A thousand Boy Kisses

She loves me…
Poppy waited silently. Not knowing how to respond in any other way, I ran the
tip of my nose down her cheek, pulling back just a fraction to gaze into her eyes.
“Jeg elsker deg.”
Poppy swallowed, then smiled.
I smiled back. “I love you,” I translated into English, just to make sure she
completely understood.
Her face grew serious once more, and she moved to sit up in the middle of the
bed. Reaching for my hand, she pulled me to sit opposite her. Her hands dropped
to the bottom of my shirt.
Taking in a stuttering breath, she pulled it up and over my head. I closed my
eyes, and felt a warm kiss on my chest. I opened my eyes again to see Poppy
giving me a shy smile. I melted at the nervous look on her face.
She’d never looked so beautiful.
Trying to fight through my own nerves, I put my hand on her cheek. “We don’t
have to do this, Poppy. Just because I’m leaving—you don’t need to do this for
me. I’ll be coming back; I’ll make sure of it. I want to wait until you’re ready.”
“I’m ready, Rune,” she said, her voice clear and steady.
“You think we’re too young—”
“We’ll be sixteen soon.”
I smiled, hearing the fire in her voice. “Most people still think that’s too
young.”
“Romeo and Juliet were around our age,” she argued. I couldn’t help but laugh.
I stopped laughing when she edged closer and ran her hand down my chest.
“Rune,” she whispered, “I’ve been ready for some time, but I was happy to wait
because we had all the time in the world. There was no rush. Now we don’t have
that luxury. Our time, this time, is limited. We only have hours left. I love you. I
love you more than anyone could believe. And … and I think you feel the same

---

way about me.”
“Ja,” I replied instantly. “I love you.”
“Forever always,” Poppy said on a sigh, then shifted away from me. Without
breaking her eyes from mine, she lifted her hand to the strap of her nightdress
and pushed it down. She did the same to the other strap, and the nightgown fell
away to her hips.
I froze. I couldn’t move as Poppy sat in front of me, bared to me. “Poppymin,”
I breathed, convinced I didn’t deserve this girl … this moment.
I moved closer, until I towered right above her. I searched her eyes and asked,
“Are you sure, Poppymin?”
Poppy threaded her hand through mine, then brought our hands to her bare
skin. “Yes, Rune. I’m sure. I want this.”
I couldn’t hold back any longer, so I let go, and kissed her lips. We only had
hours. I was going to spend them being with my girl, in every possible way.
Poppy moved her hand from mine and explored my chest with her fingers,
never breaking from our kiss. I ran my fingers over her back, pushing her closer
to me. She shivered under my touch. I dropped my hand to the hem of her dress
at her thigh. My hand traveled upward, until I worried I was going too far.
Poppy broke away and rested her forehead on my shoulder. “Keep going,” she
instructed, breathlessly. I did as she asked, swallowing the nerves building in my
throat.
“Rune,” she murmured.
I closed my eyes at the sound of her sweet voice. I loved her so damn much.
Because of that I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to be responsible for
pushing her too far. I wanted her to feel special. I wanted her to understand that
she was my world.
We stayed like this for a minute, locked in the moment, breathing, waiting for
whatever came next.
Then Poppy’s hands drifted to the button on my jeans and I opened my eyes.
She was studying me closely. “Is this … is this okay?” she asked cautiously. I

---

nodded, speechless. Taking her free hand, she guided me to undress her, until all
our clothes had been shed onto the floor.
Poppy sat quietly before me, her hands fidgeting on her lap. Her long brown
hair was flowing over one of her shoulders, and her cheeks were flushed with
red.
I’d never seen her so nervous.
I’d never been so nervous.
Reaching out my hand, I ran my finger down her hot cheek. At my touch,
Poppy’s eyes fluttered up, a shy smile pulling on her lips.
“I love you, Poppymin,” I whispered.
A soft sigh escaped her mouth. “I love you too, Rune.”
Poppy’s fingers wrapped around my wrist and she carefully lay back on the
bed, guiding me forward until I was beside her, my torso moving to cover hers.
Leaning in, I peppered soft kisses over her flushed cheeks and forehead, ending
in a long kiss on her warm mouth. Poppy’s shaking hand pushed into my hair
and pulled me closer.
It felt like only seconds later when Poppy shifted beneath me, breaking the
kiss. She placed her palm on my cheek and said, “I’m ready.”
Nuzzling my face into her hand, I kissed the fingers resting on my cheek and
absorbed her words. Poppy leaned over to the side and took something from the
drawer of her nightstand. When she handed me the small packet she’d retrieved,
I fought back a sudden rush of nerves.
I stared at Poppy and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “I knew this day
would come soon, Rune. I wanted to make sure we were prepared.”
I kissed my girl until I built up the nerve to do this. It didn’t take long, with
Poppy’s touch calming the storm inside, until I knew I was ready.
Poppy opened her arms, guiding me above her. My mouth fused with hers, and
for the longest time, I simply kissed her. I tasted the cherry lip balm on her lips,
loving the feeling of her warm bare skin pressing against mine.
I pulled back for air. I met Poppy’s gaze and she nodded her head. I could see

---

on her face how much she wanted me, as I wanted her. I kept my eyes locked on
hers, and I did not break away once.
Not for a single second…
Afterward, I held her in my arms. We faced each other as we lay under the
covers. Poppy’s skin was warm to the touch and her breathing was slowing back
to its normal rhythm. Our fingers were linked on the pillow we now shared, our
grips tight, hands slightly trembling.
Neither of us had spoken yet. As I studied Poppy watching every move I made,
I prayed that she didn’t regret what we’d done.
I watched her swallow deeply and she drew in a slow breath. When she
exhaled, she dipped her eyes to our clasped hands. As slowly as possible, she ran
her lips over our entwined fingers.
I stilled.
“Poppymin,” I said, and her eyes lifted up. A long strand of her hair had fallen
over her cheek and I gently pushed it back, tucking it behind her ear. She still
hadn’t said anything. Needing her to know what we’d shared had meant to me, I
whispered, “I love you so much. What we just did … being with you like that…”
I trailed off, unsure how to express what I wanted to say.
She didn’t respond, and my stomach rolled, fearing I’d done something wrong.
As my eyes closed in frustration, I felt Poppy’s forehead against mine and her
lips whisper kisses onto my mouth. I shifted until we were as close as we could
possibly get.
“I’ll remember this night for the rest of my life,” she confided, and the fear I
felt was pushed far from my mind.
I blinked my eyes open and tightened my hold around her waist. “Was it …
was it special for you, Poppymin? As special as it was for me?”
Poppy smiled a smile so wide that the sight stole my breath. “As special as
special can be,” she softly replied, echoing the words she’d said to me when we
were eight years old and I kissed her for the first time. Unable to do anything

---

else, I kissed her with everything I had, pouring out all of my love into the kiss.
When we broke apart, Poppy squeezed my hand, and tears built in her eyes.
“Kiss three hundred and fifty-five, with my Rune, in my bedroom … after we
made love for the first time.” Taking my hand, she laid it on her chest, directly
over her heart. I could feel its heavy beats under my palm. I smiled. I knew her
tears were tears of happiness, not sadness.
“It was so special that my heart almost burst,” she added with a smile.
“Poppy,” I whispered, feeling my chest tighten.
Poppy’s smile fell, and I watched as her tears began falling to her pillow. “I
don’t want you to leave me,” she said brokenly.
I couldn’t stand the pain in her voice. Or the fact that these tears were now sad
ones. “I don’t want to go,” I replied, honestly.
We didn’t say anything else. Because there was nothing more to say. I combed
Poppy’s hair through my fingers, while she ran her fingertips up and down my
chest. It wasn’t long before Poppy’s breathing had evened out and her hand had
stilled on my skin.
The rhythm of her steady breathing lulled my eyes to a close. I tried to stay
awake as long as possible, to savor the time I had left. But before long, I drifted
to sleep, a bittersweet mixture of happiness and sadness flowing through my
veins.
It seemed like I had only just closed my eyes when I felt the rising sun’s
warmth kissing my face. I blinked until I opened my eyes, seeing a new day
breaking through Poppy’s window.
The day I was leaving.
My gut clenched when I saw the time. I was leaving in an hour.
When I glanced at Poppy, sleeping over my chest, I thought she’d never looked
more beautiful. Her skin was flushed from the heat of our bodies, and I smiled
on seeing our hands still joined on my stomach.
Suddenly nerves flooded through me when I thought of the night before.
She looked so contented as she slept. My biggest fear was that she would wake

---

and regret what we’d done. I wanted her, so badly, to love what we had done as
much as I did. I wanted the image of us together to be as ingrained in her
memory as it would be in mine.
As if feeling my heavy stare, Poppy slowly opened her eyes. I watched as the
recollection of the night before flashed across her face. Her eyes widened as she
took in our bodies, our hands. My heart skipped a beat in trepidation, but then a
beautiful slow smile spread across her face. Seeing this, I shifted closer to her.
Poppy buried her head in my neck as I wrapped her in my arms. I held her close
for as long as I possibly could.
When I finally lifted my head and checked the clock again, the anger from
yesterday came crashing back.
“Poppymin,” I whispered, hearing the strained anger in my graveled voice. “I
… I have to go.”
Poppy stiffened in my arms. When she shifted back, her cheeks were wet. “I
know.”
I felt tears hitting my cheeks too. Poppy gently wiped them away. I caught her
hand and laid a single kiss on the center of her palm. I stayed for a couple more
minutes, drinking in every inch of Poppy’s face, before forcing myself to leave
the bed and get dressed. Without looking back, I slid through the window and
ran across the grass, feeling my heart tear with every single step.
I climbed through my window. My bedroom door had been unlocked from the
outside. My pappa stood near the bed. For a brief moment my stomach turned at
the fact that I’d been caught. But then the fury flared within me and I lifted my
chin, daring to him to say something, anything.
I welcomed a fight.
I wouldn’t let him shame me for spending the night with the girl I loved. The
one he was ripping me away from.
He turned and walked away without saying a word.
Thirty minutes passed in a flash. I cast a glance over my room, one last time.
Lifting my backpack, I swung it over my shoulder and walked outside, my

---

camera hanging around my neck.
Mr. and Mrs. Litchfield were already on our driveway, standing with Ida and
Savannah, hugging my parents with their goodbyes. Seeing me walk out the
door, they met me at the bottom of the steps and hugged me goodbye too.
Ida and Savannah ran to me and threw themselves around my waist. I ruffled
the hair on their heads. When they stepped aside, I heard a door being opened. I
lifted my eyes and saw Poppy running. She had wet hair, clearly having just
showered, but she looked more beautiful than ever before as she sprinted to
where we all stood, only me in her sights.
When she arrived on our driveway, she stopped briefly to hug my parents and
kiss Alton goodbye. Then she turned to face me. My parents got into the car and
Poppy’s parents and sisters moved back toward their house, giving us some
space. I wasted no time holding out my arms, and Poppy ran into my chest. I
squeezed her tight, inhaling the sweet scent from her hair.
I put my finger under her chin and tilted her head up, and then I kissed her for
the final time. I kissed her with as much love as I could find inside my heart.
When I broke away, Poppy spoke through streaming tears. “Kiss number three
hundred and fifty-six. With my Rune on his driveway … when he left me.”
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t stand the pain she was in—that I was in too.
“Son?” I looked over Poppy’s shoulder at my pappa. “We have to go,” he said
apologetically.
Poppy’s hands tightened on my shirt. Her big green eyes were shining with
tears, and it seemed like she was trying to memorize every part of my face.
Finally releasing my hold on her, I raised my camera and pressed the button.
I captured this rare moment: the exact moment when someone’s heart broke.
I walked to the car, my feet feeling like ton weights. As I climbed in the
backseat, I didn’t even try to stop my tears. I watched Poppy standing to the side
of our car, her damp hair blowing in the breeze, watching me leave, waving
goodbye.
My pappa started the engine. I opened my window. I held out my hand and

---

Poppy took hold of it. As I gazed into her face one last time, she said, “I’ll see
you in your dreams.”
“I’ll see you in my dreams,” I whispered back and reluctantly let go of her
hand as my pappa drove the car away. I stared back at Poppy through the rear
window, watching her wave, until she was out of sight.
I held on to the memory of that wave goodbye.
I vowed to hold onto it until that wave welcomed me home again.
Until it once again stood for ‘hello’.

---