“You guys have fun,” I said, taking her in for a final few seconds before I went to my room.

Once I shut the door behind me, I tossed my bag onto the bed and arranged my pillows in a comfortable position. Organic Chemistry sat on my lap, and I opened to the chapter that we had gone over in class. I was just bringing my coffee up for a sip when there was a knock at my door.

“Come in,” I said, glancing up to catch that blue stare on the other side.

That hadn’t taken long.

I liked that about her.

She clung to my doorframe, those slender fingers gripping it so tightly. “Dylan had to make a phone call, so we’re taking a quick break. I just wanted to come and say … small world.”

“Had I known you were in such a rush to come to my place, we could have walked here together.”

A heat moved across her skin, cheeks flushing. “I was running so behind; they had to start without me.” She stepped in farther, still staying by the door but putting her back against the frame. “I’m Pearl, by the way.”

“Ashe—you already know that.”

“Ashe,” she said as though she were trying it on for size. “I like that. Is it short for something?”

“It’s my mother’s maiden name. She has six siblings, all sisters. She didn’t want their last name to die out.”

“I love that.”

“And you?”

“You mean, is Pearl short for something? Or what I’m named after?”

I didn’t know what the hell I was asking. I just wanted to hear more of her voice and see the way those plump lips moved and to keep her eyes on me, so I answered, “Both.”

She glanced toward the window, her arms circling around her stomach. “One of my mother’s boyfriends once told me that if I had been a diamond, she would have sold me, but I had unfortunately come out as a pearl.”

“He sounds like a fucking dick.”

“That’s all she ever dated.” She was trying to hide how much that admission hurt, but her eyes wouldn’t let her. They were as loud as a scream. “You’re not going to school to be a shrink, are you?”

“No.” I shook my head. “A surgeon.”

“What kind?”

“Heart, I think. But I have a lot more years and what feels like a million more classes to complete before I make that decision. Premed is only the very beginning.”

A smile replaced the emotion. One that was so alluring that I would agree to anything she asked. “The amount of studying and term papers and exams you have in your future kinda makes me want to die.” She laughed, and it was just as captivating as her grin. “I want to graduate as quickly as possible and start my career.”

“And go where?”