Chasin' Jason Read online

  “Well, no, not exactly. I just thought it would be fun,” she said. “He has some good ideas. We could both use some motivation to change and get out of this crummy strip mall. You said yourself that you want to move on to bigger and better things.”

  Armin stopped poking and prodding at his books and turned back to look at her. She was right. He did want to do something bigger when it came to his business. But he didn’t need some slimy grifter to tell him how to do it. Still, the prospect of a night out with Luna was tempting. The thought of sitting next to her with their thighs and hands just barely touching in a dark auditorium was hard to pass up. He knew he wouldn’t say no.

  “I guess I can try to get the night off.”

  “Yes!” she said, pumping a triumphant fist into the air. “You’re going to be so motivated after you hear him speak, I just know it. I think this is going to be good for us.”

  Sure it is, he thought. Maybe good for you and Mr. Manifestation.

  “I’ll text Jade and see if she’s available." He shrugged. “I can’t make any promises though.”

  “Thanks, Armie.”

  Luna swooped in for a friendly hug and Armin felt his body go rigid and numb all at once. Her hair smelled like a bakery, and he fought the urge to breathe her in as deeply as possible.

  “Okay, cool,” she said, hopping toward the front door. “See you for coffee tomorrow?”

  “You know it,” Armin said, throwing her a weak wave. “Goodnight.”

  “Night.”

  With that, Luna Lloyd bounded out the front door, practically skipping across the sidewalk and out into the chilly winter night. He watched her like always, making sure she made it safely to her car in the darkened parking lot. It killed him to see her get so excited and worked up about a perfect stranger. He wanted to be the one to make her walk on air. He wanted to be the one to make her smile a big, stupid smile. Deep down, Armin knew that it was only his own fault for holding back and not letting that happen.

  As if on cue, Armin’s phone buzzed in his pocket. It was another text from his mother, Neha, asking about his flight the following month. February in Florida was chilly, but in Canada it would be positively brutal, and he made a mental note to pull some of his sweaters and heavy pants out of storage for the trip. His mother’s text was followed with a picture of a girl named Abdullah and a long list of her family's investments as well as her age and interests. He turned his phone over in disgust, not at the girl his family was trying to arrange for him to marry, but at the process of the whole thing. He didn’t want to do it. He couldn’t do it. But he had already put off two other arranged marriages. This was the final straw, and he knew there would be repercussions if he refused a third time. He would lose Barks Books. He would lose his condo. He would lose his family. It was all too much for him to bear.

  Armin hooked Sirius’s leash to his collar and turned off the lights to his café-bookstore just after nine p.m. He looked around the tiny little shop frequented by artsy students on the weekends and retired seniors on the weekdays with a deep sense of pride. The college-town café symbolized everything he had ever wanted growing up as a scrawny bookworm kid in Canada — a place where he belonged. He had created a place where he could just sit and think and be surrounded by stories all day long. His parents had agreed to help him make that dream a reality when they’d obtained the stretch of University Mall in a real-estate deal some twenty years ago. He knew that if he didn’t bow to their will it could be all gone, and with it, his proximity to the one and only woman he had ever really loved.

  With a heavy heart, Armin turned out the lights and locked up his little caffeinated haven for the night. A dog-eared copy of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck was tucked under his arm as he stared at the star-speckled night sky. He wasn’t looking forward to watching Luna gaze up lovingly at some shady guru that weekend, but he knew he would have to let her go sooner or later, and at the very least, he could make sure she was going to be in good hands. Even if he couldn’t be with her, he wanted the best for her. Armin sat in his car for a long time that night before starting up his engine and heading home.

  Chapter Three

  Luna brought her laptop to Copy Cats the following day for the express purpose of binge-watching Jason Valentine during her shift. It was the last week of January, and Luna had been faithfully consuming every single bit of his Manifest Vision media in an attempt — as she rationalized to herself — to keep up with her New Year's resolution. She knew that she couldn’t spend the rest of her life stuck working behind a counter, and by her estimation, Jason Valentine seemed to have all the answers. The only problem was, Luna didn’t really know what her big question was.

  Her parents, Laurence and Michelle Lloyd, had raised Luna with all of the freedom and hands-off parenting that one might expect from a couple of laid-back hippies. She had spent many a tie-dyed, sunny day toddling around jam-band festivals with her parents until well into her teens. In the ’90s, Copy Cats had been ahead of the photocopy-store game, and business was good for the Lloyd family for a while. But as time marched on, Luna had begun to realize that her parents were as stuck in their ways when it came to running their business as they were in their fashion sense or tastes in music. Now, after years of stagnation, the little mini-mall photocopy store was a relic of an era gone by and was barely standing on its last legs. Luna had no clue what she would do with her life when her parents decided to shut down Copy Cats for good, but perhaps with Jason Valentine’s help, she could figure out the answer.

  Six months. Luna was only supposed to keep the store going for six months until the lease ran out and her parents returned from their jam-band-festival circuit. Her uncle Roddy would fill in every now and then if Luna needed a day off, had a doctor's appointment, or had to take one of the cats to the vet, so she had some kind of relief, but in general, she had spent every last day of the past five months holed up in that dusty store. When her parents hadn’t even come home for the holidays, Luna knew that her time at Copy Cats might be a little more permanent than she’d intended.

  Truth be told, Luna felt torn when it came to her role as the interim manager and operator of Copy Cats. She had grown up among the reams of paper and the steady hum of giant printers, and it was the place where her precious kitties lived. If only she could be more like Armin! He was passionate about his business, and good at it, too. Armin was somehow able to keep a used-book store of all places afloat with book clubs, showcases from local authors and college students, and a ragtag assembly of loyal customers. Yet despite his success, he wanted to move on to bigger and better things too, and that was precisely why Luna wanted him to listen to what Jason had to say.

  At two p.m. on the nose, Armin shuffled through the front door of Copy Cats with two steaming coffees in hand. A cold front had settled in the night before, bringing with it a snap of chilly weather, a novelty in their tropical suburban climate even during the winter months. Luna tried to stifle a giggle at Armin’s overkill cold-weather ensemble of a chunky cable-knit sweater, gloves, and a hat.

  “Got your hazelnut creamer back in stock,” he puffed, handing Luna her coffee.

  “I thought you were from Canada? It’s only forty degrees… isn’t that like summer weather up there?” Luna teased.

  “Not exactly. I’ve been here over ten years. I’m an official Floridian now.”

  “I love it when it gets cold,” she said. “The heat can be so oppressive, especially in the summer. It’s no wonder I can’t motivate myself to do anything.”

  “It’s not the heat that holds you back,” he said, leaning up against his usual spot by the front desk. “Your parents sort of trapped you here.”

  “Yeah, but I let it happen. I didn’t visualize the life I wanted hard enough. Jason says if you focus and manifest you can make anything happen.”

  Armin glanced at her open laptop. A paused video of the infamous Jason Valentine was prominently displayed on the screen. He groaned
and rolled his eyes.

  “Not that guy again.”

  “What! He makes some really good points,” she said, pulling the laptop over. “Do you have a minute? Just watch.”

  Armin protested with a low groan as Luna queued up another video, entitled “Be Your Best You.” The production value was slick and glossy, as was the host of the Manifest Vision series. An electronic soundtrack backed the intro to the self-help series before the sharp-featured face from the poster came into view.

  “He looks like a real-estate agent,” Armin said, scoffing.

  “Shh! Listen,” Luna said, leaning on the counter, her chin in her hands.

  “Have you ever wondered what it would take to become your best you? What does that even mean? Today we’re going to talk about how you can connect with your spirit guide through Vision Questing to reach your ultimate spiritual and physical potential.”

  Jason looked to the sky and raised his arm, and a barred owl swooped into the frame of the video and landed on his gloved wrist. Armin’s mouth fell open as the bird stretched its wings and settled in on camera.

  “This is Paolo. Through his supernatural guidance, I was able to master Vision Questing. I learned to see my true future and all of the potential held within myself. I want to share that vision so that you too can Manifest Your Destiny.”

  “I’ve seen enough,” Armin said, shaking his head.

  Luna paused the video.

  “It’s a little kooky, right?” she said, scrunching her nose.

  “It’s bizarre,” Armin said, letting out an exasperated breath. “And a huge waste of time.”

  “No it’s not,” she shot back. “I’m just trying to change my situation. You didn’t see the rest of his presentation, he’s really good.”

  “You’re smart enough to figure things out on your own. You don’t need some salesman to—”

  “Armin,” she said, cutting him off, “I’m sitting behind the counter at the same photocopy store I’ve worked at on and off since high school. If I knew what to do, I would have done it by now.”

  Armin shook his head and sighed.

  “I just don’t want you to sell yourself short.”

  “I’m not. Jason has made millions helping other people and he’s super successful. Maybe he actually knows what he’s talking about.”

  “He made his millions peddling BS,” Armin said, pitching his empty coffee cup into the wastebasket.

  Luna blew an exasperated breath at her grown-out bangs and crossed her arms. Armin clearly was not as impressed with the motivational speaker as she was.

  “Lu, the guy has a pet owl like some kind of evil wizard,” he joked. “You have to admit, that’s kind of weird, right?”

  “I guess,” she said, inhaling sharply.

  “I have to head back,” he said. “It’s time for Jade’s break.”

  “You’re still going to come with me this weekend, right?”

  Luna searched Armin’s face. He appeared frustrated, but she was used to him being kind of grouchy. Something was wrong, though, and she couldn’t quite tell what.

  “Hey, is everything okay at the shop?”

  “Yeah, everything is fine,” he said under heavily knitted brows. “Of course I’ll go with you. I can’t guarantee I won’t make fun of him though.”

  Armin backed toward the front door as Luna resumed the video. Jason’s authoritative voice echoed through the empty photocopy store as he left.

  “This is going to be good for us!” she called out after him. “We need motivation!”

  Armin paused as he braced himself for the semi-chilly winter air and looked back at Luna. Skepticism lined his forehead, but a playful smile threatened to break through his grumpy facade.

  “What we’re going to need after that seminar is two straitjackets.”

  Luna waved her friend out the door and returned her attention to her laptop, letting out a deep, dreamy sigh. Jason’s smooth voice and hypnotic, steely-blue eyes were hard to look away from for the rest of the day even as customers meandered in and out of the store. Armin’s words rang in her ears, but she pushed them away as she listened to Jason’s instruction to jot down all of her desires and fears. Listing her wants and needs was something she had never considered doing before, but Jason said it was the first step on the path to getting what one wanted in life. She grabbed a few sheets of copy paper from an open ream and a Copy Cats–branded click pen and the words flowed easily. As she read the scrawled handwriting back to herself, the list didn’t surprise her.

  Desires: Adventure, Excitement, Creativity, Fun

  Fears: Monotony, Stagnation, Being Alone

  Luna stared at the list and back at the smiling face of Jason Valentine on the screen again. She was sure that if she just listened more to what he had to say and followed his path to enlightenment then some great answer would unfold in front of her eyes. The key to the universe was right there, and all she had to do was research a little more and commit herself. Having someone like Jason actually in her life to show her the way couldn’t hurt either.

  Jason Valentine had flirted with her when he’d come into the store last time. She was certain that she hadn’t imagined the whole thing. Plus the tickets to his events started at a hundred and twenty-five bucks, so it was kind of a big deal that he was getting her in for free. It meant something. It had to.

  Before she knew it, the sun was setting and closing time was drawing near. Luna had watched nearly every video of his series by then, and had even ordered his book, Everyday Manifestations, online with next-day shipping. She couldn’t wait to have his words in her hot little hands and soak up every last little bit of his teachings.

  When eight p.m. rolled around, Luna swept the floor and fed her trio of lazy store cats before turning out the lights and heading to her car. She glanced over her shoulder at Barks Books and for a moment considered going in. From the road she could see him heading up his book club and animatedly talking to a circle of ten or twelve patrons. She smiled as she watched him wave his arms around and push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. She felt a pang of guilt and decided to keep going; she hadn’t read the book that they were covering that night, even though Armin had given her a copy a month ago.

  Armin has such a good thing going, she thought as she turned over the engine of her little Toyota. No wonder he isn’t interested in what Jason has to say. He doesn’t need guidance.

  But Luna did, or at least she thought she did, and she was more than happy to get that guidance from a charming, evocative entrepreneur. Luna listened to Jason Valentine’s podcast all the way home that night, dreaming about Saturday and manifesting like hell that she would get to meet her enigmatic crush once again.

  Chapter Four

  “The theme is body horror — being trapped in one's own skin.”

  Armin sat at the head of his monthly book-club circle with Jenny Dyer’s newest sci-fi novel, Eternal Monday, in his hands. The cover was black and blue and featured the shadowy silhouette of a man lost among the trees.

  “I mean, it’s definitely an allegory of the modern office worker’s plight, but deep down, the story is really about self-loathing and body dysmorphia.”

  “Can’t we read the new Nicholas Sparks book next time? This book was just too… dark for my tastes.”

  Grace was sixty-two years old, sported a bouffant of silvery hair, and looked just as out of place as every other member of Armin’s ragtag book club. It was the variety of people that Armin liked about his literary circle, but as usual, blending a bunch of different personalities made it difficult to pick a story that everyone would like.

  “I thought it was badass.”

  Russell readjusted himself in his seat, thumbing his nose and leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. Even though the temperature had dipped below forty degrees after dark, Russell still sported a tank top to show off his intricate tattoo sleeves.

  “In the end, when he and
his cubicle became one and his face fused to the computer… aw man, that was gnarly.”

  “Yeah, I suppose that part was a little bit much,” Armin said, cringing inwardly. “Maybe I can pick a lighter read for next time.”

  The eclectic group of enthusiastic readers continued to discuss Armin’s chosen novel until just before nine that night. As usual, the members of the book club downed their last sips of coffee and scattered into the parking lot with the book for next month's meeting in hand. Armin saw them all to the door and glanced to his right; the Copy Cats storefront was dark. He had hoped that Luna would remember to come to his book club this once; she would have appreciated Eternal Monday.

  That entire week, Armin had been more on edge than usual, and it wasn’t from too much caffeine. He was dreading his trip home to Canada and the decision he would soon have to make. Perhaps the worst thing of all was that he didn’t feel like his situation was one he could discuss with anyone, and especially not with Luna. The few times that he had opened up to friends in the past, their answers had always been sympathetic, but not exactly understanding, and pity was something he certainly didn’t want to receive from the woman he secretly loved.

  The subject of relationships had come up only once or twice between him and Luna before, and it was usually her talking more than him. It was a subject Armin was glad to dance around, keeping their topics of conversation just out of the reach of intimacy. So many times he had wanted to let her know the real him and the parts of his life that felt out of his control. But Luna thought that he was so smart, so successful, so organized and content with his life. It was a facade he was happy to keep up for her sake. Until Jason Valentine had come along, that was.

  The next morning Armin spent some time digging deep into the online history of the Manifest Vision guru. It took a bit of internet mining, but what he found wasn’t surprising: Jason Valentine’s real name was Jason Baumner. He was forty-two and divorced with two teenage children who lived with their mother in Tacoma, Washington. He had been a semi-successful spokesperson for a vitamin-supplement company until the stock market crash of 2008, when he’d lost everything and started life all over in Southwest Florida… as a real-estate agent. Armin had a good laugh when he uncovered that bit of info.