Page 59 of Play For Keeps

EVERLY

The knock at my door surprises me. Jake is at work and Franny is visiting a friend this morning, she messaged me earlier to let me know. I can’t think of anyone else who would pop by unannounced.

I reluctantly open the door to find a box with my name on it sitting on my doorstep. I pick up the package and bring it inside, setting it on the counter.

“Who was that, Mommy?” Birdie calls from the living room. “Is Jake here?”

“No, baby. It wasn’t Jake. It was a package. Can you grab me the scissors to open it?”

She bounds over to the drawer and then carefully passes me the pair of scissors. Sliding their edge along the packing tape, I open the cardboard flaps of the box. Birdie watches from the stool she climbed up on. “What is it? Open it.”

I lift the brown packing paper from the top to find a beautifully wrapped gift topped with a pink bow. A smile tugs at my lips when I slip the ribbon and tissue paper off the gift. The book.

It’s the romance novel by Emily Silver that I showed Jake the day he took me to breakfast. There’s also a note inside.

Wanted you to be one of the first to read it, Jake xo.

Blinking back the blur in my eyes, I read the card again. I can’t believe he remembered.

“What is it, Mommy?” Birdie looks at me with a curious stare. “You look like you are so happy you could cry.”

“Aw, my sweetheart,” I say leaning over the counter towards her, bopping her little nose. “It’s a book I wanted. It’s from Jake. Isn’t that thoughtful?”

“I like Jake,” she says with warmth in her eyes. “He makes you happy.”

“He does,” I agree. “And so do you.”

That is what I want, I realize. For Birdie to see me truly happy with someone who treats me right. I’ve always worried about who I want to include in her life. After Grant, dating seemed a long way off, but just the thought of it made me nervous because it’s not just me I have to think about. It’s Birdie, too. But ultimately, I want her to know happiness, to be surrounded by joy and live in a house where two people adore one another. It’s not hard for me to imagine that with Jake.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Jake is still in his 20s. Would he even want to get married, to have kids? Is that even on his radar? I’ve thought about this at length, and I know without a doubt I want to give Birdie a sister or a brother. Maybe two. Which means my clock is ticking.

It might be too soon to be having these kinds of conversations with Jake, but if we aren’t on the same page, there’s no point in taking things further. We’d just be wasting both of our time. I decide I need to talk to Jake about all of this, and the sooner the better. But for now, I will just allow myself to enjoy this moment.

I flip through the pages of my new book before grabbing my phone from the counter to snap a selfie. I send Jake the picture of me with the book clutched to my chest.

Everly: I got the book you sent. That was so thoughtful, I’m speechless. I’m also very excited to read it. Thank you, Jake.

My phone chimes with a reply a few minutes later.

Jake: I’m glad you like it. I was pretty positive you would.

Everly: It was sweet. You are very charming.

Jake: Only for you.

I grin. If someone had told me a few months ago that I would be messaging with a guy seven years younger than me, I’d have laughed.

Everly: My Lover Boy.

Jake: Maybe we can read the steamy parts together.

Everly: We’ll see. Thank you again. The sweetest gift I’ve ever been given.

Jake: I’m happy you love it. Are we still on for shopping tonight?

He adds a bicycle emoji to the end of the sentence. Jake offered to help me shop for a bike for Birdie for her birthday. The subject came up when I was lying in bed after the hottest FaceTime of my life. I’ve never done anything like that. I’m the girl who has never sent a nude. I still blush every time I think about what we did. It surprises me how fully in the moment I was. How I didn’t hold back and did everything he asked of me. And the crazy thing? I loved it.

I loved watching how Jake stroked himself and how turned on I made him as he watched me. Every so often since then, I’ll find myself zoning out, replaying the night in my head. I loved the way it felt to do something so out of my comfort zone, so naughty. I'm hoping we can do it again soon.

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