At first, Hunter, who is heavily intoxicated, doesn’t realize that Summer and Fitz are in the middle of a sexual encounter, but he soon catches on and makes sarcastic comments. An embarrassed Summer leaves, and Hunter chastises Fitz for pursuing a woman he liked—a woman Fitz had previously denied having feelings for. 

The tension between Hunter and Fitz escalates during a subsequent hockey practice. The two roommates trade increasingly aggressive hits during drills, which culminates in Hunter dropping his gloves and punching Fitz during a battle drill. They exchange blows on the ice until teammates physically separate them. After being sent to the showers, Fitz apologizes sincerely. Hunter acknowledges the apology but gives a noncommittal response, leaving Fitz uncertain if their friendship can be repaired.

Three weeks later, Fitz and Hollis walk in on Summer conducting a fitting for several Briar football players who will be modeling her swimwear line. The players confirm they can still participate in her upcoming fashion show despite a mandatory team retreat. 

Later, Fitz officially invites Summer to be his date to Kamal Jain’s fundraiser, which will be held at her family’s hotel. She enthusiastically agrees on the condition that she gets to pick his outfit.

The fundraiser is held at the luxury New York hotel owned by Summer’s family, so Fitz and Summer stay in the penthouse. At the party, Kamal is initially happy to see Fitz but becomes hostile and judgmental upon meeting the glamorous Summer. Kamal gets progressively drunker while expressing his disdain for the wealthy and popular: “All my life I’ve had to deal with […] The jocks and the cheerleaders and the popular assholes who think they’re entitled to do whatever the fuck they want. They bully without consequences. They get everything handed to them on a silver platter. They float through life and expect everyone to step aside for them” (294). The situation escalates when Kamal verbally attacks Summer, calling her names. 

Kamal smashes his glass on the floor, prompting hotel security to intervene. When Diego, the head of security, addresses Summer as “Ms. Heyward” and identifies her family as the hotel’s owners, Kamal continues his drunken rant and rescinds Fitz’s job offer. Fitz tells Kamal he wouldn’t want to work for such a toxic person. As they ride the elevator back to the penthouse after the disastrous evening, a miserable Summer abruptly breaks up with Fitz.

Summer attempts to break up with Fitz, believing her tendency to attract drama cost him the job at Orcus Games. Fitz refuses, arguing that Kamal was the one at fault and the job is unimportant compared to her. In the middle of their heated argument, he tells Summer he loves her for the first time. As he says the words, Fitz realizes that while he has always avoided conflict and attention, Summer makes him feel alive and pushes him out of his comfort zone. They reconcile and begin having sex in the foyer.

Their encounter is interrupted when Summer’s brother, Dean, arrives and discovers them. After they get dressed, a furious Dean demands to know if they’re dating. Summer confirms she and Fitz are a couple. Citing the hockey team’s agreement about asking permission before dating a teammate’s sister, Dean knees Fitz in the groin as retribution. Fitz writhes on the floor in pain while Summer and Dean bicker.

During a meeting in his office, Professor Laurie makes an unwanted sexual advance on Summer, which she forcefully rejects. In their next class, Laurie retaliates by publicly humiliating her, using her midterm paper—which he graded a D-minus—as an example of poor work for the entire class to dissect. Devastated, Summer flees the classroom. 

Later, she asks Fitz whether her essay was genuinely poor. He affirms her work was good, and she reveals what happened in Laurie’s office. Fitz is furious on her behalf and convinces her that the grade is unethical. Bolstered by Fitz’s support, Summer silences her inner critic and resolves to formally appeal the grade, a decisive action she failed to take during a similar academic crisis at her previous university.

Professor Laurie maliciously reschedules Summer’s fashion show presentation to a time when her football player models are unavailable. When Summer appeals the change, he remains undeterred and threatens to fail her for the entire project. Determined to help, Fitz takes it upon himself to find replacements. He successfully recruits five of his hockey teammates—Hollis, Nate, Matt, Jesse, and Pierre—to walk the runway in the custom-tailored menswear. However, he cannot find a sixth replacement for Rex, who has a notably large physique. As the show’s start time looms, Fitz gets a surprising phone call from Kamal, who apologizes for his outburst at the fundraiser and officially offers Fitz the job at Orcus Games. Fitz agrees to consider the offer but ends the call abruptly, telling Jain he has to go walk in his girlfriend’s fashion show.

Summer’s fashion show is a resounding success, with Fitz and other hockey players modeling her swimwear designs. Although Professor Laurie is furious that his plans to sabotage Summer have failed, the department head, Mallory Reyes, praises Summer’s work in front of him, assuring her academic success. Backstage, Fitz and Summer kiss, but they’re interrupted by Nora, who is hurt that Fitz chose Summer over her. After Nora storms off, Fitz tells Summer that after the first time they slept together, he told Nora he couldn’t see her anymore because he had started seeing somebody.

At the fashion department reception, Summer sees Nora flirting with Professor Laurie. Later, Summer stays behind to help clean up the venue while Fitz and their friends go to the afterparty at the football players’ house. After everyone else leaves, Summer hears Nora and Laurie in a small bathroom. The sounds turn from giggling to a scuffle, and Summer overhears Nora saying “Stop it. I said no,” (332). Summer bursts into the room and finds Laurie attempting to sexually assault Nora. Summer yells at him to let her go.

Summer karate chops Professor Laurie on the back of his neck. Laurie denies any wrongdoing, claiming the encounter was consensual, and flees the scene. A shaken Nora thanks Summer but refuses to go to the police, believing it will be her word against his and that no action will be taken. Summer instead takes her to Dean Prescott’s house, where they report the incident to the Dean and Hal Richmond, with Summer’s lawyer father listening in on speakerphone. Summer reveals that Laurie had also attempted to kiss her in his office. The Dean assures them that the university will take swift action. As they’re leaving, Richmond apologizes to Summer for his previous biased behavior, admitting he had dismissed her earlier concerns about Laurie due to his resentment of her wealth and promising to take such matters seriously in the future.

Fitz anxiously awaits Summer’s return from the dean’s office. She arrives and reports that Nora is fine and that the dean promised to take action against Professor Laurie. Fitz is confident Laurie will be fired. As they head to his room, he internally reflects on his deep love for Summer, acknowledging her as his muse and the person who has taught him to feel and express emotion. He tells her he loves her. Although there is still tension with Hunter, Fitz accepts that his relationship with Summer is his priority. Bolstered by his newfound happiness, Fitz resolves to stop tolerating his parents’ negativity and is toying with the job offer from Kamal at Orcus Games, though he has not yet decided. Fitz and Summer prepare to spend the evening together, secure in their love.