25. Camden #2
“You have?” I asked Luke.
“Are you mad?”
“No, I guess not. Should I be? I think it’s kind of awesome, actually,” I answered, grabbing his hand under the table. “I’m thrilled you two have bonded over my medically dysfunctional body.”
“Well, not all of it is dysfunctional,” Luke said.
“Down, tiger.”
“I’m going to ignore that.” She continued, “We have been texting about you, but it’s only been about your recovery. It’s not like we’re gossiping or anything.”
“Oh, but can we? That sounds fun.” Luke clapped his hands in front of him like a giddy cheerleader.
I had forgotten my mom ordered pancakes. The server placed my eggs and toast in front of me.
“I could throw your plate on the floor,” I said.
“Because of the texting?” she asked.
“No, because of those carbs. Two more days and I can eat like that.”
She patted my head.
Luke and I were in the locker room with Shane and Noah, watching the other gymnasts compete.
We had to wait for Alex to finish the rings, and the women to finish the beam, before it was our turn.
It surprised me that Luke qualified for the vault finals, since it was never his strongest event.
But his skills had changed since Brisbane, and after winning the all-around, he proved he was a threat on every apparatus.
On the monitor, I could see Coach and Tyler with Alex. Despite placing second during qualifications, the announcers favored Alex to win gold today. It wasn’t a surprise, considering he had won the national championship two years running.
The first few routines were unremarkable. By the time Alex was through his first series, the crowd had perked up. He was attempting the most difficult routine of the night, and the reaction to it seemed to help Alex.
He made it look effortless. I was jealous of his flawless routine. I hadn’t dreamt of attempting the moves he was putting together.
“Jesus, he’s incredible,” Shane said.
“Something lit a fire under his ass,” Noah added.
“I bet he didn’t enjoy missing out on the all-around. This is his chance to redeem himself,” I said.
Noah nodded in agreement, while Luke grabbed my hand. “I’m glad we made it to the all-around,” he said.
“Of course you are. You won the gold,” I said, flipping him off.
“Don’t get nasty just because I’m the better gymnast.”
I mock-gasped at his arrogance, and said, “We’ll see who the better vaulter is. Just you wait.”
Alex landed his dismount perfectly.
Luke leaned in and whispered, “Well, we know who the better dick-sucker is.”
I rolled my eyes. “Always fishing for a compliment, aren’t you?”
“Who? Me?”
Shane and Noah’s whispering had grown in volume. They seemed worried. Then I looked at the screen.
Woodward and Tyler were fumbling around with some papers, and Alex looked upset.
“What happened?” I asked.
Noah answered, “Alex’s score came back. It was lower than it should’ve been, so it looks like they’re filing an appeal, a formal protest really. We have sheets on hand for all of you for every event. The kicker is they only have a few minutes to submit it.”
“Is that cash in Ty’s hand?” Luke asked.
“Yeah. The protest isn’t free. I think the fee’s like five hundred bucks, but I’m not sure. I don’t think we’ve ever had to protest before,” Shane said.
“What exactly are they protesting?” I asked.
Noah shrugged. “I’m guessing they thought they shorted him some points. We won’t know until we talk to them, or maybe the announcers will know something. The judges will have to settle the protest before the event continues. If it’s filed in time.”
Woodward handed the papers to Tyler, who sprinted across the floor to the judges’ table. The judge nodded and accepted the money and the forms.
“Looks like they made it,” Noah said.
“And now we wait,” Shane added.
It only took the judges nine minutes to decide, but it seemed like longer. They were animated at times with each other as they clustered around two monitors, re-watching Alex’s routine. Some of them would nod or make a note, then look over the form again.
Between images of the judges conferring, the camera would zoom in on Alex, or show Woodward and Tyler trying to talk to him. He looked okay, but was chewing his nails.
It’s not that his initial score was bad. It put him in first place. But there were four athletes left. This might really matter.
A few minutes passed before the judges came to a decision.
The announcers had only guessed at what was being challenged. A few seconds later, the score was up.
They deemed the protest legitimate. His score went up by a full point.
“Yes!” Luke cheered.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Shane said.
Noah added, “For Alex, and for the team. We’ll get the money back since they upheld the appeal.”
Alex’s smile was blinding. Woodward and Tyler both hugged him. An official came over to them with an envelope, presumably with the money inside, and we settled in to watch the rest of the gymnasts.
“All hail, the King of the Rings!” Luke yelled as Alex entered the locker room.
Alex was never one to seek the spotlight, but he looked pleased with himself, swaggering into the locker room with a gold medal around his neck.
Luke and I went in for hugs, and Shane and Noah greeted Woodward and Tyler.
“What happened?” Noah asked.
“Well, there were two discrepancies,” Woodward said. “We asked for clarifications on the score before the protest, but they didn’t give Alex the correct starting value for his second series, something I noticed. And they shorted him on his landing.”
“That’s what I noticed,” Tyler added.
“Turns out, we were both right, and the judges agreed.”
“And it’s a good thing,” Shane said. “Without it, Alex would’ve placed third.”
“At the time it seemed almost petty, but I’m glad we did it.”
“I’m glad too, Coach,” Alex said. “Thanks for having my back.”
“Anytime, Olympic gold medalist, Alexander Chen,” Woodward said, patting him on the ass.
I couldn’t help but think of spanking Luke the other night. It had forever changed any future ass slaps committed in my presence.
“You guys ready?” Alex asked.
“Of course,” I replied, snapping out of my sexual reminiscence.
“He is the King of the Vault, you know,” Luke added.
“I thought I was still a prince.”
“You’re always a king in my bed. Book, I mean. Definitely book.”
“I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that,” Alex said.
“I could hear it again,” I said.