Open Doors (Suncoast Society #27)(32)

Clean-up was easy because nearly everyone pitched in to help with everything. They actually had too many volunteers. So five minutes after the caterer and everyone else left, it was Derrick, Marcia, Tony, and Kel sitting at one of the tables.

“I knew it was coming,” Derrick said, “but I honestly hoped there’d be a miracle.”

“I think we all did,” Tony said.

Kel, who only had to walk around the building to his apartment in his unit on the other side of the building, had pulled a cold bottle of beer out of a small cooler he’d brought with him and kept stashed in the office behind the desk.

“Anyone?” he offered.

They shook their heads as he twisted the cap off and took a pull from the bottle. “I know I could have waited, but honestly? I want to sit here for a few minutes and think about him and toast him.”

“I plan on getting blind drunk when I get home,” Tony said. “I already took tomorrow off in preparation.”

Derrick snorted. “Since we’re the bosses, we can’t,” he said. “I’ve got two accountants out on vacation already this week.” He let out a sigh. “Dammit. I thought he’d be here forever. He was here at the beginning. He was the beginning. It’s not fair he’s not here. He should have been.”

“We all thought that,” Tony said.

After a few quiet moments, Marcia spoke up. “Do you think Seth will start teaching his classes? Kaden’s classes?”

“Yes,” Tony said. “Kaden asked him to do that. Leah enjoys teaching, and Kaden taught him. Once Seth knows Leah’s okay, they’ll get back out again. It’ll be a couple of months, I’m sure, as he helps her through the worst of it.”

“Who’s helping Seth through the worst of it?” Kel asked.

“We’ll all have to do that,” Tony said. “He’s going to need our love and support. They both will. And we are sort of Leah’s family. She doesn’t have any biological family that she’s close to. The friends she has here are her family.”

“This place isn’t going to be the same without him,” Marcia said, sounding choked up again. “He was here from the beginning. You two, were, too. You can’t go dying on us now.”

“Believe me,” Kel said. “Not in my game plan.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t in Kade’s, either,” Tony said.

They all went silent again.

“I was working on the class schedule last week,” Marcia said. “I was looking back at some of the old classes to find the description copy for a class write-up and ran across some of Kaden and Leah’s classes. I started crying right there.”

“This is what happens when you love people,” Kel said. “It hurts like f*ck to lose them, no matter the cause.”

“Not like there’s an alternative,” Tony said. “I’d rather have a world with my friends, than be completely alone and not have anyone to mourn.”

They all let out nearly identical sighs.





Chapter Fourteen


Marcia couldn’t help but feel on edge today as she pulled into the parking lot at the club. Ever since Loren had asked her on short notice if they could rent the club for this evening, a Sunday, and told her why, she hadn’t been able to shake the thought that a seismic shift was about to occur amongst their friends, maybe as jarring as it had been losing Kaden a couple of years ago.

Tilly. Getting married.

To a guy she’d just met.

Who was Cris’ Master.

Marcia was still trying to wrap her head around that. She’d refused to charge Loren for the use of the club, especially since it was for Tilly, and Derrick had agreed with Marcia’s call there.

But…

Tilly.

Tilly?

Their Tilly?

Married?

Both she and Derrick had given Tilly as much emotional support as their friend would let them in the beginning when Cris had suddenly left her, only leaving a note behind and not even saying good-bye in person.

They’d also both breathed a sigh of relief when, a few months later, Ross and Loren had told them they thought Tilly was through the worst of it, that they didn’t think there was any danger of her killing herself at that point. Marcia and Derrick had also helped quietly spread the word-of-mouth about Tilly’s services as a pro-Domme when Tilly ventured into that career, even though she didn’t ply her trade there at the club.

But…married?

Marcia hadn’t been able to get the full story out of Loren, who promised to get with her later and tell her as much as she was allowed or able to.

And Loren had also promised that, yes, it was as crazy as it seemed on the surface.

Marcia got the door unlocked and the air and lights turned on. Ross and Tony were supposedly going to arrive at any moment with food, cake, decorations, and to take charge of the volunteers Loren had rounded up to help set up everything. Loren had charge of Tilly and would be shepherding her through the day.

Derrick, June, and Mark would also be along shortly to help. And Abbey. A few others. Loren had rattled names off so fast Marcia hadn’t even caught all of them, but the woman had been busy getting everything ready. Kel would be helping with set-up, too, as well as acting as photographer.

What a wild and wacky night this would be.