6. Lucas
Lucas
As Ty and I walked up, I could see two black extended cab Chevy Suburbans parked in the main traffic circle at the transport venter. Holy shit, where are they taking us?
Ty was still chattering a mile a minute as I looked around for Cam.
“Hey.”
I turned and there he was. He was wearing the American Nike tracksuit given to all US athletes. “You look…”
“Official,” Ty said.
“I wasn’t sure what to wear.” Cam blushed.
“Zip it, Ty. You’re making him blush.” I turned to Cam.
“You look great.” I leaned in and whispered, “And don’t freak out, but Ty knows.
I didn’t tell him. He kind of figured it out on his own with our giggling and the fact that we have been staring at each other all day, and then there was an embarrassing erection situation. ”
“Oh, really?” He gave me a smirk. “You too?”
“Wait. Which part?”
“Uh...the erection.” We laughed together.
“You’re really okay with this? With Ty?”
“Yes, because I have something to tell you.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “Erika knows too,” he whispered.
“Oh. I guess that’s not very surprising. Lunch, right? We were a little too-”
“Obvious,” Ty chimed in. “Probably not as much as you think, but more than you’d probably like. Like I said, two hot bros at the Olympics. Gonna be a lot of interest.”
“That’s fair. And we are hot,” I said, looking over at Cam, “but we go at your pace. I don’t see why everyone needs to know unless you want them to. You’re still not really out. It would be a lot to deal with in the middle of the Olympics.”
“Thanks for that. This works for now,” Cam said.
“It’s like a club!” Ty said, wrapping his arms around us. “And also, you two are adorbs.”
I rolled my eyes, but smiled.
Grant and Graham and the coaching staff showed up in the next few minutes.
Once we were all there, Coach cleared his throat, “So...I, uh, kind of owe you guys a slight apology. This isn’t just a fun trip.
” There were some groans, but I was curious about where this was going.
“NBC wanted to do a piece on the team. I have a feeling they’re interested in Luke too…
" I couldn't help but sigh. "...which is a good thing. So, they organized the piece around us going to this wellness retreat. The retreat gets exposure, NBC gets their story, you guys get to relax, and US Gymnastics gets itself and your names out there.”
“So, what exactly is happening?” I asked, accusatorily.
“They’re going to interview each of the five of you, and then get B roll footage of us at the retreat, having dinner, massages, some meditation, et cetera.”
“And this is all kosher?” Ty asked.
“Yes, I made the USOC aware. They’re making a special exemption for us. I have a feeling that someone wants to get our story out there.”
“Whoa...that’s so cool, Coach,” Grant said.
“Yeah, and that also means, don’t fuck it up,” Noah said.
“Is this really about me?” I asked.
“If you’re going to quote me later, this is about the team.
But, if I’m being honest with you, I think there is a very influential member of the USOC who is gay, and he really wants your Olympic story highlighted.
Personally, I believe it should be as well.
I hope you’re okay with that, Luke. I believe you can handle it. ”
“I can handle it.”
“And I want to apologize again for springing this on all of you, but it came together last minute, so here we are.”
“No worries, Coach,” Ty said, and before I knew it, he was shoving me and Cam in the third seat of one of the SUVs.
“You’ll thank me later,” he whispered.
Our driver headed south with the other SUV following us.
Ty asked, “How long will it take to get there?”
“Ah, GPS has it at right over an hour, sir.”
“Cool, thanks.”
“You sure this is okay, Luke?” Shane asked. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“I knew this was going to happen when I made the Olympics. First out, male gymnast. It’s a big deal.
I mean, to me it’s not. I’m just gay. But, to the world, it’s more than that.
I want to be strong and I want to show everyone around the world, especially people that aren’t out yet, that it’s okay to be yourself. ”
I looked over at Cam. We smiled at each other, then in what seemed like slow motion, I saw his hand move from his knee down to the seat and reach for mine. I turned my palm facing up, and we slowly interlaced our fingers.
“Here! Here!” said Ty from the front seat.
Cam spoke up. “Do we know what they’re asking the rest of us?”
“They'll probably ask about Luke, like Coach already said. I’m sure they’ll hit on your training, what it’s like to be at the Olympics, your expectations, maybe some personal questions,” Noah said.
“Personal questions?” Cam asked.
“You know, like...is your family coming?” I winced. “They’ll probably ask you about Erika and the women’s team.”
“Erika? What about her?”
“Come on, Cam. You know what they call you.”
“Why do they even care? We’re not dating!” I squeezed his hand and tried to offer a sympathetic look, but he was staring daggers into the back of Noah’s head.
“Well, I’m glad we had this talk now, because you probably don’t want to bite the reporter’s head off like you just did. Not very sweetheart-like.”
“Sorry, Noah.” Cam sounded irritated.
“If it’s that touchy of a subject with you, I would advise that you calmly say you’re friends, always have been, always will be, and leave it at that. If it’s pushed any more, I can always be there to redirect the question.”
“I would like that, Noah. I...uh...don’t know what came over me.”
But I did. And I had the smallest hope that what happened yesterday was the reason, and I was going to text him tonight and find out.
A few minutes later, we left the highway, and the road got smaller and more windy. The trees were getting denser, and it felt like we were climbing a little too.
“Almost there,” the driver said.
The driver slowed as a huge rustic sign that said ‘Waratah Rainforest Retreat’ came into view.
As soon as he turned off the paved road, the SUV started bucking on the dirt driveway.
Instinctively, I grabbed the oh shit handle with my right hand, but my fingers stayed glued to Cam’s. I could feel him squeezing.
“Holy smokes, are we gonna make it?” Ty asked.
“Let’s hope so,” the driver said. “NBC arranged the cars. I hope they knew it was like this.”
“Yeah, let’s friggin’ cross our fingers, bro.”
Palm fronds slapped the windshield and dragged along the side of the car, leaving wet streaks. The driveway was that narrow. I was about to voice my concern when I heard Ty say, “It’s like Jurassic Park.”
Cam and I both leaned forward, almost bumping heads, trying to see out the front. I could just make out a large stone arch over the driveway. As we drove under it, a massive building that looked like the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse came into view.
“Holy shit,” several of us said at the same time.
“It’s Tarzan’s treehouse,” Ty said.
“The place seemed pretty fancy online, but the photos did not do it justice,” Shane said.
“It looks incredible,” Cam said.
We all climbed out and grabbed our bags from the trunk. We met Graham, Grant, Coach and the other assistants in the driveway and turned to stare at the lodge. They seemed as wonderstruck as us.
The main doors by the driveway opened and a ruggedly handsome couple, holding hands, emerged and came down the stairs, smiling at us.
“Hiya,” the red-haired one said. “Welcome to Waratah Rainforest Retreat. I’m Adam, and this is my partner, Peter.”
Peter had brown hair, like me, and was almost as muscular. I had to admit, both of them were extremely attractive.
“Close your mouth, Luke. I can see drool,” Ty said.
My attention diverted, I recovered quickly by punching him in the shoulder.
“Smooth,” Cam whispered into my ear. I caught his eyes, embarrassed that I reacted that way. “Don’t worry, I think they’re hot too,”
“When we heard through the grapevine that NBC was asking around for a place to highlight the US men’s gymnastics team and we had a cancellation, I couldn’t get on the phone fast enough,” Peter said.
“Of course, we don’t mind the free publicity, but it’s our pleasure to get Luke’s story out there. For obvious personal reasons,” Adam said, lifting his and Peter’s hands.
“But enough about us, I’m sure you want to hear about this place,” Peter turned, leading us inside, "and what we have to offer."
As Peter explained, the lodge was where the cooking, eating and living areas were; the entire place was laid out like a bed-and-breakfast. The spa, gym and meditation space were in another building down a pathway to the left called the Gymnasium, next to the saltwater pool.
Peter and Adam lived in a bungalow at the back of the property, higher up the hillside.
The other staff lived on the bottom floor of the lodge.
The rooms we would stay in were connected to the lodge off the back.
We would each have our own room, and they were designed to feel like individual tree houses.
Each room’s veranda was at a different height in the canopy from the others, so you weren’t staring into your neighbor’s room. Apparently, they had verandas.
Adam and Peter explained NBC had booked the whole place for us and their film crew, so no one else was here. The NBC team would arrive shortly. The interviews would be first, followed by the massages, and then we would all meet back at the lodge for dinner.
“If you would all care to follow me, we have some light refreshments spread out in the sunroom you can enjoy while we wait for the interviews to start,” Adam said.
“This place is really incredible,” Coach said. “Thank you for hosting us."
“Like Adam said, it’s our pleasure. We can also show you to each of your rooms as well, in case you need to freshen up or change,” Peter added.
Peter handed us our key cards in envelopes with the room numbers on it. As everyone dug into the fruits and cheeses on the table, Cam showed me his envelope. Number one. I got number twelve.
“Wanna check out the rooms?” Cam asked.