Cross Check

At the DC Stars’ first day of training camp, Maverick gives an emotional announcement that he’s retiring at the end of the season to prioritize his life with his wife and daughter. That evening, Grant surprises Amelia at his apartment with a celebration for her first day as head coach. They discuss their respective days—he tells her about Maverick’s retirement, and she tells him about the sexist reporter. They reaffirm their commitment to being discreet about their relationship to protect her career. As they spend the evening together, Grant internally acknowledges that he’s in love with Amelia but doesn’t say the words aloud.

After a two-week, six-game road trip separates them, Grant and Amelia text each other before he arrives home. When he gets to his apartment, they immediately have a passionate encounter in the foyer, confessing things they’ve always wanted to try sexually. Amelia is excited by Grant’s desires and agrees to explore them with him.

Continuing their intimate encounter in the bedroom, Amelia explore new sexual desires and kinks. Afterward they shower together, reaffirming their connection and trust.

When Amelia’s friends, Lainey and Sienna, visit Baltimore for the weekend, Grant suggests staging a chance encounter at a restaurant so he can meet them. Grant and his sister, Hannah, arrive at the restaurant and join the group. Everyone gets along well, and Hannah exchanges numbers with Lainey and Sienna. Grant pays for the whole table’s dinner. After her friends leave, Grant tells Amelia that one day their friends and families will be able to get together openly.

Back at her apartment, Amelia decides to tell Lainey and Sienna the truth about her relationship. After making them swear secrecy on her coaching whistle, she reveals that she and Grant are secretly dating and that she is falling in love with him. Her friends are overjoyed and supportive. Later, Amelia tells Grant via video call that she confessed to her friends. He is not upset and says that if she trusts them, so does he, leaving her feeling relieved.

Grant is in San Diego for the All-Star game, where he meets Tommy Deplasis, the team captain who drafted him for the event. Grant and Amelia share a brief, clandestine conversation at the welcome party. The next day, Grant is surprised to see his coach, Brody Saunders, who reveals he’s in attendance to scout players as a frontrunner for the Olympic head coach position. Amelia sits with Brody, offering her opinions on the Baltimore players. After Brody leaves, Grant and Amelia make plans to meet in his hotel room

Before the All-Star game, Grant is exhausted from a late night with Amelia. In the locker room, Tommy and another teammate, Jaxson Delaney, warn him about another player, Brady Williams, whom they dislike. During the game, Williams skates up to Grant and makes vulgar, misogynistic comments about Amelia, calling her a derogatory name. Enraged, Grant attacks Williams, punching him repeatedly in the face until he is pulled away. He is ejected from the game with a match penalty, though his team goes on to win the cash prize in the final game.

Grant goes to Amelia’s hotel room and tells her he received a one-game suspension for the fight. He explains why he attacked Brady, and Amelia is crushed and furious about the misogynist comments. Grant comforts her, promises to always defend her, and says he will report Brody’s comments to the NHL Players’ Association. Moved by his fierce loyalty, Amelia reflects that falling in love with Grant is going to be the easiest thing she has ever done.

At a team dinner, Ethan reveals that Brady bullied him in school for having difficulty focusing and needing extra time on tests because of his ADHD. Later, Grant’s teammates praise Amelia’s coaching ability, and listening to them, Grant has a definitive realization that he is in love with her. That night at his apartment, Amelia expresses her wish for a more normal life with him in a private house. After a passionate sexual encounter, Grant tells her that simply being with her is his favorite part of the day.

Continuing their intimate night together, Grant and Amelia explore their fantasies further. He wears a crop top at her request, while she wears only jewelry. Afterward, as they lie together, Grant calls her “mine”—a romantic and intimate moment that solidifies Amelia’s feelings, and she internally acknowledges that she is ready to reciprocate if he were to say I love you.

On the morning of the Sea Crabs’ final regular-season game, Grant arranges to attend with Maverick and his daughter, Murphy, to secretly support Amelia. In their suite, Maverick questions Grant about his love life, prompting Grant to admit he is seeing someone in the league. Later, Maverick notices Grant and Amelia share a subtle wave across the arena and realizes they are dating. Grant pleads with Maverick to keep it secret, then confesses that he loves her. The Sea Crabs win 4-1, clinching a playoff spot.

The Sea Crabs face the DC Stars in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. Before the game, Grant gives Amelia a subtle supportive gesture from across the ice. In the final minutes of a tied game, Emmy calls a play and scores the winning goal, sending Baltimore to the Stanley Cup Final. Amid the celebration, Brody pulls Amelia into a hug and murmurs that she should get what she deserves before he lets her go. Grant watches from the tunnel, silently mouthing that he is proud of her. Later at his apartment, he surprises her with the game puck and two cakes—one congratulatory, one backup in case the Stars had won. As he playfully feeds her a slice, Amelia has a final, definitive realization: She is deeply in love with him.