Sunshine Kisses

Abby shrugged and took a generous bite.

It was good to have him back.

Twenty years before

It’s Nice to Have a Friend – Taylor Swift

‘D

oesn’t Abby look lovely today?’ Erik’s mum asked as they stopped in the driveway of his best friend’s house. She waited with aunt Susan, her feet bouncing in little yellow trainers.

Her dress was covered in small daisies, with fresh flowers braided into her long blonde hair. Daisies were her favourite flower. Erik looked down at the stems he held in his hands and smiled. His mother had tried to tell him they were weeds. When he had asked her if they could walk to the park to pick some, she told him to take one of the sunflowers she had bought the day before. But he had said no, and pouted until he got his way. He was glad now that he had.

Abby did look pretty. But it wasn’t just today. She always looked pretty. And Erik told his mom that.

She smiled back at him. ‘Why don’t you tell Abby what you just said?’ she asked as his friend clambered through the open door to sit next to him.

‘You look pretty,’ Erik said shyly, handing her the bunch of daisies.

Abby grinned, and he smiled right back when he saw a gap in her teeth that hadn’t been there when their families had met for lunch the day before.

‘It fell out!’ he said excitedly. She nodded and he leaned in to whisper, ‘What did you get?’

‘A whole pound!’ she whispered back.

That would get them a full bag of sweets at the corner shop if they could convince Alex to walk with them after school. His older brother would probably grumble a bit, but Erik was sure he would do it for the promise of some sour gummies.

Abby reached out to touch the daisy he had kept for himself, tucked into his shirt pocket. She giggled as she did, then pointed to her dress. ‘We match.’

The sound of her laugh made his chest warm. In just the same spot Mrs Parker had told them their heart was.

‘I’m glad to see you all dressed up to celebrate the beginning of Spring with me.’

Their teacher, Mrs Parker, wore a long dress covered in all different sizes and kinds of flowers. It had a lot of colours, and if Erik looked at it for too long it made his brain feel funny. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear it. A small, warm hand touched his wrist and squeezed it gently. The noise in his head went a little quieter. The hand squeezed again. Quieter. Opening one eye, Erik saw Abby facing straight ahead, focused on their teacher. But her hand kept squeezing his lightly, while the noise in his head untangled itself.

After snack time—when Abby gave him both of her chocolate covered biscuits in an attempt to help him feel better—Mrs Parker taught them about sunlight and all the things it did for them. She told them that the bright yellow ball in the sky helped plants grow and gave people vitamin D, which made everyone feel better.

Erik glanced at Abby’s hair, where it looked like the flowers were growing in a field of gold. He thought about how happy it made him just to look at those soft blonde curls. And he leaned in to whisper, ‘Your hair. It’s like sunshine.’

The smile Abby gave him was blinding.

Chapter 2

I’ll Be Your Mirror – The Velvet Underground

‘S

hit, Abby, are there bricks in this tote?’ Erik groaned as they walked the final few steps towards their rooms. He had insisted on carrying her bags in, ignoring her protests that she had navigated a decent part of London carrying them. For all his complaints, his breathing was barely affected.

Abby swiped her key card and pushed the door open, hearing Erik kick it shut after walking in behind her. He dumped her suitcase on the large bed. It looked obscenely comfortable, with a thick, fluffy duvet and a mound of plush pillows she was desperate to collapse onto.

‘Ah. Close enough,’ Erik muttered, peering inside her tote.

In hindsight, she may have over-catered on reading material, and her heart stopped as Erik dipped a hand into the bag and fished out a paperback with a lurid cartoon cover. Of course the one he’d picked out was particularly steamy, with words like forbidden desire, domination, and ecstasy prominent on the cover. Abby snatched it from his hand and attempted to drag the tote away from him.

‘Not so fast, Sunshine,’ Erik said, tightening his grip on the straps and reaching in to grab another book. The pastel pink cover showed two featureless figures embracing, and a byline about the passion threatening to consume them. A wicked grin spread over his face. ‘Level with me: is this whole bag full of smut?’

Abby glowered. ‘No.’