Ben woke up alone in bed, stretching the boy was tempted to close his eyes and go back to sleep, but he knew that Mal was probably out working by the pond while waiting for him to start their day. After attending the bbq of his coworkers last weekend, Mal had finally decided that the couple was renting a cabin near Waco, Texas, in Live Oak Lake so they could spend the weekend visiting everything the area had to offer. So late afternoon on Friday, after Ben got out of the office, the couple drove there and got in as the sun was fading, but they could see how beautiful and peaceful the place was, and they were happy.
Closing his eyes, Ben relaxed; last week was hard for him. Things were going ok with the training, but his doubts about his place back in Seattle were starting to increase. Ryder and Azis shared that some more projects were possibly going to start soon, and with Ben being in Texas, it would mean that he was not going to be considered to lead any of them. His friends had seniority, but during the time he was working there, he had more than proof his worth and everything he brought into new projects he had worked. Thinking about going back and probably working in one of his friend's teams made him doubt if his choice of coming to Austin was the right one. Fighting the feeling of sadness that started to overcome him, Ben moved from the bed, deciding that he was going to make the best of his time there.
Mal was sitting in the living room; the cabin was beautiful and minimalistic with giant windows looking at a peaceful pond. The quiet was welcome after a crazy week of going around Austin filming for her videos about visiting the city; she had spent hours with her old and new friends, and now she needed to edit. During the week, Mal noticed Ben's mood dived, he was always lost in thought, and the girl could see how he would seem frustrated or sad when working or after talking with his friends back in Seattle. Still, every time she would ask him if something was going on, he would force a smile and say that he was tired and then ask her what she wanted to do. They would go out to eat, walk around the neighborhood or stay in and watch something ending every night, cuddling in bed until they fell asleep. Doubts if it had something to do with her visiting his family started to grow on her, but without him wanting to talk, she was left to wonder how she could help him.
A noise came from upstairs, and Mal called Ben's name, asking if he was up; a moment later, he appeared at the top of the stairs smiling at her with his messy hair and a sleepy expression. The boy made his way down and came to sit next to her on the couch. "Are you working?"
Mal nodded, sharing that she woke up early and decided to start editing a couple of Tiktok's and IG reels she wanted to upload that day. "I'm almost done, so I can upload them before we go out and then come back to upload a little about what we see today."
Ben smiled and asked why didn't she just upload the same footage, but the girl liked to put something different on each platform, so people that followed her on both didn't get bored of her content. She also made sure to make three minutes vlogs for TikTok twice a week, which she loved because it was a way for her to put her favorite things in there. The boy was a constant feature of those, at least for a few seconds. Suddenly an alarm announced that it was time for her to take a picture for her BeReal, and leaning against Ben, she took a picture of them smiling and was happy to see the picture from her back camera showing their beautiful view.
Mal smiled at Ben, and the boy told her that he was going to take a quick shower and get ready so they could manage to visit the farmers market. "Great, I'm ready, so I'll just upload these while you are doing that and maybe get some B-roll from the pound for my video."
After giving her a quick peck on the cheek, Ben nodded and went on his way to get ready. Mal uploaded everything and decided to post her BeReal picture with Ben to her stories wishing everyone a great Saturday. Closing her laptop, the girl picked her camera and made her way outside the cabin smiling at how beautiful the scenery was; she turned and saw the Hot Tub and decided they would get there that night. They were planning on leaving on Sunday afternoon, so this was the only night they could take advantage of it.
After filming, Mal started thinking how weird it was that she was there with Ben. She had researched those cabins the year before when she was newly single and hoped to be able to go there soon. Now a year later, Mal was there and feeling happy, her birthday was coming, and she was excited to do something special with Ben; closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Suddenly Ben's arm came from behind, wrapping around her, bringing Mal against him while kissing her on the neck, making her smile. "Are you ready to go?"
Mal picked out her things, made their way to the car, and spent their day around Waco. They both loved the farmer's market after they stopped at Silos Baking to have breakfast; they spent more time there than they had initially planned because of how much they enjoyed everything. Ben decided to buy cupcakes for later, and Mal rolled her eyes, knowing that the boy would probably eat them before they made their way back to their cabin. Walking around the town to several tourist spots, Mal started recording. Still, soon Ben was taking her camera, and she started talking about the places they were going telling the boy several places and making him choose where they would go first; when they went into Harp Design, both of them were in awe of all the furniture.
They talked about styles and how they would incorporate them into some designs of future houses; the conversation was effortless. After seeing everything the store offered, they walked to others, checking if there was something they could buy for the house. When they made their way back to the cabin after stopping again at Silos to buy something to eat at the cabin, including cupcakes because Ben ended up eating the first one earlier, both were happy but also exhausted from walking around all day.
"Today was amazing, Mal; you had the best idea coming here." The girl smiled, happy that Ben had as much fun as she had. "I know we said we would use the hot tub, but I'm super tired. Do you mind if we do it tomorrow before leaving?"
Mal nodded, a little disappointed about not getting into the hot tub, the sky outside was beautiful, and she wanted some footage from that point of view. Ben asked her if she wanted to eat now and if maybe they could watch something on her laptop before going to sleep, but she told him that she wanted to export her footage first, so the boy decided to take a nap. After he made his way upstairs, Mal decided that she would take the chance to change and get into the hot tub, the place was so relaxing that she ended up staying longer than she planned to, and Ben found her there reading.
"Hey, do you want me to heat the food now, or do you want to stay there?" Ben's voice surprised her, and Mal told him that she was about done with her chapter, so she would get out in a little while. The boy nodded and walked into the cabin, leaving her alone for a couple of minutes until he made his way back wearing swim trucks and got into the hot tub, joining a now smiling Mal. "Sorry that I fell asleep, I was feeling really tired, but I think the hot tub would have been a better way to relax."
"I know you don't want to tell me, but it's obvious that something has been bothering you lately. I think is not letting you sleep well, and I wish you would tell me." Taking a moment to see if he was going to say something, Mal sighed and went on. " Ben, if you don't want me to meet your family, I understand." Ben was shocked, and felt horrible about Mal thinking she had something to do with his mood changes.
Taking a deep breath, he let his head fall back and started to share with the girl what was going on with him. Deciding that it was way overdue, the boy explained his first douts and how they only grew with what was happening in Seattle at that moment, he went on then to say how he felt bad for not wanting to work for his friend when he knew they would probably have no issues with working under him. Mal listened, asking him questions as a way for him to talk about the subject more so that he could understand that it wouldn't be the end of the world to work under his friends because his chance to lead a project would come.
Ben got frustrated at points and suddenly the subject of his family came up again, and soon the boy was saying how he needed to get further in his career as a proof that he was not a loser. Mal move to sit next to him and taking one of his hands, made the boy looked at her assuring him that he was far from that, and that even though she understand that his families opinion matter he needed to realized that they were wrong. He stayed quiet for a moment, and Mal hugged him until she felt him relaxed, they stayed like that for a while until the night started to get cold and Ben said they needed to get in.
Once they got out Ben helped Mal put her towel around herself and walked into the cabin. "You should shower first. I'll heat the food and then I can shower." Mal nodded and went on to shower and change, when she walked into the living room Ben was ready to go into the bathroom and told her to go ahead and eat. Mal noticed that her footage had exported so she closer her laptop and made sure to put all her batteries to charge.
She decided to reheat the food just as Ben came out of the bathroom, they sat down in the living room and she asked him if he wanted to watch something but he said no. They stayed in silence and he shared that he was thinking about what they talk and maybe if he put more effort helping on the new projects at Austin that would translate in him having more of chance to lead a team at Seattle. Mal stayed silent, but nodded letting the boy shared his plan that included staying late in the office for the rest of the time they were staying in Texas. After they finished eating Ben asked her if she was going up to the room, but Mal said that she wanted to do some editing first so he should go ahead and sleep.
As she went on to edit her video, she realized how much she loved that place and a thought came to her. It was a such a peaceful place, but also had so many interest things to see that it would be a great idea for her to stay a little longer and she could get more material. As the idea solidified in her head, Mal started looking for a place to stay because as much as she love the cabin without a car it would be hard for her to move around Waco. Mal found a condo available for a week and without a doubt in her mind she booked it for the nex week. Ben would go back to Austin and she would stay behind, a plan solidifying in her mind and Mal could feel excitement filling her.
Clothes would be an issue, so she google a place were she could buy a couple of pieces to change. Her days would be spent going around town and her afternoon would be for editing and making content, she even asked for questions and put a poll on her IG asking people if they would like a live this week. By the time she went to bed Mal had a big smile on her face thinking about everything she would do the next week. Next morning Ben woke her up telling her that they should go pick something for breakfast and maybe pick something for the road before it was late.
Last night before going to bed, Mal put everything away only leaving the clothes she was changing in so everything was ready for them to leave the cabin. The girl shared with Ben her plans for the week and the boy looked taken aback and question the reason behind her deciding to stay behind without him. "You are going to be working more, and I can walk around here doing getting different footage. Yesterday while editing I realized that there are more things I would like to get so I could do a little series. I can work in the afternoon in the airbnb, maybe do a Live. Next week I'l be back in Austin, I think is a good opportunity."
Ben didn't look convinced but the more they talk he realized that she was right, with his new self imposed schedule they wouldn't have time to go out like they were doing lately. Mal staying there and he coming back for her on Friday would give them a chance have another fun weekend away from Austin, and she suggest that they could go to another town close to Waco. Finally, he packed his things and after making sure that they had everything and that the cabin was clean they made their way to have breakfast.
Mal was looking at the menu thinking about trying different every day,when she noticed that Ben was quiet and looking at her. Smiling at him, she asked the boy what he was going to order. "Are you staying here because of the conversation we had yesterday?"
"Yes" Ben sighed and Mal went back to look at the menu. He said her name making her look at him. "Ben, I explained everything already. You go back do all the extra hours you feel comfortable doing and I'll stay here and get more footage for my job. We'll see each other on Friday and have a nice weekend, now we should pick something to eat so I can go get the key for my airbnb and you can start your way back to Austin. You should try to rest as much as you can today. Come on, you can buy some donuts for the road."
The couple order and after they finished they made their way to the condo Mal rented, and the girl was smiling at the beautiful light that invaded the place. Ben asked her what she was going to do for clothes, and Mal shared how she had already look for a couple of places that she was going to visit. "Let's go then, I'll go after you have everything you need."
"Ben, no. I want to take my time, so I can make mini vlogs about the stores, is better if I do it alone when I have no time limit. You need to make your way back; you have to drive for almost two hours to get home." The boy nodded, but still he didn't want to leave her, so he asked her if she wanted help doing a little apartment tour; Mal was about to say no but seeing how Ben was trying to stay, she agreed. They walked around together, and the girl smiled at Ben's little comments about the place, and both of them were in awe of the stove and how pretty everything was.
"Hey, no baking. I don't want to see you posting about delicious cookies that I can't eat." That made Mal laugh, but she didn't promise anything because, just looking at how pretty the stove was, there was no way she wasn't going to use it at least a couple of times. After they finished filming, the boy asked her to have a little walk around downtown before leaving so that he could have a clear idea of the place for when she shared with him about her days.
Finally, after having lunch, Ben said goodbye and went on his way to Austin while Mal was back in her place, starting to work on her editing.
