The Locker Room
Page 26
“That must have been awful,” Andi said, and Chris clenched Xanders hand until his fingers turned white.
“Mom—”
“No, Chris. Im serious. Neither of you boys are like that.I cant
even imagine how hard that must have been.” Chris looked sideways at him, and Xander wondered if his face was as white and blotchy as Chriss was.
“It really sucked,” he confessed quietly. “I think it was even worse than living apart.”
“It was like living apart in the same house,” Xander confirmed. “Those days—” He shuddered. “Horrible goddamned feeling.”
Penny fast-forwarded through the next few commercials, and Xander was sure it was because she wanted something other than the silence to fill the room.But the next questions werent any more comfortable.Chriss DUI, how hard it was to live apart when theyd been all but married since theyd graduated from high school, the specifics of the accident and Chriss recovery—hard questions. Exhausting questions. By the time the interview was done, Chris was looking like death warmed over, and it was Xander who called a halt.
“So are you going to enter an alcohol recovery program, Chris?”
“If he needs to,” Xander said, taking control of the conversation completely.“And thats all were going to say about that, okay? Hes tired.Were done. Its been a pleasure, but—”
The narration took over then:“And I knew that I had overstayed my welcome. The boys had been more than generous, both with their time and with their honesty, so I tried one more question before I ended the interview.”
And the action was in the living room again.“Mr. Karcek, I only have one more question, and its for you.” At Xanders tacit nod of permission, she went on.“Your answers in this interview have been articulate and almost poetic. Do you ever get tired of the press calling you Cave Man?”
“I do,” Chris said, his voice faint. “Every goddamned time.”
The interview ended, and the narration resumed, concluding with:
“So now that weve seen how difficult it is to live under the radar in the NBA, we asked the boys agent what they had in mind for their next move.His response was that their story wasnt finished yet. For one thing, Sacramento hasnt played the championship series. I asked if that was a possibility, and he told me that as of yet, nobody had contacted Xander Karcekto let him know he wasnt invited back to play. In fact, no one from the ball club has made any acknowledgment whatsoever. As far as we know, this championship will be special for more than one reason. Besides it being the first championship series for the Kings since 1953, it could also be the first time an openly gay player has played a championship game in the NBA. As Leo Schindler told me, it all hinges on their next phone call.”
The narration faded out, the credits rolled, and Penny actually walked over to the television to turn it off.
She turned back and looked at Xander and Chris, clenching hands together on the couch, and said, “I, for one, am really proud of both of you.That looked brutal.”
“Can I go now?” Xander asked, and although the room laughed, one look at Chriss sympathetic expression told him that at least one person knew hed been mostly serious. An answer to that question was put off anyway, because at that point, the phone—which had finally been plugged in again—rang.
Leo jumped to get it.
“Guys,” he said, looking at the number on the caller ID, “theres only one person this could be.Thats the team owner. Are you ready for the verdict?”
They looked at each other, and Xanders mouth curved faintly. He had Chris. He could face anything.
“Yeah,” he said. “Why not?”
With a nervous smile, Leo picked up the phone.
THAT night, as Xander slept on the couch, soothed byChriss breathing, he didnt have a nightmare. He didnt dream about the next day, or what it would bring, all that was waiting for him on the morrow, and none of it even crossed his mind.
Instead, he dreamt of an ordinary morning. He would wake up and go running, and Chris—completely healed—would come with him, the dogs frolicking at their feet. He dreamt that they would come home and shower—and maybe theyd even shower together, and wouldnt that be fun? And then theyd make love—silly, goofy, wildly passionate love on the bed that they woke up in.
He dreamt that theyd come downstairs for breakfast, and Lucia would give them shit about it being eight in the morning, and half the day was gone, while Penny and Audrey and Mandy, and maybe boyfriends as well, chattered and talked, and basically made sounds like family.
It was then, in the dream, as they were eating breakfast together, that Chris said, “So what are we doing today?”
And Xanders heart was full of ideas.
About the Author AMY LANE is a mother of four and a compulsive knitter who writes because she cant silence the voices in her head. She adores cats, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckleheaded macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever or sometimes for no reason at all. She writes in the shower, while commuting, while taxiing children to soccer/dance/karate/oh my! and has learned from necessity to type like the wind. She lives in a spider-infested, crumbling house in a shoddy suburb and counts on her beloved Mate, Mack, to keep her tethered to reality—which he does while keeping her cell phone charged as a bonus. She's been married for twenty-plus years and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn't see any reason at all for that to change.
Visit Amys web site at http://www.greenshill.com. You can e-mail her at amylane@greenshill.com.
Also by AMY LANE
Also from AMY LANE