Page 96 of Floored By Love

“Oh, Cam, what did I tell you?”

“It’s fine, Mom. I don’t mind. It was going to happen, eventually.”

Shane and Noah asked to see it, so I handed my phone over.

“It’s not perfectly obvious that it’s you guys,” Shane said.

“You can see the silver medal around Cam’s neck!”

Luke sounded upset, so I massaged his knee and whispered, “It’s really fine, Luke. Don’t worry about it.”

Noah added, “We can ignore it for now, Cam, if you want. We can also go the route of an official statement or interview, too.”

“I don’t want it to be a big deal anymore. We’ll just see what happens.”

“Speaking of interviews, we’ve had a lot of requests regarding the fire, and I’m not sure how much longer we can hold those off. US Gymnastics wants the story out there, and probably more now that you managed two silver medals post-hyperbaric chamber.”

“You think we can wait until the event finals are over?” Cam asked.

“That should work.”

After the last medal ceremony finished, the arena started to empty. Time for us to find Colton.

“Hey, Luke.” O caught me on the stairs. “Would the guys mind if Austin and Erika came to the suite tonight?”

My eyebrows shot up, and I caught the bashfulness all over O’s face.

“Not at all, O. I’m sure Cam wouldn’t mind hanging with Erika, giving you some unchaperoned time. In the hot tub, perhaps.”

“Thanks, Luke.” He bounded back down the stairs, and I watched him deliver the news. I wondered if Cam and I were like that in Brisbane, but remembered Ty’s merciless teasing.

Yes, we were.

Colton and O were spending time with their families for the afternoon, and Alex was getting in one last training session at the gym. That meant Cam and I were in the suite alone.

I mentioned to Cam that Colton’s family seemed weird when we went to congratulate him on his medal.

“Uh, yeah. About that. I came out to them a few days ago because Colton’s dad and brother were being pretty childish about you and Orion.”

“Seriously? What do you mean? Did they say something?”

Cam hesitated, then said, “They used the word queer in a negative sense.”

“Oh.” No matter how much progress I thought I’d made, there would still be people that couldn’t handle it. Even when their son was my teammate.

“So, I said they had no right to speak about anyone that way, let alone my teammates, and then I came out to them and left.”

I pulled his shoulder around and wrapped my arms around him. I had heard Cam brag about his hugging skills. He wasn’t exaggerating. He was an excellent hugger, but I was the one trying to make him feel better.

“Thanks for sticking up for us, and I’m so proud of you for coming out to them. That took some balls, especially if they were talking shit. It makes more sense now the way Beau was eyeing me.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“Well, I’m glad they didn’t say anything to ruin Colton’s moment. I hope they can turn it around. Colton’s gay and he’s going to tell them some day.”

Cam pulled back. “It’ll be sooner if he and Zephyrus keep it up.”

“Is that what you were hinting at earlier? He’s got a guy already?”