A thousand Boy Kisses

late to travel anywhere.
“I want to go,” I said with unwavering certainty, gripping onto Rune’s waist. I
wanted him to know I wanted this. I glanced up at him; he met my eyes.
Smiling, I said, “I’m with you.”
Rune, surprising me, but at the same time not surprising me at all, kissed me.
Kissed me hard and quick right in front of my family. Rune broke free from me
and moved next to my aunt. Beside DeeDee there was a suitcase. Without
another word, he took the suitcase to the car.
My heart was beating a staccato rhythm of excitement.
Daddy squeezed my hand. His touch brought me back to his worry, his fear.
“Poppy,” he said sternly.
Before he could say any more, I leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek. I
looked him in the eye. “Daddy, I understand the risks. I’ve been fighting this a
long time. I know you’re worried. I know you don’t want me to be hurt. But
staying trapped in my room like a caged bird for one more day … that is what
will hurt me. I’ve never been one to stay inside. I want this, Daddy. I need this.”
I shook my head, feeling a sheer sheen of water fill my eyes. “I can’t spend

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whatever time I have left locked away for fear it’ll make me worse. I need to live
… I need this adventure.”
He sucked in a stuttering breath. But, eventually, he nodded his head. A light
dizziness flooded through me. I was going!
Jumping on the spot, I wrapped my arms around my daddy’s neck. He hugged
me back.
I kissed my mama then looked to my aunt. She had her hand held out. I took
hold of it, just as my daddy said, “I’m trusting you to look after her, DeeDee.”
My aunt sighed. “You know this girl is my heart, James. You think I’d let
anything happen to her?”
“And they stay in separate rooms!”
I simply rolled my eyes at that.
My daddy began talking to my aunt. But I didn’t hear it. I didn’t hear anything
as my gaze went through the open door, and down to the boy dressed all in black
who was leaning against the railing of our porch. The boy in a leather jacket who
was casually bringing a cigarette to his mouth, all the time watching me. His
crystal-blue eyes not once straying from mine.
Rune blew out a cloud of smoke. Casually tossing the butt to the ground, he
flicked his chin and held out his hand.
Releasing Aunt DeeDee’s hand, I closed my eyes for a brief moment,
committing to memory how he looked, right at this moment.
My Norwegian bad boy.
My heart.
Opening my eyes, I rushed through the door. Reaching the top step, I then
jumped into Rune’s open arms. He enveloped me in his embrace. I giggled,
feeling the breeze on my face. Holding me tightly, my feet still off the ground,
Rune asked, “You ready for that adventure, Poppymin?”
“Yes,” I replied breathlessly.
Rune pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes. “I love you,” he
whispered after a long pause.

---

“I love you too,” I said, just as quietly.
I was rewarded with a rare smile.
He carefully lowered me to the ground, took my hand and asked again, “You
ready?”
I nodded, then turned to my parents, who were standing on the porch. I waved
goodbye.
“Come on, kids,” said DeeDee. “We got a flight to catch.”
Rune led me to the car, holding my hand as always. As we settled in the
backseat, I looked out the window as we pulled away. I stared up at the clouds,
knowing that soon I’d be soaring above them.
On an adventure.
An adventure with my Rune.
* * *
“New York,” I said breathlessly, reading the screen at our gate.
Rune smirked. “We always planned to go. It’ll just be briefer than we’d always
thought.”
Completely speechless, I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my
head on his chest. Aunt DeeDee returned from speaking to the woman at the
desk.
“Come on, you two,” she said, waving her hand toward the entrance to the
plane. “Let’s get you onboard.”
We followed DeeDee. My mouth fell open when she showed us to the two
front seats in first class. I looked at her and she shrugged. “What’s the point of
being in charge of the first-class cabin if I can’t use the perks to spoil my
favorite niece?”
I hugged DeeDee. She held on a little longer than normal. “Go on, now,” she
said and shooed me to my seat. Aunt DeeDee quickly disappeared behind the
curtain of the attendants’ section. I stood, watching her go. Rune took my hand.

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“She’ll be okay,” he soothed, then pointed to the window seat. “For you,” he
added. Unable to stop the excited giggle leaping from my throat, I sat down and
stared out of the window at the people working on the ground below.
I watched them until the plane was fully boarded and we began to roll away.
Sighing happily, I turned to Rune, who was watching me. Wrapping his fingers
in mine, I said, “Thank you.”
“I wanted you to see New York.” He shrugged. “I wanted to see it with you.”
Rune leaned in to kiss me. I stopped his lips with my fingers. “Kiss me at
thirty-nine thousand feet. Kiss me in the sky. Kiss me amongst the clouds.”
Rune’s minty breath ghosted over my face. Then he silently sat back. I laughed
as the plane suddenly gained speed and we soared into the air.
When the plane leveled off, I suddenly found my lips being brought flush to
Rune’s. His hands clasped my head as he took my mouth with his own. Needing
something to keep me grounded, I gripped onto his shirt. I sighed against his
mouth as his tongue dueled softly against mine.
When he pulled back, his chest heaving and skin warm, I whispered, “Kiss
eight hundred and eight. At thirty-nine thousand feet. With my Rune … my heart
almost burst.”
By the end of the flight I had lots of new kisses to add to my jar.
* * *
“This is for us?” I asked incredulously. I stared at the penthouse of the
ridiculously expensive hotel in Manhattan my aunt had brought us to.
I looked up at Rune and I could tell, even through his ever-neutral expression,
that he too was floored.
Aunt DeeDee stopped beside me. “Poppy, your mama doesn’t know this yet.
But well, I’ve been dating someone for a while now.” A loving smile spread on
her lips and she continued. “Let’s just say this room was his gift to you both.”
I stared up at her in amazement. But then a warmth filled me. I had always

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worried about Aunt DeeDee. She was on her own often. I could see in her face
how happy this man had made her.
“He paid for this? For us? For me?” I asked.
DeeDee paused, then explained, “Technically, he doesn’t really have to pay for
it. He owns the joint.”
My mouth, if possible, dropped further, until Rune playfully shut it with his
finger under my chin. I stared at my boyfriend. “You knew?”
He shrugged. “She helped me plan all this.”
“So you knew?” I repeated. Rune shook his head at me, then carried our cases
into the master bedroom to the right. He was clearly ignoring my daddy’s
instruction of separate rooms.
As Rune disappeared through the doorway, my aunt said, “That boy would
walk on broken glass for you, Pops.”
My heart filled with light. “I know,” I whispered. But that slight edge of fear I
had begun to feel seeped into me.
Aunt DeeDee’s arm slipped around me. As I squeezed her back, I said, “Thank
you.”
She kissed my head. “I didn’t do anything, Pops. It was all Rune.” She paused.
“I don’t think, in all my life, that I’ve ever seen two kids love each other so hard
so young, and even harder as teens.”
Aunt DeeDee pulled me back to meet my eyes. “Cherish this time with him,
Pops. That boy, he loves you. You’d have to be blind to not see it.”
“I will,” I whispered.
DeeDee moved to the door. “We’re here for two nights. I’ll be with Tristan in
his suite. Call my cell if you need anything. I’ll only be minutes away.”
“Okay,” I replied.
Turning, I drank in the splendor of the room. Its ceilings were so high that I
had to bend my head back just to see the pattern in the white plaster. The room
was so big that it would dwarf most people’s houses. I walked to the window
and beheld a panoramic view of all of New York.

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And I breathed.
I breathed as my gaze fell upon the familiar sights that I had only ever seen in
pictures or on film: the Empire State Building, Central Park, the Statue of
Liberty, the Flatiron Building, Freedom Tower…
There was so much to see that my heart raced in anticipation. This was where I
was meant to have lived my life. I would have been at home here. Blossom
Grove would have been my roots; New York would have been my wings.
And Rune Kristiansen would forever have been my love. By my side through it
all.
Noticing a door to my left, I walked over and pushed down the handle. I gasped
as a cold breeze hit me, then I truly let myself take in the sight.
A garden.
An outdoor terrace with winter flowers, benches and, better still, the view.
Zipping up my coat to keep warm, I stepped out into the coldness. Flurries of
light snowflakes settled on my hair. Needing to feel them on my face, I tipped
my head back. Cold flakes landed on my eyelashes, tickling my eyes.
I laughed as my face grew damp. Then I walked forward, running my hands
over the glistening evergreens until I was standing at the wall that offered a
panorama of Manhattan on a plate.
I breathed in, letting the cold air fill my bones. Suddenly, warm arms were
around my waist and Rune’s chin rested on my shoulder. “You like it, baby?”
Rune asked softly. His voice was barely above a whisper so as not to intrude into
our little haven of tranquility.
I shook my head in disbelief and turned back slightly until I faced him. “I can’t
believe you’ve done all this,” I replied. “I can’t believe you’ve given me this.” I
pointed to the sprawling city below. “You’ve given me New York.”
Rune kissed my cheek. “It’s late, and we have lots to do tomorrow. I want to
make sure you’re rested enough to see everything I have planned.”
A thought sprang into my mind. “Rune?”
“Ja?”

---

“Can I take you somewhere tomorrow too?”
He frowned, creasing his forehead. “Of course,” he agreed. I could see him
searching my eyes, trying to discover what I was up to. But he didn’t question
me. And I was happy about that. He’d refuse if he knew ahead of time.
“Good,” I said proudly and smiled to myself. Yes, he had given me this trip.
Yes, he had things planned. But I wanted to show him something, to remind him
of his dreams. Dreams he could still achieve even after I was gone.
“You need to sleep, Poppymin,” Rune said and lowered his mouth to kiss my
neck.
I threaded my hand through his. “With you beside me in bed.”
I felt him nod against my neck, before kissing it one more time. “I’ve run you a
bath and I’ve ordered food. You bathe, then we’ll eat, then we’ll sleep.”
I turned in his arms and lifted onto my tiptoes to place my hands on his cheeks.
They were cold. “I love you, Rune,” I said softly. I said it often. And I always
felt it with my whole heart. I wanted him to know, at all times, how much I
adored him.
Rune sighed, and kissed me slowly. “I love you too, Poppymin,” he said
against my lips, barely breaking away.
Then he led me inside where I bathed. We ate. And then we slept.
I lay in his arms in the center of a huge four-poster bed. With his warm breath
drifting across my face. His bright blue eyes watching my every move.
I fell asleep, cradled in his embrace, with a smile both in my heart and on my
lips.

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