Page 123 of The Locker Room

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lies had just broken, and Xander refused to do it anymore. He might not

just defy the gods and come out, but he wasnevergoing to go home with

another stranger, and he was hoping Chris was with him on this, because

he didn"t think he could bear to see Chris do it either.

One way or another, this charade was going to end with this

season. Xander hoped it would end with a championship under his belt,

but at this point? Hell, he felt like he"d defied too many odds as it was.

He wasn"t going to ask God for another goddamned thing. He"d always

said, “Chris and basketball.” Well, he"d had his basketball, and now all

he wanted was Chris.

Chris"s newest car (something fast, purple, and without enough

legroom, that"s all Xander knew) was sitting outside the smaller practice

building on the side of the arena. There was another car out there in the

fog, but Xander couldn"t see it well, and he thought it might have been a

maintenance worker, or even a dead battery, waiting for daylight and

better visibility before someone came to collect it.

It didn"t matter. Inside the locker room it would be warmer, and

there would be a big fridge with some water, and Xander was thirsty.

The locker room was eerie as he entered it, lit only by service

lights, the pristine white tile echoing with every footfall. Xander headed

for the fridge, calling, “Chris?” softly as he went.

“You"re early!” Chris said, and Xander followed the sound to

where he was sitting, one long leg extended up on the bench, his back

against his own locker, with his smartphone in front of him. He was

probably reading—they shared e-books like crazy, usually science

fiction, which satisfied Xander"s interest in politics and Chris"s need for

fantastic geekiness and gave them something to talk about as well.

“Easy to be early,” Xander said, sitting and downing his water in

one gulp. “Especially when you don"t do anything.”

Chris frowned at him, and Xander frowned back.

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