28. Camden
Camden
I was thankful for the flirty banter. Luke was right, it did work for me during competitions.
But it was normally watching Luke perform that really distracted me.
Without him on the podium, it was even more obvious that I was competing for both of us.
Not that he put any pressure on me, but that’s how it was. There was no sugar coating it.
Ezra got everything settled, then he and Zane left to watch us with the rest of the crew from above. Luke said there was a suite now for team members and families.
“Good luck, Cam. I’m so proud of all you’ve done,” Noah said, pulling me in for a hug, before he and Cassandra left too.
I watched the door close, and then it was just me, Luke, Orion and Woodward.
“How’s Erika doing?” Woodward asked.
“Good. According to Insta, she’s home. Little Johan is doing well.”
“You said Johan?”
I nodded.
“I wonder if she knows that’s the name of a highly decorated gymnast from the seventies.”
“Knowing Erika, it was the name she wanted all along, and she only made Isaak think they were picking it because it's Dutch,” I replied, giving Woodward a good laugh.
After a knock on the door, an official entered to tell us the podium was ready for warm-ups to start. If desired, each athlete could have up to three minutes on the rings. We would start in thirty minutes.
“Let’s go, gentlemen. The crowd awaits.”
“You didn’t tell me Etienne Beaufort made this event final.” I knew I was whining, but I didn’t care. It was clear he didn’t like me, so I made it a point to return the favor.
“So much happened yesterday, I didn’t get a chance to look. Sorry?” Luke rubbed my arm, a mildly successful attempt at comfort.
“I thought he had retired. He’s so old.”
Luke laughed. “Hate to burst your bubble, babe, but he’s a year older than us. Also, the coachy part of my brain wants me to tell you to ignore him and focus on how you’re going to kill this routine, okay?”
I nodded.
“Toss your bag down, take off your jacket and shoes, and let’s get over to the rings and warm up.”
“Got it.” Coach Luke was appreciated. Outside of the gym, Luke always knew what to say to me anyway, but he was a world-class gymnast. If anyone could make me focus and keep me on target the next two days, it was him.
I felt the weight of the rings in my jacket pocket when I set it down on the chair. Something clicked this morning and I needed them with me. I wasn’t just going to blurt it out - I needed the right moment - but I didn’t want to wait anymore. I wanted us to be more than boyfriends.
We headed over to the rings. The shorter of us—Orion, Inácio, the two Japanese gymnasts, Hiruto and Riku, and myself—needed a boost up.
That’s why Luke had followed me. In less formal competitions, we’d sometimes help each other out, but at the Olympics, no one took any extra chances. Our coaches helped us up.
The other three athletes were tall enough to reach the rings on their own: Etienne, the French prick who I swore not to like; Alessandro, the tattooed Italian hunk who I swore not to stare at; and Ihsan Kilic, the biggest threat for me and O on the rings.
He was in line in front of me, only a few inches away, and it was hard not to notice his shoulders were a few inches broader than mine.
He also smelled like a mix of orange and jasmine.
Are all gymnasts drop-dead gorgeous?
“Bonjour, Camden. Save some gold for the rest of us, eh?”
I turned my head to see Etienne’s lop-sided smile.
No, not all gymnasts are drop-dead gorgeous.
“Hey Etienne, just doing my best.”
That earned a laugh from him. I hated to admit he didn’t seem as annoying as the last time I’d seen him, but I still didn’t find him good-looking.
When Alessandro was done, Ihsan had hopped up to the rings. It was easy to see why he had placed first in qualifications. His movements were smooth and he had the strength for perfectly still holds. It was hard to imagine the scores being close.
I still wasn’t used to the idea of me being skilled on rings either.
I had qualified for the event on my own, without a Preston drop-out.
It wasn’t a strong event for me at the start of my career, but the longer a gymnast competed at this level, the more mass was gained.
One didn’t work out as much as I did without gains.
“You’re up, golden boy,” Ihsan said a few minutes later.
His ass slap stunned me a little, though I knew I was reading into it. It wasn’t sexual to most men.
I am not most men.
“Do you need a pick-up? Hello? Camden?”
I turned to see Ihsan’s smile, inches from my face. He was pointing to the rings. I hadn’t noticed Luke wasn’t nearby. What the hell? “Sure. Thank you.”
I barely remembered to chalk up before his hands were on me, and I counted off. His fingers squeezing my quads were definitely distracting, but I was glad he was holding on until I got a solid grip.
“I’m good.”
The pressure was gone, but I could feel the heat resonating through me. These Olympics really needed to be over, so Luke and I could go back to our regularly scheduled fucking. I felt like a goddamn bunny rabbit in heat.
I’d also forgotten what juggling a schedule like this was like. I hadn’t thought I’d be the one juggling it all. Too busy to fuck and super horny because of the testosterone-fueled competitions pumping my body full of endorphins. Lessons I had to learn all on my own. Again.
I barely did anything on the rings before I landed a pretty good dismount, then it was straight over to Luke.
“You left me,” I said.
“It was good for you to talk to the other athletes. Both for the cameras and for your…development.”
“The only development I had”—I leaned in to whisper—“was the semi caused by someone else’s hands on my body.”
“Which one?” he asked, pretending he was fine with it.
“Ihsan.”
“Very handsome. I hope you enjoyed it.”
“You’re not jealous?”
“Babe, you ain’t leaving me at this point because I’m the only one who knows how to satisfy you when you get like this.
” His finger traced my jawline and ended on my lips, to which he gently added a kiss.
“Now, be a good boy and get two more medals today, and you can give me as many loads as you’ve got left tonight. You pick where they go.”
I immediately sat down, grabbing my jacket to cover up my reaction. “You are a jackass.”
“Sorry, not sorry, but you’re the one that tried to get a rise out of me first,” Luke said, taking the seat next to me. “You ready?”
I nodded. “No more sex talk. I know that quite possibly could be our thing, our tactic, but I need to focus.”
We went in reverse order of our qualifications score.
Ihsan, who had the best score, would go last tonight.
I placed sixth and would go third; Orion was fourth, so he would go fifth.
It put more pressure on the athletes with the highest qualification scores, but that was essentially what pushed athletes to do their best. As the number one seed, Ihsan would have the privilege of knowing exactly what score he needed to post for a gold medal.
Riku Nimora and Inácio Silva, both solid all-around gymnasts, were up before me and posted average scores.
“You know what to do, kiddo,” Woodward said, walking over to me before my name was called.
“Yes, Coach.”
I peeled off my jacket, folded it and put it into my bag, then kicked off my shoes. Stretching my arms over my head and at every other conceivable angle, I waited to move to the podium until I heard my name.
“CAMDEN KANE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.”
“Never gets old,” I said.
“Let’s go get ‘em, handsome,” Luke said, slapping my ass as he followed me onto the podium.
I was still horny as fuck, but filled with a warmth only Luke could give me. It was a feeling I had noticed more and more in the last year or so. It was why I had what I had in my jacket.
He lifted me up so I could test the chalk level on the rings, and then a second time, so I could add a little more. Clapping my hands got rid of the excess.
“You ready?” he asked.
I nodded, then approached the rings. Having him there with me had quieted every nervous part of my body. I said a silent thank you, saluted the judges, and positioned myself under the rings. A second later, I was settled and Luke’s hands were gone.
I had worked with Noah to streamline my routine into three sections, which had made it a little easier for me to remember and a bit more memorable for the crowd. I showcased several strength elements in the first part, including my opening Felge to swallow, followed by a front salto into a cross.
The difficulty increased further into the routine, where I added handstands and additional strength elements preceded by large, dramatic swings. It was a kind of dance of sorts. As the imaginary melody in my head soared, I had to tell myself to breathe at certain moments.
After that last back uprise into a saddled L-sit, I had two sequences left.
The first consisted of a Yamawaki into another handstand, though this one started with bent forearms. I pressed up, willing my muscles to stay tense, and focused on keeping the rings as still as I could to prepare for my dismount, a full twisting double back salto tucked.
The rings flew to the side, dramatically, but completely clear of my body as I twisted, feeling gravity take me quickly down. I knew something was off, but focused on the floor, waiting for the impact, so I could stabilize any and all muscles immediately if needed.
I ended up landing quite solidly, but facing the wrong way.
I hadn’t done the full twist. I’m not quite sure what I did exactly, but I took it in stride and saluted the judges.
The only ones that likely noticed were the coaching staff, Colton and Ty, and maybe my mom and teammates.
It depended on how much they paid attention to me at practice.
“What happened?” Luke asked, hugging me as I came off the podium.