A thousand Boy Kisses

Was it…? Would he…?
No, I tried to convince myself, firmly. It couldn’t have been Rune. There was
no way he would have come to this.
He hated me.
The memory of his cold blue stare in the school hallway confirmed my
thoughts—I was simply wishing for things that couldn’t possibly be real.
With a final bow, I walked off the stage. I listened to the three remaining
performers, then left through the backstage door, only to find my family and
Rune’s family waiting for me.
My thirteen-year-old sister, Savannah, was the first to see me. “Pops!” she
shouted and ran to me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Hey y’all,” I replied and squeezed her in return. The next second, Ida, now
eleven, was hugging me too. I squeezed them back as tightly as I could. When
they drew back, their eyes were shining. I playfully tilted my head. “Hey now,
no crying, remember?”
Savannah laughed and Ida nodded her head. They released me. My mama and

---

daddy both took their turn in telling me how proud they were.
Finally, I turned to Mr. and Mrs. Kristiansen. A sudden wave of nerves crashed
through me. This would be the first time I had spoken to them since they had
returned from Oslo.
“Poppy,” Mrs. Kristiansen said softly and held out her arms. I walked to the
woman who had been a second mother to me and fell into her embrace. She held
me close and kissed my head. “I’ve missed you, darling,” she said, her accent
sounding stronger than I remembered.
My mind drifted to Rune. I wondered if his accent was stronger too.
As Mrs. Kristiansen let me go, I chased this idle thought away. Mr. Kristiansen
hugged me next. When I pulled away, I saw little Alton gripping tightly onto Mr.
Kristiansen’s legs. I bent down. Alton ducked his head down shyly, glimpsing
up at me through the thick strands of his long hair.
“Hey, baby,” I said, tickling his side. “Do you remember me?”
Alton stared at me for the longest time, before shaking his head.
I laughed. “You lived right next door to me. Sometimes you would come to the
park with me and Rune or, if it was a good day, to the blossom grove!”
I had spoken Rune’s name without conscious thought, but it reminded myself
and everyone around me that Rune and I had once been inseparable. A silence
descended on the group.
Feeling an ache in my chest, the kind I got when I fiercely missed my mamaw,
I stood up and glanced away from the sympathetic stares. I was about to change
the subject, when something pulled on the bottom of my dress.
When I looked down, Alton’s big blue eyes were fixed on my face. I ran my
hand over his soft hair. “Hey Alton, you okay?”
Alton’s cheeks flushed, but he asked in his sweet voice, “You are friends with
Rune?”
That same ache from a moment ago flared, and I cast a panicked look around
our families. Rune’s mamma winced. I didn’t know what to say. Alton pulled on
my dress again, waiting for an answer.

---

Sighing, I kneeled down and said sadly, “He was my very best friend in the
whole wide world.” I pressed my hand over my chest. “And I loved him with my
whole heart, every single inch of it.” Leaning in closer, I whispered through a
thick throat, “And I always will.”
My stomach flipped. Those words were the very truth from my soul, and no
matter how Rune and I were now, I would forever hold him in my heart.
“Rune …” Alton suddenly spoke up. “Rune … spoke to you?”
I laughed. “Of course, sweetie. He spoke to me all the time. All of his secrets.
We talked about everything.”
Alton looked back at his daddy and his little eyebrows drew together, etching a
scowl on his cute face. “He spoke to Poppy, Pappa?”
Rune’s pappa nodded his head. “He did, Alton. Poppy was his best friend. He
loved her completely.”
Alton’s eyes became impossibly wide and he turned back to me. His bottom lip
trembled.
“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, rubbing his arm.
Alton sniffed. “Rune doesn’t talk to me.” My heart sank. Because Rune adored
Alton; he had always looked after him, played with him. Alton adored Rune. He
admired his big brother so much.
“He ignores me,” Alton said, his cracked voice breaking my heart. Alton
watched me. He watched me with an intensity that I’d only ever experienced
from one other person—the older brother who ignored him. He placed his hand
on my arm and asked, “Can you speak to him? Can you ask him to speak to me?
If you’re his best friend, then he’ll listen to you.”
My heart fell to pieces. I looked over Alton’s head at his mamma and pappa,
then at mine. They all appeared hurt by Alton’s stark revelation.
When I turned to Alton again, he was still staring, willing me to help. “I would,
sweetie,” I said softly, “but he doesn’t speak to me now either.”
I could see Alton’s hope deflate like a balloon. I kissed his head, then he ran
back to his mamma. Clearly seeing I was hurting, my daddy quickly changed the

---

subject. He turned to Mr. Kristiansen and invited the Kristiansen family for
drinks at our house tomorrow night. I stepped away from them all, drawing in a
deep breath as my eyes stared blankly across the parking lot.
The sound of a car engine revving snapped me from my trance. I turned in that
direction. I lost all the breath in my lungs when, in the distance, I saw a long-
haired blond boy jump into the front seat of a black Camaro.
A black Camaro that belonged to Deacon Jacobs, Rune’s best friend.
* * *
I looked in the mirror and admired my outfit. My sky-blue skater dress hung to
mid thigh, my bobbed brown hair was pulled up at the side with a white bow,
and I wore black ballet flats on my feet.
Reaching for my jewelry box, I pulled out my favorite silver earrings and
slipped them into my lobes. They were infinity signs. Rune had given them to
me for my fourteenth birthday.
I wore them at every opportunity.
Grabbing my cropped denim jacket, I hurried out of my bedroom and out into
the cool night. Jorie had texted me that she was outside. As I climbed into the
front seat of her mama’s truck, I turned to face my best friend. She was smiling
at me.
“Poppy, you look so freakin’ cute,” she remarked. I ran my hands down my
dress, smoothing out the skirt.
“Is it okay?” I asked, worried. “I didn’t really know what to wear.”
Jorie batted her hand in front of her face as she pulled out of the driveway. “It’s
fine.”
I checked out what she was wearing. Jorie was dressed in a black sleeveless
dress and biker boots. She was definitely edgier than me, but I was thankful that
our outfits were not poles apart.
“So,” she began, as we left my street, “how was the recital?”

---

“Good,” I said evasively.
Jorie glanced at me cautiously. “And how are you feeling?”
I rolled my eyes. “Jorie, I’m good. Please, just let me be. You’re as bad as my
mama.”
Jorie, seemingly stuck for words for once, stuck out her tongue. And just like
that, she made me laugh again.
For the remainder of the ride, Jorie filled me in on the gossip that had circled
the school about why I’d been gone. I smiled in all the right places and nodded
my head at the parts she expected me to, but I wasn’t really interested. I never
much cared for all the drama that happened at school.
I heard the party before I saw it. Shouting and loud music blasted out of
Deacon’s house and down the street. His parents were on a short vacation, and in
the small town of Blossom Grove that meant one thing: house party.
As we parked near the house, we could see kids spilling out onto the front yard.
I swallowed back my nerves. I stayed close behind Jorie as we crossed the street.
Gripping onto her arm, I asked, “Are house parties always this crazy?”
Jorie laughed. “Yeah.” She linked my arm with hers and pulled me forward.
When we entered the house, I flinched at how loud the music was. As we
pushed our way through the rooms to the kitchen, drunken students staggered by,
forcing me to grip onto Jorie until I was convinced I’d be causing her physical
pain.
Jorie glanced back at me and laughed. When at last we reached the kitchen, I
immediately relaxed on seeing Ruby standing with Deacon. The kitchen was
much quieter than the rooms we had struggled through.
“Poppy!” Ruby declared and crossed the kitchen to pull me into her arms. “Do
you want a drink?”
“Just a soda,” I replied; Ruby frowned.
“Poppy!” she admonished. “You need a real drink.”
I laughed at her horrified expression. “Ruby, thanks, but I’ll stick to soda.”
“Boo!” Ruby cried, but threw her arm around my neck and led me to the

---

drinks.
“Pops,” Deacon greeted, as a text came through on his cell.
“Hey, Deek,” I replied and took the diet soda Ruby had poured me. Ruby and
Jorie led me to the backyard, to the fire pit blazing in the center of the lawn.
Surprisingly not many people were out here, which suited me just fine.
It wasn’t long before Deacon pulled Ruby back to the party inside, leaving me
alone with Jorie. I was staring into the flames, when Jorie said, “I’m sorry about
putting my big ole’ foot in my mouth yesterday about Rune. It hurt you, I saw it.
Lordy! I just don’t always think before I open my big trap! My daddy’s
threatening to have it wired shut!” Jorie pushed her hands over her mouth in a
mock struggle. “I can’t, Pops! This mouth, uncontrollable as it is, is all I’ve got!”
Laughing, I shook my head. “It’s alright, Jor. I knew you didn’t mean it. You’d
never hurt me.”
Jorie dropped her hands from her mouth, her head tipped to the side. “Seriously
though, Pops. What do you think of Rune? You know, since he’s been back?”
Jorie was watching me curiously. I shrugged. Jorie rolled her eyes. “You’re
telling me you have no opinion about how the great love of your life looks, now
he’s older and, in my opinion, beyond smokin’ hot!”
My stomach churned and I played with the plastic Solo cup in my hands.
Shrugging, I replied, “He’s just as handsome as he ever was.”
Jorie smirked behind her cup as she took a drink, then she grimaced when we
heard the voice of Avery drifting out from inside the house. Jorie lowered her
cup. “Ugh, looks like the whore’s in the house.”
I smiled at the level of disgust on Jorie’s face. “Is she really that bad?” I asked.
“Is she actually a whore?”
Jorie sighed. “Not really, I just hate how she flirts with all the guys.”
Ah, I thought, knowing exactly who she was referring to. “Anyone in