Who was that on the phone?

A guy.

A guy. Same guy as the guy you had dinner with the other night?

Same guy.

You gonna have dinner with him again?

I don't think so.

No interest?

Not at this time.

Their conversation bounced around in Mulder's head as they left and walked to the car. He glanced at her and tried not to smile. She turned her head at the exact second and he blushed as she raised her eyebrows. Dropping his head, he took a deep breath, trying to gain control of his emotions.

"I can see that you're trying not to smile, Mulder. Quit acting so smug," she said with a sigh. "He was just … I don't know, too perfect."

"Too perfect?" Mulder asked, a smile now spreading across his face as he looked at her. She gave him a look and he stared back, waiting for her to say something.

She sighed and stopped walking, standing in the lobby. "While it's not exactly your business, as it's my personal life, but yes, he was too perfect. I had that recently and it was … nice, but not …"

"Exciting?" Mulder asked quietly.

"Yeah," she answered, just as quietly, other agents rushing past as they stood still, staring at one another.

"I didn't know you had been seeing anyone," he said, shaking his head. "If our partnership caused you two to break up …"

"No, it wasn't that, although it didn't help," she smiled, brushing a piece of hair back from her forehead. "Me being away with my new partner, who happens to be a man, well, it definitely came up in conversation."

Mulder nodded and waited. He had not known her long, but he knew she was not the type of woman to let anyone tell her what to do. She raised her eyebrows and sighed, shaking her head.

"Well, since he couldn't handle that, no matter what I told him, he and I broke it off. It turned out to be for the best. I wasn't happy and the sex …" She shook her head again and began to walk toward the parking garage. He grinned and followed after her.

"You know you can't just leave the conversation hanging like that. I mean you tell me the date you just went on was none of my business, but then make a point to tell me your past relationship was … what? Vanilla?" Mulder asked, catching up and looking at her sideways.

"Vanilla is one way to describe it," she sighed, not looking at him. He nodded as they got in the car, unable to stop his thoughts from wondering what kind of sex his partner considered vanilla.

Driving out of the garage, he grinned once again. "Scully, can I interest you in stopping for a chocolate shake before we head to the Smithsonian?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw she was the one now trying not to smile.