"I think you are making a big deal about this. Did you asked Mal about it yesterday after you guys saw each at your flat?" Jay said to Ben after the first meeting of the day prove to be a big waste of everyone's time when the boy wasn't able to focus on anything.
At first, Jay thought that his friend was going to be able to focus on the meeting but after the third time he was asked his opinion about something, and the boy didn't respond Jay asked everyone to reconvene at a later time. Ben apologized to the group and went into an empty office with Jay and started telling him how he couldn't let go of the scene of the day before at the restaurant. The sudden appearance of Mal's ex-boyfriend had managed to make him doubt how invested was the girl in their relationship.
When Harry started to talk to her ignoring everyone else he just thought that he was rude but when Mal didn't correct him it made him uneasy. Evie arrived, and Harry said hello to her, and she introduced the group to him giving Mal a serious look while doing so. The boy said hello to the group but continued to focus his conversation solely on Mal, and the girl didn't seem to mind. The rest of the lunch went by with the group having a separate conversation to the one Mal was having with Harry.
Everyone but the couple went back to their engagements. Evie went to work in her studio. Ben, Lonnie, and Jay went back to their meetings and Azis went to an appointment he had leaving the other two to continue their conversation alone. When Ben went home later that night, he found Mal already fast asleep even though it wasn't late which didn't help with his anxiety.
The next morning when he woke up, Mal was already having breakfast and told Ben that she was going to visit a couple she used to hang out with when she and Harry were together, the boy had offered to take her and even called the couple so that they were expecting them. Ben wasn't sure what to say, sure he didn't like her to hang out with Harry, but he honestly didn't have a valid reason why she shouldn't be able to do it. So he wished her a good day and went on his way to his meetings of the day with his mind unable to focus on anything else but Mal.
"I wanted too but she was already sleeping, and I wasn't about to wake her up to say something. And this morning she was awake and ready to go out with Harry to see some mutual friends. I know they dated for a long time, and he was very important to her, I don't have the right to tell her that I don't want her to see him. My insecurities are my issues Jay, not hers." Ben continued to tell his friend that he was not going to treat Mal like she did something wrong just for not being rude to her ex.
Jay listened to everything Ben had to say, letting his friend vent was the main component of their relationship since they knew each other. Ben being the nice guy that he was always tent to keep things to himself until he couldn't manage to hold it anymore, when he was younger he made himself sick with the amount of stuff he would bottle up. Jay being more pragmatic always encourage him to open up and share his problems with him or the people that create them but Ben was always worried about hurting other people feelings.
"I'm not saying you tell her that she can't see Harry because that would be insane. However, I am telling you that you should share your concerns about how you noticed a change in her and if you don't well then focus on finding why you are feeling like these." Ben knew that Jay was right, he needed to look within himself first and then see if he needed to share his concerns with Mal.
Ben sent a quick text to Mal asking how her day was going but got bored of waiting for a reply after twenty minutes. Going back to the meetings wasn't a possibility thanks to Jay telling him to take a couple of minutes to focus on his relationship before going into them. "If you are going to be there in body but not in mind don't go. Those people are working, hard. I'm sure they have their issues at home too, but they are doing their best to make everything run smooth, you will be doing them a disserving going in there and making their work harder."
Looking at his phone again, Ben called the only person he could think would be able to help him with his dilemma and thankfully she was free to meet with him. When Ben arrived at the café, Evie told him about he saw her sitting at a little table in the corner doing something in her Ipad and wonder if maybe she was busy but took pity on him and agree to meet because she knew he was going to be freaking out about Harry's reappearing.
Evie smiled at Ben when he stood next to the table looking at her drawings, soon they were having a pleasant conversation about her designs and Azis. However, the girl knew that Ben's mind and heart weren't exactly in the conversation so with the ease that only she had when talking to people Evie moved the topic towards Mal.
Even though this was their first conversation alone, Ben felt at ease when speaking to Evie, the sense of peace that filed him resembled only his conversations with Jay. Opening up to her about how he felt since Harry came into the picture was very therapeutic for him. Ben could see that Evie wasn't looking at him in a judgmental way, but more of an understanding expression settle in her face while discussing his feelings they even discover that one of the problems he had with how Mal reacted to her ex was that it differed a lot of how Ben would like to react to his. Sure, he would never be rude to any of the girls he dated, but he didn't really see himself looking forward to talking with them more than Mal or his friends and even more to be making plans to go out alone. Maybe because his relationships never were something he wanted to repeat after they ended.
It was getting late, and Azis called Evie so they could go out for dinner. The girl told him that she was with Ben and that the three of them should go to Azis apartment so he could order something, and they could talk a little more. Ben tried to tell her no, he didn't want to impose his presence more than he already had but Evie told him to forget it. Azis had talked to Jay earlier that day and knew that Ben needed to be with friends, so he invited Jay and Lonnie to joined them at his place and soon the five friends were having a lovely dinner. Ben couldn't stop checking his phone at the beginning of the night hoping for Mal to answer his early text but Azis soon picked up on that and told everyone to put their phones in a little basket he had next to the door so that they could be present at the moment.
After that everything went smoothly for the boy who with the constant teasing of his best friends manage to forget about the lack of communication from his girlfriend. However, Evie was starting to get mad at Mal and her lack of common sense as time continued to pass by without any messages or calls. When the four friends asked her to join them in a game of Pictionary Evie laughed, and told them that she needed to finish some work for tomorrow and that she was going home. Her house was just a block away from Azis, so she had no problem walking there alone. Of course, Azis said no and told his friends to feel free to make some popcorn while he walked Evie to her apartment. After everyone said their goodbyes the couple went on their way to Evie's place holding hands and enjoying each other company.
"You are gonna call her, right?" Evie loved that Azis was always on the same page that she was no matter the subject. She planned to facetime with Mal as soon as she arrived at her place and also told Azis to make Ben stayed in his house for the night. She was going to have a serious conversation with her friend and knowing Mal the girl was not going to be in a good mood after that. If Ben was near Evie knew that he was going to be in the line of fire of Mal's mood.
The couple arrived at Evie's apartment and kissed goodnight promising to call each other the next day to plan a lunch date. Walking into her apartment, Evie decided to take a shower before calling Mal giving her more time to get in touch with either her or Ben, she soon found herself losing herself in the warmth of her shower. Azis promised to text her if Mal called Ben at some point of the night in case her called wasn't needed anymore. However, Evie finished her shower and change without any text from her boyfriend, and she knew that it was time to call Mal.
Mal answered after the third ring with a concerned expression on her face. "Evie? Is that you? The reception is not good here."
"Yes, Mal. Where is here? Where are you?". Evie wasn't sure if she should be concerned or angry at her friend but for now, she wanted some answers before making up her mind.
Mal started to explain that Harry had come picked her up in a rented car with a driver that morning and they had talked for what felt hours which was right because they did drive for almost two hours to Champagne. The girl didn't mind at first because she was so happy to see her friends again that the hours flew by. However, when they were finishing their lunch Mal wanted to check her phone a little surprise that Ben hadn't texted her, that's when the girl realized that her phone had no signal at all.
A sort of panic invaded her wondering if Ben had tried to call her or texted her and not receiving any answer he just assumed she was ignoring him. Mal asked the couple if they knew about the lack of signal and everyone laughed. "Well of course Mal. The main reason we love this place is that nobody can reach us here, that's why we don't even bother bringing our cellphones."
"I didn't know that. Harry, why didn't you said something?" The three of them laughed again making light of the situation. Then told her that she needed to understand that it was important to let go of technology, even when Mal tried to explain that she was worried about Ben they told her that she shouldn't be.
Hours passed, and Mal constantly questioned when they were going back to Paris just for her friends to ignore her and keep talking about various subjects that she found rather boring. Finally, night came without the reappearance of their driver and Mal realized that she was going to be there until the next day like it or not. Going into the house where they had stayed the entire day she found a lovely woman in the kitchen getting ready to leave. Mal didn't know that there were more people there and wondered if maybe there was a possibility to get out of that place that same night. She asked the woman in her broken French, and she was happy to know that she was getting out of there. Soon she was in an old car going to the center of the city, from where she was planning to take the earliest train to Paris leaving Harry and her friends to wonder where she was.
That's when her phone rang, and Mal found herself telling Evie what was going on and with every mile they travel to the center of the city the signal was stronger. Evie felt better knowing that Mal was not happy about spending the entire day without talking to Ben and told her that it was important for her to answer his text. She went on to tell Mal about the dinner, and how she had suggested to Azis that Ben spent the night on his flat, Evie didn't tell her about her conversation with Ben that was a secret between them until or if he decided to share that with Mal.
The first train of the next day was scheduled for 5:33 so she decided to stay in a hotel close to the station, she called Ben instead of answering his text but he didn't pick up leaving her to wonder if now he was ignoring her. It was almost eleven when Mal decided that it was best to go to sleep so she could catch the first train. Still, she found it hard to fall asleep without talking to Ben. With that in mind, she called again and again until Jay answered the call, it seemed that they weren't checking their phones, but the constant vibration of Ben's phone made the basket where they were fell to the floor.
A couple of minutes later Mal was talking to a very excited Ben who asked her where she was. Mal decided that honesty was the best policy and so for the next twenty minutes she explained her entire day making sure to conveyed how sorry she was for not realizing her phone didn't have a signal. Ben was quiet the entire time she was explaining and even a little after she had finished her story which didn't make Mal feel better.
Finally, Ben asked her when her train arrived and if she needed someone to picked her up from the station. The girl could sense that he was not happy but was trying to be pleasant, so Mal told him not to worry about it, she would take a taxi to the apartment, and she would see him there after work. The next morning she woke up early and got on the first train to Paris ready to go back to Ben. The ride took almost two hours and she fell asleep as soon as she got into her seat, once out of the train she was a little disoriented, and that's when Mal saw him. Ben was standing there with two cups of coffee looking around trying to find her.
Mal couldn't resist the urge to run to Ben and hug him making him dropped both coffee cups in his effort to embrace his girlfriend. They apologize to everyone around them for the mess, especially to the maintenance guy that was approaching them ready to clean the mess they just made. The couple walked out of the train station hand in hand towards their rented flat in silent just happy to be reunited again with each other.
Two blocks before they arrived at the apartment Ben's phone rang and he was informed that he was needed for a meeting and everyone was waiting for his arrival. If there was any other time he would have told them to have the meeting without him but he felt guilty for the way he acted the day before, so he said ok. After a quick goodbye to Mal he took a taxi to the office where he stayed until late that night, Mal sent him a couple of texts asking him if he had time to have lunch with her but he declined.
That night when he made his way to the apartment, he was tired but happy about the amount of work that he had managed to get done. Yesterday was a setback but today was perfect, he even managed to have a lovely lunch with everyone working on the project which was what he usually did when he traveled abroad for work. The only thing that messed a little over his joy about his day was the fact that he needed to stay at least till Tuesday to finish his work there and some interviews.
He had tried to talk to the owner of his flat to stay there more days, but it was already booked, lucky for him Azis had called him and when he heard about his problem he invited Ben to stay with him. Mal was supposed to leave on Friday which would leave him to work through the weekend alone in a couple of things that didn't need the team to be involved until the last part of it.
When Ben made it to the apartment tired and ready to get in bed and sleep, he noticed that all the lights were off, so he just went into the kitchen to get something to drink. He was closing the refrigerator door when suddenly Mal appeared next to him saying hello. The sudden appearance of his girlfriend startled Ben making him dropped his glass of lemonade.
"I seemed to be making you dropped a lot of things today, babe." Mal chuckled while Ben kneeled next to the puddle of lemonade with napkins cleaning the mess that the had made. He raised his head and smiled at Mal and her comment and told her how hilarious she was in a very sarcastic tone.
The girl helped him clean and then served him another glass of lemonade but insisted on giving it to him once he was already sitting on the couch. Ben agreed and soon he was sitting drinking his lemonade with his girlfriend cuddling next to him. After sharing his day with her and the news that he was going to stay more, the girl was a little taken aback.
"Why aren't you asking me to stay with you? We can rent a room in a hotel, and I can stay with you until Tuesday." Mal wondered if maybe this decision had something to do with the fact that she spent the day with Harry. After spending the majority of the day alone, everyone seemed to be too busy to keep her company, she started to think about the way she had behave since Harry came into her life again and she wasn't pleased with herself.
Ben looked at her funny before answering. "Mal, you told me you had this big presentation on Monday, remember? You had everything ready, but you needed to be back before just to check that everything was alright. I'm not going to ask you to stay if it's going to mess with your job."
In reality, she had been talking every day with Jane finalizing details but when Ben said he was staying a couple of days more suddenly she had forgotten all about it. Ben told her that they needed to go back to bed because Mal was going to have to go to the airport after lunch and she needed to get everything ready and say goodbye to Evie. That night Ben went to sleep quickly while Mal stayed awake looking at him wishing that she could go back in time and spent yesterday with him instead of Harry.
The next day went by fast, Ben managed to have lunch with Mal and even if the girl seemed sad to not to be able to stay with him he told her that he would be back in five days.
"We are going to see each other soon Mal. Don't worry about it, how about the day I arrived we can have a nice dinner just the two of us?". The girl smiled at that making Ben laugh at how she could act like a little kid sometimes.
He wasn't able to go with her to the airport so Evie was the one to go with her. The friends were sad to say goodbye, but they promised each other that they would visit the other as soon as possible. Mal made it home safely and spent most of the weekend getting used to the new time zone, every once in a while she would check her Instagram and was happy to see that Ben was having a good time. Before going back home, she had asked Evie to make sure that Ben had a good time if possible the boy was always working and never have enough time to do fun things.
On Sunday his favorite Instagram Story appeared showing the entire group at Euro Disney, the girls were in a shop looking at the different things when the guys appeared with little tiaras putting them on their girlfriends head and declaring that they were their princesses. Ben was the one recording it so Mal couldn't see him but heard him laughing, suddenly a girl came into view and told him that if he was alone, he could buy her a tiara so she could be her princess and she would kiss him in return. His response came instantly.
"Sorry but my princess is waiting for me at home, so I'll be getting one for her." The girl went along, and Evie smiled at the camera telling Ben that Mal was going to love to know that he called her princess. Ben laugh could be heard in the video again, and then he said that he would love to be able to call her his Queen soon.
Mal blushed at the meaning behind his words, after seeing Harry she finally realized that her fears about Ben had no foundation and she was ready to let him know.
Notes
Happy new year! Sorry for the delay! Hope you like it. Thoughts?
