Training for Love « Chase Elliott »

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Chase's POV

"What the fuck, man? Why were you an ass?"

"Um, you need to be more specific there, Blaney." Ryan stood across my desk with his hands on his hips and looking at me like I should know what he's talking about.

"Don't make me go over the conversation I just had with Justice about you having a stick up your ass and treating Gabby like shit."

I narrowed my eyes at Ryan over his pet name for someone he's never even met. "It wasn't that bad," I said. I mean, it wasn't... until it was.

Fuck. It was a complete disaster.

I swear this girl has never been in a gym her entire life, I mean, one look at her and you knew, but still. She was clumsy on her feet and she couldn't hold onto the small dumbbells to save her life.

I honestly felt bad for her at one point and decided to help her on her form before I joined in with her. I never workout with my trainees, but I felt like I had to to show Gabriella how things worked. I got the feeling she was the type of person that learns by watching.

But then, something happened I never expected to happen, and I couldn't help but wonder what it meant.

Her form was awful. I could tell she was stressing out by the fact her shoulders were up to her ears and that's no way to lift weights.

I walked up to her, placed both of my hands on her bare shoulders and got the shock of my lifetime. It wasn't one of those electric shock you gave your friends while rubbing your sock covered feet on carpet and running up to shock them, this was bone deep; a spark that lit my nerve endings and released a warmth feeling throughout my body.

I locked eyes with Gabriella and I knew she felt it too.

Suddenly, I wanted to touch her. So I dragged my fingertips down her arms to hold her hands steady, never once leaving her eyes.

What happened next was the jolt I needed to get away from her. Gabriella was not my type and that need to touch her was my hazy mind wanting to get over my ex, that's all it was.

But yet...  it's all I can think about as of late and I couldn't help but wonder why it happened.

I watched as Gabriella ran out of the gym Monday morning and as I watched her retrieving back, I knew I should run after her and ask her what just happened, not with the weights falling on my foot, but that moment.

I didn't, nor I ever will. I don't chase after girls, especially one like that.

It's been three days since I've seen Gabriella and I knew I wouldn't see her again and I was perfectly okay with that. I do not need another women in my head when I was trying to shake off the last one.

"You owe her an apology, and you're going to finish this training with her." Blaney narrowed his eyes at me like he was waiting for a challenge to come. He may be my supervisor, but he was my best friend first and I knew arguing over something this petty wasn't worth it.

"Kinda hard to do that when the chick isn't here. Her appointment started 10 minutes ago." Ryan ignored what I just said and walked over to the filing cabinet. After rummaging through some files, he pulled one and threw it on my desk. I didn't have to look at it to know it was Gabriella's.

"I think you know what to do here."

"Ya know, fuck this shit." I stood up quickly, my chair hitting the wall behind my desk, grabbed my bag and my phone and started towards Blaney. "I'm out for the rest of the day, you can take my afternoon appointments." I shouldered him hard on the way out the door and ignored his curses.

I wasn't about to have someone who is always on my side, choose a girl he's never even met.

Fuck him and fuck Gabriella.

**

I pulled into the parking lot near my favorite bike bath that overlook Lake Norman and put my Chevy truck in park. I took a few deep breaths trying to clear my mind, but no matter what I did, it just wouldn't.

I checked my phone, hoping I would see a text from a certain someone, but I knew without looking it wouldn't be there. I seriously needed to let Josie go, just like it was so easy for her to let me go.

I miss her though. I miss waking up to her beautiful blue eyes and short brown hair that looked as wild as she was. I miss working out together, I miss our rendezvous in places that we shouldn't hooked up at. I miss loving her; taking care of her. I miss talking to her like she was the only soul on earth who got me.

Then after a few months of living together, I came home and found all of her stuff gone. It was like she never existed, but she did and she left a mark on me that I just can't erase.

I shook my head of the memory, I didn't want to relive what happened next for my sanity. I knew if I went down that path I wouldn't be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning.

I hopped out of my truck and started to do some stretches. Once I was satisfied, I decided on which path to take and grabbed my gear and started jogging.

As I placed my headphones in and as the numb minding music started to blast through my eardrums, I was able to focus. I set my alarm for 45 minutes and turned my jogging into a fast pace run. I needed to run to forget - about everything. It was my therapy.

My heart was beating out of my chest about 30 minutes later.  I should stop and catch my breath, but I couldn't. My leg muscles were screaming and my lungs were going to give out at any moment, but I kept pushing myself. I needed to run to forget and that's what I was doing.

Running up the hill I knew I should slow down. There was blind spot up ahead that had a reputation of runners and bikers colliding into each other. I didn't care. It was Wednesday morning and I knew this path would be deserted, which just made me run faster.

Which was a huge mistake.

As I took the blind curve at a fast pace, I crashed hard into a solid mass that had both of us falling to the ground. I wince in pain as my hands caught the pavement and I knew they were bloodied, as were my knees when I rolled over onto my back and knocked heads with the person I hit.

"Oh my God!" I heard a familiar voice say, "oh my God, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have stood there like that when I know no one can see me coming up from the other side. It's just, I couldn't help but stop stare at the view. I'm so sorry, here, let me help you up." I reached for the hand of the lady who who kept apologizing. Her voice sounded so familiar but when I looked up at her, all I could see was a dark shadow and the brightness of the sun above us.

I firmly grabbed her hand and the moment our skin touched, I was jolted back to the ground with her falling on top of me. My whole body was on fire by just one touch and when I was finally able to see who caused this electric feeling shoot through me, I gasped in shock.

"Gabriella?"