Page 155 of The Locker Room

you playing at?”

The Locker Room 133

“Don"t you have forty-nine other clients or something?” Xander

asked irritably, and Leo rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. Yeah, in fact I do. But I"ve got a soft spot for the two of

you, okay, and not just because you have the potential to make history

after you retire. But you"re totally pissing me off, and if you don"t stop

fucking with the goddamned set, I"m going to fire myself by jamming

that thing down your throat.”

Xander grunted and waved at Leo as master of the remote. It

wasn"t the empty threat of eating the remote control that got him; it was

the very real threat of being in the house alone. Penny was moving in the

next day. She had an engagement that night, and he"d told her not to miss

anything for him.

“All yours,” he muttered. “Knock yourself out.”

Leo grunted back. “What in the hell were you looking for?”

“Chris"s color didn"t look right. I wonder if he"s sick.”

Leo was quiet for a moment as Chris took the ball, bounced it to his

center and threw himself in position for the rebound, if Cliff decided for

the long shot. Cliff went in to dunk, instead, and Chris fived him. It

wasn"t the smooth five that Chris and Xander had perfected, but it was

friendly and competitive. Xander watched the screen, puzzled. Why

hadn"t Cliff gone for the long shot? It was easy enough to make. God

knows, the two of them had spent enough time drilling three-pointers at

UNC.

“He"s not as good as you are,” Leo told him patiently.

“Cliff? He just took a while to bloom.”

“No, idiot, he"s not as good. He knew he couldn"t make the long

shot, so he couldn"t take a second and make his guard look good. That"s

how good you are, Xander. It"s how good you"vealwaysbeen.”