"Who said I am going to ask him to tell me something?" Thor pulled out his phone and pressed speed dial. The phone rang several times.
"Odinson, how interesting to hear from you twice in two days."
"I need your help," he said without pretense.
Silence filled the line for a moment.
"Well, well, well. I can't remember the last time the Mighty Thor, son of Odin, needed my help. Oh, wait, yes, I can. It was when-"
Thor's hand clenched tighter around the stein. "Are you going to help me or not?"
Loki paused. "Of course, cousin. What do you need?"
“Meet me at Frigg's. Midgard side.”
"When?"
"Now."
CHAPTER FIVE
"Let me get this right," Loki said with a flourish. "You, Thor, God of Thunder, want me, Loki, God of Mischief, to distract a bartender so you can talk to a girl. This is why you called me all the way up here?"
"No, I called you up here because I want you to touch Elle and tell me all about her, and then tell me what you see the possibilities of the future to be. But you won't."
"Sorry," Loki said. "I made a promise."
Dammit. Why was everyone being so secretive all of a sudden? Usually, everyone was more than willing to help him with whatever he needed. With how much nagging he’d gotten over the last hundred years about not being alone, he would have thought everyone would be more than overjoyed to help him. Instead, it was almost like the opposite.
"Am I the only one you two won’t help, or are there others as well?"
Loki shrugged. "I'm not one to gossip."
Thor snorted.
"Is our business concluded?" Loki looked at his watch.
"Oh, please, don't act like this was such an inconvenient trip for you. You had to do what? Focus on the pub for five seconds before you were able to transport here?"
"Do you have any idea what my time is worth? What I charge per hour?"
"Well, plan B won't take an hour. She gets her fifteen-minute break in less than five minutes," said Thor.
"After sitting here, it will have been half an hour, which equals-"
"One bottle of Odin's reserve ale? Done," said Thor.
Loki's eyes widened slightly. "Not so fast. I agree on the ale, but you will also owe me a favor."
"What favor?"
Loki's eyes twinkled in a way that reminded him of Frigg, and a smirk settled on his chiseled face. "I'll tell you when the time comes."
"That's not a deal I would agree to if I were you," said Heimdall.
"Better decide fast, Odinson," said Loki. "Your girl took off her apron and is headed for the stairs to the lofts."
Thor looked over his shoulder toward the staircase, which led to the upper-floor apartments. Elle had almost reached the bottom step.
