4. Lucas
Lucas
Weird music suddenly woke me up.
“Sorry!” A hand reached over me to turn the music off.
For half a second, I wondered where I was, and then I remembered. I was flat on my back and Cam lay next to me, his face nuzzled into my armpit, arm across my chest.
“Was that the theme song from the X-Men animated series?” I whispered.
Cam leaned up, his blonde hair disheveled. “I can’t believe it’s six a.m. already? And yeah, what about it? I love that cartoon.”
“Me too, mon ami,” I said.
He smiled. “Gambit fan, huh?”
“There were a few excellent choices to lust after, but the hunky blonde Angel was my favorite, and let’s talk more about spandex-clad heroes later. I gotta get back to my room and get my stuff before practice.” I looked up. He was staring down at me. “What?”
“Nothing, just imagining you doing the walk of shame in a few minutes,” Cam said.
I scoffed, sat up, and kissed him on the lips. Quickly. He leaned into it, but I pulled back.
“No, no, no, angelito. We start that again and we’ll be late.”
“Angelito?” Cam asked.
I looked down as I pulled on my jock and shorts. “Uh yeah, blonde, muscular, dreamy. Give yourself a pair of wings and you could be Warren Worthington III. You know, Angel?”
“Oh.” Cam blushed.
“Damn, you gotta stop blushing, man. I need some blood in my brain.”
He laughed.
I threw on my tank, slipped into my flip-flops, and turned to him. “And it’s not a walk of shame, it feels more like a walk of glory.” I winked. “See you at practice, Cam.”
I can do this. I can totally do this. Sure, having the straight guy I’ve been pining after for over a year come out to me and say he also has a crush on me right before cumming almost synchronously means we can have a fun no-strings hook-up at our first Olympic Games with no one noticing, right?
Best not delve too deep into this one, Luke.
I typed the code into our door and did my best to open it quietly.
Ty was standing right there. “Did you have a good time last night?” he asked.
“No, I got lost on the way back to the room and it took me this long to find it.” I elbowed my way past him into the room.
“Oooh...avoidance. Who was he? Famous? Hideous? Did he tie you up?”
“Living vicariously much, Ty? How was your night?”
“Double avoidance!”
“I’m going to sew your mouth shut if you don’t drop it.”
“Okay, okay,” Ty said.
“And it was amazing. But he’s closeted, so I won’t say anything else.” Fuck, why did I say that? Because you have no filter, Luke, that’s why.
“Ah...got it, bro. I won’t ask again. Happy it was amazing though." He backed up towards his bed. "I struck out. Her mates dragged her off before we could be irresponsible.”
It wasn’t just amazing, it was “perfect”.
I hadn’t meant to see Cam’s phone when he texted Erika. Kind of hard not to when it's right in front of you and, well, curiosity meet cat.
But it was perfect. What am I doing?
“Breakfast?” Ty asked.
“What? Oh, yeah, Let me get my bag ready. Two minutes.”
Ty and I headed over to the dining hall.
I grabbed a banana for later, then my usual toast with scrambled eggs and salmon, and found a table.
My thoughts wandered back to Cam. I’m not sure I wanted to keep it casual. I spent one night in his bed and it felt like we had been together for years.
“What are you going to focus on today, Luke?”
“Huh...what?”
“Daydreaming much, bro? It was that good, huh?”
I tried to give him my best glare, but it morphed into a smile. Damn. This did not bode well.
Answer his question!
“Let’s see. I only worked on the horse yesterday, so today I’ll probably work the bars. See what Woodward wants us to do, and if Shane has any input. How about you?”
“I vaulted yesterday with Cam, so probably a little of everything else, stay loose. Floor, rings, horse.”
“I have an interview with Out Magazine later this week too,” I said.
“That’ll be cool. What’s it about?” Ty asked.
“I hope you’re joking.”
“Right, bro. I mean, I know they’re going to ask you about being gay and the Olympics and all that, but anything else? Do you get to see the questions beforehand?”
“Nah, I don’t think so, but Shane will be there with me. And it’s not like it’s live television, so I should be good.” Until they ask me about the other guys on the team. “Let’s get going.”
Training for an event like the Olympics was a colossal task.
The time, the energy, the blood, sweat, tears...
the cliche was true. You sacrificed a lot in the lead up to something like this.
And then it’s weird because there’s a taper that occurs beforehand where you don’t want to push your body too hard, but you still want to make sure it’s ready.
So the gym sessions the week leading up to the games were more to stay loose and get used to the arena, to get the nerves out.
Fat chance of that.
Ty and I were the last ones to the locker room.
Coach Woodward, Shane, Noah, the assistant coaches and the rest of the team were already there.
The only seats left were on either side of Cam.
I tried not to react when I looked at Cam, but as soon as we made eye contact, he smiled, and I instinctively smiled back.
Coach stood up and moved in front of where we were sitting.
“Alright, gentlemen, a few words before we get started today. First, I’m very proud of you.
And your country is too. I know the women’s team has long been the focus of US gymnastics, and even though it doesn't always seem like it, you are important too. You’ve put in a lot of time and effort and the stakes are the highest they could be.
For some of you, this might be your last shot at an Olympic medal.
I know it will be tough, but try to focus on something smaller when you’re out in that big arena later this week, whether it’s your family, a friend, a girlfriend... or boyfriend.”
Wait, what? I couldn’t help but look up when he said that, and then I felt Cam’s eyes on me, too. He looked panicked.
“Which brings me to my second point. A lot of attention is on Luke this week. As the first openly gay men’s gymnast to compete at the Olympics, it’s a big deal.
And we’re all friends if not practically family here, and not that I expect any trouble, but do let us know if something comes up and we, your coaches, will handle it.
This kind of relates to the first point, but there may be rumors about who you guys are dating-”
I interrupted, “Uh, rumors? What rumors?”
Coach ignored me and continued, “Try to keep us in the loop if possible. Lastly, social media. Use it. The US Olympic Committee wants exposure. Just not full exposure, if you catch my drift, Luke."
My mouth would’ve curved into a smile if I wasn’t still confused about the boyfriend comment.
"Oh, snap! No more totally candid buns-out posts, bro," Ty teased.
“Hey, they’re actually really comfortable,” Graham said. I almost laughed as everyone’s heads turned to where the twins were sitting off to the side. “What? They are.” As if rehearsed, they both lifted their shirts up and pulled at the waistbands of their underwear.
“From when you became their sponsor. You gave us all that free stuff,” Grant explained.
Aw, that’s kind of sweet.
"?Ayyy! That makes me want to hug you guys, but back to the boyfriend thing, Coach. Has someone said something?" I asked. In my periphery, I could see Cam's knee trembling and feel the bench vibrating.
Shane stood up and Coach let him have the floor. "About that. The gay Aussie diver-"
"He has a name, Shane. We're not just gay fill-in-the-blanks," I said.
“You mean Jake?” Graham asked.
"So it's true?" Shane said, turning back to me.
"What’s true?!" I nearly screamed.
"You and Jake Anderson are dating."
"No.” I almost laughed. “We are not. Where'd you get that idea?"
Shane pulled out his phone. "Guess you haven't been on social media this morning."
He opened Instagram. It was a selfie of me and Jake.
#mates #gaylympics
"You think we're dating because of that?!" I was fuming. “I bumped into him two days ago in the village plaza.”
Shane stumbled over his words. "The media team wanted to get ahead of the story…"
"So they made one up instead?”
I got blank stares from Shane and the other coaching staff.
“I'm sorry if this blew up online, but I can clarify now and will later on Insta that we recently met, are big fans of each other, and are definitely not dating.
I will draft a full press release announcing my future couplehood at the exact moment it comes into being, along with my entire sexual history for everyone to be thorough.
Can we stop this embarrassment and go train now? "
"Jeez, hot buns. Relax. People love gossip, and you’re two hot bros at the Olympics. It's juicy!" Ty said.
"Yeah, well, when it's about you, let me know if you feel the same way."
“Sorry you have to deal with this,” Graham said, squeezing my shoulder.
“Thanks, Graham. Not your fault.”
He shrugged. I couldn’t quite place it, but he seemed almost sad.
Before I could think any more about it, Shane pulled me aside. The rest of the guys started changing around us.
“Hey, I’m sorry, Luke. I tried to give you a heads up, but I guess you didn’t have your phone on you.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “It’s dead.” I didn’t charge it at Cam’s last night. “I guess I forgot to plug it in.”
Ty gave me a look from over Shane’s shoulder and then motioned one finger in and out of the circle he was making with the other hand. I threw a nearby towel at him.
“Whoa!” Shane said. “I said I was sorry.”
“Not directed at you, Shane. I’m sorry. Ty was being...Ty.”
“Okay, we cool?”
“Yeah, Shane. We’re cool.”
“Good. See you out there.”
Grant, Graham, and Ty finished changing and left. Cam lingered.
“I guess that makes sense why you didn’t return my texts this morning,” he said.
“Yeah, I didn’t charge it at your place last ni-” I stopped myself, and looked around.
“It’s okay, I think we’re alone,” Cam said. “Thanks for thinking of me like that.”
“What did you text me?”
“I guess you’ll have to wait a bit to find out.” He laughed as he headed out to the gym.
I immediately dug through my bag, found a charger, and followed Cam. As soon as I found an outlet near the benches, I plugged my phone in.
The morning went by in a flash. I felt so relaxed. My eyes kept wandering to wherever Cam was and I caught myself staring several times.
We needed to be more careful. The few times our eyes met, he blushed.
Could he possibly want more than sex?
I pushed that thought away. He was the one that suggested we keep it casual, and only for the next few weeks. Once we were back to our non-Olympic lives, it was over.
“Take a break, Luke. That last routine on the parallel bars was your best this week. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”
I will try to do that, Shane. “Sure thing, coach.”
I sat on the bench and glanced at my phone. Fully charged! I couldn’t turn it on fast enough. I ignored the several thousand Insta notifications. Thanks so much, Jake. I was going to have to find him later. My hands were shaking when I opened my texts.
Cam: I had a great time last night.
Cam: You hungry for more?
These skimpy shorts were not going to hide my arousal. I grabbed a towel and covered my crotch. I looked up and caught Cam’s bright blue eyes. He was laughing. At me. And I couldn’t help but smile.
Luke: That depends. Is the menu the same?
“Did I miss a joke?” Ty asked. I tucked my phone away quickly and glanced over at him.
“What?” I said.
“You and Cam, smiling and laughing just now. Did I miss something? What’s so funny?”
“What do you mean?”
“You are totally different today. You’re practically Superman on the equipment and you got really worked up earlier. And now you and Cam are giggling like schoolgirls.”
Fuck. I didn’t know what to say. I shifted the towel on my lap. Ty looked down. Then he looked at Cam. Then he looked back at me.
“Ohhh,” Ty said, leaning in. “You and Cam hooked up?”
Jesus fuck. “No?" Why wasn't that more convincing?
He kept looking at me expectantly.
"You can’t say anything, Ty.”
“Dude, do you even know me? I won’t say anything. What two dudes do with their junk is none of my business.”
I sighed in relief.
“Did you turn him? Are you gonna turn me?”
“It doesn’t work that way, you jerk.”
“I know, I know. I was trying to lighten the mood.”
“You can’t even let Cam know that you know. He isn’t out.”
“You think, Luke? I may put off the laid-back California vibe all the time, but I’m pretty smart. And also, I have a gay cousin. I understand the coming out process. My lips are sealed.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“He’s a way better choice than Jake Anderson, anyway.”
I laughed. “You scoping out prospective bros for me now?”
“Can’t hurt. About time someone tames this beast,” he said, grabbing me in a headlock and messing up my hair.
“You are such a pain in the ass.”
“Nah, it’s the lifetime of being the baby in the family. It’s nice to pick on someone younger than me for a change."
I scoffed and tried to rearrange my curls.
"Are you and Cam serious?”
“Um, honestly. I don’t know. Last night was…”
“Magical?” Ty suggested, staring off into the distance and clasping his hands together under his chin.
“Our first time together.”
“And also magical?”
“Stop fluttering your fingers! Have you, like, shipped us or something? It was...I don’t know. Hard to describe?”
Ty sat there.
“What? No jokes about the word ‘hard’?" I asked.
Ty kept staring at me. “I think you got it bad, Luke. Seeing you this morning and talking to you now. I think you really like him. And I think it scares you just a little bit," he said, holding up his fingers in front of me.
I was shocked. “Who are you and where is my best friend, Tyler Hale?”
“I told you I was smart. I’m also majoring in Psychology with a specialization in Relationship Counseling. Didn’t you know that?” he asked.
No, I guess I didn’t. Shit. If it was this obvious to Ty, how were we going to keep this a secret? “Do you think everyone else knows?” I asked.
“Well, a big part of it was the look on your face when I saw you had an erection a minute ago, and our conversation this morning added a little, too. Since I was the only witness to those two very special events, I would imagine your secret is safe for now.”
I breathed an audible sigh of relief and watched Cam on the floor. His tumbling runs were effortless today. The smile crept back onto my face.
“Looks like you’re not the only one who is a different person today. Cam is hella fire today.”
“Totes, bro,” I said.
Ty laughed and punched me on the shoulder.
But he was right. Cam was on fire today.