2. Chapter 2
Cole
My life had gone from privileged, to mostly stable, to barely holding together—all in the space of two years. And now, what was I dealing with? A neighbor who couldn’t handle a little noise. I wasn’t about to stop exercising because someone had sensitive ears.
I didn’t listen to loud TV or music. I was pretty quiet for the most part. No parties, no friends over. Whoever lived under me was being petty.
This morning I’d found a passive-aggressive note taped to my door.
Then, as soon as I got home from work, someone started pounding on the ceiling—before I’d even done anything.
Music had blasted from below, and if I were guessing, I’d say they were putting a radio right up to the ceiling to annoy me.
You’d think working at a gym would have perks. Not the one I worked for. Employees weren’t allowed to use the equipment unless we were showing a client how it worked. We could buy a membership, sure, but I wasn’t going to do that out of principle.
Who charged their own staff?
So, I kept jump roping, knowing my neighbor was probably downstairs stabbing pins into a voodoo doll of me. I pictured an older woman surrounded by twenty cats, all glaring at the ceiling on her behalf.
If I were loud at night or early in the morning, I would get it, but it was only dinner time. Jump roping in an apartment was no joke. I had to be careful not to hit the ceiling. I could take it outside, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t like all the eyes on me as people walked past.
There was one woman in the neighborhood who’d started walking past several times when I worked out, and she would stare at me and smile. She’d come toward me once, and I’d all but run to avoid an introduction.
My mind drifted from my annoyed neighbor to Sadie, the girl behind the counter at work.
I didn’t even know her last name, but she kept catching my eye.
She was beautiful, with long wavy, reddish-brown hair and a reserved smile.
And she was nice. Not fake nice, like my clients who flirted to get extra attention. Real nice. I liked that.
She could be married for all I knew. She didn’t wear a ring, but that didn’t mean much. I didn’t know anything about her—except that math wasn’t her thing.
I’d gone to college planning to graduate and become a football coach. I’d even majored in math to boost my chances. I figured teaching math and coaching went hand in hand. Turns out, there’s not much demand for high school coaches without connections, and I didn’t actually want to teach math.
My phone rang, and I dropped the rope. I wiped my brow with a small towel and then grabbed it. “Hello? This is Cole.”
“Hi Cole,” my sister Nayvee’s voice came over the line, “how’s it going?”
“Great. What’s up?”
“Nothing. Just missing you. How’s work?”
I groaned. “I need to ditch that place. Everything they said when they hired me was misleading.”
“Bad hours?”
“Yeah, but I make my own hours. We only get paid for the time we’re training people, which makes sense, but we have to find our own clients. They never said that when they hired me.”
“Dang. Is that hard?”
“Yeah. I’m a trainer, not a salesman. I hate walking around the gym trying to convince people they want to pay more than their membership to have me train them.”
“Yeah, that sounds awful.”
“I have enough clients, but I have to go on their time, so they get scattered throughout the day. I end up staying there late and coming early. And most of the people who hire me are women who—”
“Want to watch you?”
“Something like that,” I grumbled.
“Man. You should change jobs.”
“To what?”
“Teach math?”
I sighed. “I don’t want to teach math. That was just to help me get a coaching job. Teaching teenagers sounds painful…” I took in a deep breath and sighed. “Sorry, I was complaining in my head when you called, so I dumped on you. How’s Van?”
“He’s good, and you know you can talk to me about anything.”
Nayvee was the sibling I’d always been the closest to, and she’d married one of my high school football buddies. We talked for a few minutes, and I started to get the feeling she wanted to tell me something.
“Anything on your mind?” I asked.
“Yes… but I’m not sure whether I want to tell you.”
“That bad?”
“It’s not bad. I just don’t want it to disrupt your life or make you disappointed if it didn’t work.”
I laughed. “Come on, Nayvs. Spit it out. I can take it.”
“Joe Wilson is selling the gym in Lansing Falls.”
I took a deep breath. I would love to buy it, but there was no way. Not with my funds and current job prospects.
“It isn’t going on the market for another month,” she added.
“Dang it.” My chest tightened. Moving back home and owning the gym? That would’ve been perfect.
“And that’s not all,” Nayvee said. “The football coach at the high school is retiring, even though it’s partway through the year. Van wanted me to tell you. It includes teaching math, so you’re qualified.”
I gripped my hair with my free hand. Van was the vice principal at the junior high—he’d know. Man, I wanted that job.
“I didn’t want to tell you,” Nayvee said. “I know it’s hard when you don’t land the job you want.”
“It’s fine,” I said, trying to sound like I didn’t care much. “I might as well apply, right?”
“Right. I’d love you living closer. We hardly see you.”
“Yeah, I tried to escape Mom, but that meant leaving everyone.”
We talked a little longer before hanging up. I pretended I was fine, but the truth was, if I didn’t get that job—and I probably wouldn’t—I’d be crushed. Would I cry into my pillow? Probably not. But I might have to exercise the stress away, and my neighbor might come up armed if I pushed them.
And the gym for sale? If only that had happened back when Grandma was giving us monthly allowances. Now she’d switched it to a lump sum inheritance—payable upon marriage.
Two of my dream jobs—both becoming available at the same time—and neither one within my reach.
The high school job I might actually have a shot at.
Grandma Vera owned a good portion of Lansing Falls, and people tended to put a lot of weight on the Hart name.
I hated getting things just because I was a Hart, but if there was ever a time to lean on it, this might be it. Besides, I was qualified.
Out of all the Hart kids, I was the only one still single. That meant I was the only one still broke. I could ask one of my siblings for a loan, but then they’d all know just how pathetic my life had become.
I threw my towel on the couch. I was glad Nayvee told me, but it was going to stress me out.
The next day, I helped my clients as usual, but I was on autopilot.
My brain kept running numbers, trying to figure out how I could buy the gym.
I even caught myself daydreaming that I’d landed both jobs—the gym and the coaching gig.
I could still run the gym and coach football. Not likely to happen, but what if?
“Hi, Cole!” Melissa Jessup sang as she strutted into the gym in head-to-toe pink.
I forced a smile, even though I wanted to groan. Melissa was a flirt—and not the kind you wanted to encourage. She came every day, and I could barely get her to work out.
“Hey, Melissa,” I said.
She hurried over and latched onto my arm. “What are we doing today?”
“Let’s start with weights.” If she had dumbbells in her hands, she couldn’t rub her claws all over my arm.
We walked to the rack, and I couldn’t help the small groan when she picked up three-pounders. She’d never go heavier, and never do more reps, so she wasn’t getting results.
“How about five pounds?” I asked.
She laughed and tossed her black ponytail. “I don’t want to strain anything.”
I used to argue with her about it, but that only led to pouting. The kind of pout she probably thought was adorable, but that I found exhausting.
“I doubt anyone can pick up anything past twenty pounds, so why even have them?” she asked, deadpan.
I shrugged. I knew the game. She wanted me to lift something heavy so she could swoon. If I didn’t need the cash, I’d have dropped her off the schedule weeks ago.
She did an awkward bicep curl, and I gave her a small smile. She clearly wanted me to come over and wrap my hands around hers to ‘fix her form,’ but I wasn’t going there. After over a month of working with her, I knew all her moves.
The weights clinked as she dropped them too soon.
I glanced toward the front desk, anything to give my eyes a break from the performance, and caught sight of Sadie.
She was smiling while talking to an older man, her arms moving animatedly as he laughed at whatever she said.
I wondered if her hair felt as soft as it looked.
“It’s too bad about Sadie,” Melissa said, following my gaze.
I looked back at her. “What’s too bad?” I asked, taking the bait.
“She’s struggling just to pay rent. She’s got custody of her sixteen-year-old sister, and it’s not easy on them. That’s probably why she always looks so haggard.”
My eyes narrowed. Haggard? Sadie was the kind of person who made people do a double take. She was breathtaking. And the best part? She didn’t even seem to know it. Haggard was definitely not the word I’d ever use to describe Sadie.
I was ready to run by the end of the day, but I stopped by the front desk and gave Sadie my best smile.
“Hey,” I said. “I’m applying for a job that involves teaching math.” Why didn’t I say a math teacher? I sounded stupid.
She smiled faintly, confusion flickering in her eyes.
“I’m a little rusty, and I know you said your sister was struggling. Do you think she’d let me practice on her? A few tutoring sessions, maybe?”
She blinked twice. “Um, thanks, but I can’t pay for tutoring.”
“No charge. She’d be doing me a favor.”
Her gaze darted around the room, and I could almost see her thinking it through.
“How about this?” I said. “You talk to her. If she’s up for it, she can meet me at the library tomorrow at five.” I didn’t work full days on Wednesdays, so I could make it happen.
She swallowed, and her eyes shimmered slightly. Definitely not the reaction I’d been going for.
“See you tomorrow.” I turned before either of us got embarrassed. I didn’t really have time to tutor anyone, but if it eased even a little of Sadie’s stress, it was worth it.