Page 107 of First in Line

CHAPTER

TWENTY

Jackson

“Did you get it?”

Evie nods energetically, her smile so wide I can see all her teeth, even from the screen of my laptop like this. She’s on the couch at home, sitting cross-legged while her phone is on the coffee table before her.

“What is it?” she wonders, pulling the Amazon box in front of her.

“I told you. It’s an early birthday present.”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s not for another two and a half months, Jax.”

“That’s why it’s early. Open it, princess.”

With a crooked grin, she busies herself with the box, ripping the tape away. I lean back into the couch, settling myself more comfortably. It’s past three in the morning here, so I’m alone in the common room, plunged into semi-darkness. The rest of the team is fast asleep, and I probably should be too. But the time difference between Evie and me requires some sacrifices, and I’m willing to make them.

When she opens the mailing box and sees the one inside, her smile turns into a confused frown. It stays on as she takesout the white box and examines it. It’s a brand-new MacBook Pro, which, according to the internet, is a perfect fit for an architecture student.

She stares into the camera, jaw loose with stupor. “Jax, you—how did you pay for this?”

“I used the money I was putting aside for my plane ticket, and my parents helped with the rest.”

When she realizes what it means, sadness passes over her face. “Oh… So, you really aren’t coming back this month.”

“I’m sorry, princess. It looks like I’ll stay for more training. They even mentioned having me in an F2 car for some tests.”

“It’s okay, I figured when you placed second in Melbourne.”

“Yeah, they want to make sure I get a chance to win the next one in Italy. I’m doing simulations every other day, working on my reaction times and corners.”

“I get it, don’t worry.” She looks down at her new computer again, and a small smile bends her lips once more.

“At least you’ll get to nail your 3D renders now,” I say. “And you’ll send me every single one of them, okay?”

“Of course.”

I watch as she opens the box and takes everything out. She looks like a child on Christmas morning, and it was definitely worth spending everything I had on the side for this.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” she lets out, hands on her cheeks as she stares at the laptop.

“I have a couple of ideas…”

My tone leaves very little doubt about what I mean, and she immediately catches my drift. “Right now?”

“Yeah. Unless you don’t have time.”

“I have time. But aren’t you worried someone might come?”

“Oh, princess, Ireallyhope someone comes.”

She giggles and, after a brief moment of hesitation, settles her new computer on the coffee table, along with the accessories.I watch, mesmerized, as she slips her top off and discards it next to her on the couch. She’s wearing a plain mesh bra, but the sheerness of it allows me to enjoy the pink circles of her areolas.

While she gets rid of her pants, I set my laptop in front of me on the coffee table and lower the sound to near minimum. If someone interrupts, I’d rather they didn’t hear her. The video quality isn’t great, but we’ve been making it work these past four months. Not as often as either of us would like, though, because I get very little time to myself, away from team members and staffers.

So, if I have to sneak out of my room in the middle of the night to spend some quality time with my wife, I will.