Page 66 of Not Just Gal Pals

Jenny looked around. The trees had finally lost their leaves, and the cold weather seemed to have kept people at home. Main Street was almost deserted.

“Why don’t we start walking toward your place?”

“Okay,” I said, my mouth dry.

We started walking down the street, and for the first time in a long time, an uncomfortable silence descended. Jenny clearly had something important to say, and I didn’t want to make small talk until she told me what it was. Jenny’s body language—hands stuffed in her pockets, the tension in her jaw, and her eyes fixed on the pavement—had me worried. And it was very unusual for chatty, bubbly Jenny to be silent for this long. After a few minutes, I couldn’t take it any longer.

“Jenny, what’s going on?”

She looked across at me, and I noticed her eyes were bloodshot. “I got a call earlier today. It was a job offer. To be the brand ambassador for Mahler. And it’s too good to pass up.”

I let out a breath, my face breaking into a smile. “But that’s amazing! Why are you...why don’t you sound happy about it?”

Jenny’s eyes welled with tears. “They want me back in LA for a photoshoot tomorrow. I have to leave tonight to make it in time.”

Shit, the fundraiser. My stomach dropped. No wonder Jenny was upset. It definitely wasn’t ideal. I hated public speaking, and organizing events was not a strength of mine. But there was no way I was going to ask Jenny to stay and give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She’d already helped me so much.

“Hey, look, I understand. Of course this is more important than the fundraiser. We’ll work it out. I’m sure George and Olivia and my parents will help out, and I can emcee it.”

Jenny’s lips quivered. I put my arm around her and pulled her to me, feeling her shaky breaths rattle her lungs.

“Hey, I know it sucks after all your hard work, but we’ll make it a success. And we’ll take lots of photos to show you when you get back.” I paused. She hadn’t mentioned when she’d be back. “How long will you be there for?”

Jenny looked away and cleared her throat. “So...it’s a condition of the deal that I stay in LA for the next twelve months, at least.”

My stomach plummeted to the pavement as I absorbed the news. Jenny was leaving. Tonight. For good. The six weeks I thought we had left vanished. The six weeks I thought I had left to prepare myself for Jenny’s departure…gone.

“Oh,” I managed to get out. Now Jenny’s reaction made sense. Now I was experiencing a very similar one. Tears pricked in my eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Blake. But this is just too good to pass up. We always knew this had an expiration date. I was always going to leave. This is just bringing it forward. Their offer, it’s life changing. It just wouldn’t make sense to say no.”

I blinked away the tears, nausea flooding over me. Of course it didn’t make sense for Jenny to give up the offer of a lifetime for another few weeks together. Rationally, I knew that. But that didn’t make it feel any better. Shit.

“I get it. It sucks, but I understand.” I dug my fingernails into my hand.

“We can still keep in touch?” Jenny’s voice wavered. “And I usually try to visit twice a year, so we can see each other then?”

The ache in my chest grew. Even though a long-distance relationship wasn’t a viable option, I wished Jenny had suggested it. But long distance just didn’t make sense when we had no plan to actually be together. It was just dragging out the inevitable heartache.

You could move, Blake. It’s not like it would be hard for you to find a job in LA. I pressed my lips together. I couldn’t make that mistake again, building my life around a partner, leaving me to pick up the pieces when they inevitably left, and it all fell apart. Especially not when Jenny wasn’t willing to do the same for me.

And as for keeping in touch... I took a deep breath. “I’m not sure if it’s a great idea if we keep in touch, at least not initially. The therapist I saw after my last breakup said having a clean break was usually best. I just think...I think it might be too confusing, at least in the beginning. I’m sorry.”

“Keeping in touch” suggested we’d be friends. But we had never really been friends, and I didn’t know if I could be that for Jenny. I liked her too much. If we kept in touch, I’d want to speak to her every day. I’d get terribly jealous if she started dating someone else. And that wouldn’t be healthy either.

Again, part of me hoped Jenny would disagree, that she’d fight to keep us together in some form, do something to show the last six weeks had been as special to her as they had been to me. But she nodded slowly. “I hate the idea of not speaking to you, but I’ll respect what you need. But if you change your mind, let me know. Will you...will you at least text me to let me know how the fundraiser goes?”

“Yes, of course.”

Jenny stopped walking, and I realized we’d reached the turn-off to her parents’ house. She looked at her watch and then turned to me. “I’m so sorry, Blake, but I need to get my bags and head to the train station. Thank you...for everything. I’m really going to miss you. I...I’m sorry we didn’t have more time together.” She swiped under her eyes as the tears started to escape, and I went in for a hug before she saw me start crying too. I squeezed her as tightly as I could without hurting her.

“I’m going to miss you too,” I muttered into her hair.

There was so much more I wanted to say, so much more I didn’t have the words to say, but I knew it wouldn’t achieve anything letting Jenny know just how much she meant to me, just how much I’d miss her. So instead, I tried to just savor the hug, commit the feeling of her warm body pressed against mine, the softness and smell of her hair to memory. I didn’t want to let go. Eventually, we disentangled ourselves, me blinking furiously to hide my tears.

“Good luck with the fundraiser tomorrow.” Jenny managed a weak smile. “I’ll email you the schedule and all the info, and please call or text me if you have any questions.”

“Good luck with your photoshoot. You’ll be amazing.” I forced my mouth into something hopefully resembling a smile.