Naomi glanced around the room, surprised how everyone was entranced by his words. It was as if his voice compelled them to listen.
He looked at Dantan, his face seeming to show a struggle between holding back and wanting to share his innermost thoughts. “My best friend, Jeremy. He works in the family business. I don’t get to see him as much as I would like.”
“Lash, I’m going to ask you a miracle question.” Dantan reclined back into his chair and tented his fingers under his chin.
Lash blinked, and the smirk on his face returned. He appeared to find the statement amusing, and Naomi wondered why.
“Let’s say you woke up tomorrow and a miracle had occurred. How would you know something was different? How would you know that your miracle happened?”
Lash glanced at Naomi, and the dormant butterflies in her stomach came to life. She held her breath as he kept his eyes locked with hers and said. “I would be home.”
The spell was broken when a cell phone alarm went off.
“Well, my friends. That’s it for group for today.” Dantan picked up the phone and turned the alarm off.
The collective sigh of relief was audible.
Andrew powered up his phone and stood. “Laters,” he said, walking out the door.
“Ryan, uh, Dr. Dantan,” Tori said. “I was wondering if you had time for a private session this evening.” She eyed him expectantly.
“Not today, Tori. Call me later this week to schedule an appointment if you need it.” He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, then turned to Naomi. “Would you mind staying for a moment? I need to do a diagnostic assessment … for insurance purposes.”
Tori glared at Naomi, grabbed her things, and stormed out of the room.
Naomi looked after Tori and then back at Dantan. “Uh, sure. Do you think I’ll be done before dark? I need to catch the bus home.”
“I’ll wait for you,” Lash said. “I wouldn’t want you to walk alone in the dark.”
“Thanks. That’s nice of you.” Naomi didn’t like the idea of coming across as a helpless female, but walking Houston’s city streets alone at night was not a good idea. Normally, she’d walk down a few blocks to Chuy’s self-defense class and hitch a ride with him, but he was between classes and his next class didn’t start until next week.
Dantan frowned. “There’s no need for that Lash. I’ll escort her—”
“I can give you and Naomi a ride home,” Ellen volunteered.
Dantan’s nostrils flared. “Aren’t you expected at home, Ellen? I believe you mentioned that your mother tended to get nervous when you were out and about after dark.”
Naomi looked at him, surprised. It was as if he wanted her to be alone with him. The eerie feeling that she’d had when she first shook his hand returned.
“I-I-I’m nineteen years old. I c-c-can stay and give a ride to my friends,” Ellen stammered. She pushed her glasses up and straightened her back, standing tall. “You said I should learn to be more independent.”
Dantan’s eyes narrowed briefly, then his face smoothed. “Yes, I did. Good for you, Ellen. Perhaps you should call her first so she won’t be worried. Naomi, please give me a moment, I need to make a phone call before we get started.”
“What did you think of your first group session?” Lash asked as Dantan stepped into his private office.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Naomi said as she watched Ellen go to the corner of the room with her cell phone.
“Wait until it’s Tori’s turn to share with the group. That’s when it gets really exciting.” He wagged his eyebrows. “Now, I don’t know if it really happened or not, but she tells this story about a time when she was in a confessional and the priest …”
Lash trailed off and furrowed his brow. He cocked his head to the side as if he were listening to something.
Naomi strained to hear what he was listening to, but all she caught was Ellen arguing with her mother over the phone. “What’s wrong?”
Lash flicked his eyes toward Dantan’s office. “I knew it,” he mumbled.
“What? Knew what?”
He shook his head, then turned his attention to Naomi. “Uh, Tori’s story. I remembered that I heard it somewhere else before. She made it up.”
Naomi eyed him suspiciously. There was something he wasn’t telling her.
When Dantan opened the door to his office and called her in, Lash took hold of her hand briefly, sending a tingling sensation up and down her arm again. He looked at her intently, sending another flurry of butterflies to her stomach. She wondered if it had anything to do with the burrito Chuy dared her to eat earlier from the new mobile food truck in the neighborhood. It was the only rational reason she could think of for feeling so strange.