Page 27 of The Enforcer

"Then why -"

"Don't you think if she was just another girl, I would’ve have done anything in the first place?" I roared. All the words I had been bottling up the past couple of weeks came spilling out and I couldn't stop them. "She's not just another girl."

That got me another punch to the jaw. My face was starting to throb. I knew from experience that I needed to put ice on my injuries fast before they started to swell. The DC game was tomorrow and I wanted to make sure I was in the best health I could be.

"Don't do that," Matt said. He was still shaking with anger, but there was a desperate glimpse in his eyes. "Don't you fucking talk about my daughter that way."

I furrowed my brows, the only part of my face that hadn't been punched. "What?" I asked, not sure if I was hearing him correctly. "I'm saying she isn't just a girl I would fuck and run, Matt. I actually care about her."

Matt placed both hands over his ears, and squeezed his eyes shut. "I said, don't fucking talk about her that way!" he bellowed before snapping his eyes open and dropping them to his sides. "Do you think that I want to hear that? Do you think I want to hear you care about my eighteen-year-old daughter? You, my best friend? A man in his early forties, who's about to retire from a career while she hasn't even started hers? This can only end in fucking heartbreak. You know I'm going to pick my daughter's side. Every fucking time, twice over, it will always be my daughter over you. You are a worthless piece of shit who's too fucking old to be playing hockey anymore, and you have the audacity to fu - to be with my daughter? Fuck you. You're going to use her, just like you use every other fucking woman you sleep with. You're going to break her heart. Maybe it won't be now. Maybe it'll be in a week, maybe two. But it won't be long before she comes crying to dad because of you, and when she does, I'll be there to break your nose and give you injuries that will force you to retire early from hockey, before the season is even over. I'll hurt you so bad, every time you hear my daughter's name, your dick will throb with pain and you will shudder in disgust. Do I make myself clear?"

I continued to look down at Matt. I refused to flinch at his words, refused to let them move me into agreeing with whatever he had to say. If he didn't want to hear what I was saying, fine.

"Are you done?" I asked.

He clenched his teeth together so hard his jaw popped.

"And if I am?" he asked.

"Because I'm trying to tell you I'm in love with your daughter," I said. "Yeah, I know the whole thing is completely fucked up. And I know you know me well enough to know I've never told you I loved anyone before in my life. Do you really think I'd be risking our friendship if I didn't care about her?"

"I don't know what to think anymore," Matt said, shaking his head.

At that moment, I started to feel the familiar pull of guilt. Matt's face looked absolutely crushed, like everything he had ever believed in just failed him, and he was left with no direction, nowhere to go, nothing to save himself with. I knew this was my fault. I knew my feelings for Kenna were the last thing he wanted to think about. I understood that. But I couldn't help how I felt. Matt was a grown man. I shouldn't have to sugar coat my feelings to make him feel better. That didn't mean that I was planning to throw my feelings for Kenna in his face or make some dirty comment to her when I saw her, or even blatantly check her out while Matt was there. I had no problem being respectful. But he had to reciprocate that as well.

"I don't know what to think, Joaquin," he repeated, picking up his head. "She tells me she did this, that she went after you. She took all of the blame for it."

I clenched my teeth together. Of course, she did. Stubborn, silly girl. My heart swelled at the thought. She was trying to salvage my friendship with her father, even if it meant her father would be furious with her. Even if it meant losing her father's trust.

"You know I'm a grown man and can make my own decisions for myself," I told him.

"I know you can," he agreed. "You think I'm not pissed at you? I've already cracked your face three times."

"Because I've let you," I interrupted. As guilty as I felt, I would not be his punching bag. He didn't have to like the fact that I loved Kenna, but he was not allowed to take it out on me anymore. "I'm not going to continue to let you, Matt. You need to know that."

"That's my daughter, man," Matt said, his voice broken. "How the fuck could you love my daughter. You barely fucking know her."

I wasn't sure how I was supposed to respond to that. On the one hand, he wasn't lying. I didn't know Kenna the way Walter did. I didn't know her the way her own father did. But that didn't mean I didn't know her at all. I just knew her in my own way. In a way no one else knew her. And I looked forward to getting to know her better.

"I don't know what else to tell you," I said with a shrug.

"How about a fucking apology?" Matt snarled.

I felt sorry for him. I knew I caused this. But I couldn't give him what he wanted.

"I'm not going to apologize," I said.

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because an apology would mean I regretted my time with her," I said. "I regret how it's hurt you and our relationship. I regret that it's hurt your relationship with her. But I don't regret it. How could I? Being with Kenna was the best thing that ever happened to me."

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