3. Lucas #2
I looked around the table and he was right.
I recognized maybe half the room. Shane was sitting to my left.
Ezra had taken the seat to my right. I assumed his coach was next to him.
Orion was across the table from me. He was still flying solo, coach-wise, but he was dating Austin and they were both about to get their first taste of Olympic romance.
“Based on limitations on the coaching staff for this Olympics, the people you see around you are the representatives of US Men’s Gymnastics in San Francisco.
I’ve already spoken with all of the personal coaches and let them know that they may have to take on other roles as the team needs them, but only time will tell.
Our only assistant coach this year is Cassandra Marudas.
She’s been with me and Team USA for a few years and was integral in helping Lucas qualify for the London Olympics. ”
Cassandra and I had made our peace in London, so I was happy for her when Woodward invited her back as a national team coach after Ty left to stay local.
I had seen her at competitions and she checked in via text from time to time, but I usually spent all my time and energy on Cam, Heather, Shane and Noah.
“Luke, his preferred name, is one of our returning Olympic veterans, and this is his coach, Shane Sullivan. This will be Luke’s third Olympics, which is quite an accomplishment.”
Shane waved to the table, so I did the same. Woodward continued around the room, introducing the rest of the team.
“Ezra Barnes, and his coach Zane Korhonen.”
I blurred out the room for a second. Zane. That name was familiar. All of a sudden, it hit me.
The asshole that used Cam in high school had the same name. Zane Hunter.
“Preston Hayes, and his coach Dmitry Laskin.”
Preston was O’s roommate and based on their expressions, I’d say they hadn’t got as chummy as Ezra and myself had. Neither Preston nor Dmitry looked like they wanted to be here.
“Orion Ellis, our other returning Olympic veteran.”
O had packed on some muscle and a lot more confidence. Austin had helped him some, but from what I had seen, he had done the same to Austin, who wasn’t Erika’s awkward little brother anymore. They seemed good for each other.
“And last but not least, Miles McQueen and his coach, Hudson King.”
Miles smiled and waved. He seemed cheerful, but was paler and smaller than Ezra and had darker hair.
His coach, Hudson - fuck - reminded me of Zeph.
Although he was sitting, I could tell he was well over six feet tall.
His tight shirt did little to hide the muscles beneath his dark skin.
He had a fresh line-up with a pattern on each side and scruff around his jawline.
I hadn’t seen him before. I was curious how long he had been working with Miles.
“I’d just like to say that Miles and I are honored to be here. I know we’ll all contribute to the best of our ability. We’re gonna get that gold this year, Coach. I can feel it.”
“Thank you, Hudson. I believe that as well. I just wanted everyone to meet today, so we can get straight to business tomorrow in the gym. It’s not mandatory, but I’d like the team to hang out and have dinner together tonight if possible.
I know everyone is probably jet lagged, so try to get to bed early.
It will help get your body synced to this time zone and our schedule.
Guys, you’re free to go. Coaches, I’d like you to stay for a few more minutes. ”
“Aren’t you coming with us, Preston?”
Preston turned to look at me and the rest of the guys. “As much as I’m sure you’d love to recruit me into your little gay group, I’m straight and wanna stay that way. Leave me out of it.” He turned and left.
Seriously?
“Is he fucking with me?”
“Naw, man. I don’t know what his deal is, but he doesn’t seem to be pro-homo,” O replied. “He, uh, switched rooms with Miles already because he didn’t want to room with me. Legit, didn’t want to room with a fag.”
I turned, grabbing O by the shoulders, “You’re not joking? He actually said that?”
O nodded and I felt my blood pressure skyrocket. “We’re telling Coach.”
“Forget it, Luke. It’s my word against his. I don’t wanna deal with this right now. At least, it wasn’t the N-word. I can easily brush off a homophobe. If it gets worse than his little comments, then we can do something. There’s always gonna be haters.”
“You don’t expect them to be on your team,” Ezra added.
I agreed. “I don’t like ignoring it.”
“He’s a twenty-three-year-old immature shithead. If I can ignore him after the shit I’ve heard, you can too.”
“I thought this was all behind me. It’s like middle school all over again.”
O and I turned to see Ezra scratching his head, a worried expression on his face.
I pulled him towards me and O in a half-hug. “Don’t worry,” I said. “That little pissant isn’t going to bother you. Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Uh, can I be on Team Homo? If that’s what you’re calling it,” Miles asked.
“That’s not what we’re calling it, but sure,” I answered. “Is that your way of coming out to us?”
“More or less, I guess. I’m not one to announce anything really.
And I could’ve warned you about Preston.
He was pretty conceited in California, especially about his body.
The majority of my time there I thought he was gay, and Coach Tyler did his best to loosen him up.
But after his religious parents hired Dmitry, he became much worse.
Having a conservative, Russian, ex-gymnast for a coach didn’t really expand his social graces, or acceptance of alternative lifestyle choices as I heard Dmitry call it. ”
“I’ll call Ty and see if I can find out anything useful.”
“Forget him for a minute, Luke. If we’re the team that wants to hang together, then let’s make the best of it.”
I’d do my best to take O’s words to heart because the team was what mattered. But I knew I had to tell Shane, because Woodward needed the heads up. They needed to know we had an apparent homophobic piece of shit as an Olympic teammate.