Chapter 10
CHASE
The worst thing about job searching isn’t that it’s never-ending; it’s that between checking all my usual job posting sites, writing increasingly desperate cover letters, and applying to anything that looks like a possibility, there’s a lot of downtime.
It’s eleven AM, and I’ve already gone for a six-mile run, showered, and applied to three new roles. Of course, at the same time, I also got seven rejection emails from jobs I’ve applied to over the last several months.
I scroll through my email again, filing various correspondence into appropriate folders. Among the newest batch, I find a message from a college friend.
Hey Chase,
It’s been a long time, but I’ve been following your Instagram posts from all your races. It’s awesome that you’re still running all these years later.
Anyway, I’m wondering if there’s any chance you’d coach me? I’m not as fast as you, but I’ve been trying to get out there to improve my health and could really use some help. Obviously, I would pay you for it.
Hope things are well!
Dylan
Run coaching? I’m familiar with the general concept, but I’ve never looked into it. At least not as a coach. Maybe it’s the perfect way to fill a little bit of time over the next few months.
What I’m most excited about right now is the excuse to see Nix. Ever since he rushed out of here this morning, I’ve been itching to see him again. I’m not usually so clingy, but I can’t help it when it comes to him. He’s like a drug I can’t get enough of. An adorable, bow-tie-wearing drug.
If I’m going to seriously think about the run coaching thing, it requires research. Could I do it all online? Absolutely. But there are also plenty of books available on coaching and running science, and I know just the cutie to help me find them.
I throw on a pair of sandals, ready to head down to the bookshop.
Before I go, I give a stern look to Nick, who’s currently bathing on the couch.
Once again, I have no idea how he got in, but he seems content.
“Are you coming?” I hold the door open as though he might actually be listening to me.
“No, fine, stay here.” He’s getting in, so he can probably get himself back out, too.
Downstairs, I find Nix crouched among the romance books, counting and shuffling them around on the shelf. I hate to screw up his inventory, so I stay quiet, watching as he carefully adjusts the ones that have been put back upside down or in the wrong place.
“Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four.” He gets to the end of the shelf and sighs. As he rocks back onto his heels, his ass bumps against my shins. “Oh shit,” he yells before crashing to the ground in a little ball.
“Sorry. I was waiting until you finished.” Probably not the best idea, since now I’ve startled him.
Nix clasps his hand to his chest. “I swear I just had a heart attack.”
“You look like you’ll live.”
He scowls at me. “How would you know?”
It’s not worth arguing with him over this. Not when I’m about to ask him for a favor. Well, another favor. They’re piling up lately. “Here.” I reach my arm down to help him up.
He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, but eventually reaches for me. He’s light; he almost leaves the floor completely as I pull him up.
“Did you need something?” His face goes white with terror. “There’s nothing wrong with the apartment, is there?”
“No, it’s completely fine. I wanted help finding a book.”
“A book?” I’m not sure which one of us is more surprised. The last time I bought a book…was probably in college when I had to get textbooks for my courses. This is nothing more than an excuse to see him and maybe work out some of my feelings. He doesn’t need to know that. Not yet, at least.
“Yeah, do you have any on running?”
“Sure. Are you looking for a how-to guide or a memoir?”
“There are memoirs of runners?”
He shrugs like the answer is obvious. “Sure, lots of them. A few have even been on bestseller lists.”
I store that tidbit away for another time. “I’m looking for the how-to kind. I’m looking into becoming a running coach.”
“I know just the thing.” Nix walks off. Should I follow him?
He makes a beeline across the store, with me following a few steps behind him, to a rack toward the back labeled Sports.
“So, this shelf has more of the running plan stuff. Most are on the beginner side, but a few are more advanced. They go through the physiology and then provide general plans for people. Below that, there’s some more general stuff and science things.
There’s even a coloring book of running anatomy, though I doubt that’s what you’re looking for. ”
It’s not, but it does sound like fun. Maybe if the science classes in college included coloring, I would have taken more of them.
He scans the titles back and forth, using his finger to keep track of where he is. “Ah, here’s the one I was thinking of.” He pulls a pink book off the shelf. “This one has a section on run coaching. It’s small, but it has a lot of good information.”
How would he even know that? Nix told me he wouldn’t run unless something was chasing him. Even then, he admitted he’s more likely to hide and hope for the best. “Have you read every book in this store?”
He laughs so hard I worry he might stop breathing.
“Not even close,” he says once he pulls it together. “I do read all the marketing information they send. When a new book comes in, especially non-fiction, I look through the table of contents to make sure I know what it has.”
“That’s incredible.”
He blushes and ducks his head. “It’s the job.”
Admittedly, I haven’t spent much time in bookstores, but I’m pretty sure he’s the only seller who’s this knowledgeable.
It’s clear Nix found his true passion here.
He works hard; that’s obvious, but at the same time, he’s in love with the process.
I want that. I was never passionate about my job.
It paid well, and I was satisfied with my achievements, but I never had any sort of burning fire over it.
The only thing that’s ever come close is running.
Back in college, I ate, slept, and breathed track.
Between the indoor and outdoor seasons, I could stretch the bulk of it across about eight months.
The other four, I literally walked around looking for any excuse to talk to someone about pace and training practices.
Which might explain why some of my friends were extremely busy during those months, never available to hang out when I asked. If I coached, then I could talk about running all the time and become a specialist.
“I’ll start with these three.” I take the one in his hand and add the physiology coloring book and one of the training manuals to the stack.
Three books. It’s quite the shift. All thanks to Nix.
Once I get back on my feet, I’m going to need to send him some sort of gift basket.
A fancy one with charcuterie and wine. “I’ll meet you at the counter. ”
I leave Nix standing next to the bookshelves, mouth gaping. It’s nice to surprise him a little. To be something other than the dumb jock he knows me as. It’s not untrue, but I like to think there’s more than that somewhere underneath. At least I hope there is.
NIX
It’s been two days, and I can’t get over what I’m seeing.
Chase I-don’t-read-books-they’re-boring Haywood has spent both evenings sitting beside me on the sofa. Reading.
And judging by the progress he’s made, he’s spending some time with them during the day, too. Even more than that, he’s taking copious notes.
They’re practically illegible, but that’s not the point.
Part of me is a bit smug. Find the right book, and anyone can become a reader. For Chase, that meant showing him there are books on topics he’s passionate about.
The other part of me? Turned on by the vision of Chase, feet tucked under his ass and nose in a book.
It’s the one thing that would’ve kept me from dating him.
There’s no way I could ever be with someone who didn’t read.
They don’t have to like the same books that I do, but they can’t be against reading as a leisure-time activity.
None of which matters, because Chase is straight. A fact I’ve reminded myself of at least a dozen times today.
“Question.”
I nearly jump out of my skin. We’ve been reading together quietly for the last hour, with not a single sound.
Okay, so I’ve only managed three pages because instead of reading, I’ve been staring at Chase while trying to make it look like I wasn’t staring at Chase. But still, I was doing it quietly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s fine. It happens a lot.” Probably because my head is always lost in a book. Or in a fantasy about my best friend’s brother. “What’s up?”
“Are there any books about running a small business? Not a textbook, but more of a how-to guide?”
This guy really hasn’t spent much time browsing books.
He’s been helping out for a few hours a day in the store, but I’ve kept him behind the counter doing basic tasks.
Maybe I should have him out browsing more often so he can see the range of options.
“There are lots, actually. What did you have in mind?”
For the next hour, Chase details what he’s been thinking about in terms of a run coaching business. I mostly listen, nodding my head where I think it’s appropriate, but occasionally interjecting to ask for clarification.
Before now, I never knew that was a thing. I knew some people ran for fun and even paid to go to races, but that an ordinary person could hire a run coach to set up plans and train them, all over the internet, is new to me. The longer he talks, the more sense the whole thing makes.
Another thing that’s new to me? This side of Chase. He’s been through a lot lately, so I don’t exactly blame him for being cranky. This version of him is full of life, excited about future possibilities. The joy radiates off him as he describes his plans.
“So what do you think?”