Page 143 of The Locker Room

“Fuck no,” he said when Chris picked it up on the first ring. To

prove his point, he took a picture of himself with bramble scratches

down his face and a big old rip in his favorite running shirt and a scrape

down his gingerly held left arm.

The Locker Room 123

Chris choked into the phone and said, “Damn, Xander—I"m not

sure if that proves that you like being crazy or if crazy makes you

clumsy!”

“I have nothing to say to anyone but you,” Xander growled, and

Chris gave a weary laugh.

“Okay. I hear you. I"m surprised half the lakefront houses can"t

hear you, you"re damned near shouting.”

“You had to move out last night and your mother tried to shrink my

head this morning, Chris. It"s going to make me grumpy!” Under-

fucking-statement of the goddamned century!

Chris"s sigh practically gusted his hair back from the phone alone.

“I love you, goddammit. I will love you forever. I just don"t—” Chris

made that grunting noise he always made when he didn"t want to finish

the sentence.

“Don"t what?” Xander demanded, irritated.

“Don"t want to see you in pain.”

“Then make sure you see me in six months, when you come back

to me!” Xander snapped, completely out of patience, and Chris snapped

back.

“I didn"t leaveyou,you know! I just left….” And then Chris

completely deflated like a blue sound balloon over the telephone.

“You"re on a business trip,” Xander said now, just like he"d said to

Andi and Jed.

“A business trip,” Chris repeated firmly.

“And we"ll see each other between times,” Xander said, more to