The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, and theyexchanged a small smile.“I can ask Holden or Tom if I can stay with them, and leaveyou my room,” he suggested. “But they know that I alreadyhave one, so I’d have to come up with excuses—”“No, I’m not going to kick you out of your room.” She rana hand through her hair and exhaled. “You’d hate it.”He tilted his head. “What?”“Rooming with me.”“I would?”“Yeah. You seem like a person who . . .” You seem like youlike to keep others at arm’s length, uncompromising and everso hard to know. You seem like you care very little about whatpeople think of you. You seem like you know what you’redoing. You seem equally horrible and awesome, and just thethought that there’s someone you’d like to open up to, someonewho’s not me, makes me feel like I can’t sit at this table anylonger. “Like you’d want your own space.”He held her gaze. “Olive. I think I’ll be fine.”“But if you end up not being fine, then you’d be stuck withme.”“It’s one night.” His jaw clenched and relaxed, and headded, “We are friends, no?”Her own words, thrown back at her. I don’t want to be yourfriend, she was tempted to say. Thing was, she also didn’t wantto not be his friend. What she wanted was completely outsideof her ability to obtain, and she needed to forget it. Scrap itfrom her brain.“Yes. We are.”“Then, as a friend, don’t force me to worry about you usingpublic transportation late at night in a city you’re not familiar
with. Biking on roads without bike lanes is bad enough,” hemuttered, and she immediately felt a weight sink into herstomach. He was trying to be a good friend. He cared for her,and instead of being satisfied with what she currently had, shehad to ruin it all and—and want more.She took a deep breath. “Are you sure? That it wouldn’tbother you?”He nodded, silent.“Okay, then. Okay.” She forced herself to smile. “Do yousnore?”He huffed out a laugh. “I don’t know.”“Oh, come on. How can you not know?”He shrugged. “I just don’t.”“Well, that probably means you don’t. Otherwise, someonewould have told you.”“Someone?”“A roommate.” It occurred to her that Adam was thirtyfourand likely hadn’t had a roommate in about a decade. “Ora girlfriend.”He smiled faintly and lowered his gaze. “I guess my‘girlfriend’ will tell me after SBD, then.” He said it in a quiet,unassuming tone, clearly trying to make a joke, but Olive’scheeks warmed, and she couldn’t quite bear to look at himanymore. Instead she picked at a thread on the sleeve of hercardigan, and searched for something to say.“My stupid abstract.” She cleared her throat. “It wasaccepted as a talk.”He met her eyes. “Faculty panel?”“Yeah.”“You’re not happy?”
- Page 177 and 178: “I will if you get pumpkin stuff.
- Page 179 and 180: “It literally takes ten minutes.
- Page 181 and 182: you need to get over it. For scienc
- Page 183: Chapter TenHYPOTHESIS: If I fall in
- Page 188 and 189: the whole idea was idiotic and a ca
- Page 190 and 191: added begrudgingly, “he’s not n
- Page 192 and 193: noticeably different from the Adam
- Page 194 and 195: “Ol.”“How would that conversa
- Page 196 and 197: The lie rolled off her tongue like
- Page 198 and 199: It was all Olive could do not to le
- Page 200 and 201: Olive looked at Adam, expecting him
- Page 202 and 203: “Not sure. Not sure Holden knows,
- Page 204 and 205: She paused right in front of his ch
- Page 206 and 207: “We could, like, sleep in on Sund
- Page 208 and 209: Olive: Well, TSA is notoriously inc
- Page 210 and 211: “Adam being gone. Hell, even I mi
- Page 212 and 213: “But I could tell you so many jui
- Page 214 and 215: stricken and frantic. “I can’t.
- Page 216 and 217: crap her pants. “Right.” Olive
- Page 218 and 219: “Well.” He fidgeted with the ca
- Page 220 and 221: “You’re not mad, right?”“I
- Page 222 and 223: Possibilities. That’s what Adam
- Page 224 and 225: them. I do hate that I love them, t
- Page 226 and 227: Could room.With him.Olive knew full
- Page 230 and 231: “No.” She winced.“Is it the p
- Page 232 and 233: “Adam, I’m pretty sure that if
- Page 234 and 235: me to cry under the shower?”“Th
- Page 236 and 237: to my professional career, general
- Page 238 and 239: “Hey.” Olive forced her face in
- Page 240 and 241: “What is it?”“Calories. To fu
- Page 242 and 243: She rolled her eyes. “For Dr. Asl
- Page 244 and 245: It didn’t go perfectly, either. S
- Page 246 and 247: friends, but maybe she could buy hi
- Page 248 and 249: “A pretty girl like you should kn
- Page 250 and 251: to spending more time with you next
- Page 252 and 253: “Nothing.” Her voice shook. It
- Page 254 and 255: “It’s not what they say. It’s
- Page 256 and 257: “And I keynote-spoke.” He grabb
- Page 258 and 259: “Um . . . I’m wearing heels, he
- Page 260 and 261: She moved closer to him and grasped
- Page 262 and 263: “It’s appalling.”“—or the
- Page 264 and 265: like having a thousand little splin
- Page 266 and 267: well on her way to wasted by that p
- Page 268 and 269: “An obscenity, isn’t it? It’s
- Page 270 and 271: “For a moment there, during the t
- Page 272 and 273: “The opposite of discipline and h
- Page 274 and 275: Adam shook his head. “He wanted a
- Page 276 and 277: all of it, maybe it was always goin
with. Biking on roads without bike lanes is bad enough,” he
muttered, and she immediately felt a weight sink into her
stomach. He was trying to be a good friend. He cared for her,
and instead of being satisfied with what she currently had, she
had to ruin it all and—and want more.
She took a deep breath. “Are you sure? That it wouldn’t
bother you?”
He nodded, silent.
“Okay, then. Okay.” She forced herself to smile. “Do you
snore?”
He huffed out a laugh. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, come on. How can you not know?”
He shrugged. “I just don’t.”
“Well, that probably means you don’t. Otherwise, someone
would have told you.”
“Someone?”
“A roommate.” It occurred to her that Adam was thirtyfour
and likely hadn’t had a roommate in about a decade. “Or
a girlfriend.”
He smiled faintly and lowered his gaze. “I guess my
‘girlfriend’ will tell me after SBD, then.” He said it in a quiet,
unassuming tone, clearly trying to make a joke, but Olive’s
cheeks warmed, and she couldn’t quite bear to look at him
anymore. Instead she picked at a thread on the sleeve of her
cardigan, and searched for something to say.
“My stupid abstract.” She cleared her throat. “It was
accepted as a talk.”
He met her eyes. “Faculty panel?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not happy?”
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