Page 146 - The Love Hypothesis

driveway until Olive agreed to slide a can of pepper spray in her backpack.

She walked over the brick-tile path and up to the entrance, marveling at the
green of the yard and at the cozy atmosphere of the porch. She was about to
ring the doorbell when she heard her name.

Adam was behind her, bathed in sweat and clearly just back from his
morning run. He was wearing sunglasses, shorts, and a Princeton Undergrad

Mathletes T-shirt that stuck to his chest. Out of the ensemble, the only
nonblack items were the AirPods in his ears, peeking through the damp

waves of his hair. She felt her cheeks curve into a smile, trying to imagine
what he was listening to. Probably Coil, or Kraftwerk. The Velvet

Underground. A TED Talk on water-efficient landscaping. Whale noises.
She would have given a huge chunk of her salary in exchange for five
minutes alone with his phone, just to mess with his playlist. Add Taylor

Swift, Beyoncé, maybe some Ariana. Broaden his horizons. She couldn’t
see his eyes behind the dark lenses, but she didn’t need to. His mouth had

curved as soon as he’d noticed her, his smile slight but definitely there.
“You okay?” he asked.

Olive realized that she’d been staring. “Um, yeah. Sorry. You?”
He nodded. “Did you find the house all right?”

“Yes. I was just about to knock.”
“No need.” He passed her and opened the door for her, waiting until
she’d stepped inside to close it after them. She caught a whiff of his scent—

sweat and soap and something dark and good—and wondered anew at how
familiar it had become to her. “Tom’s probably this way.”

Adam’s place was light, spacious, and simply furnished. “No
taxidermied animals?” she asked under her breath.

He was clearly about to flip her off when they found Tom in the kitchen,
typing on his laptop. He looked up at her and grinned—which, she hoped,

was a good sign.
“Thanks for coming, Olive. I wasn’t sure I’d have time to go to campus
before leaving. Sit down, please.” Adam disappeared from the room,

probably to go shower, and Olive felt her heart pick up. Tom had made his
decision. Her destiny was going to be defined by the next few minutes.