13. Camden
Camden
When he called me ‘babe’, I melted inside.
I did my best to play it casual, but it seemed like Luke was pretty serious about us.
At least, that was my hope. I planned on asking him about it soon because I couldn’t handle the mixed signals.
I knew we agreed to keep it at the Olympics, but I needed to know if that’s what he wanted so I could rein in my expectations.
Doubts were swirling about tonight’s sexual plan, and I didn’t know how to bring it up.
He said I could talk to him about anything, but I knew he would be disappointed.
We passed through the security checkpoint and left the village.
"So, is it to the right or the left?" Tyler asked.
"Uh...I think it's the left," Luke answered. We walked for ten minutes and saw a few hotels, but not the Hilton.
"Hang on, guys," I said. "I'm gonna check Google Maps. We should've seen it by now." I frowned.
"What?" asked Luke.
I gave him my most shameful face and told him, "Wrong direction, Luke. We should've gone right."
"Navigation fail, bro!" Tyler teased.
"I'm so sorry! I should've checked."
“We all could’ve checked,” I said. “Now, you’ll have to make it up to me.” He grinned back at me.
"To us!" Tyler interrupted our moment.
Luke ignored him, looking at me. "What'd you have in mind?"
"Hmmm...how about you walk in front of me so I can check out your ass the whole way there?"
"Wait, what do I get out of that?" Tyler asked.
"Whatever you want," Luke teased, as he lifted his shirt and wiggled his butt back and forth.
“I’ve seen it. Did nothing then, does nothing now.”
"More for me then," I said, laughing, as we made our way back the way we came.
We were at the Hilton in under five minutes after heading the correct way from the village.
The cavernous lobby was well-lit by a trio of enormous crystal chandeliers and the ceiling was a brightly colored mosaic of the Great Barrier Reef decorated with its aquatic residents.
Even the rugs matched the theme. They looked like coral.
“This place is fancy.” Tyler stared at the surroundings.
“Close your jaw, Ty. It’s a hotel,” Luke said.
“Well, not all of us live the lavish life, Lucas,” Tyler said, nasally emphasizing his name.
“Remember, Luke, Tyler has lived under the shadows of four brothers his entire life. He hasn’t been able to see much with their towering accomplishments in his way.”
Luke laughed, and Tyler shoved me.
“Well, when I win a medal this week, I will be the one casting the shadow! Finally.” Tyler closed his eyes and presumably basked in imagined crowd cheers.
“Hopefully, we all will be,” I replied, heading to the elevators.
“This feels familiar,” Tyler said, as we entered.
“What?” Luke asked.
“Are you two going to get off after me so you can get off?”
“Funny,” I answered. “I don’t think we’ll be getting off at this hotel, Ty.”
“Awww, really?” Luke said.
“Are you serious? Where?" I asked. “When?”
“Can’t a guy be hopeful?”
“I think you mean horny.”
“How about both?”
We laughed as the doors opened to Coach’s floor and we made our way to the suite.
“Wow! This place is insane!”
I had to agree with Tyler. The suite was impressive.
There were a few bedrooms off the hallway we entered, which led to the main living room area, where everyone was settled.
It looked like there was a balcony with an amazing view, a master bedroom, and a kitchen as well. “You guys made it!” Coach exclaimed.
“Did you get lost?” Noah asked, from his spot on a couch.
“We...uh...may have had a navigation error,” I admitted, scratching my head and trying to hide my embarrassment.
“It was Luke’s fault,” Tyler added. “He led us the wrong way.”
“Way to sell me out, teammate!”
“Hey, that's what happened. Maybe you were distracted?”
By me.
“Uh huh. Let’s get some food and watch our competition,” Luke replied.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
Mom: Hey sweetie, just checking in? How are you doing?
Cam: Just got to Coach’s suite, about to watch the other teams.
I followed Luke and Tyler into the kitchen.
Mom: Wish I could watch with you, but I understand it’s team time. Fingers crossed for you and the guys.
Cam: Thanks, Mom! Catch up later. Love you. xo
Mom: Love you too. <3
I looked up, realizing Tyler had left. Luke was looking at me. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. My mom’s checking in on me.” I tried to brush it off. He walked up to me until he was only a foot away. My heart beat faster. Is he going to kiss me?
He said quietly, “You know you can talk about her to me, right? It’s great that she’s here for you. You don’t have to feel weird about it.”
“I…”
“You are too sweet, Cam.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek.
I could almost feel the blush blossom. “And adorable!” I playfully tried to push him away, but he grabbed my arms, put his mouth right against my ear and whispered, “How am I going to keep my hands off of you today?” I could feel the smile splitting my face apart.
He grabbed his plate and turned to leave, whispering, “I’ll save you a place next to me, handsome. ”
Ugh...how was I going to tell him?
I grabbed some food and a Gatorade from the fridge. I couldn’t help notice the liquor and mixers in the fridge. Coach sure seemed like he was ready for a party. All that was missing were those red cups.
I joined the others in the expansive living room.
There was a huge flatscreen on the wall, and the assistant coaches and Shane each had their laptops out around the dining room table.
It looked like Shane had a schedule on his screen and some of the other coaches had an official-looking scoreboard on theirs.
Ford, one of the assistants, saw me looking and explained, “It’s the official scoring module.
Each country gets access for their athletes, so they have up-to-date scores without having to be there in person. Makes it easier to figure things out.”
I nodded and headed towards the big TV. Coach, Noah, and the rest of the team filled up the couches and recliners around the room.
Noah was setting up a spreadsheet. As I approached, Noah turned to me and said, “I have projections on my screen. I’ve already entered our division’s scores.
Now, I can fool around with the numbers and see how we compare as soon as these next teams start. ”
“Nice,” I replied. “Thanks for doing all that. Makes it easier for us.”
“No problem. You guys do all the hard work anyway,” he said.
I gave him my best fake laugh as I noticed where everyone was sitting.
I’m sure he somehow worked it out on purpose, but a smiling Luke was waiting for me on the small sofa that only had enough room for two people. I sat down in the space next to him and leaned in. He turned to me, confused. “Were you going to say something?”
“I may have forgotten.”
“I have such a hypnotic effect on people.”
“You’re lucky you’re eating, otherwise this pillow would be meeting up with your face right about now.”
He laughed, and we both focused on eating lunch, as the guys and Coach chit chatted about the morning. Ford called out, “USOC just sent out the official images from this morning. I’m sending them to each of you, so you can use them however you like. Hint, hint, social media.”
Luke, myself, the twins, and Tyler all got out our phones. And then we spent a good ten minutes making fun of ourselves and scrutinizing every aspect of each photo. Some of the facial expressions were priceless.
Luke and I swapped phones so we could see each other's photos.
I already knew how gorgeous Luke was, but his photos showed off his magnetic smile.
His body was nothing to complain about, either.
I had to shift in my seat, trying to adjust without being obvious.
He looked over and smiled. Leaning in, he whispered, “These are amazing, Cam. Makes me want to find a quiet place and do unspeakable things to you.”
“That’s not helping, Luke.” As if the universe heard my need to stifle my embarrassing boner, Luke got a DM on his phone from Jake Anderson.
What the fuck? I really tried not to sound like a jealous dick, but I handed him his phone back and said, “Your boyfriend is messaging you.” Tyler’s ears perked up as he looked over. I saw Noah look too.
“What?!” Luke asked, surprised, handing me back my phone.
“Jake Anderson.”
Luke opened up Insta, and I saw him typing. I tried to calm down and ignore what he was doing. I sent a text to Erika with two photos, asking which one she liked better. My phone buzzed. That was quick.
Luke: He was just congratulating me on the morning.
Luke: You’re not mad, are you?
Cam: No, just not a name I wanted to see on your phone. I’ll get over it.
Luke: We are both out at the Olympics. He probably feels connected to me even though we barely know each other.
Luke: I have you. Maybe he has no one?
Ugh, he’s right.
Cam: You’re right. I overreacted.
Luke: Does this make up for it?
He held out his phone, and I was hoping for a photo of him naked, but he was showing me that his phone’s background was one of my official photos.
Luke: Hope it’s okay. I sent them all to my phone.
Cam: It’s more than okay. Is that one your favorite?
Luke: Well, the one of you on the floor wearing short shorts doing the splits where your bulge looks fantastic is my favorite, but I’m not sure you want to share that one around.
Cam: Want it all for yourself?
Luke: Hell yeah, I do.
Cam: lol
Luke: In this one, you have the best smile. It was also your best vault. My number one pick.
Cam: That’s what it’ll be then.
Luke: What one should I use?
Cam: The one from parallel where you did the twisty handstand.
Luke: Okay. :)
We both opened Insta and posted.
#TeamUSA #vault #america #goingforgold #gymnastics
I immediately went to Luke’s profile and kept refreshing. I wanted to be the first to comment.
So proud of you. #amazing #bestestbro #enfuego
I then went to the other guys’ posts and commented as well.
I needed to look impartial, though I still meant what I was typing on theirs.
My phone started pinging regularly. Multiple notifications.
My Mom had beaten Luke with her “so proud of my baby” comment.
But Luke’s #soontobeKingoftheVault warmed my heart.
I turned and said, “Thanks for the compliment.”
“I mean it. You are going to medal. I can feel it.”
I tried not to blush. “Thanks.” I wanted to say, “You too,” but saying it after he said that, it felt disingenuous even though it was true. Compliments always threw me off, anyway.
Erika: Guess I was too slow, but that was the one I would’ve picked. How’s it going?
Cam: Good, about to watch the second division with the guys in Coach’s suite. What about you?
Erika: Relaxing in the dorm for a bit before our last practice, trying not to freak out.
Cam: Understandable, but I think you’ll do great. Try not to think about it?
Erika: Lol, easier said than done.
Cam: I know. :-*
It was almost time for the second division to start. Japan and China were in this round. Great Britain and Ukraine were in the third division. Not that there weren’t other threats, but as far as teams go, they were the big ones.
The events flew by. It was strange to watch it on TV. I had watched a lot of footage of myself, but most of the time I watched other athletes in person. It was surreal, almost like this morning was last week. “Should I be more nervous than I am right now?” I asked.
Coach replied, “It’s different for everyone.”
“Take it as a good sign you aren’t more nervous,” Grant said. “I’ve already had to take nausea medication twice since we’ve been here.”
Tyler added, “Maybe our relaxed approach this time around suited you.” I glanced at him.
His expression seemed to say something else, and then he glanced quickly at Luke and then back at me.
If I was honest with myself, that was it.
I wasn’t nervous because Luke mattered more to me than the Olympics.
God, so many athletes would hate to hear that. After all, only five of us made the team.
I still was proud to be here and wouldn’t take it for granted, but some priorities had shifted around recently. I saw gymnastics wasn’t the be-all end-all of my life. There could be more.
And I hoped he wanted more.
Even after I tell him I want to pump the brakes tonight and not his ass.