Anh was convinced that Olive was lonely. Worse, Anh was refusing to date Jeremy—a guy she actively liked—because Jeremy was Olive’s ex-boyfriend from a brief, mutually uninspired two-week dating experiment. Olive didn't care about Jeremy. She wanted Anh to be happy. But Anh possessed a fiercely loyal, stubborn heart. She would never pursue Jeremy unless she was absolutely certain Olive had moved on.
But as the night wore on, the weight of the lie became too heavy for Olive to bear. September 29th was only a week away. Soon, the experiment would be over. Adam would go back to being the untouchable professor, and she would go back to being just another student in the hallways. Anh was convinced that Olive was lonely
Olive swallowed hard. He had used her first name. And he had called her work brilliant. Coming from Adam Carlsen, that was the equivalent of winning a Nobel Prize. She wanted Anh to be happy
"It's delicious, Carlsen," she countered, sticking her tongue out at him. "Your drink tastes like burnt dirt and misery." But as the night wore on, the weight
Olive’s breath hitched. Time seemed to stand still. The ambient noise of the gala faded into nothingness, leaving only the sound of their synchronized breathing. "You... you love me?" she breathed.