Almost Famous

By Ryan Bartlett

Chapter 7

“Hey everyone, it’s Cameron, and this week is health and fitness week here on Reality Bites. As most of you know, back in high school I played soccer for the state championship team and…”

“Here we go again,” Bobby shouted from somewhere off screen.

“Excuse me for just one sec,” said Cameron, then he turned and looked over his shoulder. “Shut up, Bobby!”

Cameron turned back and paused for a moment to smile into the camera.

“Anyway, we’re talking about health and fitness this week and as I got ready to make this video I thought who better to help me out than international tennis star, and my sexy ass boyfriend, Wiley “the Coyote” Grace.”

The camera pulled back a bit to reveal Wiley sitting next to Cameron.

“I keep telling him star is a bit of an exaggeration,” Wiley chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t listen to him, kids; he’s too modest. Check out what the Coyote’s working with.” Cameron grabbed the hem of Wiley’s t-shirt and pulled it up to show off his exquisitely defined pectorals and washboard abs.

“Quit it!” Wiley laughed and pulled his shirt back down.

“Yeah, I get to see that anytime I want.” Cameron grinned wickedly for his audience. “Anyway, in honor of health and fitness week, Wiley agreed to give me a tennis lesson. Would you guys like to see how it went? Of course you would, otherwise you’d be watching some other dork’s channel, so here we go!”

The video cut to a scene set on a tennis court. Cameron held the racquet the way Wiley had taught him and stood with his knees bent and his back slightly hunched over, ready to return a serve. Wiley bounced the ball on the concrete a couple of times then threw it into the air and hammered it with his racquet. Things happened so fast that Cameron didn’t even move and when the ball whizzed past him at 150 miles an hour, less than a foot from his ear, he screamed like a girl, dropped his racquet and ran out of the frame.

The video cut back to Cameron’s room. Wiley sat there with a shit-eating grin on his face, while Cameron had his arms crossed over his chest. He scowled at Wiley for a second and then turned to the camera, “He did that on purpose.”

“I did not, I swear,” said Wiley as he broke down in a fit of giggles.

“So as much fun as that was, health and fitness is really important. Wiley, what can you tell my subscribers about how you ‘keep yo ass in business,’ as Bobby would say.” Cameron snickered.

“He thinks I have this magical workout routine, but it’s no big secret. I just play tennis from four to six hours every day of my life,” Wiley replied sarcastically.

“And there you have it kids. Just go down to your local sporting goods store, pick up a racquet and some balls, and you too can look like this,” said Cameron as he pulled Wiley’s shirt up again.

“Would you quit doing that?” Wiley laughed as he and Cameron wrestled for control of his t-shirt. Cameron blew a raspberry on Wiley’s cheek then turned back to the camera still laughing.

“Ok folks, that’s all I’ve got for you this week. Remember, the Beverly Hills Charity Invitational is just two days away, and if you go to BHTennis.com you can make a contribution. Wiley is playing on behalf of the Trevor Project, and if you put ‘Cam loves Wiley’ as the heading of your email your contribution will go towards crisis and suicide intervention for GLBTQ youth. This is a great cause, so let’s go out there and show the world how generous we can be.

“I hope you enjoyed this week’s video. Remember to give it a thumbs up, and if you haven’t done so already click the button below to subscribe to Reality Bites or visit my main channel, www.Youtube.com/CameronParker. Bye-bye!”

Wiley was excited when the big day came, the day of the Beverly Hills Charity Invitational. It wasn’t on the pro tour; it was a contest he’d competed in since first qualifying at age fourteen simply for love of the game. It also gave him a chance to do something for a worthy cause. Each year he played for the Trevor Project and raised money from sponsors in support of gay youth. There were three awards presented at the end of the tournament, one for winning, one for raising the most money and one for the most individual donors.

Wiley had won the tournament three times but considering it was the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, some of whose members had more money than small countries, he’d never won a fund-raising award. That never bothered him; he raised what he could and was just happy the money was going to support a cause he cared about. The Trevor Project was near and dear to his heart; he’d never told anyone, not Benji, not Adam, not even Cameron, but the Trevor Project once saved his life.

Being gay had never really been a problem for Wiley. He’d been nervous about telling his parents, and wept when he came out, but deep down he knew he’d still be loved and accepted. He also wasn’t afraid of coming out to his community; after all, he grew up in Beverly Hills, not the Ozarks. What drove him to the Trevor Project’s website was the crushing guilt his parents’ death caused him. They’d died on their way to support him at a tournament, and the thought was a heavy burden on his young shoulders.

One night the guilt became too much to handle. He’d been living with his aunt for a few months and began to notice her strange behavior, which turned out to be the beginning of her dementia. He couldn’t turn to her for support, so when he’d placed a knife on his desk and stared at it for three hours contemplating slicing his wrists open, he turned to the internet for help. He got to chatting with one of the Trevor Project’s counselors and they talked him down. The crisis was averted, and slowly Wiley was able to put the guilt behind him and get on with his life.

Wiley was a firm believer in paying his debts, and he knew he owed the Trevor Project his life. He played for them at every charity tournament he’d entered since he was 16. This year he contributed ten thousand dollars of his own money, got a pledge from Benji’s dad for an additional fifteen thousand and picked up a final ten thousand from various friends. He had no idea how much Cameron’s subscribers might have contributed and wouldn’t find out until the tournament was over.

Wiley woke early the morning of the tournament. He kissed Cameron on the forehead and carefully extracted himself from the bed so as not to wake his lover, then hopped in the shower. He stayed over at Cameron’s so often that Cameron had cleaned out a drawer for him, and when he finished his shower he pulled out a grey Nike t-shirt and a pair of nylon gym shorts. He laced up his favorite pair of tennis shoes and started going through his bag, making sure he had everything he’d need for the day ahead.

“Watcha doin?” Cameron asked with a yawn as he woke and sat up in bed.

“Just making sure I have everything.”

“I keep meaning to ask you what you keep in there,” said Cameron, who found Wiley’s tennis bag to be something of a mystery. What could you possibly need to play tennis other than a racquet and some balls?

“Let’s see,” Wiley began, “I’ve got my racquets and…”

“Racquets, more than one?”

“Yeah, I keep three in rotation.”

“Three, what on earth do you need three racquets for?”

“Keeps them from wearing out, and you want to have replacements handy in case you bust your strings,” Wiley explained.

“Does that happen much?”

“More than I would like. If you hit the ball hard enough at the right speed…pop!”

“Wow, I didn’t know that was even possible,” said Cameron. “So being a professional, are your racquets really expensive?”

“Well, these three are Head Graphene Speed Pros, and they run about $200 each. You can spend double that but I’m partial to Head...”

“So I’ve noticed.” Cameron snickered.

“If that’s a complaint it’s the first I’ve heard of it.” Wiley grinned his Cheshire Cat grin.

“No complaints here.” Cameron smiled from ear to ear. “So, what else is in there?”

“Nothing special, a few balls, a towel, change of clothes, a knee brace, sunscreen, bandages, grip tape, energy bars, Gatorade packets, ATP rule book…that kind of stuff.”

“No kitchen sink?”

“Nope, left it in the car.” Wiley winked.

“You seem excited this morning,” said Cameron, noticing how chipper Wiley seemed to be for such an early hour.

“I love this tournament. It’s for a good cause and it’s fun to play without all the pressure,” Wiley explained.

“I’m pretty excited too. I’ve never seen a tennis tournament, and I can’t wait to watch you play.”

“It’ll be fun having a cheering section.” Wiley smiled.

“A big cheering section.” Cameron smiled back. “Bobby and Tucker said they’ll be there in time for your first match.”

“Awww, they don’t have to come.”

“Dude, they like you better than they like me,” Cameron teased. “They insisted on coming.”

“Those guys.” Wiley grinned and shook his head. He’d grown very fond of Cameron’s roommates over the course of their courtship. “Anyway, get a move on, we still have to pick up Benji, and you aren’t even dressed yet.”

“Why isn’t he just meeting us there?” asked Cameron as he climbed out of bed and stretched.

“It’s a tradition. His dad gives each of us a check for our charity and then we ride over to the club together,” Wiley explained.

“Wait, Benji’s playing too?”

“Sure, it’s not a pro tournament, and it’s good practice for him.”

“Yeah, but what if you have to play each other?”

“Then he’ll go down like a sweet muffin.” Wiley smirked.

“Wiley!”

“I’m kidding. If it happens it happens. We play against each other every day in practice; a tournament’s no different.”

“Alright, I’m going to grab a shower,” said Cameron, as he padded across the room naked as the day he was born. Wiley enjoyed the view until Cameron shut the bathroom door, then he went back to his bag.

Benji Wilson was more than Wiley’s tennis partner. He was the closest thing to a life-long friend Wiley had. The boys first met when Wiley was ten and Benji was nine. Wiley’s father had been a doctor and opened his practice across the courtyard from that of Benji’s father. The two men were of an age, each with a wife and young son, and quickly became fast friends. It was only natural for the men to get their families together, and like their fathers the boys hit it off almost from the start.

Though only ten at the time, Wiley was already an accomplished little athlete, and everyone expected great things from him. Benji wasn’t the tennis player Wiley was but he had skill. While other boys their age collected baseball cards, Little Wiley and Little Benji watched Wimbledon and the French Open and argued about who was better, Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi. As Wiley turned down Benji’s block he couldn’t help giggling at the memory.

“What?” asked Cameron.

“Hmm?”

“You just giggled. It was very cute.”

“Oh, I was just thinking about when Benji and I were little. He was a big Agassi fan. I HATED Andre Agassi. God, the arguments we had…”

“I didn’t know you guys went that far back.”

“Yeah, we’ve been pals since we were little guys. He’s about the only friend I didn’t lose when…” Wiley trailed off.

“How did you guys manage that? I know you said you lost touch with most of your friends when you moved in with your aunt.”

“I think it’s because our parents were close. I mean I left Beverly Hills and moved to Pasadena and I drifted apart from my friends, but Benji’s parents always looked in on me, made sure I was doing ok, so Benji and I continued to see each other. Then he started training with me when he got into USC, and that’s kept us close.”

“Sounds like you’re close to his family too.”

“Yeah, I spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with them,” said Wiley.

“Ok, that makes me feel better.”

“Why?”

“Because I had this vision in my head of you spending the holidays alone with your crazy aunt. I’m glad you had a family to be with.”

“Yeah, me too,” Wiley agreed.

“Speaking of the holidays,” said Cameron, “My mom wants me to come home for Thanksgiving. I usually only go for Christmas, but they’re anxious to meet you.”

“You want me to go back to Vermont with you?”

“You’re my boyfriend. I love you. I’d like you to meet my family.”

“Ok,” said Wiley as he pulled into the Wilson’s driveway. “I’d love to meet your parents and see where you grew up.”

“Great, my mom will be thrilled.” Cameron smiled.

“Anyway, here we are.”

“Wow,” said Cameron as he took in the mansion. “Wiley, Jesus.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, I just never met anyone that lived like this,” said Cameron.

“Hey, they’re just like you and me, they just have more money.” Wiley grinned.

“Hold my hand?”

“Awww, of course.”

Wiley took Cameron’s hand and walked up to the door. He knocked twice and while they waited for someone to answer, Wiley made an observation.

“This shy thing, you’re putting me on, right?”

“Sometimes a guy just wants to hold hands.” Cameron giggled.

Wiley was about to offer a witty reply when the door opened and a large man in cargo shorts and a gaudy Hawaiian shirt stepped out and threw his arms around the tennis player.

“Long time no see, stranger!” the man exclaimed.

“Hey, Doc.” Wiley grinned from ear to ear. “Sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been busy with tennis and…”

“Bullshit,” Dr. Wilson exclaimed and then started poking his finger in Cameron’s chest. “From what I understand you’ve been spending every waking moment with this young fella.”

“This is my Cameron.” Wiley smiled and blushed.

“Damn glad to meet you, son! I’m Benji’s dad, Walter, but you can call me Doc,” he greeted Cameron gregariously.

“Nice to meet you too.” Cameron smiled at the warm reception as Doc guided them inside.

“So, is he ready yet?” asked Wiley.

“Hell no. You know what he’s like, probably still primping. Why don’t you see if you can light a fire under his ass while I take your fella into the kitchen for a drink,” said Doc.

“Oh, thank you but I’m not thirsty,” said Cameron.

“Well, keep me company then,” said Doc, putting an arm around Cameron’s shoulders and giving Wiley a gentle nudge toward the stairs. “Go tell Benji to speed it up or I’m giving you both checks.”

Wiley looked to Cameron who gave him a reassuring smile before he headed upstairs. He thought Doc was being terribly strange and couldn’t figure out why he’d be so interested in chatting with Cameron.

Once Wiley was heading up the stairs, Doc guided Cameron into the kitchen where they found Mrs. Wilson sitting at the breakfast table with her coffee and the LA Times. She was what you’d expect for a Beverly Hills doctor’s wife, tall, blond, pretty and poised. The only thing that surprised Cameron about her was the warmth of her greeting.

“Is this him?” she bubbled.

“Hun, this is Wiley’s fella, Cameron. Cameron, that’s my wife, Jessica,” said Doc, making the introductions.

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” said Cameron, politely offering his hand.

“None of that ma’am business, you’re practically family,” Mrs. Wilson gushed. “Call me Jess.”

“Um, ok, Jess,” said Cameron. “Um, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean, sweetheart?” asked Jess.

“I appreciate the warm welcome, but it feels like you folks are up to something.”

“I like this one,” said Jess, turning to her husband. “He’s smart.”

“Have a seat, son,” said Doc. Cameron pulled out a chair and took a seat as Doc joined him and Jess at the table. “The missus and I just wanted to have a quick chat and get to know you. Wiley’s part of our family. You catch my drift?”

“We’ve been spending all our time together, and you want to check up on him?” Cameron replied.

“You have to understand, Wiley’s our other little boy, and Benji tells us you guys are pretty serious. Wiley’s never had a relationship like this before,” said Jess.

“Yes, we’re very serious. I love him,” said Cameron, unable to keep the smile off his face.

“Tell us a little about yourself,” Doc ordered.

“Well, let’s see, um, I’m from Vermont. My parents are both educators. Dad’s the principal at my old high school, and my mom teaches 6th grade. I have two sisters. One is a medical student, and the other is working on a water project. She’d getting ready to spend some time in Africa,” Cameron started.

“You and Wiley are the same age?” asked Jess.

“That’s right, just a month apart as it turns out,” said Cameron.

“Did you go to school, get a degree?” Doc continued the inquest.

“I did my first two years at the University of Vermont, and then my YouTube channel took off. I started getting all these offers from various entities and decided I needed to be in LA, so I transferred to UCLA to finish my degree in communications…”

“UCLA? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Doc’s voice boomed.

“I-I-I,” Cameron spluttered, completely thrown off guard until he noticed Doc and Jess were laughing at his reaction.

“Doc, you’re such an ass.” Jess laughed. “He’s teasing you, Cameron. We’re an old USC family.”

“Oh, ok. I almost had a heart attack,” said Cameron, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Sorry about that, son.” Doc winked. “Now, this YouTube business, how do you make money doing that?”

“I have over four million subscribers to my channel. Companies pay me for product placement but I only endorse products I use myself. I also have my own merchandise, t-shirts, posters, things like that.”

“And that keeps you in pizza and beer money?” asked Doc.

“It’s been lucrative and I have a few other projects in the works,” said Cameron.

“Well that’s good to know,” said Doc.

“Why? Your interest seems rather more than casual.”

“Well, how do we put this delicately,” Jess started. “Wiley has a kind heart, he’s such a trusting boy, and he has money…”

“I’m not a gold digger if that’s what you’re getting at.” Cameron sighed.

“No, no,” said Jess.

“It’s not like that, Cameron,” said Doc. “We’re not accusing you of anything. We’re just happy to know you’re a nice kid who isn’t with Wiley for the wrong reasons. That’s all.”

“I guess I can respect that. From what he tells me you folks are the closest thing to family Wiley has…”

“He told you that?” Jess smiled.

“He mentioned it when we were driving over here this morning. Anyway, since he doesn’t have parents for me to say this to, I’ll say it to you; I love Wiley. I would never consciously do anything to hurt him, use him, or cause him pain. He’s had enough of that in his life. I just want to make him happy,” said Cameron.

“Well said,” said Doc, raising his bloody Mary in salute before taking a sip.

“We want him to be happy too, Cameron,” said Jess. “As long as you make him happy you’ll always be welcome in our home.”

“Thanks.” Cameron smiled. “There’s one thing I don’t get though. Would it be alright if I asked you folks a question?”

“Sure, son, fire away,” said Doc.

“Wiley said you were close to his parents,” Cameron began.

“Best friends,” said Doc. “His dad’s practice was right across from mine. We struck up a friendship when the boys were little bitty fellas.”

“Wiley’s dad was a gynecologist too?”

“OBGYN, delivered babies,” said Doc. “Wiley didn’t tell you that?”

“He talks about his parents but never really goes into a lot of detail.”

“Doesn’t surprise me.” Doc sighed. “Poor kid.”

“That brings me to my question. When Wiley’s parents died he went to live with his crazy aunt. You were close to his family. You obviously love him. Why didn’t you take him in?”

“We wanted to.” Jess sighed.

“It was complicated,” said Doc. “From what I gather, Wallace and Andi, Wiley’s mom and dad, wrote out their will when he was born and never got around to updating it. I can’t say that I blame them. No one likes to think about death, and theirs came as such a shock. I’m sure they thought they had all the time in the world. Anyway, the will gave custody to old Mildred and we would have had to sue the estate to change it. It could have taken years to go through the court system and by then he’d have been 18 anyway.”

“But, but she was nuts,” Cameron exclaimed.

“Certifiable,” Doc agreed. “But no one knew it at the time. She had long periods of lucidity and none of us saw it. We’d go out and visit Wiley as often as we could, traveled with him to tournaments and such. She seemed a little…off, but it was nothing you couldn’t chalk up to an old lady’s eccentricities. Wiley didn’t tell us how bad she was until she passed.”

“But why?”

“She was the last bit of family he had, honey,” said Jess.

“If we’d known the full story we would have taken it to court and to hell with how long it might have taken,” said Doc.

“Thanks, you know, for sharing all that,” said Cameron. “Sometimes I wish Wiley were a little more forthcoming with stuff like this.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t mean to be withholding,” said Jess. “He’s just been alone for such a long time, and somewhere in the back of that thick head of his he’s probably afraid of scaring you off.”

“Well, he’s not alone anymore, and it’d take a hell of a lot more than that to scare me away,” said Cameron. Jess reached across the table and patted his hand.

“Told you, Doc, this one’s smart.” Jess winked.

Doc opened his mouth to offer a reply but was cut off when Benji and Wiley stumbled into the kitchen, giggling like a pair of naughty brothers who were up to no good.

“About time you got up,” said Doc.

“We’d have been down sooner if Wiley hadn’t messed up my hair,” said Benji.

“It was just sitting there all gelled and perfectly in place—he asked for it,” Wiley explained.

“Besides, I figured you’d be giving Cameron the third degree,” said Benji, clapping Cameron on the back.

“Nonsense,” said Jess. “We had a lovely conversation, didn’t we, Cameron?”

“Sure, very eye opening.” Cameron grinned.

“Oh God, what did they tell you?” asked Wiley.

“Nothing, we certainly didn’t tell him about the time you pissed on that kid from Ventura,” Doc chuckled.

“What?” Cameron exclaimed.

“Oh God,” said Wiley, turning beet red.

“So these two are about eleven years old,” Doc started, putting his arms around Benji and Wiley. “We took them to this youth tournament at a club up near Oxnard, and Wiley lost to this kid from Ventura. Well, the Ventura boy was a pretty poor sport and really rubbed it in Wiley’s face…

“So what’s Wiles do?” asked Benji. “He whips it out and pees on the guy’s sneakers right in front of everyone.”

“You didn’t!” Cameron laughed.

“What can I say? He pissed me off.” Wiley grinned.

“Literally,” Benji snorted.

“Boys!” Jess shook her head in exasperation, but she was laughing too.

“Ok, that’s enough embarrassment for one day,” said Wiley, then he turned to Doc. “Check please.”

“Don’t go blowing it all in one place,” Doc joked. He pulled his checkbook from his back pocket and removed two checks made out to the Trevor Project for fifteen thousand dollars each and handed them to Wiley and Benji.

“Thanks, Doc,” Wiley smiled and gave him a hug.

“Yeah, thank you, daddy.” Benji grinned.

“You boys be sure and kick some ass today,” said Doc.

“Consider it done,” said Wiley, putting his arm around Benji.

“What time does the first round start again?” asked Jess.

“Not until 10:30,” said Wiley. He, Benji and Cameron were leaving early so the athletes could warm up.

“We’ll be there to cheer you on,” said Jess. “Save us a seat, Cameron?”

“Sure thing.” Cameron nodded.

“Alright, you’ve stayed your hour, away with you,” said Doc.

The boys said their goodbyes then climbed into Wiley’s car and headed over to the club. Benji leaned forward and patted Cameron on the back.

“Sorry if the rent’s submitted you to an inquisition,” Benji apologized.

“Nah, we had a nice chat. I like your mom and dad, Benji.”

“What did you guy’s talk about?” asked Wiley with a raised eyebrow.

“Stuff.” Cameron grinned.

“What kind of stuff?” Wiley followed.

“You don’t expect me to tell, do you?”

“Oh, that’s how it is huh?” Wiley chuckled.

“Payback for the airport on the way to San Francisco.”

“I knew that was going to come back and bite me in the ass.”

“Honey, not in front of the breeder,” said Cameron nodding at Benji.

“The what?” Benji exclaimed as Wiley and Cameron laughed.

“Jesus, what’s with all the cars,” said Wiley a few moments later when he pulled into the club parking lot.

“Don’t all the players come early to warm up?” asked Cameron.

“Sure but there aren’t that many,” said Wiley.

“What the fuck is that?” asked Benji, pointing ahead to a group of thirty or so people gathered around the club’s main entrance. Some of them were holding homemade signs.

“Are they protesting something?” asked Wiley, shooting Benji a confused glance.

“Uh, no,” said Cameron, turning bright red. “Look at the signs and t-shirts.”

Wiley and Benji looked out the windshield and found the group’s t-shirts to read, “Team Coyote.” Their signs were a mish mash of phrases of support.

“What the hell?” Wiley exclaimed, his jaw hanging open like a fish out of water.

“These are my people,” Cameron shrugged.

“Did you set this up?” asked Wiley.

“No, but it happens sometimes. They’ll find out I’m going to be somewhere and some of them show up to meet me. We mentioned the tournament on my channel a bunch of times. Some of them must have looked it up and well...”

“Holy shit,” Wiley exclaimed.

“I’m sorry; I don’t know why I didn’t think about this before. I should have known…” Cameron started.

“Wait, do you think I’m mad?” asked Wiley.

“Aren’t you? I know you’re kind of shy and…”

“Dude, this is the coolest thing ever,” Benji interrupted as he leaned between the couple to take a picture of the crowd with his phone.

“I think I have to agree with Benji.” Wiley grinned.

“Well, come on, I’ll introduce you to your first YouTube fans,” said Cameron.