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 yourInstagramposts 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 outthere 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 labeledSports. “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. Belowthat, 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.”
