Page 153 - The Love Hypothesis

“Come on.” She leaned forward, poking his biceps with her index finger.

They had touched so much at this point. In public, and alone, and a mixture
of the two. It didn’t feel weird. It felt good and natural, like when Olive was
with Anh, or Malcolm. “Let’s go together.”

He didn’t budge, parallel parking in a spot that would have taken Olive
about two hours of maneuvering to fit into. “I don’t have time.”

“You just agreed to go get coffee. You must have some time.”
He finished parking in less than a minute and pressed his lips together.

Not answering her.
“Why don’t you want to get the shot?” She studied him suspiciously.

“Are you some kind of anti-vaxxer?”
Oh, if looks could kill.
“Okay.” She furrowed her brow. “Then why?”

“It’s not worth the hassle.” Was he fidgeting a little? Was he biting the
inside of his lip?

“It literally takes ten minutes.” She reached for him, tugging at the
sleeve of his shirt. “You get there, they scan your university badge. They

give you the shot.” She felt his muscles tense under her fingertips as she
said the last word. “Easy peasy, and the best part is, you don’t get the flu for

a whole year. Totally— Oh.” Olive covered her mouth with her hand.
“What?”
“Oh my God.”

“What?”
“Are you— Oh, Adam.”

“What?”
“Are you afraid of needles?”

He went still. Completely immobile. He wasn’t breathing anymore. “I’m
not afraid of needles.”

“It’s okay,” she said, making her tone as reassuring as possible.
“I know, since I’m not—”
“This is a safe space for you and your fear of needles.”

“There is no fear of—”
“I get it, needles are scary.”