Page 169 of The Forever Vault

“Is that the kind of wedding you want?” Cam asked me.

I was a little surprised since I had only proposed two days prior. “Honestly? I guess I haven’t thought that far ahead. What about you?”

“I loved their vows…and their outfits, and the flowers.”

“And the music?”

“Yes! Oh my God, yes!”

I laughed at Cam’s excitement. “Okay, so you loved everything and that’s exactly the wedding you want?”

“Oh, no, no, no. Much, much smaller. I don’t want celebrities or, as much as I liked him, the president’s son there. I would die. I need something way more intimate than that.”

We watched the athletes pour into the stadium in silence for a while. Well, we were silent; the stadium was not. Cam’s arm was still around my back, so I laid my head on his shoulder and put my hand on his leg. I wasn’t sure what the deal was, but our section wasn’t very crowded, which was nice. Not that we were taking advantage of having the extra room. I was practically in his lap.

“Who do you think will make the team for the next Olympics?” Cam asked.

“Assuming we’re done?”

“Well, technically, I didn’t make the team this time around.”

“I know being an alternate isn’t quite making the team, but it’s still something.”

“We’ll be thirty-one, Luke.”

“Ew, don’t remind me.” I thought about it for another second. “I’m pretty sure there were gymnasts older than thirty at this Olympics, Cam. Let me look it up.”

I pulled out my phone and a few minutes later, I had the answer. Wikipedia didn’t fail me.

“Five. There were five guys over thirty here that competed, including a thirty-nine-year-old. Plus, there were a lot between our age and thirty, like Etienne and Hiruto.”

“Did they medal?” Cam asked.

I shrugged. “Not all of them, but they still made it.”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to see. I think we need a year off for our brains to recuperate, and you’ve got rehab still.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “We can see what happens. I’m not opposed to either way. It wasn’t completely terrible being a coach.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded. “I was there for all the action, but didn’t have the black hole in the pit of my stomach feeling after each routine. Don’t get me wrong, I was nervous for you, but I only got, like, a little sweatier and my hands got clammy. After a routine, I usually felt like I was going to pass out, so it was an improvement.”

“I hate that black hole feeling,” Cam admitted.

“Have you heard anything from Colton?” I asked, changing the subject again.

“Actually, yeah. It sounds like his dad’s out of the woods for now, but has to take it easy on the ranch.”

“Whatever that means.”

“That means more work for Beau,” Cam said. “And maybe Colton, now that Zeph’s playing for Dallas. It’s a lot closer than Tampa.”

“I wonder if we’re still invited for training camp next month. You know? With his dad’s situation and all.”

“You like riding me. Maybe you’ll like riding horses just as much? We can help out on the ranch, get a little dirty.”

“The gettin’ dirty part sounds fun, but unless my saddle has a dildo on it, I’m not sure how much fun riding a horse would be.”