"I'll have to see what my mother wants to do," he told him.
Spencer grinned and Seg rolled his eyes. So what if his captain wanted to give him a hard time about his mother. Right now, nothing could bring him down.
"Cool," Spencer stated. "We'll see you if we see you."
With a half-ass wave, Seg continued toward the players' parking lot. He had no intention of going out tonight. The only thing he wanted to do was go home and spend the rest of the evening with Roan, Liam, and his mother. He smiled to himself. He was thinking like a regular old family guy.
"Hey, Seg! Can you answer a question?"
Seg turned at the unfamiliar voice. He spotted a young guy moving toward him with a purpose. The guy wore jeans and an Austin Arrows jersey. The ball cap on his head was also Arrows. Seg didn't recognize him, but he stopped anyway. If he was a fan, Seg would offer a quick autograph and be on his way.
"What's up?" Seg replied, quirking a brow in question, waiting for the man to state the reason for chasing him down.
"I saw your mom at the game tonight."
The hair on the back of Seg's neck stood on end. He had no idea who this guy was, but anyone who started out a conversation like that was questionable. For one, Seg made sure to keep his mother out of the spotlight. And two, Seg didn't know this guy from Adam.
"She was here with a guy."
Definitely creepy.
The guy grinned, as though he was Seg's best friend. "They looked to be having a good time. Laughing. Joking."
Seg had no idea where this guy was going with this.
"Is it true that you're in a serious relationship?"
Seg tried to play it cool, pretend he wasn't sweating, because he had the sudden suspicion that this asshole wasn't a fan. He was a reporter and he was fishing for some information. As for how he'd become privy to something like that, Seg had no idea.
The guy grinned and this time he looked like a shark. "And your new … how do you put it? Boyfriend? He was here at the game tonight?"
Seg grimaced. "What the fuck are you talking about?" He didn't bother waiting for a response before turning and heading toward his Range Rover.
"Come on, Seg. It's cool if you cross swords in your spare time. No one's gonna judge you, bro."
Seg didn't respond, and it took everything in him not to turn around and punch the dickhead in the face.
He reached his SUV and hit the button to unlock the door.
"So, I take that as a yes. You won't mind if I make it public record, will you?"
Unable to refrain, Seg spun around and grabbed the guy by the front of the jersey. Clearly the asshole hadn't been expecting it. His eyes widened and he sucked in air.
"Leave me and my personal life alone," Seg growled.
The bastard smirked.
"Hey, Seg? You have a problem?"
Shit.
Kaufman strolled toward them and Seg was forced to release the asshole. The last thing he needed was to be brought up on assault charges. This dickweed wasn't worth it.
"No problem," the guy said cheerily. "Seg and I were just chatting, Optimus. Talking about good times. New relationships. Did you know Seg was dating a dude?"
Kaufman stopped beside Seg, glaring down at the asshole. Seg could only assume he was a reporter. Fans didn't usually take to harassing him.
"Fuck off," Kaufman growled, his voice low. "What Seg does in his off time is none of your goddamn business."
Son of a bitch.
Seg understood that Kaufman thought he was standing up for him, but the way he worded that gave the little fucker all the ammunition he needed.
"That's what I thought." The guy brushed off his jersey and turned to walk away. "Thanks for the confirmation, Optimus. I'll make sure you're quoted in the article."
"Fuck." Seg's hands fisted at his sides and his teeth clamped together so hard he thought he might crack a molar.
"What the hell was that about?"
Seg glared at Kaufman, but he didn't answer. Instead, he shook his head and opened his door. No way could he trust any damn thing that came out of his mouth right now.
"I THINK YOU'RE THE FIRST person who hasn't freaked out when I get so excited during a game that I dump half my popcorn," Deb stated as Roan sat on the couch across from her.
He smiled. She did get quite animated during a game.
"In case you didn't figure it out, I'm quite the hockey fan."
Oh, that was obvious.
"Even before Seg started playing when he was little. His father had played some in high school. Never wanted to go pro, but he sure looked good out there playing. Granted, when Seggy took it up, it only fueled my passion for the sport. His father used to make fun of me."
Roan didn't know what to say to that.