, listeners are invited to reflect on how vulnerability and trust can transform even our darkest experiences into connection and self-acceptance.