Page 81 of The Locker Room

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until Christian grabbed his hand and said, “Don"t worry, Xander. I"ll tell

them.”

“We don"t have to tell them, Chris. All you have to do is give me a

good-morning kiss at the breakfast table, and they"ll know.”

Chris sucked in his breath, and then, thank the gods, took Xander"s

hand to his lips, and said, “Okay. So that"s what we"ll do.”

And that"s how they did it. Andi and Jed had looked at them,

smiled a little sadly, and said, “Good morning, boys. What do you want

to do today?”

And that had been it. They"d spent the vacation with Chris"s

parents holding hands on the beach and playing Scrabble and video

games and touring North Carolina in a rented minivan. They"d managed

one of the happiest memories of Xander"s entire life.

And now, as Christian dragged him tippsily into the misty dawn of

the quiet of the arboreatum, Xander remembered that moment so clearly,

he could almost feel the clench of Chris"s hand in his as Penny had

finished speaking.

70

Amy Lane

“Of course,” he said more loudly now. “How could I forget last

summer?”

Chris hauled him to a big tree, and Xander found himself pressed

up against the side of it, and Chris"s mouth, tasting pleasantly of beer

and barbecue sandwich, invaded his.

He opened for Chris, regardless of the risk or the chill in the air,

regardless of the potential for everything they"d worked for to implode.

He opened his mouth for Chris because he had to, because Chris was

bigger than basketball, more important than the court, more important

than their careers, just more important than anything, and even though

he"d started to be their voice in the interviews, the public face of the

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