I hadn’t thought it was possible to find a woman as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.
But that was Pearl.
Purging her fears over six slices of pie.
As I took in each layer she’d revealed to me, I was inspired to show her more—more flavors for her to taste and more restaurants for her to sample different cuisines, finding new foods to fall in love with. And the whole time, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking about the restrictions she had set.
There was only one way to get past them.
“I want to meet her,” I said.
She’d been staring at her coffee, her hand gripping the mug with my fingers on top of hers—a grip I had no intention of releasing.
She finally looked up. “Who?”
“Your grandmother.”
She shook her head. “I’m extremely protective of her.”
“You think I’d hurt her?”
“No, Ashe.” She turned silent for a moment. “I just don’t let anyone have access to her.”
I rubbed my thumb over the tops of her knuckles. “Maybe that will change the more you learn to trust me.”
Within a few seconds, she was pulling her hand away, lifting the spoon to finish the rest of the peanut butter slice. “You seem pretty confident you’re going to break through my boundaries.”
“I just know who I am, Pearl. I know what I can offer you. And I know you don’t believe this yet, but I’m not like all the others.”
“You’re right; I don’t believe it because no man—especially one as good-looking as you—is trustworthy.”
I laughed.
Her stare started at my forehead, gradually lowering to my chin. “You’re a lethal combination. If I were smart, I’d push myself out of this booth and flee for the door.”
This time, I gripped her wrist, a part that felt so delicate as I rubbed the inside. “You never have to run when you’re with me.”
As she gazed down, she rested the spoon on the edge of the plate. “Thank you for coming tonight. Gran is the only person in my life who has ever shown up to anything … aside from you.”
“That’s going to change.” I grinned as I thought of Dylan sitting beside me during her next play. “You’re now going to have a whole cheering section—as long as you’re okay with that.”
I watched her take several deep breaths.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m okay with. This is a lot.”
“We’ll go as slow as you want.”
“That’s still very confident of you to say.” She turned silent as she looked at the leftover pie, and then she drained the rest of her coffee before she added, “I really should go.”
She’d given me more time and insight than I’d expected from her tonight, so I called over the waitress and asked for some boxes and two coffees to go. Before she left to grab my requests, I told her to hold on, and I glanced at Pearl.
“What’s Gran’s favorite flavor of pie?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know if she’s had any besides pumpkin.”
“We’ll also take a slice of peanut butter to go.”
Pearl waited for the waitress to leave before she said, “You’re too much.”
“This is just who I am—you’ll see.” I pointed at the half-eaten plates. “You should bring home all the leftovers too.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
The waitress returned with several Styrofoam containers, and I helped Pearl pack it all up into the plastic bag the waitress had left for us when she brought our coffees and the check.
I handed the waitress my credit card as Pearl said, “Thank you.” The warmest smile reached her eyes. “For dragging me out and forcing me to celebrate—something I don’t normally do. And for taking me here and stuffing me full of dessert.” She held the box that contained Gran’s slice. “For this too. It means the most.”
“You’re welcome.” I knew my grin matched hers. “You’ll have to let me know if she likes it.”
“I promise she will love it.”
I signed the credit card slip, and we got up and went outside. Standing by the door, she looked in both directions of the street, as though she was getting her bearings.
“Can I walk you home?”
Her eyes returned to me. “No.”
I had known it was a long shot, but it was still worth a try. “Then, I’ll walk you to the train station.”
She didn’t respond; she just started moving in the direction of the orange line. After several steps, she broke the silence. “I did all the talking tonight; you didn’t even get a chance to tell me more about yourself.”
I chuckled. “There isn’t really much to tell.”
“I find that hard to believe. Answer these questions for me …” She paused to take a drink of her coffee. “What’s your thing—you know, aside from medicine? What’s your ugliest scar, and when was the last time you cried?”
We approached a crosswalk, and I looked down at the top of her head. It reached the center of my chest, the perfect placement to bend my neck just slightly and kiss her.
But I kept my hands and my mouth to myself and replied, “Even your questions are interesting.”
“I’m not the kind of girl who wants to know the obvious.”
“I’m still learning what kind of girl you are, but I assure you, it’s a type I’ve never met before.” The signal changed, and we crossed the intersection. “I’m a lover of sports, and I played football in high school. I was an all-state wide receiver.” When we got to an area where we could stop, I pulled up the leg of my jeans, showing her the scar on my knee. “Tore my meniscus and fractured my tibia during a game my senior year.”
“Were you going to play football in college?”
“I was recruited by a few Division II schools, but none of them had premed, and that meant more to me than being a college athlete.”
“Whoa.” She adjusted her purse, balancing the bag of pies and coffee in her other hand. “That couldn’t have been an easy choice.”
“Giving up a full scholarship? No.” I looked toward the end of the block, focusing on the street sign as I continued, “But what was much tougher was seeing my dad in the hospital. Three years ago, the doctors had found a tumor on his kidney. It was caught in time, but there were some major complications that followed his surgery, and things got pretty rough there for a couple of weeks.”
I didn’t have to tell her that was where the tears had come in; I was sure she could read that on my face.
“I’m so sorry, Ashe. How’s he doing now?”
“All good.” I took a drink from my coffee. “He plays tennis every day in the summer and hits up the gym in the winter. He’s probably in the best shape of his life now.”
Her eyes softened. “A wonderful epilogue.” The only time I had seen that look was when she was talking about her grandmother. “Siblings?”
“I have two older sisters.”
“That explains everything.”
I laughed at her tone. “What does that mean?”
“You’re used to being around women; that’s why you’re sensitive to them.”
“I thought you were going to say I was a mama’s boy, and I was going to fight you on that one.”
“No, I don’t sense that at all. You seem extremely independent.” She stopped as we approached another crosswalk. “Is anyone in your family a doctor? I’m curious where your passion for medicine comes in.”
“Just me.” The lights from the train station were up ahead—a sign that I was running out of time. “I was born with this desire to save people, getting in and finding the problem and fixing it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“And you’re making it happen.”
“I have to survive premed first, and I’ll admit, it’s kicking my ass.” The light changed, and we began walking again. “MCATs will be next, and that score, along with my grades, will determine which med school accepts me.”
“What’s your top pick?”
“Johns Hopkins. It’s a pipe dream, but, man, I’d love to go there. Harvard and UPenn are on my short list as well.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you’ll be attending one of the three.”
I slowed my pace. “You certainly have a lot of confidence in me.”
She glanced at me, gazing through her lashes. “You don’t stop fighting until you get what you want. Tonight is proof of that.” Now that we’d arrived, she turned around, putting her back to the entrance. “I appreciate you walking me here.”
“When can I see you again?”
“I don’t know …” She broke our eye contact, telling me how hard this was for her.
When they’re fast on their feet, they want to be chased.
“You can trust me,” I said, repeating the words I’d said earlier, and I opened the top of her school bag, finding a pen clipped to the side. I grabbed it, and since I didn’t have a piece of paper, I held it against my palm. “What’s your number?”
She was reluctant—that much was obvious—her stare moving from my face to my hand and back. Eventually, she rattled off each digit, adding, “Sunday is my only night off. Otherwise, I’m usually out the door by eight in the morning, and I don’t get back until after work. Keep that in mind before you call.”
“I’ll find you. I’m not worried.” I slipped the pen back in her bag, and my hand moved to her waist, gently grazing it as I leaned in closer to press my lips against her cheek. Her skin was so fucking soft; the scent of cinnamon was extremely strong, and I remembered it from the whiff I’d gotten in the hallway. I kept my mouth on her for a second longer and pulled back. “Get home safely.”
Her cheeks were now a deep red, and she turned once again, giving me her back to hurry down the steps of the underground station.
I watched until she disappeared around the corner, her feet practically running.