[He shrugs, reaching for the offered cigarette. It's always a bit awkward when spending time with someone and only one of them is smoking. When in Rome, and all that.]

You know how it goes. When the only time she's not working or burying her nose in law books is when she's taking a smoke break, you take what you can get.

[It's innocent enough information, something easy enough to be a story or reality, and he's always found that sharing stories--whether true or not--tends to put other people at ease when they feel they have something they can relate to.]