The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Oh. Maybe, now that they had sex—good sex, Olivethought, amazing sex, though who knew about Adam?—heneeded his own space. Maybe he wanted his own damn pillow.She returned the empty glass and sat up. “I should move tomy bed.”He shook his head with an intensity that suggested that hedidn’t want her to go, not anywhere, not ever. His free handclosed tight around her waist, as if to tether her to him.Olive didn’t mind.“You sure? I suspect I might be a cover hog.”“It’s fine. I run warm.” He brushed a strand of hair fromher forehead. “And according to someone, I look like I mightsnore.”She gasped in mock outrage. “How dare they? Tell me whosaid that and I will personally avenge you—” She yelped whenhe held the icy-cool glass against her neck, and then dissolvedinto laughter, drawing up her knees and trying to twist awayfrom him. “I’m sorry—you don’t snore! You sleep like aprince!”“Damn right.” He set the glass on the nightstand, appeased,but Olive remained curled up, cheeks flushed and breathinghard from fending him off. He was smiling. With dimples, too.The same smile he’d smiled into her neck earlier, against herskin, the one that had tickled her and made her laugh.“I’m sorry about the socks, by the way.” She winced. “Iknow it’s a controversial topic.”Adam looked down at the rainbow-colored materialstretched around her calves. “Socks are controversial?”“Not socks per se. Just, keeping them on during sex?”“Really?”
“Totally. At least according to the issue of Cosmopolitanwe keep at home to swat cockroaches.”He shrugged, like a man who’d only ever read the NewEngland Journal of Medicine and maybe Truck-PushingDigest. “Why would anyone care one way or the other?”“Maybe they don’t want to unknowingly have sex withpeople with horrible, disfigured toes?”“Do you have disfigured toes?”“Truly grotesque. Circus-worthy. Antithetical to sex.Basically a built-in contraceptive.”He sighed, clearly amused. He was struggling to hold on tohis moody, broody, intense act, and Olive loved it.“I’ve seen you in flip-flops multiple times. Which, by theway, are not lab compliant.”“You must be mistaken.”“Really.”“I don’t like what you’re insinuating, Dr. Carlsen. I take theStanford environmental health and safety guidelines veryseriously and— What are you—”He was so much larger than her, he could hold her downwith one hand on her belly as he wrestled her out of her socks,and for some reason she loved every moment of it. She put upa good fight, and maybe he’d have a couple of bruisestomorrow, but when he finally managed to take them off,Olive was out of breath from laughing. Adam caressed her feetreverently, as though they were delicate and perfectly shapedinstead of belonging to someone who ran two marathons ayear.“You were right,” he said. Chest heaving, she looked at himcuriously. “Your feet are pretty hideous.”
- 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
- Page 278 and 279: “Olive.” He sighed heavily, clo
- Page 280: It was a little embarrassing, the a
- Page 283 and 284: studying her, it brooked no self-co
- Page 285 and 286: “No.” He shook his head. “Not
- Page 287 and 288: And I bet you do this all the time,
- Page 289 and 290: —IT TOOK HER the longest time to
- Page 291 and 292: Yes.“Fuck,” someone said. It wa
- Page 293 and 294: orgasm, and the taut stretch of it,
- Page 295 and 296: “Inside you?”“If you—”Ada
- Page 300 and 301: “What?” She gasped and freed he
- Page 302 and 303: finally belonging that seemed to ge
- Page 304 and 305: Slowly, precisely, she wrapped her
- Page 306 and 307: “The book you’re reading. With
- Page 308 and 309: “Who needs to know how to say ‘
- Page 310 and 311: He rolled his tongue inside his che
- Page 312 and 313: “Okay.” She leaned forward and
- Page 315 and 316: who hugged her and started talking
- Page 317 and 318: “He was shameless, Ol. And glorio
- Page 320 and 321: It was an even fancier hotel, and O
- Page 322 and 323: about Malcolm’s elbows. Holden ha
- Page 324 and 325: A beat. Adam studied her, patient a
- Page 326 and 327: “Right,” he said. “Right.”
- Page 328 and 329: “It was good, wasn’t it?” Oli
- Page 330 and 331: Tom Fucking Benton take credit for
- Page 333 and 334: “Fine,” Anh huffed. “Malcolm,
- Page 335 and 336: recording of Tom Benton saying shit
- Page 337 and 338: only one bed in this hotel room was
- Page 339 and 340: “I haven’t.”“Yes, Ol, you h
- Page 341 and 342: Right. What about Tom, precisely? O
- Page 343 and 344: Holden sighed. “This is why Adam
- Page 345 and 346: Chapter TwentyHYPOTHESIS: People wh
Oh. Maybe, now that they had sex—good sex, Olive
thought, amazing sex, though who knew about Adam?—he
needed his own space. Maybe he wanted his own damn pillow.
She returned the empty glass and sat up. “I should move to
my bed.”
He shook his head with an intensity that suggested that he
didn’t want her to go, not anywhere, not ever. His free hand
closed tight around her waist, as if to tether her to him.
Olive didn’t mind.
“You sure? I suspect I might be a cover hog.”
“It’s fine. I run warm.” He brushed a strand of hair from
her forehead. “And according to someone, I look like I might
snore.”
She gasped in mock outrage. “How dare they? Tell me who
said that and I will personally avenge you—” She yelped when
he held the icy-cool glass against her neck, and then dissolved
into laughter, drawing up her knees and trying to twist away
from him. “I’m sorry—you don’t snore! You sleep like a
prince!”
“Damn right.” He set the glass on the nightstand, appeased,
but Olive remained curled up, cheeks flushed and breathing
hard from fending him off. He was smiling. With dimples, too.
The same smile he’d smiled into her neck earlier, against her
skin, the one that had tickled her and made her laugh.
“I’m sorry about the socks, by the way.” She winced. “I
know it’s a controversial topic.”
Adam looked down at the rainbow-colored material
stretched around her calves. “Socks are controversial?”
“Not socks per se. Just, keeping them on during sex?”
“Really?”