On Thursday night, Kyle changes his mind and accompanies Maria to Eric’s party, deciding not to isolate himself or avoid his friends. Eric answers the door in jeans and a T-shirt, and takes a moment to recognize Kyle, who wears glasses outside of work. Kyle has brought ingredients to prepare a birthday mocktail. Eric leads Kyle upstairs, and they pause to look at abstract paintings on the stairway wall before Kyle pulls back from the quiet moment and continues upstairs. In the kitchen, Kyle prepares his surprise drink using fermented ginger and turmeric tonic, suggesting they call it the “Eric Bennett”. Eric loves it.

They join the party in the basement, where Kyle sits with Scott, Kip, Carter, and Tommy Andersson, the team’s other goalie. Maria joins briefly, discouraged about her chances with Finnish player, Matti Jalo. Feeling out of place, Kyle retreats upstairs to examine more art.

Kyle studies a large painting titled Guardian. Eric approaches and they discuss their different interpretations, with Eric relating it to his role as goalie. The mood shifts as Eric’s attention lingers on Kyle, but Kip and Scott interrupt to announce they are leaving. Scott reveals he and Kip have been trying to set Eric and Kyle up as friends. After they leave, Kyle offers to make Eric another drink to ease the situation.

As the party ends, Eric finds Kyle collecting empty bottles in the basement. In the kitchen, Kyle admits part of the reason he almost skipped the party was his feelings for Kip, describes his attraction to older, often unavailable men, which led him to initially assume Eric was a closeted married man seeking a secret affair. Now knowing he was wrong, Kyle says he would like to be friends.

Eric offers Kyle the guest room for the night. After sitting together and talking further, Eric helps Kyle up from the sofa, and their brief physical contact makes Eric aware of their closeness. Kyle admires a black-and-white photograph of a Welsh beach, and Eric reveals he took it himself. When Eric returns with pajamas, he finds Kyle shirtless on the bed, expressing his appreciation for the comfort of the bed and sheets, and quickly exits after wishing him goodnight.

In his own room, Eric masturbates while fantasizing about Kyle, then feels ashamed— viewing himself negatively for his desire for Kyle. He acknowledges, however, that fantasizing about a man makes his bisexuality feel less theoretical and more immediate.

Friday morning, Kyle wakes in Eric’s guest room and finds him shirtless on the top floor, holding a difficult yoga pose. Eric invites Kyle for breakfast and, over Greek yogurt and berries, tells Kyle how Scott helped him feel included on the team when Eric had felt like a loner.

As they talk, Kyle moves the conversation toward dating and sex, and Eric reveals he has not had sex or been on a date in over a year, since his divorce. He then comes out to Kyle as bisexual— the first time he has shared this with anyone. Kyle is honored by the trust and promises confidentiality.

Eric admits he wants to explore dating men but has no idea how to begin. Kyle offers to take him to a gay bar that same evening. He suggests a place called Fortune, they exchange contact information, and after a slightly prolonged hug, Kyle departs.

Friday night, Eric arrives at Kyle’s Chelsea apartment, surprised by its size and modern design, and learns that Kyle’s parents fund the apartment despite their strained relationship. Walking to Fortune, they discuss Kyle’s fluency in Spanish, Italian, and French, and Eric shares that he grew up poor in Hamilton, Ontario, and became a goalie because his family received hand-me-down equipment from a cousin.

At the bar, Kyle retrieves drinks from Calvin, the bar manager and a former co-worker. Kyle guides Eric in, observing the crowd and identifying potential matches, and Eric rejects a muscular type and someone who appears too young before settling on a clean-cut, accountant type. A man named Alex approaches to flirt with Kyle, who spontaneously claims he and Eric are boyfriends celebrating their one-month anniversary. After Alex leaves, Kyle explains he did not want to abandon Eric.

Kyle also describes his attraction to older men and the complications it has caused, while Kyle notices Eric has removed his wedding ring. He admits he had been using it as a shield and feels nervous without it, then shares some of his pre-game rituals. When Eric grows tired, they leave. On the walk home, Kyle reassures him that his bisexuality is valid whether he acts on it or not. Outside Kyle’s building, Kyle kisses Eric on the cheek. After a moment’s hesitation, Eric kisses him on the lips—tentatively at first, then hungrily.

Kyle downplays the kiss as Eric’s first experience with a man and makes an open offer to help with other firsts, no strings attached. Eric says he will consider it.