Page 39 of Not Just Gal Pals

I realized Jenny was standing in front of me, fidgeting with her hands while I left her hanging. Stop overthinking this, and make a decision.

I stepped forward, brushing a stray hair from her face.

“I would love nothing more than to be casually un-platonic with you, Jenny Lynton.”

And with that, I leaned in and kissed her.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JENNY

“Is it this steep all the way up?” I paused to catch my breath, looking at the rocky path with trepidation. Blake stopped a few feet ahead of me and turned.

“It gets steeper right near the end.” Her voice betrayed no signs of exertion.

“Steeper?” I yelped.

Blake smiled at me, and my heart bounced, despite being exhausted. “I promise you, the view is worth it. Especially at this time of year.”

Based on past experience, I’d assumed our casual relationship would consist primarily of drinks and booty calls. So, when Blake texted me the day after the party and suggested we go for a hike up Breakback Ridge on Saturday before the fall foliage disappeared, I’d been a little surprised. To be honest, I’d been surprised she hadn’t suggested we go back to her house after the Halloween party. But she hadn’t, and I wasn’t exactly keen to invite her back to my parents’ house with its thin walls.

I’d agreed to Blake’s suggestion, thinking it would at least compensate for the amount of Halloween candy I’d consumed and hopefully provide content for my social media accounts.

But now we were halfway up the mountain, I was starting to think this hadn’t been the best idea for our first date—or any date, period. It was now very clear to me why the mountain had been named Breakback Ridge. I was already tired, sweaty, and a little hangry. I hadn’t thought to wear hiking boots, and my worn sneakers weren’t giving me the support I needed over the uneven ground.

We could have been enjoying a glass of wine while overlooking the Hudson River, or going back to Red Tractor Farm for hot donuts, apple fritters, and steaming cider—activities much more conducive to making out than hiking.

To make matters worse, Blake was a lot fitter than I was. While I kept suggesting we “enjoy the view” as an excuse to catch my breath, Blake bounced along the path, barely breaking a sweat.

The only good thing about constantly falling behind Blake, and this hike in general, was getting a very nice view of Blake’s butt. Her navy hiking pants clung to it in an extremely flattering way, accentuating how round and firm it was. Like a dog having a treat dangled in front of it, Blake’s butt kept me going, reminding me why I was on this damn hike in the first place.

I took a deep breath in and continued up the stony path, hoping I didn’t fall over and break my leg. Which reminded me…

“Hey, did you ever speak to the other local doctors about how they manage uninsured patients?” I asked, trying not to sound too winded and failing miserably.

“I did.” Blake slowed to walk beside me. “Some of them offer payment plans for their fees, but none of them are helping patients try to get funding for their hospital bills or other costs. Apparently, some towns have funds to help pay for uninsured people’s medical costs, which are usually run by non-profits or the city council.” Blake sighed. “But we don’t have anything like that in Sapphire Springs.”

“Hmmm. Would it be worthwhile talking to the mayor about why we don’t have a fund like that? Perhaps the village board could run it. And if they raised enough money, they could potentially pay for someone to help out with all the applications?”

Blake shot me a glance. “That would be great. But it would be heaps of work for them to set it up, and I think they’re pretty stretched as it is. It would also involve fundraising, which is really not my thing.” Blake grimaced. “I hate asking people for favors and don’t love public speaking either.”

An unexpected rush of energy shot through my body. “I could look into it. I think the mayor could be interested in something like that. I remember Dad saying she was thrilled when you opened your practice in Sapphire Springs because healthcare is one of her passions. And if she says yes, I could do a fundraiser. I like that kind of thing—you know, planning bachelorette parties, weddings, fundraisers. And I don’t have a lot to do, apart from coming up with more content. In LA, I was always busy going to events and schmoozing, but there’s not so much of that here.” Now the wedding was over, I’d been feeling restless. There was only so much content I could produce.

Blake chuckled. “Oh, what? The Sapphire Springs social scene isn’t up to your liking? I thought George’s Halloween party would have been up there with the parties at Chateau Marmont?”

I snorted. “Honestly, I liked George’s party a lot more than most of the LA ones, but it wasn’t exactly great for schmoozing, and my social calendar is looking quite empty for November.”

“I thought we schmoozed quite well.” Blake raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching.

Giggling, I shook my head. “I don’t know what you think I’m getting up to at these parties, but I wouldn’t exactly call our, um, interactions ‘schmoozing’?”

Blake waved her hand dismissively. “Potato, potahto. Schmoozing, smooching.”

The giggles turned into full-blown laughter. Laughing while out of breath was surprisingly difficult, and I stopped for a moment to regulate my breathing. “But in all seriousness, I’d be happy to talk to the mayor and see if I can help get a fund set up,” I said once I was breathing normally.

Blake shot me a skeptical look. “Are you sure this is something you’d actually like to do?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” I picked up my step at the prospect. “We could do a raffle. Perhaps see if George could cater. We could ask Amanda and Maya if the students could provide entertainment and get a few people to give speeches. I’m sure the mayor would be willing to say a few words. If we did it around the end of November, we could have a Thanksgiving theme, which would be in keeping with trying to get people to donate money.” That wouldn’t give me a lot of time to organize, but I had plenty of time on my hands at the moment. And while, in the big cities, people often cleared out to go back home for Thanksgiving, Sapphire Springs was “back home” for a lot of people, so our population actually increased. More people to donate.