Mal snuggled closer to Ben on the couch. The moment they were alone, the boy picked her up bridal style, making her laugh, and sat on the sofa, making the girl sit on his legs so he could hug her and once in a while kiss her. Ben started asking her about her days on the island and how her arm was feeling with the cast, the girl told him how she felt like Evie and her went on the same page, and she was planning to go back to New York with her friend for a few days.
"The cast is annoying me, though. It doesn't really hurt but is making simple things more tedious. Evie is helping wrap it so I can shower, and she is going to help me wash my hair after you guys leave; at least I don't wash it every day, so it is not that annoying." Ben nodded and asked the girl if she wanted him to help her wash it now that they were alone. Mal smiled and told him that she was ok with waiting for Monday and then shared with him how she was finding it weird to send her footage to get edited. "I feel like my videos are not as personal as they used to be. Sure, they are still about me, and everything in it is something I would use, but I don't know; everything just feels odd, like seeing my life through someone else's eyes. I know it is dumb and that I have complete control over it. The one going up today is the last one with the Boston footage, and after that, I have enough footage so that I don't have to film today or tomorrow, but it is almost impossible to film without showing my cast. So, after the one going up today, Evie told me to post a picture of us with the cast and just put it out there. People will ask about what happened, and I can just say I had a bad fall without any details."
"You don't have to share details if you don't want to Mal, I understand that you share your life with your followers, but that doesn't mean you owe them an explanation about everything going on with you." The girl seemed uncomfortable with what he said, and Ben felt bad for a second; he knew from his experience with Jay that having boundaries with their followers wasn't easy. His friend honestly only managed to start having them after Lonnie came into his life, and Jay realized he wasn't comfortable sharing everything. "I understand it is not easy, and I appreciate that this is part of your life, but if something makes you feel bad, please consider that you are right not to share, no matter how curious your followers are."
Mal nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head against his shoulder, enjoying being close to Ben and wishing he could stay longer and not only for the weekend. Even though she knew they were lucky to find a reservation for Monday at a quarter to seven in the morning which was not usually available because people love staying as long as possible on the island, Mal hoped that Ben could have stayed longer with her. Still, Mal understood that he was busy with work. Ben kissed her head and asked her if she was ok; Mal turned and gave Ben a quick kiss on his lips and then asked him if he wanted to go outside and see the surroundings wishing to enjoy as much of their time together as possible. They walked around, every once in a while, Ben would twirl the girl around dancing without music or pull Mal into a hug, and they would kiss and stand enjoying being with each other; the girl wished that they would come back to the island in the future alone so they could have more time to explore.
Suddenly Evie calling Mal's name while running towards the couple startled them, and they turned to see the girl looking worried, making her way to where they were standing. The girl apologized to them before either of them could ask her what was going on. Evie explained that she was walking with Azis when they saw the couple acting all cute, so she decided to film them and share the video with Mal via IG. However, Evie didn't realize that after tagging the couple, instead of posting it to her close friend's list, out of habit, she actually posted it to her stories until Azis asked her to show him the video and saw where it was posted. "It was less than a minute Mal but it had some views and I took it down, but I'm not sure who saw it."
Ben asked Evie if she could show them the video, and when she did, he smiled. It was a short video of him twirling Mal, then hugging her, and them kissing; Ben liked the video and asked Evie to send it to him and then turned to see Mal looking at him with a weird expression on her face. "Are you ok with that being posted?" The girl's question confused Ben, so he told her that he was fine; they looked cute together; then he realized that her cast was shown and asked her if she was ok with that.
"Yeah, I mean that's not the way I was planning to share that I have a cast, but I'm more shocked with the fact that you are ok with us going public in this way. I haven't exactly shared that we are dating yet; I've implied it but not openly said it because I wasn't sure how much you wanted to share. I know we've talked about this before, but I was under the impression that even though you don't mind me telling my followers that we are together, you still wanted moments like this to remain private. Jay already posts about you guys going out, and you always say that people dm you whenever he shows you on her stories or post. Honestly, you seemed kind of annoyed with some comments." Ben looked at Mal like she had suddenly grown two heads and told her that he didn't usually post, but he was okay with Jay posting about him and what they did together.
"Well, sometimes I'm annoyed cause he loves posting embarrassing pics of me, which is not often cause I take good pictures, but still, people are weird sometimes." After saying that, he winked at her making her roll her eyes, although it was true because Mal had screenshot some pics, and she liked how he looked in them. "If you want to post about us, I'm fine with that. Hey, I would like to post a pic with you, but I've noticed you don't post about us, and I understand. You are the one that should decide when you want us to go public. Would I love for you to share videos of us like this one? As long as the moments are not created to be posted, sure. The only thing I wouldn't like is for us to manufacture moments for you to share." Mal smiled and then asked Evie to send her to post the story again so she could repost it. When she opened her IG and noticed several Dm's with the screenshot of Evie asking her about her relationship, she groaned. Well, at least Mal knew what her following Q&A was going to be about and possibly her next video. Evie smiled and posted the video, tagging both of them, and Mal reposted it to her stories getting ready to answer the questions that would come with it, but that was going to have to wait because she wanted to enjoy being with the boy. On the other hand, Ben decided to share it with his close friend list, where he usually posted most of the things he chose to share.
The couples spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the island and getting to know each other. By the time the girls were alone on Monday and Evie was helping Mal wash her hair, the girl couldn't help herself and asked her friend about her relationship with Azis. "Look, I think he is cute, and I enjoy talking to him. With that said, we live in different cities, and I'm not looking for a long-distance relationship or even a romantic relationship at all. Maybe in the future, if things progress, I could consider having something with him, but I don't want to try for now."
Mal understood but hoped that Evie was open to developing a relationship with Azis. She didn't know the boy a lot. Still, whenever she talked to him during their renovations or went out as a group, he was funny and honest, always making sure that she felt included in the activity and sharing stories about Ben and the group so she could understand the inside jokes. Also, when Ben talked about him and Ryder, the boy would share how trustworthy and loyal they were, making Mal think that he would be perfect for Evie. Time would tell if a relationship would develop between them and who would relocate if things got serious; sure, Mal was hoping Evie would but to think about that when neither of them seemed to be open to initiating something was ridiculous.
The week flew by; Evie helped Mal take pictures for her IG and filmed enough footage for the girl to have two videos from their time there. Now that everyone knew about her cast, she felt better about not posting her usual three videos a week and announced that, for the time being, she would go down to two. To make the announcement, though, Mal did a live with Evie one evening, and the number of questions about Ben made her wished they hadn't done it. Still, Evie being the amazing friend she was, managed to avoid almost all the questions except for two that were basically asking Mal if she was happy with Ben and if he was there with her.
When the girls made their way back to their original Airbnb, Mal sent a text to Ben telling him that she was back in the city and asking him if it was ok for her and Evie to go to the house and get some of her clothes for her trip to New York. Mal knew that it was weird for her to ask because she lives there too, but with Jay and Lonnie there, the girl felt like she should announce her intentions in case the trio had plans. Ben called her the moment he read the text and told Mal that it was her house too, and he felt a little sad that she felt like she needed permission to go. Mal told him the reason, and the boy told her that maybe she could send a text to Jay telling him when she was going, but there was no need to ask for permission. That's how the girls ended up going to the house at lunchtime and, with the help of Jay Mal, filmed a Hello Fresh sponsorship while Evie packed enough clothes for her friend to stay a week in New York.
They all share the food while talking about the city, and Jay told them that he is going back next weekend. "If you stay a couple of extra days, we can go out when I'm back. I'm planning on asking Lonnie to go with me for the weekend. You two could come back to Seattle together; we can even convince Ben to come. The best way is buying him a ticket without telling him, and then you asking him to come with us and me giving him the ticket."
Mal rolled her eyes at Jay, telling him that Ben wouldn't like him buying the ticket for him. "I know; that's why I'm going to do it before he says I can't," Jay said and winked at the girl while picking up the veggie burger they had made for Mal's sponsorship and giving it a big bite making both girls laughed.
The trio talked for a while until it was time for Jay to take the girls back to the apartment where they would stay until the following day when they would go to New York. Mal promised Jay that she was going to text Ben that she was staying in the city enough time to be able to come back to Seattle with Lonnie. Jay agreed to be the one to bring up the idea of Ben traveling with Lonnie and him next weekend when he picked up his friend after work. After dropping them off and saying their goodbyes, Jay went to pick up Lonnie, and he shared his conversations with Mal and Evie; his girlfriend immediately agreed to travel to the city with his boyfriend and was excited about the possibility of Ben joining them.
When the couple picked up Ben, the boy looked a little crestfallen about being left behind while all of them went to New York and Jay saw the perfect opportunity to tell Ben that he had bought him a ticket. The usual argument between the friends about Ben trying to pay Jay back and the boy saying no and threatening his friend to venmoing double the amount he sent him only stopped when they arrived at Mal's Airbnb. Evie opened the door, said hi to the trio, and told them she would pick up something from the corner store to snack on, so Jay and Lonnie decided to join her, leaving Ben to stay with Mal.
Mal made her way downstairs and hugged her boyfriend, asking him where the rest of the group was. Ben shared where they were and asked her if she knew that Jay had bought him a ticket to join the group in New York. "Jay told me that he was going back to New York next weekend and that we could see each other there if I was still there. Then she mentioned that he would ask Lonnie to come, and the idea of asking you came up. He mentioned buying the ticket, but aside from telling him that you would not like it, I had nothing to do with it. Ben, if you don't feel comfortable going, just don't. I'm coming back with Lonnie, and then we can go back to our routine, so please don't factor me into your decision to accept the ticket."
Ben nodded but didn't say anything about going or not going to New York with the group. Instead, he asked Mal about her last few days on the island, and she decided to tell him about the live, and all the adventured she and Evie had during their last few days. Then she asked Ben if he thought they could someday in the future go back to the island alone, and the boy smiled and kissed her. That's when their friends arrived, and Jay started messing with Ben making the boy laughed; the rest of the night went fast but when they were saying goodbye Ben told Mal that he would not accept the ticket.
"I'll see you when you get back, ok?" Mal nodded and kissed the boy assuring him that she would send him pics and asked him to text her recommendation for places to visit there.
While Mal was in New York, Ben told Jay that even though he appreciated the invite, he would not go. "Look, I rather not be in the city right now; you know my parents are there, and even though I don't have to go see them whenever I'm there, I rather not go."
Jay understood and asked Ben if he planned to go back for Thanksgiving like he did every year, but the boy hadn't decided yet. Mal sent him a picture of her arriving at Evie's apartment and sharing how she felt exhausted, so while her friend was going back to work that day, she was going to sleep. Later that day, Ben sent her a list of places he wanted to share with her, like his favorite bagel place, the spot he loved to sit and think, and little locations around the city that he hoped to show her one day, but he had promised to sent her the list, so he included them. When Mal asked him if he was ok with her going to all of them without him, Ben was honest and told her some that he wanted to share with her in person but others that he was ok with her going alone. From those places in the next few days, Mal started sending him pics of her favorite bagel from his place and then a photo of the place she liked when she visited Evie. They would talk daily, and by the time Lonnie made her way to New York with Jay, Ben regretted not going with them and going out with Mal in the city where he spent most of his life.
Time after that flew by, and soon Mal was coming back to Seattle, Ben wasn't able to pick up the girls, but he drove his car to the airport and hid the keys so they could use them to go back to the house. When they did, both girls sent him texts thanking him for the car and telling him that they were going to take a nap but that he should wake them up so they could eat together. Ben managed to get off work earlier than usual, and the moment he got to the house, he was about to make his way upstairs when Mal came downstairs running into his arms.
"I've missed you so much" These Were the last words both said to the other before they kissed.