The Locker Room

by Amy Lane

  “You asshole, you really think thats going to work with me?” It was a full-fledged grin now, and he was looking at Xander sideways from those vast, dark eyes.

  “It already has.” Xander had taken charge then, cupping the back of Chriss skull and hauling him forward for a kiss that left him, literally, weak-kneed.Hed snuck his hand under Chriss T-shirt, unsnapped his shorts, and pulled the lever to lean the seat back before he even broke off the kiss.Chris found himself flat on his back, with his cock in Xanders hand before he could protest, and Xander gave him a quick and dirty one-off, right there in the turnout, without another car in sight. (He was too tall to go for the blow job. He knew;theyd already tried somewhere in Kansas, when Chris said it was either car sex or insanity. That was when they discovered that unless they were careful, the two things were truly synonymous.)

  Chris spilled quickly, the throb of his prick giving Xander a rush of power and adrenaline that was like nothing hed ever felt on the court, but that he couldnt help but compare to winning a game—or a string of them—effortlessly and cleanly, when the crowd was on his side.

  After Chris gave his final gasp and simply lay back in the seat, replete and twitching a little, Xander leaned over him and kissed him one final time before grabbing a towel from the crowded backseat and drying him off.

  “Oh,Jesus,” Chris panted. “That was glorious. I dont know how its going to help us figure out where we are, but it was awesome.”

  “Ill tell you how its going to help,” Xander said confidently. “Its going to get you to get in the passenger side so you can cop a nap, and Im going to drive the rest of the way, because I know which turnoff we missed, but I cant think of the words to describe it, and Ill just get all confused when youre talking to me, okay?”

  Chris had been skeptical at first, but after a few moments of fumbling as they got out of the car and stretched in the August heat before changing seats, he had been ready for his nap. When he was asleep, unconsciously trusting Xander to do the right thing, Xander found the turnoff and had them to town (and someplace to eat; they were starving) within half an hour.

  As they were waiting in the drive-through, Chris had blinked at him sleepily, trying not to be hurt.“Wow, Xan, way to show a guy hes not needed.”

  Xander had shaken his head adamantly.“No, man.You dont get it. I couldnt have gotten it done unless you needed me.”

  Chris had smiled then, quietly, and eaten his cheeseburger, but that night theyd been too tired to do more than collapse on their beds and go to sleep.

  Two nights later, after taking some detours and going up the Atlantic coast a little, they were checking into a nice hotel (the best since the one in Carlsbad) and Xander was trying the same approach to making love as hed tried for getting unlost.

  He claimed the shower first, and since usually he let Chris shower first, Chris said he figured that was about fair. After he got out and Chris jumped in, he listened. As soon as the water started, Xander called room service and ordered everything they could afford.(It wasnt much—their travel budget was thin at best.)

  While he was waiting for the cart to arrive, he dug into Chriss luggage and pulled out the tube of lubricant (their third on the trip— Xander was really starting to appreciate this stuff) and the sex toy that Chris had laughingly purchased when they got lost in an old military neighborhood in Texas.

  It was larger than three of Xanders fingers, and smaller than Chriss cock. Xander figured it would do just fine.

  When Chris got out of the shower, Xander had set up their little dinner and was sitting down gingerly, wearing his sleep shorts on the outside and the hot-pink rubber thing on the inside. It made him squirmy, and put his dick on high alert, and he wasnt sure if he could just sit there and eat, but he had to try.It wasnt a good surprise if you just threw yourself on the bed and begged shamelessly in the middle of dinner. Xander wasnt sure about a lot of romantic shit, but he was pretty sure that was true.

  Chris was appreciative of the chow, and Xander always got hungry when he was nervous, so dinner was finished off pretty quickly. Then Chris turned to him, as he stood, practically dancing on his toes, and said, “What?”

  Xander couldnt quite answer. Chris was in his sleep shorts, too, so there was nothing but lovely tanned skin as Xander came and kissed his neck and nibbled on Chriss jaw and chin, his own body still absolutely shivering from the pressure and the arousal and the absolute furious need.

  “Jesus, Xander, youre shaking like a poodle here. Could you give me a clue or something?”

  Xander groaned and grabbed his hand, shoving it under the leg of his shorts and begging, shamelessly pleading, said, “God, Chris, please?”

  Chris felt the handle of the plug and his eyes widened, and he gave the thing an experimental yank.It pulled out, sliding down Xanders thigh under the shorts, and Xander managed to control his flop onto the bed, where he lay, facedown, while Chris stripped off both their shorts, wrapped a strong arm around his middle and hauled his dilated ass up and ready for plundering.

  Chriss cock followed in short order, and Xander gibbered into the hotel comforter in gratitude.Oh God, it was everything hed promised, every frisson of his skin was singing the praises of being mercilessly, gloriously, amazingly ass-fucked by the person he trusted the most.

  They reached, they reached, they reached feverishly for the precipice of orgasm, hurled each other over it and howled release, Xander into the pillows wadded up in his mouth, and Chris into Xanders shoulder as he bit down, hard, and spilled.

  The whole world quaked under their knees as they recovered, Chriss arms wrapped around Xanders middle so tightly Xander thought he might be absorbed into his lovers skin.

  He welcomed the feeling.

  It didnt happen, of course. Sex always has a slide into afterglow, and some slides are quicker and more frightening than others. This one made them thud into the pillows, breathing heavily. Xander was smiling tentatively, and Chris was frowning, as though trying to put things into place.

  “Give you time,” he said with a little laugh. “Man, Xander, I gotta remember that.Sometimes, you just need time, right?”

  “It was okay?” Xander asked anxiously.

  “It was great, baby. You know.Just… just awesome. Thank you for trusting me like that.”

  Xander flushed, pleased.“Well, you were right, you know. Only you.”

  THEY fell asleep soon after, and the next day they got to the dorms. Within an hour of their check-in they were moved into the plain room with two extra long twin beds.Theyd ordered them and had them delivered the week before. They were freshmen, so they had to share a room, but they knew that if they stayed on the team, eventually theyd be put in one of the houses, the kind with a small kitchen and where everyone had their own room. The thought almost frightened Xander. He had finally gotten to room with Chris; he didnt want to let that go. When they had put their stuff in the hampers and drawers and put the sheets on the bed and tacked the posters on the walls, they looked at the beds in despair.

  “You think we can push them together?” Chris asked unhappily,

  and Xander shrugged.

  “You think the whole world isnt going to see that?” he asked, and

  their eyes met and locked. They figured out that they could push the beds together, and they did, every so often, when nobody was there. Otherwise, they had to settle for furtively making love in one of the beds (or often, over one of the beds,) sharing a quick kiss, and then cleaning up and climbing into bed before anyone came and knocked on the door.

  And it wasnt like the time was a given.

  North Carolina took its basketball seriously. Running in the morning, weight training in the afternoon, and that was even before the season began and they started practicing in earnest. The boys had signed up for the same classes, but Xanders entrance scores had been higher than Chriss, and they had ended up in different sections.

  They had time for a quiet moment in the evening, most evenings, the kind theyd shared w
hen working fast food while in high school, where Chris would sit back between Xanders legs, and Xander would nuzzle his neck while Chris talked. Sometimes, when his body hurt and his brain buzzed, and too many people seemed to want his attention and think he was important to talk to, Xander lived for those moments when he wrapped his arms around Chriss shoulders, and they could just be.

  One Sunday morning in mid-November, they had the entire morning to themselves.The next day was Veterans Day, and the entire campus was closed down. Most of the freshman within driving distance had gone home to their parents houses, and those left were hungover. (There had been one hell of a party in the main team dorm the night before. Xander and Chris had made an appearance before disappearing at separate intervals to sneak into their own dorm room and push the beds together. Everyone had their own idea of a weekend off.)

  It was Xanders turn to explore Chris. They didnt really keep score, but Xander had one of his rare moments of insistence. Since Chris, he said, carried the bulk of the conversation that made Xander so happy, Xander owed him something entirely new and interesting in bed.

  Chris, who was eyeballs-deep in calculus tutoring and choosing a major, had given him a tired and appreciative smile. Sometimes, when you were laying your burdens down, even the burden of sex was too heavy, and thats what Xander was doing now. Taking over for Chris, so he didnt even have to think, didnt have to do, just had to lie back and feel.

  So Chris was lying back, his thighs spread, his heavy cock in his hand, stroking it slowly, and squeezing it so hard the head was painfully purple. Xander had his hands under Chriss ass, raising it to his mouth, so he could tongueChriss (freshly washed) body until it was loose and sloppy and waiting.

  Chris raised his free hand to his mouth and bit down on it, loosing a long, drawn-out groan, as Xander replaced his tongue with his fingers, and then Chris pulled Xanders hand away and ordered,“Now, Xander, now!” in his fiercest whisper. Xander was up and inside of him so quickly the bed didnt even have time to squeak. One of his feet was down on the floor, and his other knee was drawn up underneath him, and Chriss thighs were slung over his shoulders as he thrust hard and thrust quickly, watching in wonder as Chriss eyes rolled back and his body shuddered, and an arc of come shot over his belly. His hair was cut short, and had been since theyd arrived, and his shoulders had widened, his chest had becomebulkier, and his muscles were the kind of thing youd see in body-building magazines. But his chin was still narrow, and his eyes, even half-hooded in passion, were still depthless and limpid.

  He looked beautiful.

  As Chris shuddered around him, Xander came, too, slowly and with intensity, before he collapsed forward, panting into Chriss shoulder.

  They were so much better at this than they had been at the beginning of the summer. Five months of it—even furtively—gave them some comfort, some ease, and Xander kissed Chriss ear and found his mouth for a long, lazy kiss of afterglow. Chris fell away from him and mouthed,“Thank you,” at him, with gratitude, when there was a sudden knock at the door.

  What followed next was the worlds quietest Abbott and Costello video, except with two naked college students, trying hard to put their clothes on and separate their beds, while Chris, who could think better on his feet, shouted through the door.

  “Who is it?”

  “Its Cliff, guys, let me in!”

  “Hell noes!” Chris said playfully, setting his bed down quietly and throwing the cover over with a whoosh. Xander was doing the same to his, and struggling into his UNC sleep shorts and dorm shirt, all at the same time.“Xan sleeps naked,and I wouldnt want to scare the shit out of you.”

  Xan looked at him indignantly, and Chris slid into his own UNC sleep shorts and grimaced. It was obviously the first thing that came to his mind.

  “Ohmigod, if he says its that big, hes lying!” Cliff called back in exasperation. Chris looked at Xander and shook his head negatively, even as Xander reached for the Febreze and started to hit their beds and hit them hard. He threw the Febreze under the bed, grabbed his copy of his English anthology and threw himself on the bed, pretending to study.

  Chris unlocked the door and retreated to his bed saying, “Come in, come in—Jesus, two guys try to sleep in or study, dammit, and the whole world wants in!”

  Cliff came hustling in. He was second-string center for the JV team, and Xander was the starter, with Chris as his forward. Together, Chris and Xander had been cutting a swath through their games with gusto, and although they hadnt yet had a chance to play an away game, they were both looking forward to getting on the bus or the plane and going off on an adventure.

  “Guys, youll never guess what happened!”

  “The president declared calculus illegal?” Chris asked hopefully, and Xander threw a pillow at him. Chris fielded the pillow and added it to the one under his head, and neither of them mentioned that it had been his pillow in the first place.

  “No. You two were both granted a stay of execution, because I was gonna kill you myself!”

  “Yeah? Whatd we do?”

  “Stole my chance at first string!” Cliff Washington was six foot seven, and hed been looking forward to being the JV phenom this year. He had a narrow, dark face and a soft Southern accent, and seemed to be thrilled that the two boys from the most diverse section of Nor Cal didnt care if he was black or purple. More often than not, when someone came pounding on their door, it was going to be Cliff.

  “Well, I dont see how youre going to get that back!” Chris said, a little bit of incredulity in his voice. Xander flat-out drilled the guy into the ground, even Cliff knew it.

  “Well, I will when you guys get moved up to Varsity!”

  Xander and Chris looked at each other, mouths moving soundlessly. Xander was the first one to speak.

  “Really?” Oh God. They were good. They were really, really, getdrafted-by-the-NBA good.

  “Yeah, really!” Cliff was practically dancing where he stood.“Now cmon, you two! What?You can pat each others asses on the court, but you cant even give a guy a hug and a high fivein your own dorms?”

  They ignored him, because they were both still in shock.“Are we going to have to move into the Varsitydorms?” Chris asked, voicing what was on both their minds.“Because we just got settled here!”

  “Who the fuck cares!” Cliff jumped up and down on his toes.“If one of you two doesnt get up and scream and take me out to some fucking breakfast, Im gonna have Coach test you both for ludes. Man, youre freshmen,and youre playing Varsity. Do you have any idea how often that does not happen in college ball?”

  Xander stood up and made a try of it.“Way to go, Christian,” he said, using the part of himself that was sincere to say it.“I am fair to partly impressed with us.”

  Chris stood up, too, and met him in the middle of the room for a high five and an“attaboy” pat on the back.“Me too, now lets put on some real clothes and go get some breakfast!”

  “You boys got the car—anywhere we can afford!”

  Chris and Xander looked at each other and said “Breadmens!” in unison, and Cliff laughed, because the local eatery was about all he could afford too.(Besides, they could walk to Breadmens, and that way, they didnt have to lose their coveted parking space. The car had been a nice idea, and it was fun to use on breaks, but actually finding a place to put it had proved to be an enormous hassle.)

  They grabbed jeans and some sweatshirts and dressed like they hadnt just been making explosive, tender love to each other before Cliff walked in, and Cliff stood there the entire time, making cracks about how maybe they could try not to funkify their next room, because this one smelled like sweat socks.

  Chris looked at Xander wryly and mouthed,“Sex socks” as they were bent over tying their shoes, and Xander tried not to smirk, but their smiles were a little forced, and a little sad. Whatever had been set in motion by their secrecy and their game, by their love of basketball and their love for each other, it was more than clear that it had already begun.
/>   Glory Days

  WHEN all was said and done, they enjoyed Chapel Hill and loved college ball. Xander got a degree in history (rather apologetically, actually: he told Chriss parents he really didnt know what to do with that, and Andi told him thats what her degree was in, so maybe he was meant to be a lawyer),and Chris got one in business, but thats not what either of them remembered.

  They remembered the night they be at Duke, the Tar Heels hated rival, and took the ACC regular season. Xander had scored thirty-six points in that game, and Chris had scored twenty-eight. Xander told the press later that if he had flung the ball out into the crowd of the Dean Smith Center, it would have rebounded, foundChriss hands and ended up in the basket, because, dammit, there was just that magic in the air. The party had lasted until dawn, and sometime before then, they had managed to sneakinto Xanders room and Chris had taken Xander against the wall—then Xander had returned the favor.

  They remembered being in the Sweet Sixteen, all four times, and winning it in their senior year. They played in nearby Charlotte, and the players had to be escorted out by security as twenty-one thousand people screamed their names. The party that night consumed their entire dorm, and there would be happily buzzed coeds sleeping on their couch and in their basement and in their rooms (Xander kept finding one girl in his closet and respectfully returning her to the main floor) for the next two days. Even though each of them had their own room, they had no privacy, and as Christian drank too much beer, and Xander listened to the thousandth recap of the game from a fellow court warrior, they would meet eyes and yearn for a time to be alone.

  Apparently, Christian couldnt take it anymore after a while, and as Xander walked by the back door, he was surprised when it opened, and Chris grabbed his hand.Hed been drinking almost steadily for two days, and Xander was a little concerned by the bobble in his walk and the lack of awareness in his smile.But he followed him anyway, because hed follow Christian to hell or, well, all the way through the meandering brick paths of Chapel Hill, right? And he was more than surprised when they came up in the middle of Coker Arboretum… and then Chris kept going and pulled him back through the wisteria to a big tree, surrounded by shrubs and undergrowth. This time of early early morning this was the most deserted place on campus—a coed had been killed there in the sixties, and in the morning, when the mist came off the ground, or in the dark of the night, even the most stoic avoided it like the plague.