5. Lucas
Lucas
“So, which one of the guys did you bang?” Cam asked.
I stopped licking my frozen yogurt, waiting to hear their answer.
“If I said the cute one, would that answer your question?” Colton replied.
“Was it Brody?”
“You know their names?” I asked.
“Just the one that talked to me.”
“Not Brody. The short one with blonde hair. He said his name was Gabe.”
I pulled out my phone and asked what studio they were with. Cam leaned over to see what I was doing. He whispered, “You know you have nothing to worry about.”
“I know. I just wanted to see for myself.”
Well, the photos were as expected. Both would’ve gotten my attention at the gym, but I trusted Cam. Besides, it sounded like Colton and Zeph were going to have their hands full, which meant the boys at the hotel were going to have their holes full.
Colton asked me the usual questions about training and the village and the new app, filling the time on the walk back. Zeph hung back with Cam, but I couldn’t hear what they were talking about.
I could see the security checkpoint up ahead. Colton must’ve seen it too because he slowed down and switched places with Cam. We walked the last bit in silence, holding hands. I was soaking in all I could. I’m sure he felt the same way.
When we were about fifty feet away, Colton interrupted the silence. “Well, Luke, it was nice hangin’ out for a bit. I’m sure we’ll see you soon. Good luck with training.”
I hugged him and Zeph goodbye and they walked back the way we came to give Cam and I some privacy.
“So…”
“This was nice. I know you’re probably worried for me, but I’m doing good. I’ve got plenty of distractions-”
“The porn stars?”
Cam pushed my chest playfully. “I suppose, but I meant Colton, Zephyrus, and Erika. I should probably text Noah too. If Shane’s with you during the day, then he’s alone as well.”
I nodded. “See you tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
Cam pulled my face towards his and we kissed. It didn’t matter how many kisses we shared, when Cam’s lips and tongue came together on mine, my stomach still tilt-a-whirled every time. I savored the moment, knowing as soon as he left, I’d be walking back into a possibly stressful situation.
“Maybe tomorrow you can bring the guys? It would be nice to see them, and I’m sure they’d like to relax a little too. That way we can see each other and you can be a good Olympic veteran. I’ll see if Colton and Zeph want to come too.”
“That sounds good. I’ll ask.”
“I’m assuming you won’t be inviting Preston.”
“Fuck no. That was a given.”
Cam gave my hand one last squeeze. “Love you.”
“Love you more.”
I waved goodbye to Colton and Zephyrus and headed through the security checkpoint. Heading back to the dorm, I pulled out my phone.
Luke: Hey guys, want to grab dinner with me and Cam tomorrow night? Colton and Zephyrus will probably be there too.
Orion: Count me in. It’ll be nice to see Cam.
Miles: Zephyrus Jones?
Luke: Yup.
Miles: I’ll be there.
Luke: Big fan?
Miles: Yeah…there’s a lot to be a fan about.
The guys could see who I texted, and his name remained unmentioned. He hadn’t caused any trouble at today’s practice and I hoped that yesterday’s shit was the end of it. He wasn’t in the locker room afterward either. I’d have to double check with Shane that that was a permanent move.
I got off the elevator, headed to our room, and punched in the door code. “Ezra,” I called out, curious why he hadn’t responded to the text. I found him sitting on the floor on a yoga mat, holding his phone. “You okay?”
“Why is Jack Davies such a dick?”
“What?” I sat behind him on the couch. He held his phone out to me, so I took it. “What am I looking at?”
“Twitter, duh. He’s throwing shade at me. Look!”
“I don’t know what I’m looking at.”
“Ugh!” Ezra grabbed his phone back. “Here. His comment on my post. He says he can’t believe it either.”
“Which post?”
Ezra scrolled up and read it aloud. “Excited to be in SF. I can’t believe I’m here. #Olympics, #TeamUSA, and more hashtags.”
“Maybe he’s saying he feels the same, like he can’t believe he’s here either? Has he targeted you before?” I sat down next to him on the floor..
“Well, I may have said something snarky to him at the World Championships.”
“Do I wanna know?”
Ezra shrugged. “I was just being sarcastic. I mean, he’s clearly better than me.”
“Well, congratulations, sarcasm doesn’t always translate even when you both speak English.”
“I should ignore it, right?”
“Definitely!” I gave his shoulder a squeeze.
“I doubt it will get worse, but you can always talk to your coach or Woodward if it does. However you look at it, he’s giving you attention, expending energy.
Either he wants to be friends, or he considers you a threat.
He could just be trying to make a bad joke, too? ”
“Well, I guess that’s something, but still, I’m not thrilled.”
“Welcome to the big leagues, Ezra. You might have your first rival.”
He grabbed a pillow and let out a brief muffled scream into it.
“You’ve been on that phone since we all sat down. What’s up?” O asked, before taking another bite of his eggs.
I answered for Ezra. “He has a rival now. I’m sure he’s obsessing over the latest tweet.”
“I am not!”
I grabbed his phone before he could react. “Riiight. I was wrong. You’re not obsessing over tweets, you’re ogling him instead!” A shirtless Jack filled the screen.
“I’m just looking at his profile.”
“That’s not his profile. Those are his abs.”
O leaned over to take a look, and added, “And his crotch.”
“Give that back to me!” Ezra snagged his phone, shoved it into his pocket, and focused on his oatmeal. As he started to push his spoon around, he changed the subject. “You got any sage advice, veteran Olympians? Unless you want to harass me some more?”
For the next twenty or so minutes before we had to leave for practice, O and I told them about our first Olympic experiences.
By now, Cam and I had admitted to the press that our relationship started in Brisbane, and that we took a break between then and London.
We lied about the break, saying it was to work on our gymnastics, but only a few people knew the reality of my parents’ ultimatum and my cowardice.
To an extent, I was still in touch with my mother, but my father and I had never fully healed the rift.
Other than one awkward Christmas visit with Cam, I hadn’t been to see them in the last four years. My home was in Florida now.
I knew Ezra wasn’t asking about the personal side of the Olympics, but I shared it anyway.
With that covered, I explained things from the athletic perspective, including the crippling anxiety in the locker room before going into the arena, and the overwhelming emotions that hit before your first event begins, especially in front of such a large crowd.
O talked mostly about his nerves and advice on how to combat them.
If he was becoming more confident in London, he was a full-blown superstar now.
Halfway or so to a law degree and he had already partnered with a non-profit to open the first of what could be many scholarship-based gymnastics centers in areas with higher immigrant populations.
“I still can’t believe you’re going to law school and you're in a relationship. How do you have time to do it all? I feel like I’m barely getting by,” Ezra said.
My phone buzzed.
Cam: Have a good day of training. Love you.
Cam: The boys on for tonight? Colton and Zeph will be there.
Luke: Yes, they’re excited lol. Love you more.
Cam: <3
The conversation had continued without me. I tried to catch up. “Remind you of what?” I asked Ezra.
“His rivalry!” O teased.
“We should go, guys. We don’t want to be late.”
I had almost forgotten Miles was there. He was super quiet, and reminded me of O in college. And not that it was my responsibility to make him come out of his shell, but I was going to do everything I could to make him comfortable. Having O as a roommate would be a good match for him.
“You heard the boss, gentlemen,” O teased, drawing a smile from Miles. “Let’s get going.”
“Are you alright, Luke?”
“Yeah, I must’ve slept on it funny,” I replied, rubbing my chest and left shoulder.
“Right.” Shane didn’t sound like he believed me. “Just be careful with whatever you do outside of the gym. Sexual acrobatics can-”
“Okay, that’s enough of that. You’re practically my dad. I don’t want to talk about”—I made an erratic gesture—“with you.”
“Just looking out for you, Luke.”
We headed for some empty space along the edge of the podium.
I could feel the need to roll out some of my muscles, and a few stretches wouldn’t hurt either.
We had been focusing on the parallel bars for the last thirty minutes or so.
I’d ask about an ice bath later. Admittedly, I wasn’t as young as I used to be, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit I was starting to feel it.
“Not that we said anything just now that reminded me of Cam, but how’s he doing?”
I grabbed the roller he held out to me and started working my muscles, taking a few seconds to formulate an answer. “Alright, I guess? I think it was hard for him at first. We, uh…tried to distract ourselves. But he seemed okay last night, and we have plans to have dinner with the team tonight.”
Shane nodded, arms crossed.
“Speaking of, I didn’t see Preston in the locker room yesterday. Does he have his own now or something?”
“Yeah, Woodward and Cassandra sat down with Dmitry and made things pretty clear. He and Preston are to keep to themselves while the team is training, and Coach got him access to a separate locker room. Perks of being the host country, I guess.”
“How’s it going, gentlemen?”
I smiled at Cassandra as she approached us. “Going well.”
“Just letting this guy work out some kinks,” Shane said.
“I thought Luke’s kinks were a private matter?”
“Ha ha.”
Apparently, Shane thought that was hysterical. I hadn’t heard him laugh like that in a while.
“So I get two coaches this time around, huh?”
“Oh, come on, Luke. You know you missed having me around!”