I think she was right, though. Because my mamaw wasn’t that old, and she was going away young—at least that’s what Daddy said. Maybe that’s why she liked the cherry blossom so much. Because she was exactly the same.
“Poppymin?”
Rune’s voice made me look up.
“Am I right? Was kissing your pawpaw your mamaw’s favorite of memories?”
“Yes,” I answered, dropping the petal, “allof the kisses she got that made her heart almost burst. Mamaw said that his kisses were the bestest thing in the world. Because they meant he loved her so. That he cared for her. And he liked her forexactlywho she was.”
Rune glared down at the jar and huffed. “I still don’t understand,Poppymin.”
I laughed as his lips stuck out and his face screwed up. He had pretty lips; they were really thick with a perfect cupid’s bow. I opened the jar and pulled out a blank pink paper heart. I held it up in the air between me and Rune. “This is an empty kiss.” I pointed to the jar. “Mamaw gave me a thousand to collect in my life.” I put the heart back in the jar and took his hand. “A new adventure, Rune. To collect a thousand boy-kisses before I die, from my soulmate.”
“I … what … Poppy? I’m confused!” he said, but I could hear the anger in his voice. Rune could be real moody when he wanted to be.
I lifted my pen from my pocket. “When the boy I love kisses me, when it feels so special that my heart might almost burst—onlytheextra-special kisses—I’m to write the details down on one of these hearts. It’s for when I’m gray and old, and I want to tell my grandbabies all about the really special kisses in my life. And the sweet boy that gave them to me.”
I jumped to my feet, excitement running through me. “It’s what Mamaw wanted from me, Rune. So I have to start soon! I want to do this for her.”
Rune jumped to his feet too. Just then a gust of wind blew cherry blossom petals right past where we stood, and I smiled. But Rune wasn’t smiling. In fact, he looked downright mad.
“You’re going to kiss a boy, for your jar? A special one? One that you love?” he asked.
I nodded. “A thousand kisses, Rune! Athousand!”
Rune shook his head and his lips pursed again. “NO!” he roared. The smile fell from my face.
“What?” I asked.
Rune took a step closer, shaking his head harder. “No! I don’t want you kissing a boy for your jar! I won’t let it happen!”
“But—” I tried to speak, but Rune took hold of my hand.
“You’remybest friend,” he said and puffed out his chest, pulling on my hand. “I don’t want you to kiss boys!”
“But I have to,” I explained, pointing to the jar. “I have to for my adventure. A thousand kisses is a lot, Rune. A lot! You’d still be my best friend. No one will ever mean more to me than you, silly thing.”
He stared hard at me, then at the jar. My chest hurt again; I could see he wasn’t happy by the look on his face. He’d gone all moody again.
I stepped closer to my best friend, and Rune’s eyes fixed on mine.
“Poppymin,” he said, his voice deeper—hard and strong. “Poppymin! It meansmy Poppy. For infinity, forever and always. You’reMYPoppy!”
I opened my mouth to shout back at him, to tell him this was an adventure I justhadto start. But as I did, Rune leaned forward and suddenly pressed his lips to mine.
I froze. I couldn’t move a muscle as I felt his lips against my lips. They were warm. He tasted like cinnamon. The wind blew his long hair over my cheeks. It started to tickle my nose.
Rune pulled back, but his face stayed near mine. I tried to breathe, but my chest felt funny, kind of light and fluffy. And my heart was beating so fast. So fast that I pressed my hand over my chest to feel it racing underneath.
“Rune,” I whispered. I lifted my hand to press my fingers against my lips. Rune blinked and blinked again as he watched me. I pushed my hand out and pressed my fingers against his lips.
“You kissed me,” I whispered, stunned. Rune lifted his hand to hold mine. He lowered our joined hands by his side.
“I’llgive you a thousand kisses,Poppymin. All of them. No one will kiss youever,butme.”
My eyes widened but my heart didn’t slow down. “That would be forever, Rune. Toneverbe kissed by anyone else means we’ll be together forever, and ever and ever!”
Rune nodded his head, then he smiled. Rune didn’t smile a lot. He normally half-smiled or smirked. But he should smile. He was real handsome when he did. “I know. Because we’re forever always. For infinity, remember?”