31. Camden
Camden
Tyler and Erika were doing their best, and I appreciated it. I really did, but it wasn’t the same without Luke. Erika had ended up with a few more medals, and I knew I was being a total shit for not caring more about them, but I couldn’t help it. I was hurting, and she knew how bad.
“They won’t even let us see each other.”
She was sitting next to me, rubbing my back. We had just finished lunch. We were two days away from the closing ceremony. “I know, Cam.”
Luke finally convinced them to let him attend some of the other sporting events, arguing that they were robbing him of the full Olympic experience.
However, on our first attempt to see each other at a basketball game, his dad came with him and didn’t let him out of his sight.
We had been texting pretty regularly, and when he was convinced they were asleep, we risked a few phone calls as well.
Luke tried to allay my fears, but I worried we would arouse suspicion.
“Hey, bro. Erika,” Tyler said, walking up to us. “You guys ready?”
We nodded and stood up. We were heading to watch the final events of the decathlon.
Tyler’s curiosity for Declan had remained, and Declan was in the running for a medal.
It was a tiny spot of sunshine in the cloudy forecast of my life.
I had to smile at his giddiness. I wasn’t sure if Tyler had even messaged him yet, so I asked.
“I was waiting until after the games. I didn’t want to distract him.”
“What makes you think that would distract him?” Erika asked.
“Have you seen me?” Tyler joked, as we boarded the shuttle bus to the Olympic Stadium. We could’ve walked, but it was almost a mile away, and they had shuttles reserved for athletes. It made it pretty easy. The air conditioning was a bonus since it was getting warm out.
“I should’ve worn a hat,” I said. “I’m going to burn.”
“You didn’t put on sunscreen, Cam?” Erika asked, offering me some from her bag.
“We’ll find you a hat,” Tyler declared.
“Have I told you that you guys are the best?”
“Yes,” they answered together.
“But you’re worth it,” Tyler added.
“Like L’Oreal,” she said, and I pretended to laugh.
We found our seats, and I checked in with my mom via text. She was at the pool, watching diving with Erika’s parents.
“Is Austin with your parents?”
“If there’s an event with men in skimpy swimwear and my parents are paying, I’m sure Austin is there too. He doesn’t have to hide his fascination anymore.”
Tyler laughed, and I did, too. And then I thought of Luke in his swim briefs at the pool.
Fuck. I missed him. I didn’t know how we were going to survive on texts and calls alone. At least I could look forward to the fall when we’d head back to college. We could be together then. I hoped.
“There’s your boy,” Erika pointed.
“Shhh.” Tyler slapped her hand down.
“Paranoid much? He can’t hear you.”
“I don’t even know if he likes me, or if he’s...gay,” Tyler dropped his volume on the last word.
“He gave you his number,” I said. “That’s a pretty clear indication, Tyler. I don’t just bump into someone twice and give them my number. And if I did, it would mean I wanted to bang.”
“Camden?!” Erika clutched at her invisible pearls.
“You know what I mean. I know, at the very least, he thinks you’re cute. But I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”
“I said I was going to text him, okay?”
“Okay, okay,” I relented. “I’m just trying to fulfill my recruitment quota for the gay mafia.”
Tyler rolled his eyes at my joke, but Erika laughed.
Sometimes I could almost forget. But almost wasn’t good enough.
Tyler eventually bought me a hat. And lunch.
And dinner. The decathlon was a long event.
Over six hours after our arrival, we watched Declan take the gold medal.
His teammate came in second place and it wasn’t long before the crowd started chanting ‘USA, USA!’ It was easy to get caught up in the moment.
I could tell how happy Tyler was, and I was glad to be there for it.
“Finally,” I joked. Erika heard me and smiled, but Tyler was too busy cheering.
I yawned, shutting my alarm off. It was early, but the twins had instructed me to be awake and ready to leave with a swimsuit, a towel, and sunscreen. I had no idea what they had planned.
Graham and Grant were on “Cam duty,” as I called it. I followed them out of the building, and said, “You know you guys can go do things with your family, right? I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Come on, Cam.” Graham grabbed my head under his arm, giving me a noogie. “Maybe we like spending time with you?”
I pushed him off, half-yelling, “How old are you?” Fixing my hair, I added, “Damn noogie” under my breath.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but we like you, Cam,” Grant said. I rolled my eyes, but I knew they meant it.
“Where are we going, anyway? And how do you have a car?”
“It’s a surprise,” Graham said.
“And we’re borrowing our parents’ rental,” Grant answered, smiling.
“Borrowing or stealing?” I asked.
“How much longer?” I asked.
“Why? Are you sick of us? I thought we were pretty adorable,” Graham teased.
“Well, I don’t mind looking at you, but I could deal with fewer farts.”
“That wasn’t me, it was Grant.”
Grant ignored us and answered my first question, “Maybe ten more minutes?”
It had been hours. We had already stopped for breakfast and a pee break. “Where are you taking me?”
The parking lot of the marina wasn’t very full.
I assumed we were going on a boat ride, but I still wasn’t sure why we had driven almost four hours for that when Brisbane was already on the coast. I got my bag out of the car and followed the twins to the dock, where a sharp-looking tour boat was moored.
“Surprise!” Graham shouted.
“It’s a boat!” I said.
“We’re going snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef,” Grant explained. “That’s why it took so long to get here.”
“Really?” I was excited. I had been snorkeling at the Discovery Cove theme park in Orlando, but never a real reef before. “You guys, that sounds amazing.”
And it was. The boat only had two other parties on it, so it felt like a private tour. The captain anchored us a couple hundred feet away from the main reef, so it didn’t cause any damage. We then used smaller motorized inflatables to get closer before jumping in the crystal blue water to snorkel.
I had been worried about sharks until the captain said that most of the species in this area were smaller and not a threat to humans.
I had to take his word for it, especially if I wanted to enjoy the corals and the fish.
We were lucky enough to see a few sea turtles, a couple of huge stingrays, and some clownfish.
We took a break for lunch while out on the water.
“This has been great, guys. Thank you for taking me here.”
“Our pleasure, Cam.” Graham winked.
A few minutes later, Grant left to use the bathroom. I asked Graham, “How are things with you and Jake?”
“Great, actually. We are going to try a long distance relationship. And I’m thinking about coming out to my parents when we get home.”
“That’s wonderful. What does Grant think about that?”
“He’s coming around. He was angry at Jake for a long time, but I feel that he’s changed and Grant trusts me. As far as our parents, Grant said he’ll be by my side, no matter what. That works for me.”
I smiled, then said, “I’m glad you have each other.” But I grew somber, my thoughts turning to Luke. Alone.
“You okay, Cam?” Grant asked, returning from below deck.
“Have you guys heard from Luke at all? I’m worried about him. Being isolated from all of us.”
“We’ve texted, and...uh...actually hung out with him yesterday and watched a movie.”
“Really?”
“He invited us to the hotel, and his parents were kind of hovering, but it was nice to see him.”
That made me feel a little better. I knew he hadn’t mentioned it because he didn’t want me to get my hopes up. That maybe there was some way we could-
“Shut that brain off, Cam. I can see you thinking. There’s no way you can sneak into that hotel room.”
“What, Graham? I wasn’t...okay, I totally was. I just really miss him, you know.”
“We know.”
“Have you asked him about the closing ceremony? You could see him there. Surely, his parents would let him go,” Grant said.
I perked up at that. It was for athletes only. I snagged my phone out of my bag and texted.
Cam: Are you going to the closing ceremony?
Cam: Will they let you go?
Luke: I can ask. I hope so.
Luke: I’ll let you know.
Cam: We could see each other.
Luke: I know. :-*
And now I had to wait.
We went on another trip to the reef. I had Graham coat me with sunscreen again.
I was actually getting a tan for once. This time, I added parrotfish, surgeonfish, brain coral and a giant clam to my list of cool things we had seen.
Before too long, we were being summoned back to the inflatables.
After the captain accounted for everyone on the boat, we found a place to relax for the ride to the mainland.
Halfway through the drive back to Brisbane, I had my answer.
Luke: They said I could go.
Cam: Ahhhhhhh!
Luke: I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
Luke: Taste those lips and hold you in my arms.
Luke: I’ll meet you with the team before we march in.
Cam: Sounds amazing. Can’t wait. :-*
“He said he can go!” I practically shrieked to the twins.
“That’s so great,” Graham said.
“I’m happy for you two,” Grant replied.
I spent the next few hours going through the photos we took on the trip today. My phone didn’t go underwater, but there were some nice ones of me and the twins. I found what I thought was the best one, a selfie of the three of us with the beautiful blue ocean behind us, and posted it.
#greatbarrierreef #twinsforthewin #usagymnastics #wow #missyou
I was hoping Luke would see it and know that I missed him. He would’ve loved the reef.