Page 134 - The Love Hypothesis

able to exchange more than a couple of words with Adam. Which, she had

to admit, had been a little disappointing.
“Where’s Tom by the way, while you and I slave our Friday night
away?”

“Out. On a date, I think.”
“On a date? Does his girlfriend live here?”

“Tom has lots of girlfriends. In lots of places.”
“But are any of them fake?” She beamed at him, and could tell that he

was tempted to smile back. “Would you like half a dollar, then? For the
chips?”

“Keep it.”
“Great. Because it’s about a third of my monthly salary.”
She actually managed to make him laugh, and—it didn’t just transform

his face, it changed the entire space they were inhabiting. Olive had to
convince her lungs not to stop working, to keep taking in oxygen, and her

eyes not to get lost in the little lines at the corners of his eyes, the dimples
in the center of his cheeks. “Glad to hear that grad students’ stipends have

not increased since I was one.”
“Did you use to live on instant ramen and bananas during your Ph.D.,

too?”
“I don’t like bananas, but I remember having lots of apples.”
“Apples are expensive, you fiscally irresponsible splurger.” She tilted

her head and wondered if it was okay to ask the one thing she’d been dying
to know. She told herself that it was probably inappropriate—and then went

for it anyway. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-four.”

“Oh. Wow.” She’d thought younger. Or older, maybe. She’d thought he
existed in an ageless dimension. It was so weird to hear a number. To have a

year of birth, almost a whole decade before hers. “I’m twenty-six.” Olive
wasn’t sure why she offered up the information, since he hadn’t asked. “It’s
odd to think that you used to be a student, too.”

“Is it?”
“Yep. Were you like this as an undergrad, too?”