Nordic Heat

by Lizzie T. Leaf

  Once again, Loki pondered how much to disclose. “Her family originates from Italy.”

  “Ahh, close to the region of the Greeks. Then they are familiar with Zeus.” Sif appeared even more interested.

  “Yes, they are familiar with what the mortals refer to as folklore about Zeus and Mount Olympus, but put no stock in the tales. The grandmother is also a fan of an opera written by Wagner, or at least one of the pieces in it. She plays Ride of the Valkyrie often.”

  “Really. That is one of my favorites, too.”

  “I know. It is also your son’s favorite,” Loki said. He discarded the thought to share with Sif that the music became Pia Bartolo’s favorite after she had an interlude with a handsome Nordic man in her younger days.

  The goddess didn’t need to know the appealing stud that attracted the young woman was actually Odin disguised as a mortal. He had become bored during one of his visits to Zeus and wandered out to seek amusement. Taking the form of a bird of prey, Loki accompanied Odin on his walks through the hills of the countryside and witnessed his meeting with the beautiful Pia.

  Oh yes, he recognized the pictures of the younger version of the old woman that she kept scattered around her apartment. He slipped in while she was out on one of her nightly walks after the encounter between her and Galvin. Loki kept vigil the evening the son of Thor stood sentry outside the family home to spy on Isabella.

  Loki laughed. “Yes, I think you and the grandmother would get along famously.”

  “If Galvin’s interest in her granddaughter continues, I may have to visit her.”

  Not much surprised Loki, but Sif’s indication she would venture into the mortal world did shock him. Sif hadn’t ventured from the safety of Asgard in eons.

  “You look like a brisk breeze would knock you over, Lord of Pranks. Get on with your story before you faint. Tell me about the rest of her family.” Sif sat down in an overstuffed chair.

  Regaining his composure, Loki continued. “The woman’s mother is manipulative. She will use whatever means she feels will work to bend her family to her desires.”

  Sif’s eyebrows shot up into her hair of gold that fell across her forehead in soft bangs. “Do tell,” she muttered.

  “The father is a nice man who only wants what is best for his family and there is a brother who…” Loki coughed.

  “Yes?” Sif prompted him to continue.

  “Who has a preference for men over women,” he finished with a smile.

  “Interesting, but understandable. That sort of thing is strongly condoned in the mortal worlds over which Zeus reigns. I especially recall a place called Rome where that practice took hold thanks to the gods that ruled the region and, of course, Zeus jumped on the idea for Greece.” Sif returned his smile. “Continue to keep me informed of the progression of my son’s relationship with this woman.” Sif pushed herself out of the chair and smiled. “Things may become interesting for both of us Loki.”

  “I am sure they will.” Loki took the offered hand and kissed it. “I’m sure they will become most compelling before all is settled, my friend.”

  It will also be most intriguing to see what Galvin does with the video. Will he destroy it or share it with Isabella? Loki headed back to the mortal world to find out.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Isabella studied the dark circles under her eyes and the pinched, drawn look of her face. She resembled a caricature of a raccoon. In the glare of the florescent bathroom light, she didn’t look like a woman making the descent to forty, but more like one that rolled down that hill a long time ago.

  Another night of no sleep didn’t help her mental state either. After she recalled the security camera in the elevator yesterday, she’d gone into the office to figure out what would be the best way to get access to the tape.

  Saturdays were pretty low key with one weather person and the skeleton newsroom crew who worked the weekends keeping tabs on what happened in the city and around the world. If anything major broke, they called in reinforcements to help out.

  “Hi, John.”

  The weekend weatherman was a ‘keep to himself’ personality, only animated when he faced the camera. “Hi Boss, what brings you in on a nice weekend like this?”

  Good grief, even John was going to be chatty today. From Sandy or one of the other weathermen, she expected conversation and an endless quiz on why she wasted her time coming in on a dead weekend and making her regret she did.

  “Thought I’d stop by and see if anything new is going on, plus I need to get some paperwork out of the way.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.

  “Everything’s quiet. Looks like we’re in for sunshine all day.” He gave her a smile that could have passed for a grimace and returned to studying his weather maps and forecast reports from the National Weather Bureau. He took preparation for his spots on the six and eleven o’clock news seriously.

  Isabella went through all her manuals on the building’s security not finding anything of use. That only left one option, her boss’s office and thank goodness he closed his blinds when he left at night. Slipping into Sam’s space, she rummaged through any book that mentioned security and sighed in defeat. The last book she pulled out confirmed her worst nightmare. Cameras were everywhere, including the elevators.

  Someone in the security room always watched the bank of screens in front of them to which the cameras fed constant views of all the activity in the common areas of the building, except the bathrooms. The only ray of hope centered on the way in which the footage was shot. They didn’t have enough monitors to accommodate all the views at once and switched back and forth between areas, unless something critical happened that necessitated constant observation.

  How long were they stuck between floors? She decided to touch up her makeup before heading back out into public and made a quick stop into the ladies room. Sliding the foundation soaked sponge over her face in an attempt to even out her skin tone; she calculated in her head the time frame. Let’s see, we left the office after the eleven o’clock news and I got home around, oh crap. What time did I get home?

  She lost track of time while they indulged in the attraction that sparked at their first meeting and how no idea how long they were trapped in the elevator car. Not long enough, her treacherous body cried each time she thought about Galvin’s hands on her body.

  A loud sigh escaped. “Maybe the guard didn’t have the screen up,” she said to the reflection in the mirror as she applied more concealer in an attempt to mask the dark circles under her eyes.

  “They only keep a constant view if there’s an issue and what would you do if an elevator became stuck between floors with people in it?” She threw the tube of makeup down in disgust. “Fool, fool, fool!” she shouted to the wide-eyed woman who stared back. “I need to talk to someone other than you.”

  A call to Diane resulted in the answering machine picking up. Diane never crawled out of bed before noon on Sunday and should be home. This was her recuperation day from her weekend of partying. No pickup told Isabella that Diane must have gotten lucky last night on her Saturday evening prowl and was getting her rest in someone else’s bed. Well, maybe not rest.

  She didn’t want to discuss this with Tonya or Karen. They were friends and she liked them, but they didn’t understand her the way Diane did. Maybe because she’d been friends with Diane since junior high and they’d spent their college years together as roommates.

  Who else could she confide in? “Gino!”

  She’d always been able to talk to her brother. Chances were good he would be home and surfacing about the time she made it to his place. Energized with the knowledge she’d be able to pour out her soul to her brother spurred her into action.

  An hour later, Isabella stood in front of her brother’s door armed with two grandé lattes. She needed the caffeine to help her focus and if she knew Gino, he’d need one to pry his eyes open from his late night of hitting the gay bars.

  Not bothering to ring the doorbell, Isabella us
ed her key. The sound of silence greeted her and she wondered if a phone call first would have been the wiser thing to do. Her brother was another late sleeper and she’d have to drag him or out bed. Then again, maybe he wasn’t home or worse yet, had company. Just as she turned to leave, she heard footsteps coming from the hallway that led to Gino’s bedroom.

  “Good morning, brother dear,” she called before he appeared.

  “Good morning, sister dear and what the hell are you doing here?” She met him as he entered the kitchen and a large hand reached out to relieve her of one of the cups she held in each of hers. “Thanks for thinking of me.”

  The sun’s reflection off a diamond bracelet encircling his left wrist blinded her. “Nice bling,” she said as she looked closely at him.

  Stunned, Isabella stared. Her brother stood in front of her encased in a cloud of pink chiffon. The filmy negligee covered a matching pink satin gown, which flowed to the floor. “Oh, my,” escaped her lips before she could stop the words from flowing out.

  Gino stepped aside and motioned her to follow him to the kitchen. Perched on a stool he studied Isabella for a moment. “You didn’t know?” He blushed as his sister appraised him and pushed a strand of dark hair behind his ear.

  “No. I mean I know you’re gay, but you never mentioned cross-dressing.” She gulped. “I didn’t know you were into that.”

  “I haven’t announced my at home clothing of choice, if that’s what you mean. I like to wear women’s clothes. It helps me get in touch with my softer side.” Gino looked anything but soft while he glared at her with a hand on one hip and the other paw clutching the coffee she’d brought him, even surrounded in a halo of pink.

  Okay, so her brother liked feminine clothes—and eye shadow, he wore plum eye shadow… and it made his eyes look larger. The lipstick…now she wasn’t so sure she liked that shade on him and good lord…obviously, those slippers were custom made. Somehow, she didn’t think men’s size thirteen pink satin slippers with fluffy feather trim were a stock item.

  “Hey, far be it from me to slam your choice of dress, though you may want to rethink that shade of lipstick. But the wig—I like. A good style for you.” Nope she definitely didn’t care for the lipstick color on him but the black wig in a short A-line that stopped just below his chin softened the jawline.

  Gino’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her and then grinned. “I should have known you could handle it. Come on, I’ll heat our lattés up a little with a shot from the pot of coffee I just brewed.”

  Looking past her brother, Isabelle took in the small kitchen. She noticed the place setting for two which wasn’t unusual since Gino always kept placemats on the small round table. What caught her attention were the flowers and the place settings that obviously anticipated someone else for breakfast. Or would it be brunch given the time?

  “Expecting company?” she commented when they passed the table.

  “Not exactly.” Gino did the squirming thing with the ball of his foot he couldn’t control around her or their mother when he was uncomfortable. The feathers floated around the pink satin shoe and caressed his hairy ankle. All the fluff looked anything but delicate on a foot the size of which any good Yeti would be envious.

  “Not exactly? Honey, either you are or you’re not.” Enough of the evasive answers from the man in pink. For cripes sake, if she could make such a quick adjustment to his wardrobe he could at least stop with the word games.

  “Well, I’m not exactly expecting company because—”

  “Love, do you know where I put my…” the question from the man standing in the hall leading to the bedroom trailed off as he stared at Isabella.

  “Holy Moly.” Isabella didn’t know if her heart could take any more shocks today. The sight of her brother in pink chiffon startled her enough, but Howdy Doody clad only in a towel wrapped around his thin waist took things too far.

  “I uh…uh…” Tom’s face matched the color of his hair. “Hi, Isabella,” came out in a squeak as he clutched the towel in his effort to make sure it didn’t come off.

  Their mother had finally made a match in her continuous efforts to find a partner for her children, only Isabella didn’t think this was what Ma had in mind.

  Freaking amazing and she thought her problems would create havoc with their mother. At least her hot elevator copulation was with a member of the opposite sex.

  “Tom, what a surprise.” That is probably my all-time top understatement.

  She gazed back and forth between her brother and what was obviously his latest flame. “I didn’t know you were here.” But, dense one, you should have picked up on the signs Gino had a visitor…the place settings, the full pot of brewing coffee…duh.

  Gino walked over to stand beside Tom. “Love, maybe you should put on some clothes and we can all sit down and talk over a cup of coffee.”

  “Excellent idea.” Tom scampered back down the hallway.

  “When…how…I mean what the hell did I just see?” Shit, open mouth, insert foot.

  Isabella took a deep breath. With any luck, she’d be able to put together a coherent thought at any moment. “Okay. I noticed you two hit it off at dinner when Ma did the big fix up, but I had no idea you’d hit it off to this extent.” Where did she set her latté? She desperately needed caffeine to lift the fog from lack of sleep and the never-ending surprises she’d encountered since she arrived at her brother’s. “I mean…” She inhaled deeply in hopes the additional air into her lungs would help her focus, “I thought Tom was straight.”

  “Yeah, well life holds surprises for all of us.” Gino bustled around the kitchen working on breakfast preparations, putting a basket of muffins on the table to go with the butter and honey he’d already set out. “Why don’t we wait for Tom? It would probably be better if we explained together.”

  “Fine.” Isabella considered asking Gino to change into something less pink, and then decided what the hell.

  “Sorry I took so long.” Tom appeared in jeans and a pink designer shirt which amazingly enough didn’t clash with his red hair.

  Okay, gayness confirmed. Most straight guys I know would die before putting on that shirt on. And he probably has a tie that matches. At this point Isabella didn’t think anything else would surprise her.

  “Everybody sit down.” Gino added another place setting and poured steaming coffee into the three cups, the cold lattés forgotten.

  “Look, Isabella,” Tom paused as if gathering his thoughts. “I…We didn’t mean for you to find out like this.”

  “That’s right, Sis.” Gino reached over and squeezed Tom’s hand in a show of moral support.

  “Hey, no problem. I’m the one who came over unannounced and crashed your party.”

  She tried to laugh and found her cheeks still tight with tension. “You two are going to have to help me here.” She saw the look that passed between the two men. Would she ever have someone in her life who she could exchange a glance with and know what they were thinking.

  “I mean, Tom, I thought you were straight.”

  Tom shrugged his lean shoulders. “I did too. But when I met Gino over at your folks’ house that night I felt a connection like none I’d ever experienced.”

  Gino reached over and stroked Tom’s cheek. “Yeah, I knew from the moment I met him this guy was special and if I could only have him in my life as a friend, well, then I’d take that. I figured I’d have to settle for doing the manly-man things with him. You know…ball games and such.”

  “Anyway, the next morning we ran into each other at the grocery store. Would you believe living in the same neighborhood for years our paths had never crossed? We started talking,” Tom flashed a grin in Gino’s direction, “and as they say the rest is history. The more time we spent together, the more I came to realize my feelings for Gino weren’t just those for a buddy.”

  “Yeah, I’d already laid the facts on the line with him as to my lifestyle. Told him I was gay, but still have a lot of guys who ar
e just pals. But, the more I got know him I knew I’d have to do battle with myself to accept only him as a friend anytime we planned something.”

  Tom laughed and winked at Gino. “And we’ve planned things every night since then. We celebrated my landing a big account a few nights ago and a couple of bottles of wine did a lot to release my inhibitions.”

  “So what did you do?” Isabella discovered she was curious in spite of herself.

  “I told Gino I thought he was pretty damned hot.” Tom blushed.

  “And I told him how I really feel. One thing led to another and we found out we’re perfect for each other. We just wanted to enjoy the, shall we say glow, before we told anyone.” Gino gave a sad little smile to Isabella. “You know Ma is going to have an absolute shit fit.”

  “Safe to say that’s an understatement.” Isabella nodded her head. Thank goodness I don’t have to share your news. “Yeah, telling her and Nonna will be a real treat. I don’t blame you for putting that nightmare off as long as possible. Pop will be able to handle the news better than those two.”

  The trio grew quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. Isabella’s heart ached for her brother. She knew his lifestyle couldn’t be easy on him given their family and add in his job situation…well she wasn’t too sure how Joey would view having an out of the closet gay on his payroll. She didn’t know a lot about the views of the underworld when it came to individuals who chose an alternate lifestyle.

  Gino broke the silence. “Sorry to put so much on you today. Not only do you have the secret of our relationship to keep, but my love of women’s clothing.”

  The words popped out before Isabella could stop them. “I think the most surprising thing is you’re the one who’s a cross-dresser. Sorry, Tom.” She clamped her hand over her mouth to stop the verbal diarrhea since each statement was more ludicrous than the one before.

  “No offense taken.” Tom winked over the top of his cup.

  Laughing, Gino pulled her hands away. “Ah, Sis. Stop and think back to when we were in our early teens. Remember the times you couldn’t find a sweater or a new eye shadow for days, and suddenly they’d appear out of the blue.”