12 Human Steamrollers

Eden nearly choked on the rest of her Gushers. And to think Troy had barely apologized for bringing up something painful! She was the real offender here.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know."

"It's okay. I actually lost both of my parents at the same time due to an accident and went to go live with my aunt and her family. It's why I'm as close to my cousin as I am. We've lived together for most of our lives," he said with a shrug.

She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. She was sure whatever she said would be awkward.

"…it's good you have him then."

Troy laughed wryly. "Most of the time anyway. He gets me into a fair share of sticky situations because I don't know how to say no."

"Trust me, I have a human steamroller for a best friend too. I get it. When Aubrey wants something, she gets it. I guess we're both pushovers," Eden said, trying to recover the easy flow of conversation.

She ended up being successful because his laugh was more genuine this time. "Yet another thing we have in common."

He didn't seem offended and all of the awkwardness had been smoothed away. What a relief. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him so he wouldn't want to talk to her anymore. That would make working here 110% awful again.

Eden had noticed that they actually had quite a few things in common since they started talking. They had similar tastes in books and movies and both loved to hike. One of her favorite things about living farther north was more diverse hiking trails.

It would be fun to go hiking with Troy sometime but she was too chicken to bring it up. They had a good thing going here as work friends and she didn't want to mess with that. At least not while she was still working here and would have to see him every day.

Well, not his actual appearance. Freddie Funnington's. Even seeing Mike in the suit would remind her of him since she only ever saw him as Freddie.

"What's your favorite kind of snack?" Troy asked randomly, shaking Eden out of her thoughts.

"Why do you ask?"

"You bring something different every day. I've never seen someone have such a wide variety before."

She snorted and shook her head with an indulgent smile. This one was always full of surprises. "I believe variety is the spice of life. My mom packed my brother and I the same snacks in our lunches every single day in elementary school. Little bags of Cool Ranch Doritos.

"I got so sick of them after a while that I can't even stand the sight of them to this day. Once I was older and got to pick snacks for myself, I tried to shake it up as much as possible. I rotate through different options every workday in a month so I don't get sick of anything.

"Some are better than others but the one I like best is probably X-tra Cheddar Goldfish. Call me crazy but the cheese powder they put on them is a masterpiece. I could probably eat some of those every day for a month without getting sick of them."

"But not years," Troy noted with an obvious smile in his voice.

Eden shrugged. "Hey, I don't think anyone can survive on the same snack for that long."

"What about breakfast food? There are people who eat nothing but cereal for years on end. I suppose there is enough diversity in cereal types that it wouldn't feel as repetitive as the same flavor of chip though. I destroyed my own argument before I could properly make it."

She couldn't help but laugh at the regret in his voice and reached out to pat his shoulder. "There, there. It happens to the best of us. So what's your favorite snack?"

"Double Stuf Oreos. But it is absolutely unacceptable to be eaten without milk to dunk it in and I will fight you on it," Troy deadpanned.

He wasn't actually serious but that made it even funnier. He was killing her today! If she didn't watch herself, she was going to end up completely cracking up in front of him and looking like a crazy person.

"A man of strong opinions. I can respect that," Eden said as she tried vainly to muffle her laughter.

"Go on, laugh it up. That won't change my mind. T—I mean, my cousin hasn't been able to yet. We ran out of milk a while back and he didn't even care. Ate a whole sleeve dry like a barbarian," Troy shuddered.

That was it. The last straw. She burst out laughing and wasn't able to stop even after his break ended and he had to leave. She was totally embarrassed but couldn't see the wide, pleased smile on the face of the man under the mascot head.

Eden couldn't believe she wasn't able to pull herself together in time to explain that she wasn't making fun of him but when she saw him the next day, he didn't seem the slightest bit offended. Maybe he was the type that liked being laughed at.

He had seemed like he was joking around on purpose yesterday. That must be it. Who didn't like having their jokes laughed at? He probably would have been upset if he was actually being serious.

Talking to Troy throughout her breaks helped keep her mind, albeit briefly, off the fact that she still hadn't heard back from the lab she interviewed with. He was an excellent distraction.