The D.C. Stars attend a mandatory ax-throwing event for team bonding. Maverick finds himself distracted because he’s unable to stop thinking about his night with Emmy. When Emmy arrives late, he notices the bite mark he left on her neck. A starstruck teenage employee, Kevin, asks for her autograph. Maverick and Emmy make a bet: If she scores more points than him, he must return her underwear; if he wins, she must go to a bar with him and some teammates. Emmy loses the bet and is therefore obligated to join them at the bar. When Grant asks what the bet is about, Maverick lies and says he took her hockey gloves.

Emmy joins Maverick, Hudson, Connor, and Riley at a smoky, old-fashioned bar. Maverick surprises Emmy by presenting her with a jar of expensive olives for her martini, having remembered her preference. Worried about her performance, Emmy asks Maverick if she is dragging the team down, but he reassures her that the team’s recent slump is not her fault. He suggests she speak with the team’s sports psychologist, Dr. Jenn, whom he sees weekly. The group playfully argues over whether Hudson or Maverick is taller, and Emmy jokingly tells them Hudson is taller before admitting the truth to Maverick privately. Later, Maverick uses a game of pool as an excuse to be physically close to Emmy. They play the “question of the day” game about their favorite superpowers and birthdays before Hudson interrupts their intimate moment. Afterward, Emmy privately acknowledges that her connection with Maverick is “something” more than just friendship.

Since their night in Chicago, the team has won three consecutive games, and Emmy has scored her first goal as a Star. The team is in Boston ahead of a game the following day. Emmy decides to skip a team dinner and stay in her hotel room to recharge. Maverick texts her, revealing he is also staying in because the restaurant serves spicy food, which he dislikes. He offers to bring her food from a specialty french fry restaurant since potatoes are her favorite food. Emmy agrees and sends him her room number. Thirty minutes later, Maverick arrives with the food, and she pulls him inside her room.

In Emmy’s Boston hotel room, she and Maverick eat fries and playfully credit the team’s winning streak to their sexual encounters. They decide to have sex again as “research,” agreeing to the same rules of secrecy and that he will leave immediately after. While looking through his wallet for a condom, Emmy finds a photo of his niece and is touched by this. After they have sex, they continue their question game. They discuss their biggest fears—the ocean for him, snakes for her—and where in the world they would want to live. Emmy is surprised when Maverick says that he would like to live somewhere remote and mountainous. Feeling exhausted, Maverick decides to skip the room service dinner they had planned. He kisses her forehead and leaves.

By early December, Maverick and Emmy have slept together four times, and the team is on an eight-game winning streak. At practice, panic ensues when Emmy, who is always punctual, fails to show up. Her teammates speculate that she has been kidnapped or murdered. Maverick’s calls to both Emmy and her roommate, Piper, go straight to voicemail. The coach gives Maverick Emmy’s home address, and Maverick is shocked to learn she lives in the apartment building directly next to his. He immediately leaves the arena and races to her apartment.

Fearing a hostage situation, Maverick breaks down the door to Emmy’s apartment. He finds her inside, severely ill with food poisoning and vomiting in the bathroom. He learns that Piper is out of town and Emmy has been too sick for hours to reach her phone to call for help. Maverick helps her into the bath and gently washes her hair. He then carries her to the couch and spoon-feeds her soup. Vowing to fix the broken door, Maverick makes a mental list of everything he needs to do to take care of her.

Emmy wakes up in her bedroom to find Maverick asleep beside her, having stayed the night after caring for her. She takes a call from Grady, which makes Maverick jealous, as he assumes she is sleeping with someone else. Emmy clarifies that Grady is like a brother to her, and Maverick reveals that he isn’t sleeping with anyone else. They agree to be exclusive friends-with-benefits. Maverick suggests they expand their sexual encounters to their time at home, not just on the road, joking it would be in the team’s best interest. They play their question game, discussing their college majors and life goals. Maverick reveals his dream of starting a charity for underprivileged kids. After ensuring she is comfortable, Maverick leaves her apartment.

After a win in Toronto, Grant announces that the team is going out to a club. Emmy agrees to join on the condition that Maverick buys her ice cream and gives her a piggyback ride back to the hotel. Emmy invites Piper, and Grant persuades Lexi to come as well. On the bus, Emmy points out that both Grant and Riley like Lexi, something Maverick hadn’t realized. At the club, Maverick ignores several women who try to flirt with him, giving his full attention to Emmy. Meanwhile, Liam, who rarely socializes, overhears Emmy and Piper discussing food and takes Piper to get a burger.

At the club in Toronto, Maverick follows Emmy to the dance floor. In a dark, secluded corner, they give each other hand jobs. They leave the club, and he gives Emmy the promised piggyback ride back to the hotel. Once in his room, they have sex twice and order room service, staying up until two in the morning. Emmy kisses him goodbye and sneaks out of his room just before sunrise.