Chapter 15

Madden

I'm lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling, when a text comes through.

Damien owns one of the larger architecture firms in Seattle. We met at a conference where his business was up for an award—that they won—and hit it off. Damien regularly recommends Leaf It to Us and we've always stayed in touch.

He divorced a few years ago, and I tried to set him up with Molly before I knew he and Seven were together, but he's never held that against me. And since I told Damien about the Fever Ridge naturist community, he's been interested in the lifestyle.

I open his message and read it.

I need your help.

Weird.

Instead of doing the back-and-forth, I click on his number and call him. "What's going on?"

"I bought a place that I need you to consult on."

"Consult?"

Damien chuckles. He's a bit older than me, but he's made a lot of money, and everything from his clothes to his laugh gives me the impression of someone refined who knows what they're doing in this world. "If I send you an address, can you meet me there?"

"Sure. For … consulting?"

"Exactly. Bring Penn too."

Ohhh, landscaping consulting? That would surely be the only reason he's asking for Penn as well.

"When do you want to meet?"

"Today, if you're free."

I think Penn was going out with Lana, but they should be back by now. My jaw clenches. If they're not banging. "We'll be there." Because if this is a business opportunity, I won't feel guilty for dragging Penn away.

"Awesome. See you then."

The address comes through, and I flick Penn a text that I'll pick him up in an hour.

I hunt down some clean clothes—thankfully, I have enough work shirts to cover me for the week, but it's the shorts that prove difficult. It's so exhausting to have to do this every fucking day. I can't imagine what it's like for people who actually care what they look like.

"Where are you off to?" Xander asks when I stop by the kitchen to grab a banana.

"Job."

"Molly and Seven are out too." He pouts. "Everyone has a life except for me."

"You wanna come with? I don't know how interesting talking landscaping will be. "

His expression immediately clears up. "Yeah, I'll pass on that. Your butt looks good in those shorts."

"Cheers, Z," I say around the bite of banana I've just taken. "You'll be okay here?"

"I might go next door and see if I can annoy Agatha."

"Good idea. Seven hasn't blasted his music at her house in a while."

Xander leaves, and I jump in my truck and head for Penn's place. Even though he didn't write back to my message, he's waiting for me when I get there.

"What's going on?"

"Had a call from Damien. He wants us to go and consult with him on something."

Penn pauses in picking up his phone. "Like a job?"

"Maybe. He sent me an address."

"Interesting …"

The address is in Maple Park, one neighborhood over from where we live in the GPD, and when we get there, from what I can tell from the access road, it's a large house on a huge block of land.

Penn and I exchange a look. "Promising."

"It is."

Damien's SUV with his firm's branding is already waiting out the front of the house, so we let ourselves onto the property and follow the long path up the small hill. The grass is more wispy dirt than anything, and other than a few trees dotting the land, there isn't much to look at. The house is something else though. Pretty and very old.

Damien steps out onto the wraparound porch as we get close. He's got wavy brown hair, small lines by his eyes, and a clean-shaven square jaw.

"Hey, guys." He shakes both of our hands with a strong grip. "What do you think of the place? "

I'm not sure if that's a trick question, and I glance Penn's way. He's got his professional face on.

"Lots of potential. What were you thinking?"

Damien's lips twitch with a smile he quickly covers. "So … remember when we got talking about Fever Ridge?" he asks me.

I'm immediately interested. "Yes …?"

Damien sweeps his hand over the view in front of us. "Welcome to Peach Acres."

"Peach …" Penn trails off, clearly wondering where the peaches are.

I laugh into my hand, and poor Penn, because my professionalism is shot. "That's an interesting name for it," I say.

Damien shrugs, trying not to look embarrassed. "We've all got one."

"I'm sorry," Penn says, looking between us. "I think I've missed something."

"I'm turning this place into a clothing-optional community."

Penn's eyes have never been larger. "What, umm, I didn't know you were in, that, uh, business?"

"I wasn't until I met Madden." Damien lands a large hand on my shoulder. "Ever since we talked about it, I've been dabbling. I finally got up the nerve to visit Fever Ridge, and I loved it, but it's so far away. I want something in Seattle. Right in the heart."

"Umm, but isn't all of Seattle sort of clothing optional?" Penn asks.

"It is," I agree, "but even though it might be that legally, there's a reason I don't leave the house naked. People stare. It's uncomfortable. I saw a video online of someone who was minding their own business, bag slung over his dick, and someone recorded it, and it went viral." The thought of that guy being me is sickening. "It's too much attention. "

"I never thought of it that way."

"I want somewhere people like Madden—and me too, I guess—can spend time and feel comfortable."

My trips out to Fever Ridge are few and far between because it's so far, and going to Howell Beach is great but isolated, and those are both places I have to find time for around my work schedule. "What kind of community are you thinking of?"

"That's where I need you." Damien brings his hands together. "You're living the life, but every time I see you, you're in clothes. What can I give you here that will make the world more accessible to you?"

It takes me way too long to work out what he's saying. I cast my eyes over the land again, giving myself a second to take in the enormity of this space. "Dude, how rich are you?"

"Don't ask me that." His eyes are creased with amusement. "Then I'll have to downplay it, and I really don't want to lie to you."

I turn to Penn, and my grin feels painful. "I feel like a kid on Christmas."

Penn's smile is hesitant but slowly warms his eyes. "I didn't realize this is something you needed."

Neither did I. My brain has frozen, even though my head, heart, and gut are doing that thing where it feels right. Damien asking me what I need is a hard question because I've never stopped and thought about it.

"I'm guessing shopping would be important," Damien prompts. "Groceries and things."

Every word opens up more possibilities. "Groceries would be huge. And a cafe. Maybe a restaurant—oh they could hold speed dating nights there for nudists. Something to do … like a pool? Tennis court, maybe?"

Damien tilts his head and squints like he's trying to picture it. "How many people in the lifestyle do you think there are in Seattle?"

"At least hundreds. That's a broad guess, but between the clothing-optional beaches and the people who visit Fever Ridge for the day, plus the resorts around the state, it would be a lot. There's nothing like this in the heart of Seattle though."

"Agreed. It takes a lot of courage and effort to live this lifestyle freely, if you don't want to move into a compound that caters to it, and I don't think I'd police the place as people having to be naked to use the facilities, but it'd be clear that's what this is."

"W-what—" Penn cuts off his words, and we both turn to him. He looks like he wants to say something, but the words are stuck.

"Yeah?" I prompt.

He closes his eyes and says so quickly I almost don't catch it, "What about somewhere for newbie nudists?"

Damien studies him. "Like an area specifically for people who aren't sure they want to jump right in yet?"

"Exactly."

Penn's dark skin warms, but the longer I look at him, the more hopeful I get. We've been naked a few times in his apartment lately, but it never occurred to me he might want more than that, and being able to share this thing with him, to have someone I know and love as part of the community too, it means a whole fucking lot to me.

"That's a great idea." Damien makes a note of it, and relief crosses Penn's face.

I move closer to him while Damien is distracted, tapping out things on his phone, and I reach for Penn's hand. His fingers close between mine.

"Is that … is that something you'd use, you think?" I whisper .

Penn very slowly nods. "I'm not sold, but I think I'd like the option."

Just knowing he's open to it is everything.

"If you two want the job, it's yours."

That snaps me out of it. I whirl on Damien. "The job?"

"Well, sure. This is going to be a huge project, and I'll have my own team working on it too, but I'll need someone who knows what they're doing to manage it."

"B-but … wouldn't you manage them?"

"I'm only one person, and if we're going to have our own mini shopping mall and recreational facilities, I also need to free myself up for the planning of those. Penn, you've got a great eye for detail, and I've been impressed with your organization and management. Plus, having a landscaping engineer on the job would be invaluable with such a large site. Madden, your landscaping designs are amazing and out of the box. You also have knowledge from within the community of what there's a need for. Between the three of us, we really could create something incredible."

The words "I'm in" almost slip out on reflex. I don't need to think about it. This is an amazing idea, and getting to be a part of that? Getting to create something that I'll use myself, probably in my every spare moment? It's a fucking dream.

But I don't only have myself to think about. Penn and I have our own business, and taking time away from that will kill the momentum we've been building. Having something that's all ours is important to me. Working for ourselves, being able to set our own hours, making sure that the guys we hire have a good work-life balance. Have great benefits. Providing not only a steady income for people one day, but an actually healthy work environment are all things that Penn and I are striving for. Will this be a massive step backward? Or will working with Damien open doors we didn't even think to open?

This is an enormous job. We're talking at least a year commitment, but most likely more, depending on how fast we get things up and moving. But fuck, I'm excited for this place. I need it. I didn't know before now that I did, but having somewhere like this, somewhere that isn't home, somewhere that will actually care about us and not leave us vulnerable to the public, all without needing to drive for an hour to get there …

It takes a lot to swallow down my "I'm in" and replace it with "I'm thrilled you'd think of us—this whole project sounds amazing. Do you mind shooting through something with exactly what you need? Penn and I will talk it over."

"Of course." He shakes both of our hands again, always the professional. "Hopefully this is the start of something special, guys."

I need to remind myself not to get my hopes up.