“He told me you were in a nightclub last night,” he says with a tone of accusation.
“I’ve gone to many clubs before, Dad. I am over twenty-one.” My back stiffens in a defensive manner.
“Yes, I know. From what I’m told, this club is more salacious than your average nightclub.”
“Salacious? People dance, drink, and have a good time. It’s no different from any other place.” Except it is. It was my first thought when I walked intoChains. Everything was vamped up higher than I’ve ever seen before.
“Yes… well. It’s not a good look when one of our followers, who happens to be your ex-boyfriend finds you in there dressed inappropriately and dancing provocatively with a man.”
I rub my fingers up and down my forehead. I’m too tired for this conversation. “I was hardly dressedinappropriately,and I wasdancing. It’s not a line dancing club. People do get close to one another.”
“His hands were all over you.”
On a huff of breath, I roll my eyes. “Jeremy had no business coming to you to tittle-tattle. He’s blown everything out of proportion. He’s obviously jealous seeing me with another man.”
“He was concerned for your reputation.”
I scoff. “Oh, please. He only wants to cause trouble.”
“Whatever his reasons, I don’t like you in a place like that doing whatever it is you’re doing. You have a reputation to uphold. This church can’t be blemished because you’re out there running wild.”
I scrub a hand over my face. “Running wild? I’m dancing in a nightclub. Not stripping at Pinky’s Strip Club. If the place is so bad, why was Jeremy there? Is his reputation not at risk?” I snap.
He works his teeth over his bottom lip. He has no response to that. Instead, he says, “Who’s the man you were with? Jeremy said he threatened to hurt him.”
“Again, Jeremy is full of sh—” I stop myself cussing and take a deep breath to settle the rage that’s brewing in my gut, traveling up to my neck and getting ready to burst through the top of my head. “Jeremy isn’t telling you the whole truth. Yes, I was in a nightclub and dancing with a man. A man I know and have become quite close to. Nothing scandalous was happening. And Kade didnotthreaten to hurt him. What hediddo was threaten to throw him out of the club—a club he owns, if Jeremy didn’t stop harassing me.”
My father looks taken aback by that. “Jeremy was harassing you?”
“He wanted me to leave the club with him and was being too persistent about it.”
“Oh, well. He obviously had good intentions. He was looking out for your reputation.”
Is that all my father is worried about? My reputation. What about the thingsIwant? Will he ever accept them?
“This Kade person you were with. What’s going on between you two?”
“We’re friends.”
“Jeremy said you were dancing like you were more than friends.”
“We’ve been getting close.”
“Is this a relationship?”
“No. It’s casual. We’re friends having fun together, that’s all.” I wish it was more.
At that, my father’s face screws up like he’s eaten something rotten. “Your priority is to represent the church in a respectable manner. If your mother were still alive, she’d be disappointed in your behavior. The church and its reputation were extremely important to her. She worked hard alongside me. And I know she’d be proud you’re keeping her memory alive while following in her footsteps. But if you continue down the path you’re on with the man from the club, you could do a lot of damage. This is where you belong. Not in a seedy nightclub.”
The mention of my mother is like a knife through the heart. Even though I don’t remember much about her, being part of this community and working with my father are what have kept me close to her memory. I was brought up knowing how important our faith was to her.
Is he right? Do I belong here? Every fibre of my being is screaming no, yet this is all I know. My father depends on me. I can’t let him or the memory of my mother down. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
My father taps my knees and gets to his feet. “We all get tempted at some point. It’s how we recover and learn from it that matters. Will I see you at dinner tonight?”
“Yes.” I would’ve gone to Kade’s apartment, but after seeing Jeremy and the conversation with my father, I need time to think.
Maybe it’s time to face facts and accept this is my life. What was I thinking, imagining something different for myself?
