At the house, Jay told Lonnie that he wanted to talk to Mal about their project before taking a nap. Then he asked Lonnie if he could speak to Mal in their room because he knew Ben was nosy and they needed privacy to plan the videos. Ben, who was looking at his phone, rolled his eyes at his friend, telling him that it was his house and wanting to know about the project wasn't being nosy, then he announced that he was going out so if they wanted they could use the couch and then walked out of the house. Lonnie was surprised by Ben's abrupt exit; he definitely didn't have any plans with his friends because both of them were excited to spend the day with Jay since they would be going to work during the week.
Jay seemed less taken aback than Lonnie while announcing to the girls that he would take a quick shower and then he would come back downstairs so they could plan the videos with Mal. Once the girls were alone, Mal took her phone out and texted Ben asking him if everything was ok, while Lonnie called his phone, but neither of them got an answer. "I don't know if I'm wrong, but did Ben get upset because of Jay's comments? I know that I told him I was going to check everything with him, so I don't want him to think that now that Jay is here, I'm going to ignore him."
Lonnie saw how upset Mal was getting and assured the girl that Ben didn't think that, and maybe Ryder or Azis texted him asking for help, and he was making his way to see them. Both girls looked at each other and nodded, trying to convince themselves that the situation was as simple as that and that Ben was ok. Jay came down twenty minutes later and saw both girls sitting on the couch with worried expressions on their faces and asked them what was going on. Lonnie told him that they were thinking about Ben leaving the house when they knew he didn't have any plans and wondered if he was upset about his comments. Jay rolled his eyes and, taking his phone out, called Ben, but the call went straight to voicemail, and the boy ended the call.
"I think he just went to see his friends Lonnie. Ben knows I kid around, and he also knows that I'm staying for a while, so there is no need for him to spend every single minute of his free time with me." Lonnie nodded but still looked at her phone, wishing the boy would answer her call; soon though the three were looking into their plans, Mal again told Jay that they couldn't do the bathroom renovation yet. The boy assured her that he would have the money soon enough and that Ben would give the ok for the project as soon as he explained his reasoning, but Mal doubted it. Four hours later, when they were getting ready to order something to eat after finalizing their planning and editing some footage, Mal's phone beeped and she saw a new text from Ben. She opened it and was reading when Lonnie's phone came to live, and the girl launched herself at it, saying hello to Ben asking him if he was ok.
Jay looked at Mal and then at Lonnie realizing that Ben had answered both girls, and both of them looked calmer, part of him was worried about his friend's reaction, but he knew that Ben wouldn't get annoyed with him, so there had to be another reason. After answering the call, Lonnie had turned her back at him so Jay couldn't see her expression, but he was sure that Ben was ok because Lonnie would have said something if that wasn't the case.
Lonnie ended the call and came to sit next to him, and Mal's phone pinged again, and the girl walked out of the room. Jay turned to Lonnie, and she explained that Ben was helping Azis and Ryder with some things at their apartment and that he didn't see the call and texts before because he had silenced his cellphone at brunch. "The only reason he noticed Azis text is that he had the phone in his hand when we arrived. Ben says that they are doing some work there and that he will be back later and not to worry."
Jay nodded and smiled, kissing Lonnie on her temple, and then went on to talk to her about his plans. Meanwhile, Mal spoke to Ben, making sure that the boy was not mad about his friends' comments. Mal felt better the second she heard the boy chuckle while assuring her that he knew Jay's sense of humor and that everything was just a series of coincidences. "I'm going to be back late, so feel free to plan anything you see fit. Pretty sure Jay is going to do whatever he wants, so don't feel bad about it."
Ben made it to the house at midnight after having a long conversation with his friends about his plan to talk to Mal about his feelings. They agreed that Ben needed to ask the girl out on a friend date first to get to know her more; maybe he would realize that he just saw the side of her that made him think they would be compatible as more than friends but going out with his mind set in finding out more about the girl would give him the clarity he sought.
Ben made a beeline to the refrigerator as soon as he got in, where he hoped to find something cool to drink before bed. He opened the door, and the refrigerator's light showed him how his kitchen cabinets were now without doors, making him sigh.
"I was planning on sending you a picture, but Jay convinced me that it was better that you saw it for yourself." Mal's voice startled him for a second, and then Ben turned and saw the girl that was starting to stand up from the couch where he assumed she had been sleeping. Mal asked the boy how his day was, and Ben, who was taking a sip of water, told her that it was great; they did some work around Azis and Ryder's place and then played video games and talked. The girl smiled and said that she was glad to hear that he had a great time and shared with him all the work done that day and the plans for tomorrow.
"So you are going to be very busy these next few days then." Mal nodded and assured him that she was excited about the renovations; she had always dreamed of renovating a kitchen like his. Then she asked him if he wanted to see her design boards, and even though the boy had already seen them several times, he nodded happily to see how excited the girl was about sharing her thoughts with him. They stayed talking at the kitchen island for an hour, and Ben was shocked to see that Mal had more changes than before and even included the possibility of a new island.
Mal noticed how shocked Ben was and assured him that she would make sure that everything was within the budget and he didn't need to worry about any extra expenses. The boy smiled at her and told Mal that he trusted her and his surprise was just because it was impressive to see how beautiful everything was going to turn out. The girl smiled and couldn't help the blush that came to her cheeks at Ben's compliment and how he was looking at her. Clearing her throat Mal decided it was time for her to go to sleep and she asked Ben if he was going to stay downstairs; Ben shook his head and before Mal could step on the stairs, once again asked her if she was going to have long days next week.
Mal found the question weird but excitement started building in her and she told Ben that it wouldn't be long days; she would be free at the usual hour. Also, she was sure that Jay would take a day off after they painted everything so they could do two coats before putting everything back where it belonged. Ben smiled at that and decided that this was his chance to ask her out, so he did.
At first, Mal wasn't sure they were making plans for only the two of them, but Ben made it clear that this was a date, and the girl smiled broadly, making him feel more secure about the situation. They chose Wednesday as the night they were going out and then walked upstairs together in silence, both of them smiling, replaying their conversation in their minds. The next day Ben woke up smiling; after his conversation with Mal, he went into his room and changed ready to get into bed, just to find Jay sleeping on his bed. Ben chuckled, gently pushing Jay towards one side of the bed waking his friend up.
"Don't you have work tomorrow? Is this an adequate time for you to go to sleep?. I think you are not thinking of morning Ben right now." Jay said lazily while he made sure to make it impossible for Ben to get in bed. The boy laughed and told Jay to get out of his bed or he was going to ask Lonnie for help, and they both knew Lonnie didn't appreciate people waking her up before she was ready. That was enough for Jay to move, leaving space for Ben to lay next to his friend, asking him why he was there; soon enough, they were talking about what happened after the boy left that afternoon. Ben apologized to Jay for making the afternoon awkward for them and then went on to share with Jay his plans with Mal just for his friend to punch him playfully in the arm, congratulating him for making a move.
Morning came quickly Ben and Lonnie made their way to work, leaving their friends to go on with their projects; they had agreed that they were not going to eat at the house, so they made plans to meet at a restaurant at night. When they arrived, Jay kissed Lonnie while Mal and Ben hugged while whispering that she looked beautiful. The couples talked and enjoyed their meal; Mal and Jay took photos of the food and some of the scenery and posted them; soon, their followers realized that they were together, and when Jay posted a pic of him with Ben and Lonnie at his side, people in Mals dms went crazy.
The conversation continued until Lonnie stood up to go to the bathroom, and Mal went with her; Jay took this chance to show Ben a TikTok he saw yesterday. However, the moment he took his phone out, he noticed the number of dms he had on IG asking him to do the are you new here TikTok trend with Mal and he loved the idea. The moment the girls came back, Jay showed Mal the dms making her laugh and she was up to do the trend with them but asked them to do the same with her on the house, but this time, the new one will be Ja,y and the group agreed. After Jay upload the Tiktok, the messages poured in; he noticed most of them were saying that Ben and Mal were for sure dating and that's why the girl was the new one in the group. Some of the messages were tagging Mal and Jay wondered if she would post something else with them; he noticed that even though Ben appeared in the first videos, she never posted only him or of them without Lonnie.
When he talked to Ben, the boy shared how they spent most of their nights downstairs together playing, and Jay started checking her social media, and Mal would sometimes post pics of the board game or the tv but never of Ben. Jay didn't think that was weird; he even thought it was nice to see that the girl had a way to keep her private life outside the internet; he remembered Mal's ex-boyfriend and how he would keep posting with the girl making a lot of people wondered if the relationship was made up. After they finished eating, Jay asked the group to join him in a walk around the city before making their way home; of course, it began with them walking as couples but it soon turned into Jay and Ben being goofy. Lonnie was the perfect ig girlfriend and kept taking pics of the boys, and Mal saw one where both boys stood tall, giving the camera a smirk that had the girl hoping Wednesday came earlier this week. Then Jay asked her if she could take a couple of pictures of the three of them, and Mal nodded excitedly to help them out; Ben told Jay that Mal should be in the pics and he could take them, but his friend said to him that they were taking several of all of them, but he wanted a couple with just the three of them. Mal told Ben not to worry and that she loved taking pictures, so she was up for the challenge but noticed Ben looking uncomfortable in most of them.
Even though it was sweet of him to want her in the pics, he ruined the ones she was taking, and Mal hated that. She asked the friends to stop for a second and Ben to join her because she wanted him to see the pics. Mal explained that if he wanted her in the pics, maybe he should make an effort on these because she wouldn't stop taking them until there were good ones. Ben was going to say something, but Mal told him that it was normal for Jay to want some pics with his friends, and then the group could get some together, assuring him that she wasn't feeling left out about the situation. Now, however, she felt terrible about his attitude because they had been having fun before this; Ben nodded and said sorry to her and then turned to say the same to the couple.
The couple said they should take a couple of group photos and forget the trio ones for that day. At that moment, a couple of girls came near the group to say hi to Mal, asking her for pics with her. The girl excused herself from the group and went to talk with the girls for a few minutes and then take a couple of pictures. After that, she asked the group if it was ok with them to go back to the house because she felt tired and wanted to sleep. They all agreed that it was late and went back to the restaurant to get the car and made their way back home; on the ride, Mal and Lonnie sat on the back, and both girls fell asleep.
That gave the boys a chance to talk, and Ben told Jay that he was sorry about ruining the moment, but Jay assured him that they were ok and that it was normal that he reacted like that. "Mal is tired; just focus on what you are going to do on your date on Wednesday."