Page 61 of The Locker Room
laugh and roll down the windows for most of the trip down Highway 1.
Chris laughed softly, and pressed his hand next to Xander"s jaw
again. Xander seized it and kissed it as he closed his eyes. “I didn"t need
a date and a time, Xan—just an affirmation.”
Xan fluttered his eyes open, and saw a brief breath of something
like worry or anxiousness pass over Chris"s face. He didn"t understand it
then. As they grew, as their education progressed, and the full weight of
their careers landed on their shoulders like a clanging anvil, he would
understand it, but now, he assuaged it with all he had.
Years later, it was still the only bandage he had.
“Love you, Chris. You know that, right?”
That anxiousness eased, and Xander felt the top sheet and
comforter pulled up around his waist, and then Chris settled into his
arms. “I love you back, Xan. Don"t forget it, ever, okay?”
“Mmm… "kay.”
The Locker Room
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THEY surfed the next day. They surfed until their bones turned to
overcooked macaroni and their muscles turned to melted cheese, and all
they could do when they trudged back to their hotel under a sky of
velveteen black was shove some salami in pieces of French bread and
eat, and then pass the carton of milk back and forth until it was gone.
They managed a shower and then fell asleep limply on top of each
other, like jungle cats in the heat, and woke up with the sun pouring
down on them from the skylight.
They were both wearing underwear, and that was it, but Xander"s
stomach was nearly howling with hunger, so they kissed briefly then
dressed and went out for breakfast.
When they got back, they looked at each other in confusion.
“Sex or surfing?” Chris asked, putting his thumb on it exactly, and
