“But sometimes I really felt as though the starry sky rose and fell with the gasping of his chest.”

“That was my first kiss," she said. "My first real one."He brought his head close, resting his forehead on hers. Blond waves fell around her face, soft against her cheeks. His chest rose and fell as he drew in a breath. "Felt like the first real one for me, too.”

“lucid and quiet his voice hovered above the listeners, like a light, like a starry sky.”

“The lamps are burning and the starry sky is over it all.”

“Gashed with honourable scars, Low in Glory's lap they lie; Though they fell, they fell like stars, Streaming splendour through the sky.”

“I stumbled away. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth and just looked athim. "What was that?"His chest rose and fell heavily. "A kiss.""Why?""Why?" He laughed. His blue eyes suddenly looked so sad. "Because I've wanted to do that for twenty years.”