Lonnie decided that going back to the house would only make Ben focus that Mal was gone, so instead, she called Azis and Ryder so they could join them, and they spent the day going around the city. She started posting pictures of the group, and Jay called them, and soon Ben was talking with his friend sharing how he was feeling about Mal's departure after what happened the day before. After they ended the call, Ben went back to the group, and even though he was always wondering how Mal's flight was going, he managed to enjoy himself with his friends.

The group ended their day in a bar with board games, and they decided to play shot Jenga; they chose not to stay late because it was Sunday. Two hours later, Shelby appeared there and said hello to the group, acting a little too shocked to see them there. Everyone said hello and they noticed the girl stay standing alone there, and they ended up asking her if she wanted to join them, to which she agreed immediately and made sure to stand next to Ben, asking him if they could share his chair as a joke. The boy stood up and went to ask for a chair to the tables near them; finally, one let him have a chair, and he came back and put it next to Lonnie and sat there. He wasn't drunk, but he had a buzz, and Ben knew that if Shelby tried to tell him something about Mal, he would not have his usual filter, so he decided that the space between was for her protection.

Lonnie then took a quick video of the group, showing how Shelby was at one side of the table and Ben on the other. She knew Shelby liked the boy and wasn't sure what her plan was appearing suddenly when she knew that he was in a relationship. Lonnie checked her stories and noticed that Shelby had seen all of them, which made her suspicious feel more valid; she then sat down, and after signaling Ben, she took a selfie of them doing funny faces and sent it to her close friends' list that now included Mal.

Shelby was taken aback when Ben sat away from her and tried to initiate a conversation with him, but it was impossible to do that in the middle of the group that was joking with each other about their lack of Jenga skills. Finally, it was Ben's turn to take a piece out, and Shelby thought this was her opportunity to have a moment with him and stood to cheer him on but moved the table, making the tower go down. Azis laughed and told Ben that he needed to take a shot because the tower fell on his turn; Ben was about to flip him off when Shelby told everyone that it was her fault and Ben didn't need to drink. "That's not fair; he didn't do anything. I'll do it for you, Ben, no worries."

The boys looked at her and were about to tell her that they were joking when Ben's phone rang; he turned to look at the screen displaying a picture of Mal making him smile. Without saying a word, he picked up the shot, drank it, flipped Azis smiling, and then turned away from the group and answered while making his way outside.

"Mal, I'm glad you call. How did the flight go?" His smile and excitement were evident in his voice, and the girl reciprocated. They talked for a couple of minutes, and then she told him about her flight and how she was waiting for her ride at the airport. Mal told him how much she enjoyed seeing Lonnie's stories, especially the last pic she shared. Ben assured her that even though he had a great time, he missed having her there with him.

"I know Ben, and I'm happy that you have a good time with your friends. We can go to that bar when I go back because I'm way better at Jenga than all of you." The girl ended her phrase laughing, making the boy smile, assuring him that he was sure of that. Suddenly Mal told the boy that she needed to end the call because her ride was near. "I'll send you a text when I'm settled at the hotel, but it might be a while because sometimes I have to go to a reception or small get-together with other creators first. Have fun and say thanks for the pictures to Lonnie from me."

The boy made his way back to the table with a huge smile, and Azis and Ryder smiled at his friend; they knew how worried Ben was about Mal leaving, but today proved to them that the boy could handle the distance. Lonnie stood and announced that it was almost nine, and they needed to get on their way because they needed to eat something before going back home. "Monday's are hard enough; I don't need a hangover to add to it."

The boys agreed and went to pay the tab; Shelby looked disappointed that she had almost no time with Ben and told everyone that she knew a good place where they could eat something. Ben thanked her but said that they were just going to pick something to go on their way home, and soon enough, they were saying their goodbyes and making their way to the house. Ben looked at his phone, remembering that Mal was three hours behind now and hoped the girl could rest after the long flight; at eleven, he was falling asleep when his phone beeped with a text from her. He opened the text and read how the girl was finally in her room and had just ordered dinner.

Ben sat up, and after checking that his hair wasn't a mess, he facetime her. Mal smiled at the boy asking him how his day ended, and he answered by sharing how much he wanted to be with her. The alcohol had left him feeling more sentimental, and the girl noticed it from the start; Mal smiled at him, telling him that she wanted that too, but time would fly, and they would be together soon. Then she changed the subject not wanting the boy to feel sad and their conversation continued for an hour until Ben fell asleep.

Monday found Ben oversleeping and getting in trouble at his office; the boy had a horrible day, although all the problems at his job made it impossible for him to think about Mal being away. By the time he made his way home, they had only sent two texts, and he hadn't been able to see any of her IG's stories, so he could at least see her. Lonnie was waiting for Ben in their kitchen, and they ate together, making small talk about their day and how exhausted they both felt. That night he sent a goodnight text to Mal and went to sleep, sharing with her how he needed to get to his office early the next day. That week was packed with work, and even though he missed Mal every day, Ben felt a little better each day knowing that she was having a great time and that by him staying late at the office, he wasn't missing time with her.

The weekend came, and Ben woke up to his doorbell ringing constantly. The boy made his way downstairs and found Lauren and Joshua standing at his door, looking apologetic about waking him. Then they asked him if he could help them plan Emily's birthday celebration, their dad had to go out of town, and he would be back on that day, but they needed help buying everything for it. Lonnie came in from the yard and asked what was happening, and then they all decided to make a plan and several lists of things they needed to buy and people they were going to invite. The group agreed that it would be easier to have the party at Ben's place because they could store everything they bought without needing to hide it, but they could also do some signs and decorate without Emily knowing.

Ben went to Emily's house asking her if he could take the kids out, and she agreed, knowing that the boy was probably sad without Mal being there. Her grandkids have heard about the girl leaving and told their grandma that they wanted to help Ben be distracted, which wasn't a lie but obviously not the entire truth.

With that, they started preparing for the party, which would be two weeks away. Ben shared with Mal what was going on when she facetime him while they were at Target; the kids took the phone from him, and told the girl their plan, and asked her to show them where she was. Ben rolled his eyes at how excited they got to see Mal when they were supposed to be closer to him because of the amount of time they knew him. After Ben took his phone back, he asked Mal how her day was going, and she shared how much she was enjoying her time there and how beautiful everything was. Then she asked him if he had seen her posts and he admitted that he never got around to it because of work, and the twenty-four-hour deadline didn't give him a chance to go back and look at them now that he was free.

Mal told him that she would send him some that she wanted to share with him and then a knock on her door came, and they said their goodbyes. The weekend went by without them having another chance to talk, and Mal realized that even though she had a lot of activities planned during the day, in the back of her mind, she constantly wished to know more about the boy's day. The following week was easier at work for Ben, but his after-work hours were spent coordinating the invitations for Emily's party and founding transportations for the woman's friends to be able to attend.

When Mal left Hawaii and went to her next stop, Vancouver, she dreaded the long flight. She called Ben early that Monday and found the boy in the middle of his lunch hour, he was in a deli with his friends eating, but the second she called, he walked out of the restaurant to talk to her. They talked for a while until Azis and Ryder came out with a to-go bag for him, telling the boy that it was time to go back to the office. Ben nodded and continued to talk to Mal until he was required to join a meeting, and they agreed to speak on Thursday when the girl would have a free night. Sadly, earlier that day, Mal sent a text to Ben telling him that she wasn't going to be able to talk to him because a brand was inviting her to a store opening and she needed to make an appearance, and she wasn't sure when she would be able to leave.

That weekend, Ben spent it with Lauren and Joshua helping them in the mornings, and in the afternoons, he went to play video games with Azis and Ryder. He would always check his IG and texts to answer Mal whenever she posted or sent him pictures or wrote about her day. He was sad that they couldn't Facetime, but he understood that she usually hung out with people like now she was staying with one of her friends who moved there last year. The following week was busy at work and finalizing all the purchases that needed to be done before the party and ensuring that all the transportation was secure, which took a lot of his time.

Lauren and Joshua spent Friday night at Ben's place, arranging everything they had managed to get ready for the party; Lonnie and Ben were exhausted when the kids finally left to go back home. Ben could barely make it to his bed before falling asleep; at three am, when his phone rang, the boy almost fell out of bed from the shock. He looked for the phone, wondering what was going on, not really paying attention to who was calling him. The second he heard her voice, Ben was instantly awake and asked Mal if she was ok, wishing he was near her if she needed help.

A second later, though, he calmed down when he realized the girl was drunk calling him. First, she asked him why she couldn't see him, and Ben explained that she called him not Facetime him, and she huffed, making him smile. Ben ended the call and Facetime her, and she answered pouting because he had hung up on her, so the boy apologized and told her how glad he was to see her. That made her smile, and she told him that they had just arrived from going out with some girls and that her friend was changing and they would be making something to eat because they were starving.

Ben nodded and asked Mal about her day, and the girl started telling him how she went out but didn't have the best time. Suddenly Mal announced that she wanted to change and put her for against something so that she could see Ben while changing; she went to what the boy assumed was a closet and got her pj's out. Then she told him about her morning and how she went out alone and found a beautiful park. The boy was looking at the screen when he realized that Mal was starting to take her clothes off without realizing he could see her. Ben put his phone down so he couldn't see and wondered how long he should keep the phone like that; he could hear Mal struggling with what he assumed was her shirt and chuckle.

Mal asking why he couldn't see him again made the boy turn the phone, and there she was, sitting on the bed in her pj's. "I thought it was better to give you some privacy while you get change."

The girl smiled at him and told him that he was sweet; they talked for an hour until Mal realized that her friend was probably asleep, so if she wanted to eat something, it was on her to find it, so they said their goodbyes and ended the call. Ben woke up late that Saturday and had to help Lonnie get everything ready for the party. Lauren and Joshua couldn't help that morning because it was Emily's birthday, and they needed to spend the day with her. In the afternoon, taking advantage of Emily eating out with her family, her friends arrived.

When Emily arrived later, bringing Ben and Lonnie a box of donuts that her grandkids bought for them as an excuse to visit the house, the woman was shocked to see her friends and thank Ben and Lonnie for helping organized her surprise party. It was a fun day, and at some point, Mal called to congratulate Emily, and then Ben went upstairs and continued to talk with the girl until it was time to sing happy birthday. Before saying goodbye, the boy asked her if they could facetime later that day, but Mal was going to go out but promised to call him the next day.

Ben spent that night looking through the pictures the girl sent him, and he couldn't help a sense of longing to be with her. It was weird for him to accept that they really didn't know each other for long and that their relationship was new; however, her absence hit him hard. He was busy for most of the time, and it wasn't like Ben spent hours sitting thinking of her, but there were little things that happened every day that he wished he could share with her. Whenever he arrived at his house, Ben hoped that Mal would be there, that she wanted to surprise him by coming home early because she missed him too.

Standing from his bed, Ben turned off the lights and told himself that he just needed to keep his cool for another week until she would be back with him. Ben tried to fall asleep but he couldn't so he decided to share his feelings with the girl, he went to record a message and told the girl how much he missed her. Every day he would share his day out loud in his room like he used to do with her when they stayed up late downstairs, and the only reason he wasn't constantly calling her was that he didn't want to make her feel bad. Ben stopped recording and sent it, but a second later, he felt bad because he didn't want the girl to think he was guilt-tripping her, so he tried to erase the recording. After realizing it was impossible, he sent her a text asking her to please delete the recording because he had accidentally sent it.

Twenty minutes later, Mal sent a voicemail asking the boy if they could facetime tomorrow at noon, and Ben agreed. The following day, he woke up and made breakfast while talking with Lonnie about how happy Emily looked the day before, which made all the planning worthwhile. Lonnie got ready and said goodbye to Ben, she was going to spend the day with some friends from work, and she promised to call him to see if they could grab dinner. The boy cleaned the kitchen and was about to start with the living room when his phone rang.

Ben picked it up and noticed that it was almost 11:30 and Mal was calling him; he answered the call and was confused about why the girl wasn't facetime him.

"What you doing?" Mal asked, doing her best Isabella's imitation, making Ben chuckle. Ben went on to tell her that he was cleaning and asked her why she wasn't facetiming him. "Oh, I'm on my way home, so I can't right now. Can you do me a favor and go look for something I need in my room?"

Ben was confused but agreed and made his way upstairs, making small talk with her; once in her room, he smiled at how easy it was for him to picture Mal there like the day she went away. The boy asked her what she needed, and she told him to stand in front of the mirror, so he did. There were a few post-its and pics stuck there, which he assumed were the things Mal needed. Ben told her that he was there and asked her what she needed, but he noticed then that the call had ended, so he called her back, but she declined the call. That made him start to panic. Was she ok? Did something happen?

The boy took a deep breath and was about to call her again when her voice asking him if he was ok, startling him. Ben turned, and Mal was standing there looking at him with worry. It took him three steps to get to her, and he crashed her into a hug, telling her that he was worried that something might have happened to her when she didn't answer. Ben almost missed Mal's apology as it came as a whisper, and he let go of her making sure she could breathe. After that, he kissed her, not entirely convinced that this wasn't a dream but not wanting to lose another second in case it was true.

When they stopped due to lack of air, Mal explained that she just couldn't take being away from him after listening to his voice message. "I know we are able to spend long periods of time away from each other, but I hated not being near you."

"Me too. Didn't you need to meet with a brand next week?" Instead of answering his question, Mal went on to kiss him again while slowly moving them towards her bed, tired of being away from him and just wanting to enjoy the boy.