The Lion’s Mail Order Menage

There was a kind of chaos running through his blood that made him light up like the sun and he was at least as likely to burn a person as that ball of fire ever would.  He was burning as brightly now as he ever had, which meant his head was stewing with some kind of an idea.  Caleb knew he should try and put a stop to things but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.  He was in the kind of head space to follow his friend anywhere, regardless of what kind of poor decisions he was fixing to make. 

“You sure do make a good drink, brother.  Just the way I like them.  Full up to the brim.”

“I’ve been making you drinks long enough to know what you favor.”

“Sh*t, that’s the sad truth.”

“Sad?  What’s sad about it?”

“Don’t be such a chick, Caleb.  It’s no knock against you.  It’s just, well sh*t, look at us, man!  When’s the last time we were surrounded by anything other than dudes?  Everything we do is a full on sausage fest.  Don’t you ever get sick of it?  I mean, when was the last time you got laid?”

“Jesus, Tyler, what kind of question is that?”

“Oh, right,” Tyler said with a smirk, “I forgot.  Your kind of shy with the ladies, aren’t ya?”

“Shut the fu*k up, man.  No reason to make fun of me.”

“I’m not!  I swear, I wouldn’t even dream of it.  Now hand me your computer.”

“What for?  You aren’t going to throw it out the window or anything, are you?”

“Nope, gonna do something even better.”

“Oh Christ, that has a terrifying ring to it.  What does that mean?”

“It means I’m going to take matters into my own hands.”

As much as Caleb didn’t like the sound of that, he fetched his laptop like a good little sidekick.  Not that he was bitter about it or anything, it was just the way it was.  Tyler would lead and Caleb would follow.  Everyone knew that was the way things worked with them.  Had been since they had still been in diapers. 

The second Caleb got close enough for him to touch, Tyler snatched the laptop out of his hands, laughing gleefully and swinging it about as if it were a pillow and not an expensive piece of equipment.  He saw the look of concern on his friend’s face but that only made him laugh more. 

He had a little bit of a sadistic streak, this brother of his.  It was a lucky thing they were on the same side.  God forbid he ever wanted to do him any real harm.  No, right now he was typing with furious fingers, his brow furrowed with concentration.

“Tyler-”

“Shh!  Not now.”

“But Tyler-”

“Shut the fu*k up!  I’m almost done, OK?  Hold on just a minute more and then I’ll tell you what we’re doing.”

Caleb’s mouth opened and then closed, his jaw clenching in frustration.  He loved Tyler, truly he did, but every now and then he got tired of being spoken to that way.  It was entirely his fault, the instinct to bite back.  Tyler seemed to forget sometimes that Caleb was no ordinary man.  He was a shifter too, with a Lion that could grow restless just like all of the rest.

He could feel it now, aching to get out, and he clenched his fists tighter, waiting for the wave of fierceness to pass.  Fortunately for his health and their friendship, that was the moment when Tyler crowed in triumph, apparently having discovered the thing he was so diligently searching for.  It was that same old infectious charm that made him infamous, and so instead of picking a fight, Caleb hopped over the edge of the couch, ready to see what oddity Tyler had cooked up for them this time.

“OK, I was quiet.  Now why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“Gladly, brother.  I found just the thing to shake our dull lives up a little bit.”

“Oh yeah?  And what might that be?”

“Brides, buddy.  I found us some brides.”