Open Doors (Suncoast Society #27)(42)

“Hiding from Mike.” Amelia sat back and started shredding the tissue in her hand. “He’s going to finish yard work and then sit in front of the TV and watch whatever sports are on until he falls asleep in his chair and eventually goes to bed when his back starts hurting him.”

“What about dinner?”

“He’ll order a pizza.”

“He’s not expecting you home?”

“I told him I was coming to see you and might have dinner with you guys, depending on your plans. Or that I might end up staying here all night if we talked late enough.” She laughed, but it held no humor. “How’s that sound for a caring husband? He didn’t even question me. Just said okay, have fun.”

This was a familiar scenario Marcia had seen before—countless times before. One partner discovering kink and then the other partner shaming them or outright abandoning them over it. Sometimes there were happy endings, the other partner either embracing it, or willingly allowing the kinky partner to get their kinky fix while preserving the relationship.

But…

Unfortunately, the odds usually tipped over into an eventual detonation of the relationship.

“What you read in the books isn’t exactly real life,” Marcia counseled her. “Some of it’s written by vanilla writers who’ve never set foot in a real dungeon before.”

“But can you take me? I want to see what it’s like.” She studied her hands again, where she’d balled up the shredded, sodden remnants of the tissue. “Before I do anything else, I want to see what else is out there. I want to make sure if I am going to walk away from a fifteen-year marriage that it’s for the right reason. I’m damn sure not happy, but I don’t want to take a risk and realize I was better off. I mean, I love Mike. But…”

“You’re not in love with him anymore,” Marcia finished when Amelia didn’t.

She nodded. “Yeah,” she quietly said. “Probably not for a while. And it’s been a long time since he’s acted like he’s in love with me, too. I’m thirty-seven. Life isn’t supposed to be like this. I’m not happy.”

“Are you sure he’s not having an affair?”

“I doubt it. He goes to work and comes home. He makes no effort to hide his phone or what he’s doing. I’d be willing to bet it’s a health issue, but we had a horrible fight the last time I tried to get him to go to the doctor, so I gave up. He thinks what he’s doing is normal. It’s how his parents were, and they were married for over forty-five years before his dad died.”

“So he’s using that as the gold standard.”

“I guess.” She met Marcia’s gaze again. “Can you take me?”

“Yeah. You can go with me today.”

“Am I dressed okay?” She was wearing jeans and a tank top, but she was about Marcia’s size. And her black sandals were fine.

“I’ll loan you a shirt to wear,” Marcia said. “Text him and tell him you’ll be with us, and you and I are going to have dinner with some friends and hang out, that you’ll be home really late.”

“We will?”

Marcia nodded. “Yeah.”





While Amelia was in the bathroom, Marcia called Derrick. “I have another student for my class.”

“That’s good. Who?”

“Mel.” He went silent. She even looked to see if the call had dropped. “Der?”

“Yeah. Mel? Parsons?”

“Yeah.”

“What about Mike? I would not have pegged him for kinky.”

“Just Mel.”

Another long pause before he spoke. “How much of this do I want to know?”

“I think it’s bad. She’s feeling kind of hopeless. It’s a long story.”

“Did you tell her about us?”

“She’d brought up BDSM before I did, but then she saw the laptop, where I’d been doing the schedule, and asked me to take her. I’m going to take her to my class and let her sit in.”

“I don’t feel right about lying to Mike if he asks about this.”

“You don’t have to. I told her to tell him she was hanging with us and friends, and we were going to have dinner together, and be out late.”

“Oh. Well, in that case, good job. Want me to text Tilly that we’ll have an extra person with us?”

“Yes, Sir. Please.” After her class, a volunteer would be there to handle the office while Marcia and Derrick had dinner with their friends at Sigalo’s. It was a weekly tradition, the roster of attendees always changing, but usually the same core group of people.

“Will do.” His voice gentled. “Is she okay?”

“No. I don’t think so.”





Mel sat in the passenger seat, holding her purse clutched to her like a security blanket.

Marcia still wasn’t sure this was the best idea, but her friend had asked. She wouldn’t turn someone away who had a genuine interest in kink just because she worried about their motivation.

She’d had no clue things were so bad between Mel and Mike, but then again, she hadn’t been looking for the signs, either. Now, if she thought back, she could see things in a different light.