Roommates

"We're going to get together next Thursday for dinner," Aubrey announced once they had finished posting their pictures. "And we need to plan a Saturday to go wedding dress shopping. I'm not wasting a zillion dollars on a custom order but I do need to make sure it fits properly so I need to get it done as soon as possible. I absolutely can't go without my maid of honor present."

Eden smiled. "We can go next week. Next Friday is my last day at Freddie's."

"Perfect!" she exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. "I'll call my mom to make sure she and Jenny come up for the weekend. This is going to be so much fun!!"

They hugged before parting ways and Eden thought about how much wedding planning had happened already since the beginning of the engagement. Aubrey had saved the dress for last because she was stubbornly determined to have her present and wasn't able to get everyone else together any other time but a weekend.

That didn't mean she had been an absentee maid of honor though. The two of them had pored over countless bridal magazines and websites together and put together a planning binder. Aubrey had been determined to plan this whole thing herself rather than hire somebody, which meant Diana and Eden also had a lot of work to do.

She helped with everything from invitations to color schemes when they had time to meet on her days off after Aubrey was done with work for the day. Everything was all set up now aside from the dress, veil, and shoes.

Hanging out with her best friend put her in a good mood so she headed home and made dinner, singing to herself the entire time. Kayla wasn't home so there was no one to embarrass herself in front of.

She admired her nails as she stirred the boiling pasta. This was a good color on her. She should try to find a drugstore version and get it to put on her toenails.

Would Troy notice her nails tomorrow if she didn't say anything first? Most of the guys she knew were completely obvious to things like that, her brother included. She wasn't sure how Nadia could stand him sometimes.

He probably wouldn't. It had been a stupid thought. Eden got back to making her dinner after pushing it out of her mind.

===

"Hey, you did your nails! It looks nice. I've never seen you with nail polish on before," Troy said as he walked into the break room and sat down next to Eden on their shared break the following day.

She flushed slightly. He had noticed after all.

"Thanks! My best friend was having a rough day yesterday so we went to the nail salon because it's one of her favorite things to do. She was totally back to normal by the end of it so the manicure did its job.

"I like the way nail polish looks on me but I normally don't bother with it because I hate having my hands restricted and I don't own an instant nail dryer machine like Aubrey does. I usually only do my nails at her house."

"…yeah, I can't relate. I've never painted my nails in my life," Troy said with a laugh. "How do you know Aubrey again? I don't think you said."

"We bonded over a playground scuffle that resulted in detention when we were nine. We've been best friends ever since," Eden replied with a nostalgic smile. "She's from L.A. too but we both came out here for college together."

"Is she your roommate?"

"Nah. She pledged herself to a sorority as a freshman and moved right into the sorority house. I always lived somewhere else. After she graduated, her boyfriend proposed to her and she moved in with him. The wedding is this summer and I'm the maid of honor.

"My roommate is named Kayla and I literally never see her for more than a few minutes at a time because we have opposite schedules and she's always out with her boyfriend. It's kind of nice though. Almost like having the apartment to myself," she explained.

Troy nodded. "That does sound nice. I don't mind sharing because it's what I'm used to but if you have the wrong roommate, it's not so great. Or so I hear. I've never had any other than my cousin."

"Are you in an apartment too?"

"No. Jonah bought a house a few years ago and lets me live there for cheap because of my job situation," he said in an odd tone. It was the same one he used when his cousin got brought up last time.

"A house?! How old is he?" Eden blurted before she could stop herself.

Real estate around here wasn't cheap. Aubrey had complained about it before when she started looking at houses after getting engaged. She and David were saving up for a down payment on one right now but, for the time being, they were living in a one-bedroom apartment.

"…twenty-six. He didn't have any student loans after college and he was able to get a good deal on a foreclosure. It's only a three bedroom anyway; it's nothing special," Troy said quickly.

"That's still super impressive! You said he was a software developer, right? I guess they make pretty good money," she mused.

That reminded her about her upcoming double date. That guy was a software developer too. That certainly weighed in his favor in terms of stability if someone in the same field had been able to afford a house in San Jose after working for so little time.

"So I've heard," he coughed before changing the subject. "So, did you do anything else on your day off?"

Eden had completely forgotten to tell him about the book! "Oh yeah, I read that book you recommended. It was a real page turner! I didn't put it down from start to finish. I especially liked the way you were able to feel terror for the narrator while she was completely oblivious. The author did a great job with the psychological aspects of it."

"Right? If you liked that one, I have others I can recommend to you as well. I read a lot of suspense novels."

She smiled at him as she pulled out her phone. "Lay them on me! I'll make a list."

They spent the rest of their breaks talking about various mystery or suspense novels they had read and as usual Eden was reluctant for the conversation to end. It was getting good too. She hated stopping mid-thought.