After the breakup, Ethan feels he hurt Sloane but believes it was necessary. He thinks about how much he wanted to tell her about his past but couldn’t work up the courage. He opens Facebook and looks at his mother’s profile; Laura Brady has remarried and has a daughter he has never met. He misses Sloane but distracts himself on Facebook. The next morning, he tells Graham and Jake that he ended things because he isn’t ready for a relationship. He leaves campus earlier than usual to avoid running into Sloane.

A month later, in March 2017, Sloane thinks about how much she’s moved on from Ethan. Lauren convinces Sloane to attend a fraternity formal with Reese Thompson, but returning to the fraternity triggers thoughts about Ethan. She goes anyway but is constantly on the lookout. At the bar before the event, Sloane and Ethan have a brief encounter, which prompts her to drink heavily throughout the night.

Reese takes her to his place to sleep it off and drives her home the next morning. Her roommates tell her Ethan attended the formal alone and asked about her. Sloane texts Ethan, and they meet in his car. He admits seeing her with someone else made him jealous and asks to try again, slowly and without labels. Sloane agrees, and they tentatively renew contact.

In April 2017, as graduation approaches, Lauren announces she has accepted a teaching job in New York and has broken up with Graham. At a luau-themed party, Ethan is attentive and affectionate with Sloane. She takes Lauren home early, then returns to the party. Later, she goes to Ethan’s apartment, and they have sex in his kitchen. The next morning, Sloane receives a voicemail from Annie Walker at The Gist. Annie tells Sloane her writing lacks emotional depth but offers her an interview for an assistant position with mentorship opportunities. Sloane accepts the interview.

In May 2017, after accepting the assistant position at The Gist, Sloane packs for her move to New York. She thinks about how writing is her passion and how journaling kept her grounded as an only child with few friends and “without a steady place to call home” (111). On her last day, Ethan plans a farewell and takes her to Kure Beach. They picnic and reminisce about their year together. That evening, they eat at their favorite Mexican restaurant, and Sloane cries about the uncertainty ahead. On the drive home, Ethan reassures her, promising to visit in a month. He books a plane ticket, implying that he wants them to remain exclusive until then, which reassures her. Sloane feels hopeful about their long-distance relationship.

During her first week at The Gist in New York City, Sloane orients herself to the office and meets her colleagues Kim and Mila. Mila invites Sloane to happy hour with the team, and Sloane joins them. At the bar with Annie and other coworkers, a tipsy Sloane tells the story of how she met Ethan, including a time she called the police on his party because he didn’t invite her. On the ride home, she worries she revealed too much to new colleagues.

In June 2017, Ethan visits Sloane in New York. After an intimate reunion, they go to dinner, where he mentions having money problems. The next day, she takes him to a Yankees game. When she takes a photo of them, he asks her not to post it, which upsets Sloane.

They have sex again in the morning because Sloane knows how much Ethan likes morning sex. He leaves, and hours later, Ethan ends their relationship via text. Sloane calls, yells at him, and throws her phone against a wall. Later, Lauren returns to find her devastated and stays to comfort her.

Ethan immediately regrets the breakup but goes to a party with Graham to distract himself. He explains he ended things because he cannot give Sloane what she needs and admits she is the only girl he has ever let get close. At the party, he plays beer pong and leaves with a girl named Jamie, who is dressed provocatively. At her house, he checks his phone for a message from Sloane but finds none. He and Jamie have unfulfilling sex. Afterward, Ethan feels numb.

The day after the breakup, Sloane calls in sick and phones Graham to ask why Ethan keeps pulling away. Graham explains that when Ethan was 13, his parents were arrested for a fatal DUI; his father received a long prison sentence, and his mother, Laura, later left him and started a new family. Sloane now understands Ethan’s fear of commitment stems from this abandonment. She returns to work to find flowers from Annie, who urges her to use the heartbreak to add emotional depth to her writing. She and Mila brainstorm story ideas, and she channels her pain into her work.

In September 2017, Sloane focuses on her work at The Gist. Her open letter about her almost-relationship with Ethan, titled “Open Letter to the Guy Who Didn’t Want to Date Me,” goes viral. Her boss, Annie, promotes her to staff writer after the piece hits one million reads. Sloane celebrates with Lauren at a piano bar, admitting she hoped Ethan would see the article. Reese messages Sloane after reading her article, and Lauren encourages her to reply. Sloane meets Reese at a bar, where Reese admits he has long had feelings for her and kisses her. Sloane kisses him back.