29. Camden #2
I closed my eyes, willing it to not be true.
I could feel the camera in my face. And that was the real shitty part.
Not only was it possible to lose, but they needed to film it.
They had trained us to show little reaction, but it was the one thing about all this that I found the hardest. I was never good at hiding my feelings.
16.433.
He did it. His average was higher than mine.
I felt my legs standing up before I even had the thought to.
I had to go congratulate him and act like we were friends.
It was expected of me. I knew it was good sportsmanship, but I really just wanted to cry.
Etienne made his way over to me and we bro-hugged, and then he was gone with most of the cameras a few seconds later.
I wouldn’t be ashamed if I ended up with silver, but it sucked to be so close to gold and have it taken away in seconds.
I made another vow to myself at that moment. I was going to work my ass off. I was going to do the most insane vaults Noah and I could come up with. I was going to get a gold medal. My future looked full of foam pits for sure. I felt my phone vibrate.
Luke: Sending a virtual hug. I’m sorry, babe.
I had others, but I ignored them for now and watched the rest of the vaulters, hoping my score would hold.
It did, and while I was on the podium, all I could think about was losing the gold. Ironically, I had always liked the French national anthem, but today I wasn’t feeling it.
It was funny. I remembered feeling happier winning the bronze the day before than I was now with a silver.
It felt like a Jedi mind trick. Having almost missed out on a medal completely with the bronze, I was super grateful, but with the silver, I missed out on first place, which made it feel like I was shortchanged. The brain was a weird thing.
On autopilot, I waved and smiled, but headed off the podium, and back to the locker room as soon as I could. And that was it. The games were over for me.
Noah and Coach followed me into the locker room and were still congratulating me when I heard the door open and a familiar voice called out, “Let’s see that shiny silver medal!”
My smile couldn’t have been any larger. When Luke came around the corner, I had to ask, “What are you doing here?”
“I have my ways.”
I gave him a look, and he elaborated, “Maybe the security guys just really like me?”
“Okay, Luke, sure.”
“I told them I had to get something in my locker. Come here,” he said, pulling me towards him.
“Congrats again, Camden. Helluva job,” Coach said. “See you at practice later this afternoon, Luke.”
“Do you ever turn it off?” Noah asked Luke.
“What do you think?”
Noah rolled his eyes and headed into the office with Coach.
“You - were - great - out - there.” Luke pecked my lips between each word.
“Cut that cutesy crap and give me a real kiss,” I demanded.
Luke feigned shock, and then he complied.
It was the heady kind of kiss where you can feel your spirit floating away from your body for a few moments until the primal need to rut slams into you, pulling your spirit back and flipping the switch that makes your dick harden.
The kiss said a lot, and I could feel it.
It made it that much more of a shock when I heard someone clearing their throat.
We pulled off each other with a vibrant smack.
“Is this what you’ve been training for?” There was a coldness to the voice, and upon hearing it, Luke’s head whipped around.
“Dad?! What are you doing here?”
Fuck.
I hoped my dick wasn’t noticeable since it was ingrained in me to stand up and introduce myself, but if it was, it was quickly deflated after he ignored me and my extended hand, only saying, “I know who you are.”
“Dad...it’s-”
“It’s not what it looks like, is that it? I’m not a fool, Lucas. He goes to your school. You’ve known him for a few months. You don’t have a fling with a teammate.”
“I’ve known him for over a year, Dad. And how would you know?”
“Now is not the time to be correcting me.” I could see the veins in his forehead. “And while you’re at the actual Olympics, verdad? Did you know about this?” he asked, turning to Shane.
Shane looked shocked and barely squeaked out a ‘no’ while shaking his head.
“Then you’re fired.”
“What?!” Luke and Shane both said simultaneously.
“You can’t do that, Dad.”
“Do you pay him to be your coach?”
Luke didn’t have an answer for that. Noah and Coach had finally heard the commotion and joined us. “What’s going on?” Coach asked. Noah moved next to Shane.
“Is this the kind of behavior you condone on your team, Mr. Woodward? This is what USA Gymnastics supports?” he asked, gesturing to me and Luke.
“I’m not sure what you mean. These two have been everything I could have asked for from athletes at their first Olympics.”
Luke’s father seemed to hesitate after that statement, and Luke took advantage of it.
“He wants to fire Shane because Shane didn’t know that Cam and I kiss occasionally.”
“Occasionally? It’s more than that, and you know it is.”
“But how do you know that?” Luke certainly could match his father for spirit. I hadn’t seen this side of him before.
“I have eyes, Lucas. I can see how upset you are. If you didn’t care about him, you wouldn’t be fighting me this much.” And again, Luke was speechless.
“Let me get this straight,” Coach said, without a hint of irony. “You want to fire Shane because Luke and Cam are possibly romantically involved?”
“Not exactly, but if Shane didn’t know about this, what else doesn’t he know? I pay him to coach Lucas but if he doesn’t even know what’s going on with my son, I can’t trust him anymore. And also, I don’t tell you how to coach your athletes, so please don’t tell me how to raise my son.”
“I would never, Mr. Rivera, but I will say if you fire Shane today, that will affect Luke’s performance tomorrow. An athlete needs stability to focus. You’d be pulling the rug out from under him right before the finish line.”
For a miniscule moment, Mr. Rivera hesitated, then said, “I see that now. In any case, that’s for us to decide. Shane. Lucas. Let’s go. We’ll talk in private.”
“I’m not going, Dad.”
“Then you want him fired right now?” his father asked, voice rising. “Do I need to remind you of what’s at stake for you, peor que un nino?”
I watched in abject disappointment as Luke went to his father and left with him and Shane. He didn’t say anything to me, or look back as the door closed.
I sat down, shaken. I had no idea his father was so...
a dick. Noah came over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
He said nothing. Knowing he was there was enough.
Coach was the first to break the silence.
“I still don’t fully understand what just happened, but you know you could’ve told me, kid.
I would’ve supported it. I do support it. ”
I felt the corner of my mouth tug up a little. “I know, Coach. We were...are still figuring things out.”
“Not that it’s about me. It’s not really any of my business. But if something happens and you want to go public, a heads up would be helpful. It’s not required or anything, but I’d want to have USA Gymnastics and the USOC on board and ready to support you both. Get you the resources you need.”
“We hadn’t talked about it, but I would assume if things kept going the way I thought they were, we would.
But now?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I hadn’t ever met his dad.
Luke told me he wasn’t supposed to date anyone, but I didn’t know it was...
” I gestured towards where Luke’s dad had been standing.
“Yeah, I think his anger may have affected his judgment,” Coach said.
“That’s an understatement. Firing Shane is a terrible idea. He’s worked so hard with Luke for years. And it worked, he made it to the Olympics.”
I could hear the upset in Noah’s voice. He must be wondering, like me, what was going on with them.