Chapter 1 #2
As Garrett prepared to leave, Chase slipped on his long-sleeved tee. Tobias chose to ignore the flash of disappointment that hit him.
“Thanks for the demo,” Garrett said as he shook hands with Chase. “I’ve been trying to get Tobias to add yoga for years because I could use it to keep my legs healthy. I do a lot of running and don’t do nearly enough stretching.”
“Hopefully, I get the chance to give you more practice. Or, at least, hopefully someone will, even if it doesn’t end up being me.”
“Good luck with the rest of the interview,” Garrett said, and after Chase thanked him and turned toward Tobias, Garrett threw him a prayer sign, as if he was begging him to hire the guy.
“See ya tomorrow, Garrett,” he said, ignoring him otherwise. He directed Chase over to the lounge area, where he had a few chairs and a couch set up, then grabbed two bottles of water from a fridge in the corner, passing one to Chase as he sat.
“Thanks,” Chase said, opening the water and quickly chugging half of it. Tobias was distracted by the bob of his throat and forgot to drink his own water. He hurried to open it when Chase peered at him again.
As he took a few swigs, he tried to remember all the questions he wanted to ask. He had a list full of them, but he couldn’t remember a damn one.
Thankfully, Chase was happy to fill the awkward silence.
“This is a great gym you have here. I think yoga would be a fantastic addition.”
“Yeah. Yes. Thank you,” he said, mentally berating himself for acting so aloof. “So, um, have you taught long?”
Finally, a real question. Good job, brain!
“Almost ten years now. I got certified in college so I could teach on campus, and I’ve added the other certifications—children’s, advanced and prenatal yoga, and pilates—throughout the years.”
“Great.”
Fuck. Why couldn’t he think of anything else to ask?
He should ask more about kids’ classes, because that sounded like a great idea, but his brain was moving too slowly to form the words. Madison would love the idea of them.
Chase came to his rescue yet again.
“I studied kinesiology and minored in business. I decided I wanted to do something with fitness, but I wasn’t entirely sure what, so I’ve tried a little bit of everything.”
From there, Chase kept the conversation flowing. It was mostly one-sided, but Tobias didn’t mind. If yoga didn’t work out, maybe he could hire Chase to do all the talking for him.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
He laid out his entire professional history, but Tobias still wanted to know more.
“Have you lived in Cherrywood long?”
If Tobias hadn’t been paying close attention to Chase’s face, he might have missed the wince, and he was dying to know what caused it.
“No, I grew up in Collingswood and moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, when I was in high school. I stayed there through college, until I moved to Cherrywood last year.”
He could tell Chase wanted a change of subject, but he panicked and asked something he probably shouldn’t have.
“Are you single?”
Chase gave him a blank stare, likely wondering why the hell he asked that, so Tobias decided to dig himself a hole.
“I’m only asking because if you work here, it comes with a free membership, and your partner would be eligible for a discounted membership.”
That wasn’t something he’d ever mentioned to any other employees before, but he didn’t know what else to say to cover up that question. Looks like he’d have to let the rest of his employees know before Chase found out the discount didn’t exist.
It seemed to work because Chase brightened.
“Oh, that’s an awesome perk. But I don’t have anyone right now. I’m single.”
‘Don’t you fucking dare smile.’
Why would I smile? It’s not like I can date him. He’s gonna be my employee.
‘Okay, then maybe ask him some damn interview questions.’
He hated it when he argued with himself, but he couldn’t help it. And people wondered why he was so quiet. He was busy talking to himself.
“Okay, so, when can you start?”
He mentally facepalmed, but it didn’t matter because Chase was smiling at him.
“As soon as you can take me, boss,” he said, sticking out his hand to shake on it before Tobias could rethink anything.
Jesus, did he have to phrase it that way?
When he shook Chase’s hand, he again felt a spark.
Now, all he had to worry about was burying it.
————————
On his drive home after the interview, his thoughts tumbled around his mind like clothes in a dryer.
Children’s yoga at his gym was such a good idea, and he hadn’t stopped thinking about it since he first met Chase and he mentioned how popular they could be, although he wanted to come up with a more inclusive name than Mommy and Me.
Family Fitness? Boring. You and Your Kid Yoga?
Too many words. This wasn’t his area of expertise, but he’d keep thinking about it. Maybe Chase had an idea for it.
Chase had trouble written all over him.
Well, trouble for Tobias. He had seemed like a decent guy though, and Garrett certainly liked him.
But he was just so damn adorable. And that was a problem.
With everything going on at home, he didn’t have the time or the energy to date. Like he hadn’t had the time or energy to date while he played in the NHL.
At this rate, he would keep making that excuse until he died alone one day.
“Quit it with the depressing thoughts, Moyer,” he said aloud to himself. “You won’t be in this situation forever.”
He was used to talking to himself, and he’d done it for years. Who else was he supposed to talk to while he stood between the pipes during a game or practice? It wasn’t like anyone else could hear him. It was only him and the net.
Sometimes he talked to himself, sometimes he talked to the net itself, but it was where he talked most. With other people, he talked as little as possible. He’d rather listen and take in information, giving him the time and brain space to say something only when necessary.
When he talked without thinking he tended to sound like an idiot, something he learned early in his career.
He figured out the trick to not embarrassing himself was to talk less. Way less of a chance he’d stick his foot in his mouth if he hardly ever opened it.