Seg barked a dry laugh. "Thanks?"
"Anytime. So, tell me what's going on."
"You want the personal details? Or the facts?" Seg questioned drily.
Phoenix cocked an eyebrow, his smile disappearing.
Seg leaned back and crossed one ankle over his knee. He wiped the imaginary lint off his pants leg, then looked up at Phoenix. "I'm sorry you got dragged into my personal bullshit."
Another smile formed on Phoenix's mouth. "Oh. Is that why the press is all over me about being bisexual? Thank Christ. I mean, I thought for sure it was old news by now and the reporters were done with me." Phoenix rolled his eyes, then leaned forward and rested his forearms on his desk. "Look. I'm not going to pretend to know what's going on with you. It's not my business either. Not unless you want to talk about it. However, I'll tell you one thing. The media has had a field day with me. This isn't the first time and it damn sure won't be the last. And I'm okay with that."
Seg snorted. Okay with it? How the fuck could this man be okay with the media being so fucking curious as to what Phoenix did behind closed doors.
"Don't get me wrong. I wasn't okay with it in the beginning," Phoenix continued. "But what do you do? I'm happy. My husband and wife are happy. My mother's happy. My father's probably in heaven laughing his ass off because the reporters think they're hurting me every time they bring my name up. What's the saying? No publicity is bad publicity?"
Seg stared at Phoenix, letting it all sink in. He seemed seriously okay with this.
"The bottom line is, my family is doing well. That's all I care about. As long as they aren't being harassed, I'm golden."
Shit. Seg didn't even think about the fact that Roan might be dealing with this bullshit, too.
"Talk to me, Seg. Because you've done a drastic one-eighty and closed yourself off completely this past week, I'm going to have to assume the rumors are true."
Seg didn't respond. He didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to be ousted from the league.
"No comment. Okay, then. I'm moving along with the assumption that, yes, you are gay." Phoenix leaned back and rested his hands on his stomach. "Now for the hard part."
Seg waited, his breath locking up his lungs. He felt light-headed.
"No, wait. That was the hard part." Phoenix grinned. "Actually, the hardest part was probably coming to terms with yourself, huh?" He shook his head. "No, I'm not a shrink, but I can tell you that I've been down the road you're on. It's not an easy one. But the one thing I learned a long damn time ago … If you want to be happy, be happy. If you want to sit around and drive yourself and everyone else insane, pretend that it didn't happen. That always goes over well."
Seg's heart was pounding a mile a minute.
He'd always liked Phoenix. The owner of the Arrows was an all-around cool guy. He was quick to laugh and joke with the players, always making sure he was available for them. He considered the team as much his family as he did his actual family.
"How's Roan doing with all of this?" Phoenix asked. "That's his name, right? It's what I read on the Internet, which means it must be true."
Seg couldn't help but laugh. And relax. A little. "Yeah. His name is Roan." Seg dropped his foot to the floor and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I don't know how he's doing. I haven't talked to him."
"Understandable." Phoenix cocked an eyebrow. "Considering you were pictured with a woman, I guess it's safe to say there's some tension between the two of you."
Shit.
Seg nodded. No sense denying it.
"Kaufman came to me," Phoenix admitted. "He said he was there the night the reporter approached. Given he was mentioned by name in the article, I'd already come to that conclusion. Want to know what he said?"
Seg wasn't sure he did, but he nodded anyway.
"He said it's all bullshit."
"It's not," Seg admitted. "I am gay."
Phoenix's smile was slow and knowing. "That's not what he meant."
"Oh."
"He thinks the attention you're getting is bullshit. He doesn't see you any differently than anyone else. No one's crawling up his ass asking for details of his relationship, now are they?"
Seg didn't know.
"If you don't mind me asking, is Roan out? Or rather, was he before this?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that probably helps. At least the press won't harp on him for it. They'll be more interested in how he managed to turn you gay. Because that's what happened, right? You were straight as an arrow before." Phoenix chuckled. "Bad pun. I know."
"I hadn't come to terms with it," Seg told him, holding his stare. "Not until I met Roan."