"So are you."
"That's different."
"How?"
"Because I'm your father; I'm supposed to be dangerous. He's supposed to stay the hell away from you."
"That's not how this works."
"It is in my world."
I take a breath and try to calm down. Yelling at my dad isn't going to help.
"Look, I know you're worried. But I'm okay. Rush is a good guy."
"He's got a record."
"So do half the guys in your club."
"That's different."
"How is that different?"
"Because they're not trying to date my daughter."
"Who says he's trying to date me?"
"Pyro says he looks at you like he wants to eat you alive."
The words make my face hot because Pyro's not wrong.
"I can handle myself," I say.
"I know you can, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"You don't have to like it. You just have to trust me."
He's quiet for a long time, then he says, "I don't trust him."
"You don't know him."
"I know enough. I know he's got a temper, I know he's violent, I know he's obsessed with you."
"He's not obsessed."
"Then what is he?"
"Protective."
"There's a fine line between protective and possessive."
"I know the difference."
"Do you? Because from where I'm sitting it looks like he's got you wrapped around his finger."
That pisses me off. "I'm not wrapped around anyone's finger. I make my own choices."
"Then choose someone who's not broken."