The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

“Because you moved the truck. I—I know how ridiculous
that sounds. I know. But I didn’t want her to get suspicious,
and there are faculty members here, too, so maybe they’ll tell
the department chair and it will be two birds with one stone
and I can leave if you—”
“It’s okay, Olive. Breathe.”
Right. Yes. Good suggestion. Olive did breathe, and the act
made her realize that she hadn’t done that in a while, which in
turn made her smile up at Adam—who did his mouth-twitch
thing back at her. She was really starting to get used to him. To
his expressions, his size, his distinctive way of being in the
same space as her.
“Anh’s staring at us,” he said, looking over Olive’s head.
Olive sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I just bet
she is,” she mumbled.
Adam wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his
hand.
Olive squirmed. “So . . . Should we hug or something?”
“Oh.” Adam looked at his hands and down at himself. “I
don’t think you want to do that. I’m pretty gross.”
Before she could stop herself Olive studied him from head
to toe, taking in his large body, his broad shoulders, the way
his hair was curling around his ears. He didn’t look gross. Not
even to Olive, who was usually not a fan of dudes built like
they spent a double-digit percentage of their time at the gym.
He looked . . .
Not gross.
Still, maybe it was better if they didn’t hug. Olive might
end up doing something egregiously stupid. She should just
say goodbye and leave—yes, that was the thing to do.