Their routine in Austin focused on Ben staying late at work most days, but they still managed to go for a walk or see a movie before going to bed twice a week. Mal edited and went out with her locals friends but mostly started planning her birthday party. Lonnie and Jay were coming two weeks before returning to Seattle, so Mal tried to find something fun for all of them to do while the couple was there.
When she was in Waco, the girl had told Lonnie they should visit, but Mal was reluctant to return after what happened. Still, Jay and Lonnie were looking forward to visiting Waco, so they decided to go alone for a romantic weekend, and then they would go back to Austin with the couple and stay with them. While at Austin, Jay noticed how Ben was staying longer at his job, and the boys had an honest conversation about his expectations. Even though Jay didn't work in an office, he had a good idea about how things usually work from working with different people and his friends' experiences.
Sure, Ben was a good worker, but his friends and the people around him were also great at their job, and he knew that seniority was an important factor. So when they talked, he was sure to share with his friends that he thought Ben's drive was incredible, but he was missing important moments of the present, focusing on a future that wasn't even secure by his efforts. The boy knew Jay's intentions were pure; his friend was always trying to help him enjoy his life and not be focused entirely on proving something. Still, Ben wasn't open to his advice but decided to spend less time at work while they visited, so he stopped staying late, and the couples went out to discover the city.
The Friday before Lonnie and Jay were to leave, Mal talked to Miranda about her plans, and the girl told her there was a great chance for a sponsorship if she could return to Seattle that week. Miranda and Alex were supposed to attend an event to launch a new clothing line, but Alex was offered a free trip with an old sponsor and decided to bail last minute. "Mal, please. I already talked to them, and they said you were a choice, but your manager told them you were out of town. Please? Could you come early?. It would be a great opportunity."
Mal knew that, but leaving Ben behind was something she wasn't ready to do. After ending the conversation by promising Miranda that she would give her an answer before Sunday Mal went to sit on the couch. Lonnie came to Mal's side and asked what was on her mind thinking that the girl was worried about her birthday preparation. Since Mal had decided on the theme of what started as a small party and was now a full-blown party with several couples, decorations, and food theme related that needed to be coordinated beforehand, Lonnie assumed Mal's mind was focused on that. Soon though, she learned what was in Mal's head, and she told the girl that she should go back to Seattle with them.
"Mal, look, I understand that you want to stay here with Ben, but there is no real reason for it. He is coming home in one week, which will give you enough time to finish all the plans for your party and do this 've told me he is staying later in the office, so there is no real reason to stay longer. Come with us, and we can take most of his stuff, so he has no issues packing to return home." Mal agreed that it was logical, but at the same time, leaving Ben behind after they decided to stay there together felt wrong.
When Ben came later that day, Lonnie was the one that brought the conversation about Mal leaving with them to the group making the girl uncomfortable. Jay looked at Lonnie shaking his head, knowing that even though his girlfriend had good intentions, her delivery was not always the best. Ben, who was in the middle of biting into his egg roll, saw how everyone was looking at Lonnie and realized that the girl had decided to overshare, although he was wondering if Mal was planning to share at all this new development with him.
"Well, it sounds like a great opportunity, Mal. You should go back with them on Sunday." Ben said, looking at his girlfriend, trying to see how what he said made her feel. Mal nodded but didn't say anything, and the couples finished eating in awkward silence, with Lonnie trying to fill at first but giving up in the end. Mal was annoyed with Lonnie but even more with Ben because she was hoping he wanted her to stay with him as much as she wanted to be there. Jay broke the silence that came over the group after dinner, asking Lonnie to go out on a walk with him and squeezing her hand to make sure she said yes so they could leave the couple alone to talk.
Once outside, Jay turned to Lonnie raising his eyebrow, and the girl rolled her eyes. "Look Jay before you say anything, we both know she was not going to tell him. Ben is thinking about this master plan he has where he needs to be so successful that his family will realize what a bunch of jerks they all are. Those people will never admit that Jay, you know it, and I know it, even Ben knows it. Mal staying here will not matter to Ben as long as he stays in this workaholic daze that he is in; she should take advantage of this opportunity."
"I know Lonnie, but it was her decision to make. Ben would tell her to go if she told him, but maybe she doesn't want to go, and now that he said that, Mal is going to leave. They should talk about this among themselves; they are still getting to know each other and need to work on their communication. Meddling is not helping them develop a healthy way to handle these things. If you want to help them stop doing things like this, they are good together, but they won't be sure if things as simple as this create problems for them."
Lonnie nodded; she just wanted to help. When Mal shared with her everything from Ben working late to now this opportunity, the girl panicked, she knew Ben cared a lot for Mal, but her friend usually got lost in his work. If Mal lost a great opportunity because of Ben and he didn't even make an effort to spend more time with the girl, things would not end well.
"Jay, I'm scared Ben is gonna blow this if he doesn't start to focus more on his relationship instead of on this one-sided war with his family." Jay agreed, but he shared that Ben was already changing. Ben had decided not to give the money back, but this wish to prove to his family that he wasn't a lost cause was going to take a while to get over..
The couple went on their way to have a lovely walk hand in hand in the comfortable silence that two people who genuinely enjoy each other company have whenever they are alone. Both hoped that Ben would finally realize what was more important so he could have something like they had. When they finally made their way back to the apartment, they saw Mal's suitcases next to the entrance of the apartment and the door of the other couple's room close.
Looking at the suitcases, the couple wondered what happened after they left and hoped their friends could share their concerns while they were out. Lonnie made her way to their room to pack her bags; Jay decided to send a text to Ben asking him if he wanted to talk, but after a couple of minutes decided to make his way to join Lonnie and make sure to pack all his things.
The following day when they woke up, Ben had already left, and Mal had eaten breakfast. Jay checked his phone and saw that Ben had sent him a text that morning wishing him a great trip and promising to call him later that night. After washing her plate, Mal said hi to the couple and went on to get ready so that they could make their way to the airport. Lonnie fought the urge to ask Mal about her conversation with Ben, but the girl seemed to be in good spirits, so she was hoping everything worked out between the couple.
At the airport, the trio check-in their suitcases and wandered around until it was time to board; Lonnie and Jay had made their check-in together, so they managed to get seats next to each other. Mal was almost at the back of the plane, and was looking forward to editing as much as she could during the flight so the rest of the week could focus on her birthday preparations. She was supposed to board first, so after waving goodbye to the couple, Mal went to look for her seat ready to tackle her to-do list; when the airplane closed, the girl was happy to see that she had an empty seat next to her.
After four straight hours of work, Mal was ready for a break, and she was glad that it came in the form of a text from Ben. Smiling, she texted him back and they started to exchange texts, and with each one, her smile grew.
The night before, after Jay and Lonnie left, Ben had to ask Mal about her conversation with Miranda, and she went to share with him about the call. Mal shared how even though she knew it was a great opportunity, she rather stay with him. Ben nodded and thanked her for being honest with him but assured her that returning to Seattle was the right decision.
"Mal, I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I know that staying late at work hasn't exactly made these days or even this entire stay what we planned when I invited you to join me here. Thank you for staying with me and having the best disposition to make this work, but it would be unfair for me not to tell you that going back is the right move. I promised the office I would help finish the project, so I can't back down now. Go back to Seattle, Mal, do that brand deal, and plan your birthday exactly as you wanted, and I promise I will be back to celebrate with you." Ben could see the doubt in her eyes, and he felt horrible that he had given her reasons to doubt him.
Mal looked into his eyes, trying to see if he was going to keep his promise and the way he was looking at her made her smile. " Ben, don't feel bad about getting lost in your work. I also do that even though I've spent years trying to find the balance, sometimes I still lose sight of it. Also, to be completely honest, I've enjoyed our time here, and I wouldn't change it. Ok, I take that back; maybe I would take back the weird guy in Waco, but aside from that, I love every day here." Ben made an annoyed face; just thinking about that guy made him angry. Mal noticed and took his hand in hers and leaned in to kiss him, wanting to keep both of them in the moment and not think about Waco again.
They stayed like that for a while, and then Mal told Ben she was going back to Seattle, so she needed to book her ticket and get her suitcases ready. Between the both of them, they managed to do it in a short amount of time and then decided to go to bed early so they could share breakfast before Ben left for work the following day.
Back in the airplane, Mal and Ben continued to text until the boy needed to go back to work, and after, she promised to text him when she was back safe at their house. After that, she noticed that there were only fifteen minutes until they made it to Seattle, so Mal decided to put her things in order and enjoy some music. Soon her mind was wondering how her and Ben's costumes would look, and her excitement grew.
