Open Doors Read online

  “I was promised pizza,” he joked, making everyone laugh. “I’m here for the pizza.”

  “Yes, your Honor. Pizza is imminent.”

  That Pat likely wouldn’t be attending the club very often, yet still opted to show support for their efforts by coming out to help with the prep work, spoke a lot about the man’s character.

  I’m glad he’s a judge.

  With everyone working together, it only took a few minutes to get the drop cloths taped down. While Kaden and Kel got onto the scissor lift and headed up on the north wall, everyone else picked positions on the south wall and started painting.

  Within an hour, it was beginning to look like a dungeon.

  Well, a large, dark grey room instead of a large white one.

  They sat around a folding table and ate pizza and drank sodas as they admired their progress.

  “We can start painting the faux rock pattern tomorrow,” Marcia said. “We should have the base coat finished in plenty of time tonight. We’re making good progress.”

  “Not that I’m questioning your decisions, love,” Derrick started, “but how exactly are you planning on doing the rock pattern?” He was envisioning a mountain of work and dozens of hours—and maybe hundreds of rolls of blue masking tape—to make it look right.

  “We’re going to cheat,” she said. “We’re going to sponge-paint the accent colors all over the walls. Then, once that’s dry, we’ll hand-paint lines to make it look like mortar between the stones. With this much surface area, that will be the easiest way to do it.”

  “Oh.”

  She shot him a smart-assed grin. “I know what I’m doing, mister.” She took a bite of her pizza.

  “I never doubted you.”

  “Bullshit, but good try.”

  * * * *

  They wrapped up the painting party just after midnight, including getting a second coat of paint applied. Tomorrow, while Marcia and others worked on the painting, Derrick and another volunteer would rig lighting while they still had the scissor lift.

  It was starting to come together.

  For at least the first party, they’d use borrowed play furniture. Eventually they’d end up building their own, but that would take a little while. That was definitely something they didn’t want to half-ass, considering it was a safety issue.

  The last thing they wanted was anyone getting nonconsensually injured on a shoddy piece of equipment.

  Before Marcia, Derrick, and Kel left, they stood there, staring at the newly painted walls in the glow of the overhead fluorescent lights.

  “I have the feeling this is the start of something big,” Kel said, nodding. “Something good.”

  “I hope so,” Derrick said. “We really need this for our local community.”

  Marcia poked him in the ribs. “Just remember our deal, mister.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Kel laughed. “Wow. I promise, I won’t tell anyone I heard you say that.”

  “I don’t care who hears me say that,” he said. “I’m no dummy. Hey, I was smart enough to marry her in the first place.”

  * * * *

  “I don’t like the color,” Derrick said. “They’re way too light.”

  “They won’t be after we sand and spray paint them black,” Julie said.

  “We?” he asked.

  “By which she meant us,” Kaden explained, smiling.

  That Saturday morning, they were staring at the trailer full of donated cabinets from Julie’s brother. They would perfectly fit in the space, had come from exactly the layout the women were looking for…

  Except they were a light blond oak. The good thing was, they were real-wood cabinets, not laminate, meaning they’d be easy to sand and paint.

  “What about the countertop?” Derrick asked.

  “The old one will do for now,” Marcia told him. “We’ll redo it later.” It was a dark, fake butcher’s block laminate finish.

  Kaden had gone to pick up the cabinets from Julie’s brother. The story was they were for his workshop.

  Technically not a lie.

  It just wasn’t exactly the kind of workshop the brother was thinking it was. And with the walls now painted and looking like stone, and with a St. Andrew’s cross in one corner, no one wanted to try to explain to Julie’s brother why it was starting to strangely look like a dungeon.

  They hadn’t boxed in the two large bay doors yet. Now that Kaden had picked up the cabinets, they could unload them, get them sanded and painted that afternoon, and move them inside once they’d dried. They didn’t have to be perfect, and they were going to paint them a semi-gloss black. They’d already picked up a kitchen sink and the accessories needed to put it in and tie the plumbing into the existing mop sink drain.

  “Well?” Marcia asked. “You going to stand there all day, or are you going to start unloading them?”

  Derrick playfully rolled his eyes at her as he walked toward the trailer. “I guess we have our marching orders.”

  “I guess we do,” Kaden said.

  Leah nudged Marcia with her elbow. “Who said old Doms can’t learn new tricks?”

  “Not me,” Marcia said. “Mine’s highly trainable.”

  “I think you were just insulted,” Kel teased as he also stepped in to help.

  “Again, not like I care,” Derrick said. “I’m a happy man.”

  “Come on, guys,” Marcia said. “Less talk, more moving. We have to have this place ready in a week.”

  “What would they do without us subbies to keep them in line?” Leah asked.

  “They wouldn’t. They would have still been debating how to handle the cabinet situation.”

  The two women grinned at the men.

  “Really?” Derrick asked.

  Marcia planted her hands on her hips. “Try to deny it.”

  He let out an aggravated sigh and turned back to the trailer. “Never argue with a sub when they’re right,” he said. “They’ll never forget it.”

  “Or let you forget it,” Kaden added.

  * * * *

  By Thursday night, they’d put the final touches on the playspace. They wouldn’t even think about trying to build out an office yet. Marcia had ordered a couple of folding room divider screens online and had them delivered to their office.

  The black, louvered screens were perfect for what they needed. One had been set up in front of the door at a ninety-degree angle, and the other on the opposite side, to create a winding path to prevent anyone outside from seeing inside. Whoever was manning the folding table at the door would sit at the end of the screens to check people off the list as they came in and take their money. They’d covered the windows near the door with black paper.

  For the social area, they’d borrowed several folding tables, the owners’ names written on pieces of tape on the undersides of them so they could get them back when they were done with them. They had a few folding chairs, but people had been instructed to bring their own as well.

  It was obvious that they would need to buy some tables and chairs.

  The guest list was at sixty RSVPd as coming, with nearly a dozen or so who hadn’t responded yet. The guests had until Friday night to respond.

  Derrick looked around and realized no, he wouldn’t have done all of this without Marcia’s help. He’d planned to leave the walls white, for now, and get by with the bare minimum.

  Yes, Marcia, Leah, and Julie’s input had definitely made a huge difference for the better. He could envision what the place might look like fully equipped.

  Two of the spanking benches wouldn’t arrive until their owners did on Saturday night. And there was another spanking bench that Tony had loaned them. They had three St. Andrew’s crosses, a kneeler, and a repurposed resistance trainer frame that had been converted for bondage purposes.

  They’d also come up with a refrigerator and a microwave. The fridge was stocked with soft drinks. Everyone was supposed to bring a pot luck dish with them to share.

  The wo
men had also repainted the bathrooms. Light and bright, though, since for now they would also be temporarily functioning as changing rooms. They had added changing areas to their future to-do list, along with building out the office.

  “Well?” Derrick asked. “What do you think?”

  Marcia, still looking around, slowly nodded. “I think we’re ready.”

  “Well, thank god for that,” Kaden teased. “I was beginning to think we’d never satisfy you.” When everyone else started laughing, he winced. “That came out wrong.”

  “Ya think?” Marcia said, hugging him.

  Finally, everyone else headed home, leaving Marcia, Derrick, and Kel alone in the space.

  Marcia collapsed onto one of the three second-hand leather sofas they’d picked up. “Well, genius. It’s as ready as it ever will be before Saturday night.”

  He sank down onto the couch on one side of her, Kel on the other. They’d gotten the two large boxes made to cover the two rolling bay doors. One of them, they’d put casters under it, so it could be rolled out of the way if they needed to open the door. It was securely fastened to the wall, though, to prevent it from accidentally being moved.

  “Thank you for helping out with this,” Derrick said.

  “Are you talking to me, or Kel?” Marcia asked.

  “Both of you, actually.”

  “We’ll keep a list Saturday night of issues that crop up that we haven’t considered,” she said. “Leah will help me with that.”

  “We still need a suspension hard point,” Kel said. “A permanent one. I was thinking, short term, we could get one of those porch swing frames. They hold several hundred pounds.”

  “Can you buy them without the swing?” Derrick asked.

  “Oh, sure. Metal and wood. I looked into it. I might get one myself, once my suspension skills are at that level.”

  “You’re really coming along with that,” Derrick said. “I watched you at that party with Scrye. You were doing pretty good.”

  “Yeah, well, I still think a set of MMA mats are in my future. I don’t like the risk of dropping someone onto their head on a hard floor. Or dropping them at all, but you know what I mean.”

  “We know,” Derrick and Marcia said.

  The three of them let out identical sighs.

  “I’m too tired to move,” Marcia said.

  “Ditto,” Derrick said.

  “I only have to walk around the building,” Kel said, “and I’m not sure I can manage that.”

  They sat there for another minute.

  “Do you really think people are going to come Saturday night?” Marcia asked.

  “Yeah,” the men echoed.

  “I really do,” Kel said. “I’ve had several people e-mail me asking if we needed anything else, or any help. A lot of people are really excited about this.”

  “Excited enough to help us make expenses every month?”

  “Maybe not at first,” Derrick said, “but that’s okay. We’ll get there.”

  “I sure hope so,” Marcia said. “To think we did all this work and have nothing to show for it would make me cry, I think.”

  Chapter Six

  Derrick laid wide awake in bed early Saturday morning, just a little after seven o’clock.

  What the fuck have I gotten us into?

  Maybe he’d end up filing this under the “seemed like a good idea at the time” heading, but now that the day of their first party was upon them, the last thing he could do was sleep late, even though Saturday mornings he was known to sleep until nearly noon.

  Outside of tax season, of course.

  The bad news was, Kaden had been called out of town on business, to their Atlanta office. At least he’d given Leah permission to still go. She would help Marcia handle the front door for them all night, taking in the money and verifying people were on the RSVP list. They’d included in the invites not to mention the party or the venue to anyone, that if there were people they wanted to invite they had to run it by Derrick and Marcia first.

  Marcia rolled onto her side. “You’re awake, too, aren’t you?”

  “Yep.”

  “Beginning to have second thoughts?”

  “Yep.”

  “Not going to let that stop you, are you?”

  “Nope.” He rolled onto his side to face her. “Since when have I ever?”

  She leaned in and kissed him. “That would be never, dude. I know you too well.”

  He let out a heavy sigh. “I hope everyone has fun tonight.”

  “I’m sure fun will be had by most, if not all. I’m just concerned about not ending up on the news for throwing a sex party.”

  “Then let’s not do that.”

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “We didn’t tell them they couldn’t have sex.”

  “We didn’t tell them they could, either.”

  “I’m hoping that with the barren facilities the way they are, and not being very conducive to sex, that none will be had.”

  “There will probably be a blowjob or two here and there.”

  She sat up. “That’s not exactly sex.”

  “I’m sure the sheriff’s office will disagree with you on that one.”

  “You know what I mean. It won’t be an orgy.”

  “It might be, depending from whose perspective you look at it.”

  “Are you playing devil’s advocate, or just trying to piss me off before coffee?”

  He grinned. “Yes.”

  Rolling her eyes, she threw back the sheet and climbed out of bed. “You’re a Dom who loves to live dangerously, I’ll give you that. I’ll get the coffee going. I have a feeling we’ll need a lot of it today. All day long.” She snapped her fingers, stopped, and turned. “Dammit. A coffee pot for the club. We should have gotten one.”

  “We can pick one up today on our way there.”

  “How did we forget that? And what else did we forget? We need a list.”

  “I’m sure there are plenty of things that will make the list that we haven’t thought about yet.”

  * * * *

  Marcia started the list.

  In fact, by the time they reached the club at seven o’clock that evening, a number of things they’d forgotten had been added to the list and picked up along the way. Leah arrived a few minutes later, as did Ross and Loren and Kel. Ed and Hope Payne rolled in a few minutes later, followed by Mike and Julie, who was waddling a little slow with her ever-growing baby belly.

  “Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night,” she said. “We might not stay very late.” She patted her tummy. “I’m apparently growing a soccer player.”

  “Yikes,” Leah said. “I’m helping Marcia with the door, so you can take it easy. You really should relax tonight.”

  “Thanks. I’m so tired, I’m not even sure I can count without taking off my shoes.” She looked down. “But I can’t even see my toes anymore.”

  “You know,” Ross said, “we might want to build the office out sooner rather than later.”

  Derrick pointed a finger at him. “You’re an instigator. You and Kaden, both.”

  “Who, meee?” Ross grinned. “I’m innocent.”

  “Bullshit,” Loren muttered, smiling.

  Ross’ hand shot out and he grabbed her hair, pulling her in close and forcing her to tip her head back and expose her throat. “What was that, girl?”

  “Um, nothing, Sir.”

  He kissed her exposed flesh. “Uh huh.”

  “In his absence, I can attest that Kaden is definitely an instigator,” Leah said.

  “Are you guys going to play tonight?” Marcia asked Ross.

  “Maybe. Let’s see how the night plays out,” Ross said. “I want to help DM for sure.”

  Leah grinned. Tonight, she’d dressed in jeans and a black blouse, and a leather play collar. “My ass is safe tonight, at least.”

  “Lucky you,” Loren snarked.

  Marcia suspected that, had Kaden been home, they still wouldn’t have played tonight. P
laying at home, or at a private party, was one thing. She couldn’t remember them ever going to a fetish event or another club with them where they did play. They just went and hung out with everyone.

  She knew Leah had a traumatic past, although she didn’t know the details. Leah never played with anyone but Kaden when they did play, and it was always a very strictly choreographed scene that never failed to take her breath away.

  Marcia suspected that, unlike herself and many others, Leah actually needed the level of play Kaden did with her. It wasn’t just for funsies. It was something to help soothe and ground Leah. She wouldn’t be the first—or the last—person to need it for more than just play.

  The men got coolers of ice brought in and positioned in the kitchen area while Leah and Marcia prepared their entry zone. Marcia had picked up a locking cash box for tonight, along with some change. Even though everyone had been asked to bring exact change, it wouldn’t surprise her to have one or two people who couldn’t read and follow instructions to the letter.

  By the time eight o’clock arrived, their scheduled start time, they had a line of people out the door waiting their turn to be checked in, show their IDs to verify they were at least eighteen years of age, sign a basic boilerplate liability waiver, and pay their fee. Their kinky friend who’d brought his DJ equipment had the place filled with music, and the lights that they’d put up, in addition to temporary lighting courtesy of Kaden’s Christmas lights, filled the space with the right atmosphere.

  It actually felt like a dungeon. Marcia had thought it might take them a couple of parties to tweak things before they really got the vibe right, but no, it felt good.

  Almost immediately, people started playing on the equipment. And still, she and Leah were checking people in.

  At one point, Derrick had wandered over to check on them and she waved him away, too busy to deal with his curiosity.

  Yes, they were making money. So far, they looked to be on track to have every last person on the RSVP list show up, which was unheard of for any party.

  By the time ten o’clock rolled around, they’d locked the front door so Leah and Marcia could go eat. Everyone who had RSVPd had arrived before the ten o’clock cut-off time for entry.