Mal got to the house later after spending most of the afternoon with Maddie and telling her friends about her plans to leave Seattle for Austin for the next couple of months. Together they looked for friends that moved there and asked them for places to see and recommendations in case Ben could choose where he wanted to rent his apartment. All in all, Mal's excitement for moving to Austin with Ben grew exponentially in the few hours, and it almost came crashing down the second she saw Lonnie cooking without a care in the world. Were there supposed to leave her alone in the house? Mal felt guilty for not even thinking about the girl who would be left alone for that time.
Lonnie noticed Mal and smiled at her, but suddenly the smile dropped, and she ran almost to her side, asking her if she was ok. Mal nodded and told her she was just tired, and she had remembered then that she forgot a memory card at Miranda's, which was a lie, but she wasn't sure how to tell Lonnie she would be living alone for two months. Lonnie smiled at her and nodded assuring her that she understood, she had forgotten some things at work, but luckily, Ben was on his way and picking them up for her. Mal nodded, and Lonnie made her way back to the kitchen, sharing that dinner would be ready in an hour, so Mal had enough time to change before dinner.
The girl nodded and made her way to her room, where she sat in bed, wondering if it was wrong for her not to consider Lonnie's feelings before deciding to move away with Ben. Mal lay in her bed thinking until a knock on her door made her snap out of her thoughts, and she saw Ben walking into her room, asking her if she wanted him to go picked his memory cards from Miranda's place. Mal was confused for a second but then remembered the excuse she used with Lonnie and shook her head, asking Ben to come to sit with her so they could talk. Ben looked worried but nodded, and after closing the door, he made his way towards the bed and sat facing Mal.
After taking a deep breath, Mal shared what she did in Miranda's place, making Ben smile, but then she shared how worried she was about Lonnie and how she felt guilty about leaving her behind even though she really wanted to move to Austin with him. Ben nodded and, taking her hands, shared that the moment he received the news, he talked to Jay, and the boy said he would move to Seattle to be with Lonnie and her in case she stayed behind. "We both thought it would be best if he was here while I was away. He wanted to try living here in case Lonnie renews her contract next year, and this would be the best chance they'll have to try. I want you to move with me, but I understand that you have your own things to do, but still, I was hoping that at least you could be with me for a week or two."
Mal smiled and pulled him; she started kissing him, thinking how amazing it would be to experience a new city with him. Lonnie's voice broke the moment announcing that dinner was ready. Ben stood and offered his hand and asked Mal if she was prepared to have dinner, Mal smiled at the boy and told him to go ahead and she would join him in a couple of minutes. After he closed the door, she changed quickly and sent a voice note to Miranda telling her that she would need her help to prepare a surprise for Lonnie before her departure to Austin.
That night the three friends sat in the living room talking about their plans before the couple left for Austin, and they all agreed to have a little welcome dinner for Jay. Lonnie was excited to have her boyfriend with her and hoped that Jay would love Seattle as much as she loved living there; soon, she started talking about all the places she wanted to go with him and how fun it would be living together again. Mal was happy for Lonnie but told her to block a day before their departure to spend with her because she would miss her while in Austin, and Lonnie assured her the feeling was mutual. Ben looked at the girls, and a sense of happiness invaded him, knowing that the people he loved the most cared for each other. The trio stayed up late talking about their future, and they were all happy when they finally made their way to bed.
The next day Mal woke up in an empty house, and she decided to lay in bed enjoying her room; it was weird how her feelings for living there had changed. When she first moved in, Mal was planning to move out as soon as possible; at first, she rationalized being there because of the renovation, and although there were still plenty of things that could be renovated, she was no longer pushing to do them all at once. The girl enjoyed living there; having Ben and Lonnie as support gave the place a sense of hominess that she hadn't felt in years. Also, the house was beautiful, and she could see how it would look after everything was done.
Ben was also a big reason for her not wanting to move out, it wasn't the first time she had lived with a boyfriend, but it was different with him. They decided when to share a room, and the boy was big in giving her space not only in the house but when making plans which she loved. Nothing with Ben felt like an obligation, and she never felt pressured into reciprocating anything which was new for her in a relationship. Mal's thoughts continued to focus on the boy, how she felt about the growth of their relationship, and how excited she was to move with him. Suddenly Mal wondered if maybe she was making a mistake following him when he was going to be more focused on work than on her.
She decided to see if Evie had time to talk, but she sent her a voice note telling her what she thought. The response came a couple of minutes later. "That sounds good. Have fun"
Mal thought about it for a second and realized that Evie was right; Ben was always going to work in an office, which meant that he needed to focus on his job during the day, and they would do things together in the afternoon or on weekends. For the rest of the day, the girl decided to make a list of things she needed to do before leaving for Austin, things she needed to pack, and made her appointment to get her cast off hopefully. She then wrote an email to her manager telling them about how she was relocating for a couple of months, and they asked for a meeting that afternoon.
Ben and Lonnie made their way back home later than usual that day, finally getting ready to relax after a long day of work. When they arrived, they noticed the house was dark, and they wondered if Mal had gone to sleep earlier than usual until the door opened behind them, and a tired-looking Mal walked, asking them if they could help her get some things from the car. Ben nodded and walked out with her, Lonnie followed, and while the boy picked up to big boxes, the girl helped with three medium bags while Mal carried three smaller ones.
"Sorry, but my manager asked me to come, and they told some brands to send them the PR packages in case there were some problems with me receiving them here. I told them they should have sent them to me after talking to me last time, but apparently, they wanted to ensure I got them." Mal finished saying with a huff, and Ben apologized for creating the situation. "You did nothing wrong, Ben. You and Lonnie helped me do all the prep work for the video, it is just that they have this new executive, and she thinks that she can pressure me into doing more unboxings so she can negotiate more brand deals. I already told my manager that I wouldn't be doing more than I usually am cause I don't want my followers to feel like I'm constantly pushing products, and they seemed to understand. If she tries to push this again, maybe it is time for me to look for another manager."
Ben felt guilty even though Mal assured him again that this had nothing to do with him. Then changed the conversation about what they should do for dinner, and in the end, they ordered food and went on to change into something more comfortable. The second Mal changed, she knocked on the boy's door asking him if they could talk; Ben agreed, and they went downstairs to talk while waiting for the food.
"I was wondering if you can choose where you are staying in Austin, or they will rent it for you?" Ben told her they had given him a budget, but he was in charge of renting it, and he could see how happy Mal was about that, so he asked her if she needed to know the budget. "Yes, please, I have some alternatives, and I wanted to see some of them with you in case we get to choose where we are staying."
Ben pulled the girl towards him and kissed her, delicate at first but then deepening the kissing while making sure that there was no space between them. Mal put her hands around his neck and played with the hair on the back of his neck, making the boy shiver. They stayed like that until the doorbell announced the arrival of their food, making them reluctantly stop. Taking a couple of calming breaths, the couple separated while Ben made his way towards the door; Mal started to put take the utensils and plates, getting the table ready. Lonnie came down quickly, asking what she could do to help. Soon the trio was setting down, and Lonnie asked Mal if she was planning anything special to do in Austin and told the couple how maybe Jay and she would be visiting them.
That made the couple smile at the prospect of sharing this new adventure with their friends. Once again time flew by in conversations about their day to day and their plans, Ben said goodnight at one point, leaving the girls to continue talking and sharing stories about their past. The friendship that was growing between them had surprised both of them. Sure, both knew they liked each other since meeting, but after spending time together, Mal started considering Lonnie an important person in her life and hoped to integrate her more with the rest of her friends.
Days turned into weeks between planning their trip and finishing some projects Mal needed before traveling; the weekend before leaving Seattle came sooner than expected. Jay was supposed to get to the city on the same day they were leaving; they were going to drive Ben's car to the airport and gave the keys to Jay when he arrived and they departure. The boy tried to come earlier but spending two months out of his home left him with a tight timeframe for some projects he was finishing.
Lonnie and Mal spent that Saturday together, leaving Ben alone to finish packing what he needed to take with him, which was perfect for the boy. They did a spa day and then joined Mal's friend for drinks; Lonnie loved most of the girls and talked about getting together while Mal was out of the city. By the time they made their way back to the house, it was already two in the morning and both girls were exhausted; walking upstairs Lonnie went into her room while Mal went into Ben's room, wanting to see if there was a chance he was awake. Sadly he was asleep, but she noticed his suitcases in the corner, and happiness again invaded her with the prospect of their new adventure.
Suddenly something came to mind that made her curse loudly. Carlos's birthday celebration. She had forgotten his friend's birthday was next weekend which would be their first one in Austin. How could she have forgotten that? Jane had texted her with the date and address of the restaurant they were going to and told her that she would be confirmed with her the time they needed to be there. Mal had planned to tell them then about her trip, but how she never realized they would be in Austin was beyond her. Her excitement had clouded her capacity to realize it, and now she wasn't sure what to do; ok, if she was being honest, she knew what to do.
Shaking Ben, a little Mal started calling his name to wake him up; Ben woke up slowly, confused about what was happening, and asked the girl if she was ok. Mal nodded, and taking her shoes off, she proceeded to lay on the bed next to him, making the boy move as to lay on his side and look at her. She then went on to share with him her realization and how she was now staying for that week to go to Carlos's birthday. "Well, I think you realized it now and not when you were there already, so no harm done."
"I had so many plans for our first week there. Well, mainly to put things in order and walk you to work your first day, just little dumb things like that." She looked so defeated that Ben was tempted to tell her to go with him and call Carlos to apologize, but he knew that was wrong, so he didn't.
"I promise not to put anything away, and even if I take things out to change because it would be weird to wear the same clothes for a week, I will put them back in the suitcase before you come." Mal laughed at how ridiculous he was and told him he better put everything away but not buy groceries so they could go together when she arrived, and he agreed.
Two days after Ben went to the airport alone and met Jay, the boys managed to talk for a few minutes before needed to go ahead, promising to see each other soon in Austin. Mal used the extra week in Seattle to film a couple of things to do a video comparing the cities and make sure to help Jane with Carlos's celebration as much as possible. The boy had a great celebration, and when Ben called him, they promised to go out when he was back in Seattle as a belated birthday. The day after the party, Jay took Mal to the airport, and the girl couldn't contain her excitement to start this new adventure finally.