The Thunder Wolves MC - Petal (Book #12)

2

Petal Isadora Adkins

My father's hand smacking the table had me jumping in my seat. It was all I could do not to make a yelping noise, causing even more of a scene than he was already causing. Though, to be fair, I had stopped listening to what he had been lecturing me about a good five to ten minutes ago, which is why he had smacked the table to begin with. All of it, the lecture and scene, made me wish he was the same guy I remembered from my childhood. He used to be more like my mom. A free spirit, not caring what others thought of him, not so corporate, for lack of a better way of putting it. But then he met Sandra when I was sixteen or seventeen, and he changed. Since then, I haven't seemed to do anything to please him. And since graduating high school, he has been hell-bent on me going to college.

The problem is I don't want to go to college. There is nothing I want to learn to do. I am happy with my life the way it is. Besides, I make more money dancing three days a week than I would by working any job I could get after college. Hell, I could make even more if I wanted to work more days every week. But why would I? I made more than enough to support myself, and it was only me I had to worry about. And it was this that today's lecture was about. My father had found out about my job, which I had purposely not told him about for the last three months since starting at the club. I am not sure how he found out, but I am guessing it has something to do with Sandra's sons, who had been in the club the other night while I was dancing. Not that her boys could ever do wrong, but that was beside the point.

"PETAL ISADORA ADKINS…"

My father's voice was a loud, controlled whisper as his hand hit the table again, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Are you even listening to a word I am saying? I can't believe you actually think what you are doing can be considered a job or something I am willing to support you in doing. What would your mother think of your choice of jobs if she was still around?"

The mention of my mother had my temper rising instantly. She hadn't been gone even a whole month after losing her battle with cancer, and he dared to project his beliefs as hers. I loved my father. He was my father. But I loved my mother more and was done with today's lunch. Having eaten or not, be damned. Pushing back in my chair, I stood up and put my napkin on the table.

"That is perfectly fine, father. You do not have to support my choice of jobs. I am doing perfectly fine supporting myself. As far as mom is concerned, she is the one who got me the job three months ago."

Turning, I made my way through the restaurant, making eye contact with as many of the other people there as I could who had been watching my father and me argue. Yet, another thing about me that drove my father crazy. It took a good amount to make me feel embarrassed about anything. That and I wasn't a shy person. I never have been. I was the kid who talked to everyone. I never had a sense of stranger danger. It was a wonder I had never been kidnapped as a kid. If you had come up to me and said you had a puppy, kitten, a piece of candy, or hell, just anything, I would have taken your hand and gone with you to see it.

Walking out the restaurant door, I walked right into Sandra herself and her boys, Noah and Luke. They were supposed to have been at today's lunch. My guess was they had been asked by my father to give him a little bit with me alone before joining us. And by the look of disgust Sandra was giving me and the looks of triumphant happiness from knowing my father just laid into me from both her boys, I knew for sure they hadn't told either of them how they knew I worked at the club. Making what I said to them all next bring a large smile of my own to my face.

"Sandra, Noah, Luke, you may want to give the old man a minute. He doesn't seem to be in that good of a mood today."

Stepping around them, I took a step or two away from them before turning back around.

"Oh, and if you two want to come by again, I am dancing tomorrow night. Bring your friends. The girls enjoyed dancing for them. Something about you all being good tippers, especially in the private rooms."

Turning, I walked off, satisfied the two jerks wouldn't get away without their own lectures today. I know it probably wasn't really nice of me to throw the two under the bus like that. But they were jerks, always had been, and I am sure they always will be. The three of us had known each other before my father met their mother. Noah was the same age as me, and we had shared several classes throughout our school careers. Luke was only a year younger and hung out with his brother and friend group, following everything they did. One of those things they did was hate me simply because I turned Noah down when he asked me out at the beginning of our sophomore year. And then, when he started rumors about me being a slut I didn't even flinch. I embraced the name and let everyone believe I was what they were calling me. My true friends knew it wasn't true. That and it helped weed out the assholes in school from the genuinely nice guys when it came to dating.

There have been other things the two have done to try and get under my skin, including telling my father things simply to make him mad at me. For the most part, I usually let everything go. And I probably would have let today go as well and not said anything about how the two knew about my job, but my father had to go and bring my mother into it all. I missed her so much. She had been my best friend and my biggest supporter. I never kept anything from her. In fact, when I jokingly suggested that I get a job at one of the clubs in town, she signed us up for a class on learning how to pole dance. Then, she introduced me to one of the MC guys who owns the club I work at. I never found out how she knew the guy. She never would tell me. I also never really pushed for her to, but there had been something between them at some point in their lives.

Rooster was married, and from what I have seen, he is very faithful to his wife. I suppose that doesn't mean he always had been. Either way, it wasn't really any of my business. Besides, I didn't really care enough to push for my mother ever to tell me why the two had seemed more than friendly. I knew a lot about my mother that a daughter probably shouldn't know, and I didn't care to add the two's relationship to that list. I was just happy he had been willing to give me a chance. I loved my job and looked forward to the nights I worked. And from what I hear from others who have worked in other clubs, we have it good where we are, so why leave? The MC guys are always present and make sure all of us girls are safe. They don't mess around when it comes to the guests and back us girls up when it comes to handsy guys.

That and from what I hear the MC guys are not supposed to hook up with any of us girls. I say supposed to because I have heard from a couple of girls they have gotten some of the guys to break that order. But it didn't come easy, and the hookups never lasted long. Either the guy was moved from one club to another or was scheduled at different hours than the girl he hooked up with was. Then again, I don't know how true all that is because not long after, the guys were moved, and stories of other things in their lives going on would circle the rumor mill, so who really knows?