Page 249 of The Locker Room

---

“Duh, big brother!”

“He plays beautifully, Mr. Edwards.” (Audrey"s straight male nurse

was still a little in awe of his employers.)

“No, Edwards, I just recruited that bastard and held his hand for

five years because he plays like a hyena in drag.” (God bless Uncle Leo,

anyway!)

“He"s always been as golden as you, baby.” (Xander blushed when

Chris told him his mother said this—he was sure she was sincere, and

that was just embarrassing.)

“You were amazing, Xan,” Chris said after every game. Even the

two they lost, Chris told him that. “The lead would have been

astronomical if not for you—man, you just kept putting pressure on until

the buzzer sounded, right?”

Xander smiled a little, sitting next to him and holding his hand. He

couldn"t seem to stop kissing it or stroking it, and even though he knew

that making love was months away (or at least a couple of days away,

when Chris got the solid casts and wouldn"t put pressure on his healing

bones and tissues with any arching or moaning or needing—)

Focus, Xander. We"ll have the rest of our lives.

216 Amy Lane

“You always talk about it, Chris. How would you like to see me

play a game just for me?”

Chris was surprised. “Explain. And don"t stop touching my hand.”

“I just… do you want to see me play just for myself? It would be,

you know, for you, so I"d do it good, but….”

Fifteen years they"d known each other. Eleven years they"d been

sharing a bed. Chris knew something was up. But Xander still had the

part of him that had kept secrets. He"d kept his home life a secret, kept

his hunger under wraps, kept the beatings to himself. Chris hadn"t

realized about the nightmares until they"d share a bed for longer than a

---