Page 181 of The Locker Room

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when he"d gotten most of the story out (he"d just finished the part where

Mandy jumped up on the counter) there was a knock on the door.

“Xander? Xander, is that you?”

Xander put his hands over his face. “Oh Christ.”

156 Amy Lane

Chris laughed, but the sound was strained. “Well, she"s your kitten,

sweetie. You need to housetrain her if she"s going to stay.”

“Chris—”

“Xander, who are you talking to?”

“I"m on the phone,” Xander said, trying to keep his voice level.

“Sorry, I didn"t mean to wake you!”

“I was up getting a snack. Penny said I could—”

“Yeah, that"s fine, Mandy. I"m just talking to a friend right now,

okay?”

“At four in the morning?”

“Well, it"s that kind of friend,” Xander replied with simple dignity,

and Chris had the balls to guffaw, loudly, over the computer.

“Well, man, as fun as this has been—”

“No, wait!” Xander begged. “Please? It"s… I don"t want to hang up

yet, okay?”

Chris"s voice turned gentle, soft, and Xander suddenly forgot that

Mandy was probably up listening.

“I"ve got to shower, man. Our plane takes off in two hours, and

I"ve got half an hour to report, okay?”

Oh yeah. Fuck. Last night"s game had been against Boston.

“Thanks for calling,” Xander whispered, his voice cracking, even

though he was totally sincere.

“I wouldn"t miss it,” Chris murmured. “Can she hear?”

“Ask me if I give a fuck.”

“Okay, then. I"ll say it.”

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