Open Doors (Suncoast Society #27)(11)

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 women 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.”