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“I know. And when your favorite book can’t even hold your attention, something’s wrong.”
“What’s your favorite book?” I nod to her e-reader that’s sitting screen down on the bed.
“Dear Life by Meghan Quinn. It’s romance. It’s about four people who deal with love and loss. It’s a little emotional for me right now. Maybe I should find something smutty.” The room is silent for a moment. “What are you reading?”
“Not anything smutty.”
She playfully smacks my arm and laughs. “Well, obviously.”
“It’s just paperwork.”
“But what’s it for?”
“My parents run a non-profit, The Lilith House, that supports the less fortunate in the community. They’re in the process of finding a new building so they can provide more services and help more people.”
Parisa sits up and crosses her legs. “Oh, wow, that’s amazing. I’ve heard of that place. It’s like a community kitchen, right?”
I set my papers back on the nightstand. “That’s just a part of it. They also provide clothing and other basic necessities. They help people find housing and employment. The building they have now is old and outdated. The upkeep is starting to cost more than it’s worth. With a new building, they can get better equipment for the kitchen and have more space overall.”
“Do you help them run that?”
“I volunteer in the kitchen every week. That’s one thing my parents instilled in us growing up. Help those who are less fortunate.”
“Who’s us?”
“Me, my older brother, and younger sister.”
“That’s really amazing that you help out. Sorry to have disturbed you. I’ll let you get back to it.” She turns away to lean against the headboard.
“That’s okay. I was beginning to go cross-eyed from all the legal jargon.”
“Want to play a game, then?” She claps her hands in front of her in excitement.
“We’re kinda limited with what we got here.”
“I got it.” She jumps off the bed and strolls over to her bag, pulling out a notebook and holding up a couple of pens. “So, it’ll be like twenty questions. We’ll both write get-to-know-you questions and put them in a pile. One at a time, we’ll draw a question, and you have to answer. You can be as incriminating as you want, but just know you might get your own question.” A devilish smile forms on her lips.
“Any question?” I sit up and grab a pen from her.
“Any question your heart desires.”
We spend the next several minutes writing questions down and folding them up to put in a pile in the middle of the bed. Once we’ve used up all our paper, we get comfortable. I lay down on my side and prop my head up with my hand as Parisa sits cross legged across from me, the pile of papers between us.
“Well, ladies first.” I motion my hand over the pile.
She inspects the pile for a second before reaching in to grab a piece. While her fingers peel back the layers of paper, she gazes up at me through her lashes. A small smile plays on her lips. Excitement and intrigue dances in her hazel irises. Once the paper is unfolded, she scans the words before crumbling it up and throwing it on the bed with a huff.
“What’s the question?” I ask, amused at her reaction.
She narrows her eyes at me. “What’s your favorite color? That’s a lame question.”
“Well, you have to answer it. Those are your rules.”
“It’s green. My favorite color is green. Your turn.” She points to the pile.
I release a small laugh and pluck out a piece of paper, reading it out loud. “What’s your favorite movie?”
“These questions are bullshit.” Parisa rips it from my hands to make sure that’s the actual question, then crumples it and tosses it with the other one. “Go ahead and answer.”
