Page 206 of The Locker Room
were flat up together, and Chris kissed him until the sadness was gone.
THE next night, the All-Star Game, was their night on the court. San
Antonio was the team with the best record for the year, and Xander and
Chris got along with their Coach Hopkins just fine. For his part, Hopkins
was thrilled to coach them. Xander, he said, was the meat player, and
Edwards was there to showboat, and together they read each other"s cues
like every move down court was choreographed, rehearsed, and set to
music.
Chris"s rookie was thrilled. Yeah, he was a rookie, but Chris
wouldn"t have hung out with him if he didn"t have a good heart, and you
had to love a guy who shouted encouragement and joy down the court as
they made that place their own.
They had a formidable lead after just the first quarter, so the bench
got to play nearly half the game. As they sat on the sidelines for the
whole third quarter and watched the show, Xander confessed quietly to
Chris that he was relieved. “My foot"s still sore, and I didn"t get much
sleep last night,” he murmured. Chris waggled his eyebrows in a playful
response, while watching the action on the court. A flashbulb went off,
and just like that, Chris"s pretty face was the All-Star icon. He was
everything the All-Stars represented—fun, sportsmanship, fantastic
skill—all that in a pretty face with a wicked grin, and that picture was on
every sports page in the country.
Xander would put it up on the wall by their bed, and remember that
moment, locked in time like a colorful flaw inside a crystal.
178 Amy Lane
When the game was over, and it was all whooping and screaming,
patting each other on the back, group hugs and high fives, Xander
remembered that expression. They went out and partied with the players
that night, and left somewhere in the middle, spacing their intervals.
They made love until Chris had to leave for the airport, without
