Page 79 of The Locker Room
sometimes the gods are just that kind, but it doesn"t matter. This little
charade you guys got? The reason you didn"t want to come home? The
fact that you"ve been here for a week and nobody in town knew you
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Amy Lane
were here? I mean… youheardthat waitress tonight. She was fawning
all over the two of you, and telling people that she"d have to pass the
word that you were here. And I watched you two, trying to crawl under
the table with your butt-muscles alone, and I realized that you"d been
hiding. Just like you thought you"d been hiding from Mom and Dad.
Well, stop it!”
Penny wiped her face with the back of a shaking hand, and Xander
reached out and took that hand and placed a little kiss on the wrist.
“Don"t cry, Penny,” he said softly. “We never meant to hurt you.”
“That"s not why I"m crying, Xan. I"m crying because… you guys.
Dad watches all the sports shows. Do you watch the sports shows?”
Xander and Chris looked at each other and shrugged. They had, at
first. They had watched for news on the pros and on their beloved (and
horrible) Sacramento Kings and they had watched the All-Stars and all
of those shows that made basketball still glorious and amazing and so,
so, so, out of their reach.
And then they"d started seeing themselves up on the screen.
The first time Chris had seen Xander on television for UNC, after
their high school recruitment frenzy had passed and they"d been playing
college ball, he"d been ecstatic. Xander had been mortified, and then the
shot had taken in Chris in one of their flawless passes, one of their
perfect moments of synchronicity, where Xander passed the ball to Cliff
(who had changed positions to keep playing with them) who passed to
Chris, who went up for the dunk which Xander made in his wake, and
then their patented high five/down-low as they crossed paths on the deck,
