Love, Theoretically

Jack brings Elsie to a small gathering of his close friends, as two of them are in town for a conference. Elsie realizes that Jack considers these friends to be family, especially once she meets Adam and Olive, the couple that is in town for the week. She and Olive, a biologist, talk about how difficult it is to be a woman in STEM, especially when it comes to the job market, which Olive will also be entering the following year. Olive also tells her she is happy to see that Jack is “over his I Don’t Date, Let Me Set Boundaries and Make It Clear That This Is Just About Sex phase” (217), about which Elsie is uncomfortable, as sex is not something she minds but is something she “never craved” (217). Elsie also runs into George, and they both apologize for their behavior when they first met. George makes her promise to let her take Elsie to lunch next week, and Elsie gives George her number because Jack wouldn’t.

Jack takes Elsie to dinner after the party, and she asks him why he doesn’t date, something she has noticed about him and that Olive mentioned. He says that he sets boundaries so that no one gets hurt and asks her how she got into fake dating.