Unfortunately, that didn't work, because he felt those cool blue eyes land on him, and he couldn't resist looking up and meeting them head on.
Don't let him talk to me. Don't let him talk to me.
For a brief moment, he had to wonder whether Seg even remembered him. It was possible that the man had so many one-night stands that he couldn't keep track. Unfortunately, Roan didn't have that luxury. And since Seg had been his last one-night stand, which meant he'd also been the last man Roan had been with, it wasn't quite so easy for him to forget. Still, in the past year, Roan had never once seen an article or story tying Seg with another man. Women, definitely. Which meant Seg was still guarding his secret. And Roan reminded himself again that the sex might've been the best he'd ever had, but it wasn't good enough for him to spend the rest of his life hiding out, so a repeat was definitely out of the question.
He was tired of people being ashamed of him. Hell, his own mother had walked out on them when Roan was sixteen. The homophobic bitch had claimed he was cursed and wanted nothing to do with the devil's work, so she packed a suitcase and abandoned them all. From that moment on, Roan had vowed that he would never be embarrassed by who he was. Not for the woman who'd given birth to him, and certainly not for a guy whose bed he'd occupied for only a few hours.
The thought made him snort and he felt more eyes turn his way.
Looking up, he met Cam's concerned stare.
"We done here?" Okay, so he sounded like a dick, but Roan really needed to get away from Seg. The man was not good for his health.
As it was, he'd enjoyed many sessions with his own hand by remembering that one night. It didn't make pretending it never happened any easier when that delicious temptation was standing only a few feet away. Even disheveled and sweaty from the game, he was hot.
Phoenix cleared his throat as though he sensed Roan's tension. "Again, thanks for coming out tonight. Tickets for the games are yours whenever you want them. I've gotta go catch up with my husband and wife. I'm sure they're looking for me."
As those words processed, Roan glared at Seg. Here was a man who was too afraid to come out of the closet, yet the owner of his freaking team was bisexual and in a long-term, committed relationship with a woman and a man.
Roan turned away from the others and started for the parking lot. He'd done his part. Night was officially over.
"Hey!"
Or not.
Shit. That voice … He still heard that deep baritone in his fucking dreams.
Pretending he hadn't heard him, Roan continued walking, stopping only when a big hand landed on his shoulder. He dropped his head in resignation. He was not going to get out of here without facing this man.
"How's it going? Roan, right?" Seg asked, sounding as though he was catching up with an old friend.
Roan pivoted to face him, cocking an eyebrow and hoping to hide his surprise at being approached like this. Here. In front of all these people.
What was Seg doing? He should've just let Roan walk away and they could've pretended not to know each other. The handshake was the clincher though. Acquaintances coming face-to-face again.
"Fine. You?" Did he sound as casual? He hoped so.
Roan took a quick look around to see who was watching. They all were, damn it.
"You were great tonight," Roan said, trying not to meet Seg's eyes.
"Yeah. Thanks. Hey, the guys go over to the Penalty Box on nights we win." Seg glanced over at Cam and Gannon, then back to Roan. "It's not too far from here. Maybe you and your friends can stop by. Hang out. Have a beer to celebrate. It would be great to catch up."
"Sorry. Can't. I've gotta get home. Need to check on … " Roan shook his head. He didn't need to explain himself to this man.
"All right. Cool, man." Seg seemed to be studying him. "Good to see you."
"Yeah. You, too." Roan didn't want to sound like such a prick, but it hadn't been all that easy putting Seg in his past the first time around. He didn't trust himself around him, and he damn sure didn't have the time or patience to deal with this. He had more than enough on his plate, and a one-night stand repeat sounded just about perfect to him right now.
However, it wouldn't sound good tomorrow.
Maybe he was imagining it, but Roan thought he saw a glimpse of hurt in Seg's eyes. He tried to remember what he could've said to put that look there, but he couldn't come up with anything. They'd both agreed to one night. The next morning, Roan had bolted before Seg even opened his eyes, which had seemed like the right thing to do. He hadn't expected to encounter the guy again. And he certainly hadn't anticipated the man approaching him.
Roan glanced over and noticed everyone was still watching them.