“Now, I just think you’re mighty high.” I snorted. “Just kidding. Sorry, I wasn’t in my right mind when I said those things.”

“Okay, but alcohol is basically like truth serum. Those assumptions were there before that night. Let me clarify something, Rana. I never thought I was better than you growing up just because we had more money. I never thought about those things. Anyway, my parents aren’t supporting me financially anymore. I’ve fended for myself for a very long time.”

“Where are they now?”

“They’re still in Michigan.”

“How did you end up in California?”

“That’s a long story. I want you to tell me what happened to you first.”

“I’m gonna need alcohol, then.”

“Well, by all means, go get some. You’re late to the party.”

“Hang on.”

I ran to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of chardonnay from the bottle that had been chilling in the fridge.

Returning to my room, I lay down on the bed and kicked my feet up.

I took a long sip then started to open up. “You remember my mother.”

“Yeah. She was like a teenager compared to your dad.”

“Yes. You know, they had an arranged marriage. She was never in love with him and never ready to be a wife and mother. Well, she basically left us soon after we moved. She ran off with her boyfriend. The last I heard, she was living somewhere in Ohio. I haven’t seen her in over a decade.”

“I’m sorry.”

Taking a deep breath in to squelch the pain of thinking about her, I continued, “Anyway, my father took his anger over the whole situation out on me. He became super strict. He didn’t want me to turn out like Shayla…like a slut, in his mind. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere, to do anything. But I rebelled behind his back. There’s a lot of stuff that happened, but basically, I ran away for a while in my late teens after graduation. My grandparents had given me money that was supposed to be for college, and I took it and blew it on other things. I feel very guilty about that.”

“Well, you were young and stupid.”

“Very.”

“Are you still living near your grandparents?”

“No. I moved back to Dearborn ironically a few years ago. My father followed me.”

“How is your relationship with your dad now?”

“We’re working on it. The two of us are closer than we ever were.”

“Happy to hear that. How does he feel about the belly dancing?”

“He’s not thrilled about it. But he has to accept it. He knows I’m saving up to go back to school and to also pay my grandparents back.”

“What do you want to study?”

“I keep changing my mind, but as of late I think I’d like to run a daycare someday. So, maybe early childhood education or child psychology.”

“Very cool.”

I made myself more comfortable on the bed. “Okay, so tell me how you ended up in California.”

“It’s complicated, but the gist is that when I turned sixteen, my parents told me I was actually adopted.”

What?

I definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“Jim and Marjorie aren’t your birth parents?”

“No.” He let out a breath. “So, when they dropped that bomb, I went through a tough time after that, came out here when I was eighteen.”

“Did you go to college out there?”

“Nope. I never actually went to college.”

“Gosh, you were always so smart. I’d always pictured you going to an Ivy League school.”

“I’ve had lunch at The Ivy,” he joked. “Does that count?”

“I guess not.” I chuckled. “Why did you choose California?”

“It’s where I was born.”

“You went to find your birth mother?”

“That’s why I came here, but I didn’t pursue it right away. It took me a while to garner the guts.”

“Did you ever find her?”

“Yeah, but it’s too much to get into right now, and I’m not in the right frame of mind. I think that might be a story for another time, okay?

There was going to be another time?

“No problem.”

“Fuck. That was a total buzz kill. Quick, Rana. Tell me something funny.”

Wracking my brain, I said, “I caught my roommate sleeping with a pair of my leggings on his face today.”

“The same guy who wants to kill you?”

“Yes.”

“Apparently, he wants to inhale your pussy, too.”

“He was out cold. It was weird.”

“That’s fucked-up.”

“Was that funny enough for you?”

“You got more?”

“Someone dropped feta down my cleavage when they threw money at me tonight. I didn’t realize it until I got home.”

“Ah, feta sandwich. I’m gonna start calling you cheesy tits.” He was cracking up. “God, Rana, I have not laughed this much in forever. I have fucking tears coming out of my eyes.”

“How’s Malaria, by the way?”

He laughed even harder. “Valeria…”

“Yeah. Whatever.”

“She’s Russian.”

“Is she your fuck buddy?”

“I don’t know what she is.” He paused. “I doubt I’ll ever see her again. There wasn’t really a spark there.”

“Yet, you slept with her anyway.”

“Are you judging me for that?”