INKED 8: A Tattoo Shop Reverse Harem

Carl sighs and runs his hand over his braids. The tattoos across his forearm are all about family. There's a copy of a photograph from when Carl and Gavin were kids, standing in shorts with their arms around each other. Carl's always looked out for his younger brother, in the same way, he looks out for the rest of us. It's like he was born to be a father figure. He does it well, too, but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel the burden.

"You think I should tell him that I can't help him?"

"Absolutely. If I'd been a drain on my brothers like he is to you, they'd have told me to fuck off a long time ago."

"He's the kind of douchebag that will go and get a loan from someone shady. Then he'll be telling me that they're going to hurt him if I don't help him pay them off. It doesn't feel as though it will ever stop being my problem."

"Yeah, that would be harsh, but maybe getting a kicking from someone will knock some sense into him."

"You really believe that people like Gavin can change? I mean, I've been hoping that something will make a difference for so many years, but nothing ever has. Even when he had a decent woman in his life, she didn't manage to motivate him to stand on his own two feet."

"You mean Andrea?"

"Yeah. Poor girl got out of the relationship with a significantly lighter purse."

"I can't imagine ever expecting a woman to contribute to anything," I say. "When I finally find a woman worth sticking to who loves me, flaws and all, I'm looking after her like the queen she is!"

"I feel the same."

"Did you hear anything about Kole's date last night?"

Carl shakes his head, finishing the last of his drink before lowering it back to the table with a thump. "I heard that he had the time of his fucking life."

"Yeah. I heard that too. Kyla seemed happy today too."

"She did." Carl glances off to the side as though he doesn't want me to see the expression in his cool blue eyes. The thing is, I know him too well for him to hide anything from me. He's jealous. He's regretting staying out of the game.

"It's not too late, you know."

"Too late for what?"

"To put your paper in the bowl. I know what you said, but you can see that nothing that's happened so far has affected anything about our working relationships. If anything, the men in this place are walking on air and Kyla seems more relaxed than she ever has before. Maybe we should be writing a book about how to improve employee relations."

"Errr…somehow, I don't think that many other organizations are going to buy into the 'fuck your colleague' school of management."

"I don't know…there's probably a whole bunch of sweaty business executives eyeing up their younger, sexier female colleagues right now, just waiting for an excuse to fuck them without getting fired."

"You're forgetting that the younger, sexier female colleagues need to actually want it. I mean, there was no pressure on Kyla to do anything."

"Ah…a flaw in my master plan for corporate domination," I laugh.

"Yeah, well, business studies never was your top subject."

"I'm all about the creative," I say. "So what can I do to wipe the misery from your face? I mean, seriously, dude, it's like working with a black cloud."

Slumping back in his chair, Carl grips the arms of the bucket chair he's currently spilling out of. "There's nothing," he says.

"There's Kyla," I say.

"Yeah, there is."

For a few moments, we just stare at each other, me with a challenge in my eyes, and his gaze conflicted. Eventually, he leans forward and rests his hand flat on the table. "Aren't you worried that when Kyla eventually picks your paper out of the pot, you're going to enjoy it too much? I mean, she's pretty and funny. She's reliable and caring. There isn't anything I can say about her that would make her unappealing as a girlfriend."

"I think Niall and the rest of them are already hooked," I admit.

"And so maybe the problem isn't going to be that everyone feels awkward with each other after the game is done. Maybe it's going to be that we all have feelings for the same woman, and none of us are going to get to be with her."

"You know that celebrity that came into the shop with Kyla? Luna Evans?"

"Yeah, the singer."

"Exactly. I was reading about her online the other day. You know that she's in a poly relationship with seven men. They used to be her bodyguards, but now they're her lovers."

"Seven men?"

"Yeah. Apparently, it's not that rare these days. Poly relationships are on the rise. Did you ever watch that show, McGregors Uncovered?"

"About the property developers?"

"Yeah. They're ten brothers in a poly relationship with one woman. They have kids together and everything."