The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

me to cry under the shower?”
“That depends on the quality of your slides.”
She smiled. “Don’t feel like you have to hold back.”
“Believe me, I don’t.”
“Good. Great.” She sighed, but it was reassuring, knowing
that he was going to be checking her work. “Will you come to
my talk?” she heard herself ask, and was as surprised by the
request as Adam seemed to be.
“I . . . Do you want me to?”
No. No, it’s going to be horrible, and humiliating, and
probably a disaster, and you’re going to see me at my worst
and weakest. It’s probably best if you lock yourself into the
bathroom for the entire duration of the panel. Just so you don’t
accidentally wander in and see me making a fool of myself.
And yet. Just the idea of having him there, sitting in the
audience, made the prospect seem like less of an ordeal. He
was not her adviser, and he wasn’t going to be able to do much
if she got inundated by a barrage of impossible questions, or if
the projector stopped working halfway through the talk. But
maybe that wasn’t what she needed from him.
It hit her then what was so special about Adam. That no
matter his reputation, or how rocky their first meeting, since
the very beginning, Olive had felt that he was on her side.
Over and over, and in ways that she could never have
anticipated, he had made her feel unjudged. Less alone.
She exhaled slowly. The realization should have been
rattling, but it had an oddly calming effect. “Yes,” she told
him, thinking that this might very well turn out to be all right.
She might never have what she wanted from Adam, but for
now at least, he was in her life. That was going to have to be
enough.