Read Elsker - The Elsker Saga for Free Online Page B

usually stuck with friends who were a lot easier to read.
    “So Kristia,” he began as he sat on our couch, dwarfing it under his lofty form. “What do you think of Cardiff so far? What else are you taking?”
    He wanted to make small talk? I could handle that. I’d spent way too many afternoons with prattling old ladies at my grandma’s Bridge Club – I was an expert at small talk. I sat in the chair across from him and dutifully described my archaeology class, all the while looking for a polite way to bring up what was really on my mind.
    Since there was no gracious way to do it, I jumped in with both feet. I tilted my face up to stare into his amazing eyes and found I couldn’t quite open my mouth. Come on Tostenson. I’d gotten on my first airplane and traveled thousands of miles from home. I’d even stood up to Ull when I’d wanted to crawl under a desk and cry. I could do this.
    “Actually,” I smiled brightly. “I saw you last week. In London.”
    Ull froze.
    “It’s a shame we didn’t get a chance to talk then,” I tried to look morose as I studied him carefully. “It would have been nice to have a friend coming into school.”
    A rueful smile spread across Ull’s features and he avoided my question.
    “You were in London? How did you end up there?”
    “My flight from Oregon landed there, so I spent a day sightseeing.”
    “That must have been enjoyable.”
    “It was.” He still hadn’t answered me. I stared, waiting. He didn’t blink. “So what were you doing in London, anyway?”
    He shook his head. “Sorry. You must be thinking of someone else. I was not in London last week.”
    Oh sure, there were two, hugely frustrating, Nordic supermodels walking around London. “Liar,” I muttered under my breath.
    “What was that?” Ull looked amused again.
    “Oh, nothing,” I coughed to cover up my indiscretion. “Throat tickle.” Mormor would have been mortified at my behavior. She’d never have called someone out to their face. “It’s just, I’ve never met anyone quite like you before, and here I meet two of you in a week.” I looked him dead in the eye, but he still didn’t blink.
    “I do not know what to tell you, Kristia,” he said gently. We stared at each other for a long minute, each willing the other to back down. Ull won.
    “Well, I must’ve been mistaken.” I smiled the too-big smile I got when I lied. I’d get the truth out of him eventually. No sense running him off before I could finish my tea.
    “Tell me about yourself, Kristia. What brought you to Wales?”
    Where to begin? Nothing I’d done in Nehalem could possibly be of interest, but I had to say something. I briefly told him about my hometown, my studies at UPN, and summed up my journey by saying, “I wanted an adventure before I settled back into to the life I’ve always known.”
    “I think a life you have always known, a simple life, sounds wonderful,” Ull sounded almost wistful.
    “It is, in a lot of ways.” I wondered why I was opening up to someone who had spent so much energy antagonizing me. “But just once, I wanted to do something different. So here I am.”
    “How do you like it so far?”
    “Aside from seniors taking advantage of my undiagnosed OCD, it’s been a pretty good week.”
    Ull laughed, a musical sound that stopped my heart. It was beautiful, and I wanted to hear it again. “I suppose I am taking advantage. One cup of Earl Grey just doesn’t seem a fair trade for such highly detailed notes.” He was teasing me. Ull was in my flat, teasing me. Boys did that when they liked a girl, right? I couldn’t figure this guy out. Ull paused, seeming to make a decision. “Will you let me show you around town this Friday? My classes get out at three, and I can be here at four. The grand tour of Cardiff for your notes. Fair trade?”
    This could not be happening. He’d spent a week being unbelievably ornery, and now he wanted to take me out?
    “I don’t know.” I kept my face