Page 131 of Floored By Love

Each one of us shook her hand and thanked her before she left.

“That was great, guys,” Coach said, joining us from behind the cameras. Tyler, Shane, and Noah were there as well. “You can go change in the locker room if needed.” He looked down at his watch. “We have the arena until six to rehearse for tonight. Whoever’s doing something. Is it just Cam and Luke?”

We nodded.

“I’m tempted to find a pair of leather chaps and perform a western routine, but I’ll let Cam and Luke keep their spotlight.”

The gala was incredible. I semi-cursed Luke’s parents for fucking things up in Brisbane. I was so distracted by the drama with Luke’s parents, I hadn’t even remembered the gala was happening.

I was planning on making up for it tonight, but Luke was scheduled to perform earlier in the event. I wasn’t until later.

As a participant, we could watch from the benches used by the athletes during the events. We didn’t have to sit in the stands.

The gala was basically a gigantic showcase for gymnasts’ talents. Any Olympian gymnast could take part, and they could pretty much do anything they wanted as long as it wasn’t forbidden.

I was excited to see Luke’s routine. He was already warming up on the podium, waiting for another athlete to finish. I had no idea what he was doing. During rehearsal, I had been too focused on planning mine out.

We had a laugh over that, but were happy it would be a surprise for both of us. I only practiced some of my tumbling passes. I hadn’t given everything away.

LUCAS RIVERA. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Luke made his way over to the parallel bars. He turned to wave and smile at each side of the arena before facing the bars.

I heard the music start. I recognized it immediately and couldn’t help but smile. This was going to be so good.

It’s definitely going to get hot in here.

As Nelly’s song kicked into gear, Luke started shaking his ass to the music. Fuck, he was good with his hips. Just a little bit of…uh, uh. After a few shuffles, shimmies, and one drop to the floor, Luke centered himself under the bars and hoisted himself up into his first combo.

Watching him on the bars was something else. He had such control over his body that he moved to the music even while holding a handstand. When the right lyric came, Luke made sure his feet were on one bar, and his hands were on the other, so he could give his ass a shake while Nelly said the word.

I had tears forming now from the laughter. The crowd was getting into it, too. Not many hip-hop songs had been used for choreography, which appeared to have been a mistake, as quite a few people were dancing in the stands.

Luke did a few more combos and strength moves before landing on his feet, standing on the bars. He then encouraged everyone to get up and dance. Again, flawlessly in time to the music.

Maybe Luke should be a choreographer?

But I knew the song, and I knew what was coming, so I stood up to get a better view. I did my best to dance as well. This genre of music wasn’t my body’s forte, but this was my boyfriend, and I hoped he was about to strip, and I was definitely supportive of that.

Luke pointed at me. Apparently, I was the one he felt like touching just now.

He had to do that, of course. Because a public strip tease wasn’t enough. He had to point me out just before the climax of the song.

The chorus started, and Luke reached for the right strap of his leotard and pulled it downward. After doing the same thing with the other side, he pushed the nylon down his torso, revealing the body I had worshipped too many times to count.

Speaking of counting, all ten of his abs were also on display.

“Take it all off!” I heard someone yell from the stands.

Luke smiled and wagged his finger before pushing himself up into a handstand. He completed two back tosses in a row, and seamlessly transferred into a backward double salto tucked dismount that he landed perfectly.

This was why Luke had won the gold medal. Because he could do kick-ass gymnastics skills while half-dressed and grinding to Nelly.

I wanted to scream, but didn’t want to push it, so instead I applauded his bravado, and had my arms open for him when he came off the podium for a hug. He pulled back, moved his hands from my waist to my face, and kissed me as if he needed it.

The crowd was wild with applause and screams. The cheekier spectators threw a few catcalls and whistles in. Probably Tyler.

“Thanks, I needed that.”