Tuesday morning found Ben waiting until the last possible minute to get to work in hopes of seeing Mal, but the girl never made it downstairs. The boy wondered if maybe he should call her to ask if she was still up for their day, but it was Tuesday, and then he decided that he would ask her that night when they saw each other. In the end, Ben didn't make it to the restaurant where the group was going to eat that day because he needed to finish something at his job. He could have made it, but he wanted to be sure that he would make it to their date the next day, so he worked late and got home at midnight. The moment he got into the house, he turned to see if maybe Mal was sleeping on the couch like the day he asked her out, but she wasn't there, and his heart sank a little.
He got upstairs and was about to get into his room when he noticed a post-it on his door that said to wake up Mal when he arrived because she wanted to plan their date. Ben saw his phone, and it was midnight, and wondered if it was ok for him to knock on the girl's door, but as he was deciding what to do, Mal's door opened. Ben turned and saw the girl standing at her door with her pj's looking at him. "I'm sorry I wasn't sure it was a good time for me to wake you up, so I was thinking of maybe knocking on your door tomorrow morning."
Mal nodded, but Ben could see that the girl wasn't exactly sure that he wasn't ignoring her note. With that in mind, the boy told her that he stayed at work late to make sure that he would be free tomorrow for the date. "I was thinking you can choose where we go, and I get to choose where we eat."
"Are you sure? Because if you are busy, we can reschedule the date, don't worry." Ben shook his head and took Mal's hands in his asking her to please go on a date with him that night as they had planned before that moment. Mal nodded and asked him if there was something he disliked doing so she could have a clear idea of where they could go, and Ben told her to plan something she liked because he was up for new experiences. Also, he asked if she had any allergies because he wouldn't want her to have an issue when they may end up going. Mal told him that she didn't have any allergies, and she too was open to new experiences, so her only request was to go to a place he liked to eat and not some fancy place he had never been before just to impress her.
Ben agreed that this was an excellent opportunity to know more about each other and what they like to do. They said goodnight after Mal told him that she would meet him outside his office the next day at six so they could go on their date and ask for his address. Wednesday flew for Ben, and at ten to six, he was walking out of his office ready to wait for Mal, who was waiting outside for him and was shocked to see him earlier than expected. Ben couldn't help but smile at the girl looking at her phone at first and then looked confused but happy to see him; he leaned and kissed her cheek, asking her how her day was. Mal took Ben's hand, and while they started walking, she started telling him about everything that went on in their house, making the conversation fluid between them. First, they walked towards a beautiful outdoor fair where several little places sell handmade things. Mal told Ben that she was looking for some things to decorate the living room, and together they started to look for something that felt perfect for their space. A couple of street artists were singing while another group was dancing on the other side of the fair; they saw part of the shows and left money for the artists.
They found a girl selling beautiful plates and other clay things, and they were deciding which ones they should get when Ben's alarm startled them. The boy was shocked that it was already close to eight and told Mal that their reservations were at eight, and sadly they weren't near the restaurant, so they needed to start their way to the restaurant. Mal asked the girl for her contact to see more of her work, promising her to come another day to purchase some things. Ben apologized to Mal for having to go, and the girl smiled, telling him that eight was a perfect time for him to get the reservation; she honestly didn't think they would get so lost on their quest for cute things for the house.
As they were making their way out of the market to get a taxi, Mal saw the most beautiful bracelet and was tempted to ask Ben to stop so she could get it. Sadly the boy didn't notice her interest, and before she could ask, he told her that the uber was waiting for them at the corner. Mal nodded and made a mental note to return for the bracelet, and even took her phone out and took a quick picture. That made Ben pay attention at the booth, and he asked her if she wanted to stop and get something from it, but Mal pulled him towards the corner, assuring him that it was ok and that they shouldn't make the Uber wait.
Finally, at the restaurant, Ben asked Mal about the picture, and she showed him the booth and told him about the bracelet; the boy felt bad about not noticing it because maybe someone would get the bracelet before she could. Mal assured him that it was ok and that she enjoyed their time at the fair and asked him what he thought about the things they saw there for the house. The conversation was easy, and soon Ben asked her more about her upbringing, and Mal opened up about her start in the vlogger world and how it was all due to her mother. Ben told Mal how sorry he was about everything she went through with her mother, then made sure to tell her how impressed he was with the way she handled everything and found her calling as an influencer. Mal, who usually didn't share the true story about her start, got a little emotional at how Ben said all those things and reached for her hand, making sure to hold it while staring at her conveying how he felt for her at that moment.
Mal cleared her throat and opened up more about her childhood, it was weird for her to talk about this, but there was something in Ben that made her want to share all those stories with him so he could understand her more. It wasn't only sad stories but little anecdotes that made her be the way she was. Evie was one of the main characters; even though he could sense that their friendship was solid, he was shocked to hear that more than one boy had made friends distant themselves for a short time. The first one was Nick, Evie's high school boyfriend apparently, he didn't like to be out of the loop on what the girls were doing, so after Mal managed to break herself from her mother's power, Evie put distance between them so that Nick wouldn't find out what was happening with her friend. That relationship was short because the girl soon realized that Nick wanted to be her main focus, and Evie didn't like his clinginess.
Then came Chad, Mal's first serious relationship and the only guy Evie thought was clueless about how annoying he was. Mal met him at a concert, and soon enough, they were going out every week; Evie, at this point, was getting ready to move to New York and study fashion, but she could see how Chad was more like a buddy than a boyfriend for Mal. The girl was shocked when Mal told her that they were officially together and shared her concerns about the relationship with Mal. Mal shared with Chad Evie's concerns, and from that moment on, the boy didn't like Evie. With the distance and the difference in times, it was easy for the boy to monopolize Mal's time and make it harder for the girls to connect. They stayed together for a year, then Chad met a model, and they clicked. He broke up with Mal via text while out of town with his new girlfriend making the girl wonder what happened to them.
While Mal was with Chad, Evie met Doug. He was the sweetest boy the girl had ever known, and she was fast to fall for him; they weren't in the same program, but the boy was always there when Evie needed to vent. The relationship consumed both of their time, and when their first anniversary came, they decided to move in together. Mal was the one that had concerns now for her friend, but Evie was happy, which was the only thing the girl wished for her friend. Doug liked Mal, but he was always including himself in the girls' plans; even when they facetime, he would close and make some comment in their conversation. Mal tried to tell Evie how uncomfortable that made her feel, but the girl got mad, and their communication went down; finally, Mal decided that she could live with that if it meant that Evie was happy.
When Evie and Doug celebrated their third year together, Mal met Shane and decided that she would make the relationship work no matter the cost. After years of watching Evie and Doug become one person, she yearned to have that type of connection, so her longest relationship began. By the end of her second year with Shane, the girl couldn't deny that even though she felt content to have someone always there for her, a part of her that wasn't happy. Their relationship was extremely public; Shane was an influencer just like Mal, but he was always eager to show their followers how great their relationship was; the girl got to the point that she was sure that his gifts or little surprises were just for content.
One particular night when he asked her to come to his apartment to do something, Shane surprised her with a candlelight dinner, but after she thanked him, he paused his camera and asked her to come in again because she wasn't as excited enough. That weekend when Shane went with him on a brand trip, Mal flew to New York to see Evie; she was shocked not to see Doug there at first, and then Evie shared that they broke up the night before. Finally, the lack of space had gotten to Evie, and she just wanted to be alone and get to know herself again and not always try to act as Doug wanted. That gave Mal the strength to call Shane and break up with him; the boy assured her that they would lose followers and that it wasn't the right choice for them now that they were close to December and many brands wanted to work with them. That sealed it for the girl who broke up with him and posted the news in her IG stories, as Evie suggested if the boy tried to sell a narrative that painted her in a bad light.
Ben was shocked to hear how shallow Shane was, and Jay's voice telling him about Mal's relationship looking fake came to mind. By the time Mal finished her stories, they had finished their dessert, and the waiter brought their bill, telling them that they were closing soon. That seemed odd until they checked their phones and noticed it was almost midnight; they paid the bill and gave a big tip to the waiter apologizing for the amount of time they had spent there. The cold air hit them when they got out of the restaurant, and Ben asked for an Uber to make their way home; soon, they were getting into the car in comfortable silence.
Once at the house, Mal told Ben that she had a great time and apologized for monopolizing the conversation, assuring him that she didn't usually share so much, but he made it easy for her to open up. Ben was glad to hear that she was comfortable sharing her stories with him and told her how much he enjoyed spending that time with her. Mal decided to take the initiative and asked him on a date on Friday so Ben could share his stories with her, and Ben eagerly accepted.
That Friday, the couples went out on their dates but agreed to meet up later in the night to go to a bar and share some time. Ben and Mal reluctantly cut their alone time to meet Jay and Lonnie but ended up having a great time together. Jay took pics but didn't post anything, not wanting to put pressure on Mal to post things that would make her followers ask her about Ben.
The renovations went on without problems, and every week, Ben and Mal would make sure to go on a date together. Jay went away after finishing the kitchen renovations and renovating the upstairs bathroom shower; he promised to come back in May to complete the bathroom renovation while Mal was finishing the spare room. Evie ended up pushing back her visit until June to free Mal to do things slower and spend more time with Ben and get to know each other. One night when they decided to stay in instead of going out for their weekly date, they watched a movie on their couch when Mal started throwing Ben popcorn to annoy him. Ben laughed most of the time but then told her to stop or he would tickle her; the girl smirked and threw another one at Ben.
One second she was smug looking at the boy, and the next, Ben was on top of her tickling her, making the girl burst into laughter. It took Mal seconds to plea for the boy to stop, and as he was about to move, Ben couldn't help but stay over the girl, fixated on how close their lips were. Mal seemed to read his mind because, putting her hand on his neck, she closed the space between them, and they kissed. Slowly both got lost in the kiss; whenever one stopped, the other would initiate the next kiss, they started with Ben over Mal, but the boy quickly moved them, not wanting to make the girl uncomfortable with his weight on top of her.
They kissed for a while, and when they finally stopped, they just smiled at each other it was like both of them needed that kiss to reassure them that they were moving forward to a more serious relationship. When they went to sleep, she spent several minutes replaying the kiss, and when Mal was finally closing her eyes, her phone beeped. It took everything in her not to go to Ben's room and kiss him again. The boy had sent her a text asking her if she wanted to be his girlfriend with a blushing face, Mal sent a, yes, and the moment the message appeared as delivered, there was a knock on her door. Mal opened the door to a smiling Ben, who leaned and kissed her again while he repeated the question telling her that he just wanted to hear her say it making her roll her eyes.
As an influencer, Mal shared her life online, and the girl was nervous to tell her followers about Ben; she didn't want people to start following him and making assumptions about their relationship. That night they both dreamed of the kiss and the future that waited for them now that they were officially together, with Ben being excited and Mal apprehensive but hopeful.