“Yeah, let’s keep some boundaries,” Jackson mumbles.
Steph lets out a wry chuckle, shaking her head. The apartment buzzer sounds and she sets down her glass and starts to move away. “I’ll get it.”
I fix my eyes back on the screen in front of me, once again tapping frantically at the return key. “Whyisn’t anything happening?” I whine.
“Still sixteen minutes to go, babe,” Jackson reminds me, rubbing his hands over my shoulders.
“God, this is torture,” I grumble. Tilting my head back, I gaze up at Jackson, offering him the pouty, entreating look that’s been his kryptonite for decades. “Distract me?”
Amusement flits over his face and he lets out a wry chuckle. “How should I do that?”
“I’m sure you can think of something…”
He quirks a teasing brow at me. “I could put on a puppet show? Or dance the hula?”
I grin at him. “You’d look hot in a hula skirt.”
Jackson’s head falls back as he lets out a burst of laughter, and I instantly feel the mess of nerves inside me untangle and melt away. It really doesn’t matter what that score is. I already have everything I need right here.
“I love you.”
His response is written all over his face as he smiles down at me. He bends down and brushes a soft kiss to my jaw.“My Skyler.”
“Jax, you’ve got a package,” Steph announces, closing the apartment door with a thud.
Jackson straightens up and I turn around in confusion. I hadn’t even realized Steph had left.
“Here you go.” She crosses the living room and hands Jackson the small padded satchel, prompting his eyes to light up when he sees the label.
“Finally!”
“What is it?” I ask curiously.
He just offers a secretive smirk and starts walking backward toward our bedroom. “Come with me. I’ve got a distraction for you.”
Intrigued, I push myself out of my chair and follow after him. “Is it the blindfold we talked about? Should I get naked?”
“What was that about boundaries?” Steph asks dryly.
I let out a breath of laughter but can only manage a half-hearted shrug by way of apology.
When I enter the room, I find Jackson sitting casually on the unmade bed, spinning the package around in his hands. “I ordered this ages ago,” he explains. “It was supposed to be a present for starting your new job, but it’s taken forever to get here.”
“So it’snota sex thing?” I tease, one eyebrow quirked.
He lets out a soft laugh. “Afraid not. Sorry to disappoint.”
“You could never disappoint me.”
Even though the present is supposedly something innocent, I can tell that Jackson’s a little nervous about it, so I decide to close the bedroom door to give us some privacy.
“So it’s a present for me?” I ask, joining him on the bed. “I like presents.”
He offers an affectionate smile. “I know you do. This one…” He hesitates for a moment, tracing the seal of the satchel with one finger. “I wanted to get you something special, but it’s taken so long…now I’m not sure…”
“Well,I’msure,” I tell him. “If you picked it, it’ll be perfect.”
Love and affection are written all over his face as he reaches out and cups the back of my head, drawing me forward for a soft kiss. “I love you.”
