“Did I scare you? I swear I’m harmless.” “Er, no, I just… well, no one has ever asked me out on a train before.” That was nothing but the plain truth. In fact, no one at all had asked her out for years. “I’m at a loss.” Also true. “Here, this is what I’ll do. I’ll write my name and number down on this piece of paper and I’ll give it to you, and when you get to your stop, you can throw it in the next trash can you see, because littering is wrong, and immediately forget all about me. Very little inconvenience to you—just that extra few seconds with the trash can.” He smiled while he spoke, but his eyes were down, focused on writing his information on the back of a receipt with a no. 2 pencil. “That’s very considerate of you. I appreciate it.” He looked up, still smiling. “Or you don’t have to throw it away. You could also use it to call me and then spend a few hours talking to me while I buy you food.” The monotone voice overhead announced the Penn Quarter station and she was relieved. Because she was starting to feel sad. Yes, she was going to have a night out with Daniel Beach, but neither of them was going to enjoy it very much. FROM THE BOOK CHEMIST BY STEPHEINE MEYER