Page 84 of The Locker Room
shook it, grimacing with good nature, and Leo looked from one of them
to the other and then let out a low whistle.
“Who knows?” he asked, all of his flamboyance gone.
“I don"t know what you"re talking about,” Xander said, keeping his
face blank.
“Don"t bullshit me, kid. One of you gets busted with a
chickenhawk in the middle of the night, who do you think is going to be
the one to bail you out and cover to the press about drinking too much on
painkillers? Who knows about you two? I need to know names, and I
need to know now, or you"re going to have to get yourself an agent who
willnotget your particular needs, do you hear me?”
It was like a furnace opened up from Leo"s mouth and sucked all
the air out of the room. Chris was the one who managed to answer, and
Xander could only listen to him, half crazy with the mixture of hope and
despair.How many people really play ball after college, after all? Chris
is for the rest of your life.
“My parents and my little sister,” Chris said quietly. “But they
didn"t know for sure until last year.”
Leo"s mouth pinched in at the sides. “So what was your plan, guys?
See each other on the weekends for the occasional bang? Pretend to be
roommates on multimillion-dollar salaries? What in the hell did you have
in mind?”
“Giving up basketball so we could be together?” Xander asked
rhetorically, and Chris said, “Don"t even fucking mention it!” his voice
as angry as Xander had ever heard it.
“Chris!” Dammit, Xander was pretty sure it was a romantic
gesture, but Chris wasn"t looking flattered.
“Basketball makes you get up in the morning. When you"re on the
court, your face is as open as day, Xander. It"s the only time ever that the
whole world can see in you what you let me see all the time. I"m not
