The Locker Room Read Online Free PDF Page A

here! Move it,
    dammit, move it, move it faster faster faster faster!”
    And Xander just about found his rhythm. His head was in the zone,
    he was picking up speed, he was moving it faster, moving it stronger,
    moving it moving it moving it… until his ankle rolled underneath him,
    and he practically exploded across the floor with momentum and speed
    and pain.
    He came to a stop on his back, staring up at the arched ceiling of
    the gymnasium, wondering why they couldn"t seem to get that balloon
    wreath from the last rally from around the pipes at the top. He was pretty
    sure most of his body was bruised, and not sure if his ankle was going to
    be walkable, but for a moment, a sweet, soft, wondrous moment, he
    honestly thought about just laying there and letting the world spin around
    him while he drifted off to sleep.
    And then Chris"s voice woke him up. Chris was yelling at Coach!
    “Goddammit, leave him alone! He"s starving and he"s exhausted,
    and he"s doing his goddamned best, okay!” Xander"s shoulder was being
    shaken, and he looked dreamily up at Chris, pretty Chris, who had kissed
    him a month ago, and who had not kissed him since. Xander would
    really like to kiss him again, but there never seemed to be any time.
    Chris was a good boy, and went home after practice, and Xander had
    only a couple of hours to do his homework before going to work. They
    might have had other time, they might have time after school on non-
    practice days, spare moments on weekends, between games, but Chris
    insisted that Xander needed his sleep. Was he not kissable anymore, now
    that he was a grown-up? Xander longed to ask him that, but right now it
    would just be groovy if the room stopped spinning.
    “Xan, you okay, man? That was an epic roll. Say something, right?
    I didn"t see your head hit, but you"re looking out of it!”
    Xander smiled a little. “Just thinking about a nap, brother. You
    think I could take one right here?”
    “No,” Coach said decisively, and then he leveraged a meaty
    shoulder under Xander"s arm to help him up. Chris got the other side,
    and in spite of the fact that Coach was bigger, and probably stronger,
    Xander found it just felt safer to put all his weight on Christian"s
    20
    Amy Lane

    shoulders. Coach sighed and backed away as Christian helped him
    hobble off the court, and Xander found himself sat down hard on the
    bleachers while he decided if the black spots dancing in front of his
    vision meant business or were just fucking around and promising nausea.
    Nausea would probably be a lot more likely if he wasn"t so damned
    hungry, huh?
    Xander blinked as a penlight was shined directly into his eyes, and
    Coach"s broad, dark fingers probed his skull. Coach was a thirtyish black
    man with a wife, a kid, a spreading middle, and a smart mouth, and most
    of the kids would lie down in traffic and die for him. He didn"t hear
    outbursts like Christian"s often, and Xander blinked hard and tried to
    read the man"s expression.
    “You didn"t hit your head,” Coach said with authority. He probed
    Xander"s ankle, and although it was a little bruised it was definitely still
    functional. “Ankle might keep you down for a day, but it"s not fatal.
    Care to tell me why you were down there so long, Karcek?”
    Xander tried to focus again, and got lost. “Tired,” he grunted.
    “Sorry, Coach.”
    “Mmm-hmm. Alright, you two. My office. Now. Jakari?”
    An alumni student, who had a good job now but loved the game
    enough to be Coach"s second, nodded and blew the whistle to start drills
    again. Xander struggled to his feet, only to find Chris under his arm,
    helping him along. He was just tired enough and needy enough to keep
    his arm around Chris"s shoulder under pretense. Chris"s tight, muscular
    body felt so sweet next to his, and, oh God, when they were touching he
    wasn"t alone.
    Together they struggled through the side door of the gym to the
    white hallway, and into Coach"s office. When they got there, Coach