ELSKER: THE ELSKER SAGA *complete*

CHAPTER TWELVE

Chapter Twelve 

I’D NEVER HAD A harder time dressing than I did the night of our double date with Gunnar and Inga. Victoria was ready to kill me by the time she finally shooed me out the door.

“No, Kristia. Listen to me! You cannot wear that blouse. It says ‘I am trying too hard. I want you to like me.’ You must wear this dress. It says, ‘I am easygoing and fun. No high maintenance here. Oh, but oops – I’m also really cute and quite clever.’”

“The dress says all that?” Emma was dumbfounded.

“It does.” Victoria nodded sagely.

“Fine.” I snatched the dress from her hands and pulled off my blouse, not caring what I wore anymore. I’d tried on at least fifteen different outfits, and none of them felt good enough to wear to meet Ull’s friends. This was another situation on which the etiquette police were silent.

“Do you have your conversation points ready?” With the aid of the Internet, Emma had helped me brainstorm a list of appropriate topics to discuss when meeting one’s boyfriend’s friends. She’d even diagrammed them onto a spreadsheet. I’d been studying it all day.

“Yes.” I ticked them off from memory. “What are your classes? How did you choose Cardiff? Where are you from?” Okay, obviously that one wasn’t going to make the cut. How is the weather in Asgard this time of year, if I may ask? “What sports do you like? Have you ever been to Oregon? Seriously Emma, I don’t know about that last one. I’m pretty sure they’ve never been anywhere near Nehalem.”

“True.” She nodded. “But it will give them the chance to ask you about your home, and if you haven’t been contributing to the conversation, then you’ll be able to sparkle.” She winked. “You’re going to do fine, Kristia.”

Fine as a fish in a bear’s claw. The thought of meeting Ull’s friends had me wound so tight, I jumped at the knock on the door.

“Yes, fine. Bye!” Victoria all but pushed me out the door and into the surprised arms of my date.

I smiled nervously. “Let’s do this.”

As Ull drove me to the pub where we were meeting his friends, he explained that Gunnar and Inga were his only confidantes here. His circle of human companions was limited to me.

“Despite my choice to live in your realm, I keep your kind at arm’s length – I generally try to follow Asgardian law. Gunnar and Inga were the only ones I was able to confide in here, until I met you.”

My nerves melted a little bit – I was secretly pleased to be the first mortal he’d ever welcomed into his life. Ull was very guarded, and it was a big deal to be let in.

“So if our futures can’t mix, then by dating you, am I making you a criminal?”

“Pretty much.” He grinned.

“What do your friends think about that?” I grinned back. Kristia Tostenson, outlaw. Ardis would have been so proud. Mormor might have felt a little differently.

“They are oddly supportive.”

“Tell me about them.” In a matter of minutes, I’d be face to face with two more Norse gods. As my nerves had removed all memory of Emma’s carefully crafted conversation points, I needed something to talk about besides the weather. Or heaven forbid, the cleanliness of Cardiff. I was not going down that road again.

“Well, Gunnar is my oldest friend. He has come with me to most of the universities I have attended in Europe, and a few in the States. He is a tremendous athlete and an even better fighter.” By now, we’d reached the restaurant and were walking to our table. “And here he is. Gunnar!” I recognized him from my first night at Cardiff. Gunnar was tall and muscular like Ull, with chocolate-brown hair that stood in spikes around a tanned face. He had twinkling, green eyes that made him seem mischievous, and a dimple that popped in his left cheek when he smiled. I liked him immediately.