Cecily: I just wanted to drop my cigarette and my half-full glass of wine, and be in his arms. Instead I smiled and delivered a gushing, witless compliment. In the end I was both too warm and too cold, because I could not commit to either.

Alexander: Has true vulnerability occurred to you? Or rather, have you seriously entertained it? Perhaps you needn’t look further than yourself when choosing a persona, at least in this case.