Page 194 - The Love Hypothesis

“Sure.” He looked slightly nauseous.

“Awesome.” She grinned. “I think it’s cheaper today, some kind of
Tuesday sale, so—”
“But you could room with me.”

The way he put it forward, calm and sensible, almost made it sound like
it was no big deal. And Olive almost fell for it, until her ears and brain

seemed to finally connect with each other and she was able to process the
meaning of what he’d just said.

That she.
Could room.

With him.
Olive knew full well what sharing quarters with someone entailed, even
for a very short period. Sleeping in the same room meant seeing

embarrassing pajamas, taking turns to use the bathroom, hearing the swish
of someone trying to find a comfortable position under the sheets loud and

clear in the dark. Sleeping in the same room meant— No. Nope. It was a
terrible idea. And Olive was starting to think that maybe she had maxed

those out for a while. So she cleared her throat.
“I could not, actually.”

He nodded calmly. But then, then he asked equally calmly, “Why?” and
she wanted to bang her head against the table.
“I couldn’t.”

“The room is a double, of course,” he offered, as if that piece of
information could have possibly changed her mind.

“It’s not a good idea.”
“Why?”

“Because people will think that we . . .” She noticed Adam’s look and
immediately hushed. “Okay, fine. They already think that. But.”

“But?”
“Adam.” She rubbed her forehead with her fingers. “There will be only
one bed.”

He frowned. “No, as I said it’s a double—”
“It’s not. It won’t be. There will be only one bed, for sure.”