Not The Kind We Usually Discuss

It was nearly 4 PM by the time they made it back to Aubrey's apartment and started watching From Prada to Nada, a modern adaptation of Sense and Sensibility that was an old favorite of theirs. Diana was in the kitchen making the popcorn while the rest of them settled on the sectional couch to start watching without her.

Troy would be getting off from work soon…should Eden text him? He had said to text him often. She didn't want to be annoying but he had said she wouldn't be a bother.

It had felt weird not seeing him today even though she was spending time with people she liked. It couldn't hurt. If he didn't respond, so be it.

'Just finished dress shopping with Aubrey. It only took three stores to find the one she wanted' she sent before sticking her phone back in her pocket and focusing on the movie as best she could considering how many times she had watched it.

Jennifer and Aubrey were already at their usual commentary despite it being less than five minutes in and Eden smiled to herself. Some things never changed.

===

Jonah had been what Troy liked to call 'a total space case' ever since he got home from work yesterday and delivered Eden's message and candy. He was so out of it that he barely remembered how to do basic tasks. At one point, he nearly put a banana peel in the microwave instead of the garbage can before realizing his mistake.

She was glad she knew him. Their conversations meant something to her. She wanted to stay in touch.

On top of that, she gave him candy in return for the ones he gave her on Valentine's Day. That had to mean something, right? Valentine's Day was the most significant day of the year in terms of romance.

Jonah was also willing to bet that Troy was not at all subtle about trying to get her to text him once 'they' parted ways and had probably done something embarrassing and out of character for him-as-Troy. That didn't help his nerves.

He was glued to his phone all day but didn't get a single message aside from an appointment reminder for his dermatologist's office on Monday. He had nearly forgotten about that.

They liked checking in on him once or twice a year even after he stopped growing to see if anything could be done about reducing the appearance of his scars now that he was an adult. Thus far, that had been pretty useless. He had lost hope they would ever be able to do anything for him at this point but went to the appointments anyway because they were covered by his insurance.

His phone buzzed again at 4:02 PM and Jonah was nearly certain it was something unimportant but pounced on it anyway. It was Eden. She had been waiting until 'he' got off work to text him.

Jonah was both impressed by consideration and hit with a twinge of guilt about his lies. Even so, he opened the message eagerly. 'Just finished dress shopping with Aubrey. It only took three stores to find the one she wanted'

Were women really that picky about dresses? The only one he was close to was Aunt Mel and she wasn't like that. She only bought clothes if they were on sale.

'Only?' he replied.

Eden answered immediately, which probably meant her phone was on her. 'Considering she set up appointments at four places, yes. Her sister and I were both so ready to leave but at least everyone else there likes shopping so they were into it'

'How many people were there?'

'Nine. All family members or bridesmaids. I'm an unofficial member of the family so I'm now back at her place watching movies with her mom and sister because they drove up for the weekend'

'What movies?'

Jonah felt stupid for asking so many questions in a row but he didn't have anything more intelligent to say. He had never chatted with a woman about what they do when they get together before aside from Eden's brief mention of getting a manicure with her best friend last week.

'Not the kind we usually discuss. Sorry to disappoint you. We're having a Jane Austen marathon' Eden tacked on an embarrassed emoji at the end.

He wasn't sure what there was to be embarrassed about. Aunt Mel liked those too. Every time she watched them, she lamented her lack of both sisters and daughters. Apparently, one of her friends in college had introduced her to Jane Austen because no one else ever had.

Troy wasn't really the 'girlfriend' type because he thought they were too high maintenance. On the rare occasions he did date someone seriously, his mom got so excited and invited her over constantly wanting to do girly things.

She could be a bit overbearing but they usually didn't mind it. What they did mind was running into Jonah in the hallway or kitchen.

He normally tried to stay away from Troy's girlfriends in the past because he always made them uncomfortable. And vice versa. He hated being stared at. But seeing how they lived in the same house, it was impossible to avoid unless they only met up outside.

Troy's last girlfriend had been before Jonah bought this house and they moved here. Since then, he had been focusing on his music and only went on casual dates but they would have to deal with the problem all over again  whenever he inevitably got another one.

He hated thinking that he was part of the reason none of his cousin's relationships ever worked out but he knew the truth. He had overheard one of them say something to him about Jonah in high school and he dumped her immediately.

Troy still didn't know he had witnessed that conversation by accident on his way back from the bathroom. He was overprotective enough as it was; he didn't need to know.

But since it happened once and his girlfriends continued to be uncomfortable around Jonah…he couldn't help but wonder if that factored in every time. He knew it wasn't the only reason though.

Troy wasn't the type to be held down by anything. He was a free spirit; it would take quite a woman to convince him to settle down. He had recently turned twenty-eight and was still chasing after his dreams of being a musician instead of looking for a more stable career like his parents begged him to.

They supported his music to an extent but they were worried about him paying his bills. Especially since his bills were largely taken care of by Jonah. They didn't think it was fair to him.