29. Camden
Camden
“Well, look who decided to rejoin the land of the living!”
Ugh.
“Fuck, Noah. Not so loud.”
“Aw, sorry, kiddo. I’m guessing Luke hasn’t told you about your doctor’s appointment.”
“No, I hadn’t, Noah. I was too busy helping him get dressed.”
“Well, if you can get hammered, you must be feeling better, but we’re still keeping your doctor’s appointment. The team also booked an interview with The Today Show this afternoon, and you guys need to figure out if you’re doing anything for the gala tonight as soon as possible.”
I rubbed my temple and tried to process all that information. “When’s the appointment?”
Noah looked at his watch. “In an hour. Based on the reaction to last night’s photo - cute dimples by the way - and the cameras we saw in the lobby, the paparazzi will be camped outside for the rest of the Olympics.”
Shane added, “We’ve talked to the hotel, and they’ve suggested having the shuttle pull into the underground parking garage. We can leave that way.”
I nodded. Luke was standing in front of the stove, monitoring the scrambled eggs.
Shane continued, “Also, your photos from last night only made you guys a hotter ticket. I had an offer from Nike. They want to lock you in, Luke. And they want Cam to be a part of it.”
“Really? Without a meeting?”
“They know what they want, though I requested a meeting anyway. I’m having a lawyer friend from college join us. It isn't for a few weeks.
“Who knows? You may get other offers,” Noah said.
“Like those other companies you mentioned before. I hope I didn’t fuck them up for you, Luke.”
“Doesn’t sound like you did, handsome.” Luke winked. “Stop worrying, and the eggs are ready. If you think you can keep them down.”
As if it could understand human speech, my stomach gurgled in response.
“Sounds like a yes,” Noah said, patting my back. “Sit down, I’ll get you a plate.”
“So, are we participating in the gala?” Luke asked me.
We were at Saint Thomas again, waiting for the doctor to return with the results from my exam. My mom, Noah and Shane were also with us.
“Oh, you have to do the gala, Cam! Both of you should do it. You didn’t do it last time. None of you boys did,” my mom said.
“We could wait to hear from the doctor?” Noah said, hovering behind me.
“Will you sit down? You’re making me nervous,” I snapped, just a little. I felt better, but anything could happen. “What would we do at the gala? Any ideas, coaches?”
Luke didn’t give them a chance to say anything. “I was thinking of doing some crazy stuff on the parallel bars. Like, not illegal, but stuff not seen in competitions.”
“You can do whatever you want,” Shane said. “There are really no rules. And it’s not being judged.”
“It’s just for fun, to let loose, and give the audience a show,” Noah said.
“Maybe you could incorporate some of your dance stuff into gymnastics?” Heather suggested.
“Ooh, I like that idea,” Luke said. “A routine choreographed to music could be beautiful, especially if I get to see you dance.”
“I’m-”
“We could do the Dirty Dancing lift scene!”
“Easy, tiger. It’s tonight. As much as that sounds...nice, I think it’s too ambitious. But I could easily add some dance movements to my floor routine.”
“Any ideas for the music?” Noah asked.
“I have a few.”
The door opened, and the doctor reappeared. “Mr. Kane, I’ve got some good news.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!”
“Mom, he hasn’t told us anything yet.”
“Well, she should be excited, Mr. Kane. All your images came back clean. It looked good, but I needed to double check on the computer. Better resolution. The other tests were also clean. And your heart rate and blood pressure are normal. Well, normal for an Olympian.”
“What does this mean for my treatment? The prescriptions and all that,” I asked.
“You can stop everything you’re doing except the inhaler and the humidifier. I’d recommend the inhaler for another week, and the humidifier for at least another month as long as it’s not bothering you.”
“No more oxygen at night?” Luke asked, then mumbled, “Though we forgot it last night.”
The doctor shook his head. “Not needed anymore. A technician will swing by the hotel and retrieve your tank, so you don’t have to deal with it.”
“That would be great. Thank you. Anything else? Mom, do you have questions?”
“Where to next on this day-of-a-thousand tasks?” I asked Noah.
We were in another big SUV. The car service was apparently used to dealing with the paparazzi. They kept changing the car we were using.
“We’re heading back to the hotel to grab your gear, a quick snack, and the rest of the team, then it’s down to the arena for the interview and rehearsal slash practice for the gala.
You’ll each get thirty minutes on whatever apparatus you want.
I already submitted you for the floor, and Shane put you down for parallel bars. ”
“Though you can still withdraw,” Shane said, “I think it would boost your image if you both participated.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
“Me too,” Luke said.
“You’ll have time to relax before the gala, though. It doesn’t start until eight,” Noah said.
“Well, good. It sounds like you’ll need that with today’s schedule, sweetie. Good luck with the interview, and I’ll see you at the gala.”
“Goodbye, Mom.” I gave her a kiss and a hug before she hopped out in front of her hotel.
We covered the few blocks to our hotel in minutes, where some paparazzi still lingered at the front entrance.
“Looks like it’s the parking garage for us,” Luke said.
I added, “Again.”
“The price of being a sexy celebrity couple,” Luke said, before he snagged his finger under my chin to turn my head and plant a kiss on my lips.
“Ah yeah, that’s right. I need to call you Hollywood.”
“Uh, I thought you’d forget.”
“Nope.”
“Deal with it.”
“How long have you two been together?” Noah asked. “You’re sickeningly sweet with each other for such a new relationship.”
“You know it’s not that new,” Luke pointed out.
“We were destined to be together, and it’s all thanks to some Olympic magic,” I added.
“Destined, huh? That’s some big briefs to fill.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ll fill them perfectly. And don’t think I didn’t notice that you changed shoes to briefs just so I’d complement your size.”
“It worked.” Luke shrugged.
For the interview, they wanted us in our official warm-up suits.
The bright red and blue track ensemble was form-fitting and looked nice on film, but something was wrong with the air conditioning in the arena.
Even us world-class athletes couldn’t handle it and were sweating bullets. The make-up staff weren’t happy.
“Can we get more fans?” one of them yelled.
“This isn’t working. They’re all still sweating.”
“We could take the jackets off?” Colton suggested. “I’m fixin’ to pass out here.”
“Try that. In the meantime, can someone find the HVAC person?!” an authoritative man yelled to everyone. I assumed he was the producer. A few staff members scurried away.
We removed our jackets to reveal our leotards underneath. They weren’t the comp suits, so we each had slightly different styles, but the producer seemed happy.
“Yeah, that looks better, actually. The muscles...jeez. That’ll work,” he said, swallowing his displeasure away.
Luckily, the interview wasn’t live, so they could edit the hell out of it if needed.
Minutes before the interview was scheduled to start, I felt the air conditioning restart in the arena and heard the producer scream in delight. Apparently, he was going to kiss whomever helped get the air flowing again.
“Keep the jackets off,” he said, from behind the camera. “I think your muscles add something.”
“I bet,” Colton said. “They add lady viewers.”
“Don’t forget the gays,” Orion said.
“Alright, bros, you ready?” Tyler asked, walking over to us. “Coach says that April is almost ready.”
“April?” Alex asked.
“Yeah. April O’Neil from the Today Show.”
“Isn’t that the name of the chick from Ninja Turtles?” Colton asked.
“I wouldn’t mention that in front of her if I were you,” one of the cameramen said.
Colton nodded and saluted. “Ten-four.”
“I can’t believe April is interviewing us,” Orion said. “I’ve seen her jogging in Central Park before. She’s always out and about in New York City.”
We all turned to look at him.
“What? She’s a local celebrity. I...might kind of follow that stuff.”
Luke put his arm around Orion. “It’s okay, O. We all have our little quirks.”
“Hello, gentlemen. I’m April. Nice to meet all of you.” A radiant blonde woman in her late twenties walked up to us. We were sitting on stools, so she went from each one of us to shake our hands before taking her seat across from us.
There were multiple cameras, but she instructed us to focus on her or each other, and not look directly at them.
“We’re rolling, April.”
“Hi there, Savannah, that’s right. We’re here with the United States men’s gymnastics team.
These gentlemen earned a silver medal in the team finals earlier this week, and several of them won gold medals in individual events as recent as yesterday.
Why don’t you all introduce yourself to America? Colton, would you like to go first?”
“Would I ever, Ms. O’Neil.” He smirked and tipped an imaginary cowboy hat towards her.
In turn, we took a few minutes to say something about ourselves. Orion was nervous and had to repeat his intro a few times before getting through it without stumbling.
“You guys sure seem close. How long have you been like this?”
Alex raised his hand. April giggled and said he didn’t have to do that. Any of us could speak whenever.
“We’ve known each other for a while, but coming together the few weeks before the Olympics definitely strengthens the bonds. In some events, we’re here for ourselves, but for the team event, we’re all together, so that creates an instant team mentality.”
“Plus, Coach is great at his job,” Luke added.
“Some of us were already friends outside of the arena,” Colton said.
“You must be referring to Cam?” April asked. “You’ve been friends for a few years, as seen on Instagram. That must mean the rumors are true.”