“Is that all you got? We haven"t played together in six weeks, and
that"s your banter? Weak, Edwards. Bush-fucking-league.”
Chris grinned, that irrepressible, impish grin that hadn"t lost its
core of sweetness from when they were kids. “I"ll show you bush-
fucking,” he murmured, his voice so low Xander had to lean over to hear
him, and Xander replied, his voice suddenly tense.
“You"ve been fucking any bush, and I"ll just fuck you up,” he said,
and instead of taking offense, like he probably should have, Chris looked
at him, his eyes dark, and challenging, and violent.
Xander"s cock was suddenlyveryhard.
Someone said, “Hey, guys, a reunion photograph?” And they
turned toward a series of flashbulbs. Chris"s hand was set behind
Xander, and Xander felt a fumble and a slide into his hip pocket.
“One more?”
There was another series of flashes, and Chris mumbled the suite
number, while Xander was trying not to blink.
170 Amy Lane
The cameras went away, and Chris looked at him and mouthed
“Twenty minutes. I"ll go first,” before sauntering off into the crowd.
Xander had to keep his teeth from chattering.
He looked across the room and found Penny. She and Mandy were
deeply involved in conversation, and he could only dread what they were
saying. If he caught the word “cat” he was out of there, becauseno one
got between him and the dogs. Carefully, he made his way to them, and
when he got there, he tried to be as casual as possible.
“I"m going up in a few,” he said quietly. “You both have your
keys, right?”
“Yeah. See you in the morning,” Penny said softly, “but you better
make it early. We"re both on the same floor, but still—”
“It"s a suite,” Xander said, with more confidence than he felt. God.