A Nordic NYC Christmas

Part VII

It's not that Lukas was inhumanly gorgeous. I mean, he was, but what made me so shocked was the transformation between Lukas 10 years ago and the hunk standing next to me. It boggled my mind how the frail, fragile, delicate boy became, well, THIS! If it were anyone else, I probably wouldn't have reacts the same way. Plenty of other countries are gorgeous, myself included. But, man. Age had been good to him. Too good. Now Berwald was eyeing him up and down, which, in my opinion, is pretty disturbing. It's especially awkward when Tino puts on his mall cop face and wags his finger like it's nobody's business. And then there's Emil. I would be shocked at how handsome he's gotten, but then again he's always been a pretty good looking kid. He's so hipster that mainstream couldn't touch him with a ten foot pole. I like the kid. Thank goodness he's not involved in this drama yet. But I know innocent little Tino's got a dirty mind when push comes to shove. If anything goes on, I'll pull the Mr. Mosby on them. NOT IN MY LOBBY.

We walked over to Aquavit, and let's just say, it was nice. Really nice. But the niceness soon came to an end. Lukas took a seat, and Berwald rushed over to sit next to him. I thought, Hm might as well sit on Lukas' other side, just to make sure nothing happens. Not in my lobby...

Tino cleared his throat. "Berwald, dear. I thought you were going to sit next to me."

"M'ybe next time," he grumbled.

"I'll sit next to you, Tino," reassured Emil, Tino keeping his eyes on the Swede like a hawk.

Tino nodded. "Thank you Emil. At least someone here has some sense." The tension in the air was thicker than peanut butter. Not quite as tasty, or allergic reaction inducing, though.

I smiled. "What's on the menu, Lukie?"

Lukas looked at me for a long time. Then he blinked. Then he blinked again and looked at me some more. I knew this conversation was going along superbly. "Why don't you READ the menu and find out," he snapped.

I shrugged. "Okie dokie!"

Berwald was getting increasingly closer to Lukas. He leaned over to look at Lukas' menu.

"Can I help you?" questioned Lukas. Now, here is the interesting part. It was very slight, but I could see Lukas cast a playful smirk in Berwald's direction. I guess Tino saw it too, because he took Emil's hand and led him somewhere. I had no idea where, though.