Page 126 of The Locker Room

He was. Twice. Xander didn"t smell any booze as he held him from

the middle and then used a napkin from the car to wipe his mouth, and he

wondered how long that was going to last. He"d have to watch close,

because Chris could very easily go home and pour himself a triple, then

down it on an empty stomach. But other than the words, “Pull over,”

neither of them said anything else on the way home.

Xander pulled Chris past the bar in the front room and dragged him

up the stairs, unbuttoning his dress shirt roughly, then shucking his pants

and shoving him toward the shower.

“Wash,” he said roughly, squeezing his hand. “I"m going to call

Leo.”

Chris blinked shell-shocked eyes at him and smiled a little. “What

do you think will happen?” he asked, and Xander looked away. He

knew… he knew. But for Chris, he would pretend not to.

“Maybe a press conference!” he said brightly. They both admitted

that those things felt surreal, anyway, and they were scrupulous about

not watching them afterward. Xander thought he looked like a

Neanderthal, no matter how many body waxes he went through, and

Chris thought he looked too pretty for the NBA, and he never said it in a

vain way, but more like it meant he was a silly little boy, playing at

being something great.

Chris gave him a weak grin. “We can only hope,” he muttered,

before slouching to the shower, the slump in his shoulders seeming to

slow him down.

Leo was a little more vocal.

“You got busted doingwhat?”

Xander repeated it, feeling about twelve years old. “Kissing in the

locker room.”

The Locker Room 109

There was a seething silence on the other end, and Xander held the