It was the only way he could protect Liam.
Not to mention, his heart.
Twenty-Five
SEG ABSOLUTELY DETESTED BEING IN front of cameras. Sure, he had to do these things from time to time, but those were vastly different. He could talk about the game all night long. But this … All these reporters standing there watching him, waiting to hear the juicy dirt that was his personal life. Yeah. No fucking thank you.
"You'll do fine," Phoenix said softly, his hand landing firmly on Seg's shoulder. "Only tell them as much as you want to share."
Seg managed a nod, then moved to the long table where the microphone had been set up. In front of him was a glass of water. He eyed it, hesitant to look at the people ready to pummel him with questions.
Finally, he took a breath and made eye contact at the same time Phoenix took the seat beside him.
"We're ready," Phoenix informed the media. "But I want you to understand, if I don't like your line of questioning, I'll call a halt to it. Keep it professional, keep it clean. And by all means, remember that Colton Seguine is a human being, just like you. He doesn't have to be here at all, so consider yourselves warned."
Someone cleared their throat, and then the first question came like a shot out of a cannon.
"Seg, can you tell us when you realized you were gay?"
Frowning, Seg swallowed hard. He thought about his past briefly, about the couple of encounters he'd had with men, about how meaningless they'd been. Then he thought about Roan.
"It's something I realized recently," he informed the woman watching him.
"And what about the man you're seeing?" someone else questioned. "Who is he? How long have you known him?"
Seg reached for the water. He took a sip, trying to formulate a response. Phoenix's words replayed in his head: Only tell them as much as you want to share.
"Look," he stated firmly. "I'm not interested in answering questions, so I'll give you a summary. Yes, I'm gay. And the man that I've been with … he's my soul mate. I knew it the very second that I met him."
"What about the woman?"
Taking a deep breath, Seg opted for the truth. "I panicked because someone was digging into my personal life. I don't care much to share my life off the ice. That's not the important thing. I'm here to play a game and I do that. But in an effort to quell your curiosity, I'll tell you that the man I've been seeing is the only man I've ever had any feelings for. Are they real? Absolutely. Will he ever forgive me for what I did? Probably not. And I doubt I deserve it either. But that's the way it is. I was scared. I freaked out, and I hurt the one and only person I've ever cared about. So now, if it's possible, I'd like to move on with my life. I'd like to get back to playing hockey."
Seg glanced over at Phoenix.
"Thanks for coming, folks. We appreciate it." With that, Phoenix ended the press conference, and Seg made a valiant effort not to run from the room.
Had Phoenix not been the one guiding him out, he probably wouldn't have succeeded.
Two hours later, Seg was in his Range Rover.
Showing up at Roan's house unannounced wasn't the brightest idea he'd come up with lately. Not only because it was clear Roan wasn't home, but also because it had brought the news crews right to Roan's doorstep.
Seg should've known that the press conference he'd held earlier at Phoenix's suggestion would have the reporters chomping at the bit. It seemed they were no longer questioning his sexuality since he'd come out and said yes, he was gay. No, now they wanted to know who'd snagged his attention. And if he'd thought his dating life had been under scrutiny before, he was now learning what that really meant.
Rather than wait for Roan, Seg hoped to string the reporters along with him. There was no way for them to know whose house this was. Well, unless they pulled the tax records.
Shit.
No doubt they'd already thought of that. Which meant they had all the information they needed on Roan.
Too bad Roan wasn't answering his phone so Seg could warn him.
Not knowing where to go, Seg opted to drive around. He ended up in the marina parking lot only to find the place shut down tight.
"Shit."
He dialed Roan's number again. When it didn't go right to voice mail, he held his breath and waited.
One ring.
Two.
"What?"
His heart slammed into his sternum at the sound of Roan's voice.
"Hey."
No response.
"Roan?"
"What?"
"We need to talk."
A strangled laugh erupted on the other end of the phone. "Yeah, I'm thinking we're beyond that at this point."
Seg needed to talk to Roan. He needed to make this right. "Please. Let me explain myself."