Page 210 of The Locker Room

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Xander had to drag him down to breakfast the next morning, where

the two of them were met with assorted hoots and hollers from the

assembled women. (Lucia too. She"d started taking her coffee with their

roommates instead ofPeoplemagazine, and Xander told her that he was

glad her taste had improved.)

She got up to make a place for Chris, though, and dished him up

some scrambled eggs and sausage, which he dug into with a satisfied

groan.

“Lucia, darling, you are an angel of light,” he murmured, giving

her a buss on the cheek and a little squeeze around the waist.

Lucia blushed and waved him off, and Chris continued to eat, but

Xander could tell he was getting a little glassy-eyed from the

conversation around them.

“So how long you here for?” Mandy was asking, picking her way

through grapefruit and coffee, like she always did.

“Four days,” Chris mumbled, and he was met with that adorable,

full-lipped moue of disappointment.

“That"s too bad,” she mumbled, slurping her grapefruit. “Xander

misses the shit out of you.”

Xander watched Chris blush. “Um….”

182 Amy Lane

“Nice,” said Penny caustically. “By all means bring up „shit" at the

breakfast table.”

“Hey, she"s not the one who just chewed out the gardener for not

cleaning up the dog shit,” Audrey defended, and Xander choked on his

juice.

“You chewed out the gardener? He"s a nice guy!”

“He"s a leech, Xander. I could do a better job on the rose bushes

with nail scissors and a steak knife. You just go and let people take

advantage of you—”

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