Subtext can be a staple in the romance genre. In this final moment of Love Jones, Nina mitigates the tension of reuniting with Darius by referring to him in the third person, like she’s talking about somebody who ISN’T him. Can you imagine if she said, “I had a jones for you. I think I left you hanging,” or if he said, “Am I fine?”

We’ll call it third person subtext. Characters might do this if directly referring to themselves or each other is too awkward, painful, embarrassing, etc. Sometimes they’ll tell a story about someone else, but we know they’re really talking about themselves.