John Tucker, a Briar hockey player, arrives at Malone’s bar, deducing that his roommate Dean is in a foul mood after a one-night stand with their friend Allie Hayes. Dean warns Tucker and a freshman teammate away from Sabrina, whom Dean considers his nemesis. Instantly attracted to her, Tucker approaches Sabrina at the bar. Despite the animosity between her and Dean, Tucker and Sabrina have an immediate and intense chemistry. Sabrina agrees to hook up with Tucker but lays down strict ground rules: It will be for sex only, with no phone numbers or awkward morning-afters. Tucker accepts her terms. They leave the bar together, and when Tucker offers to take her to his place, Sabrina instead proposes they have sex in the truck, framing it as a quick, no-strings hookup.

Sabrina has sex with Tucker in his truck. Despite her rule against hockey players, she’s impressed by his confidence and honesty, though she continues to insist it’s a one-time-only event. The encounter is far more intense than she anticipated, and she is shocked by his skill. Afterward, Sabrina tries to make a quick exit, but Tucker ensures she gets to her car and makes her take his phone number so she can text him that she’s arrived home safely. During the drive, she contemplates breaking her rule and seeing him again. After texting him that she’s home, Sabrina ultimately decides she cannot afford the distraction. She blocks Tucker’s number, cementing her decision that their encounter will not be repeated.

Tucker follows Sabrina home in his truck to make sure she made it home through the worsening weather. Determining it isn’t safe to drive home, Tucker sleeps in his truck near Sabrina’s house. When Sabrina leaves for work at four o’clock in the morning, Tucker follows her to her job at a South Boston post office, which deepens his admiration for her. Determined to learn more, he returns to campus and questions people about her. First, he texts his ex-girlfriend Sheena, who confirms Sabrina is very smart but not social and is rumored to only date jocks.

Next, Tucker seeks out Beau Maxwell, the school’s quarterback and the last person known to have been involved with Sabrina. Tucker finds him at the gym and confirms Beau is no longer interested in her. Beau warns that Sabrina is emotionally closed off and works multiple jobs, making a relationship with her difficult. Undeterred, Tucker tells Beau he would have pursued Sabrina even if Beau had still been interested, admitting he finds the challenge appealing.

Sabrina, overwhelmed by her stressful academic and financial life, is confronted by Tucker after a class. He reveals he got her schedule from an advisor to find her after she blocked his number. Despite her initial annoyance, he buys her lunch and makes her sit down to eat. Tucker explains he understands she’s busy, but insists she go on one date with him, citing the connection between them at the bar. Sabrina dismisses their connection as purely physical attraction. She firmly tells him she is not interested in a relationship and asks him to stop pursuing her. Tucker accepts her rejection with a finality that leaves Sabrina feeling unexpectedly disappointed, though she remains convinced she made the right decision because their different worlds and her demanding life make a relationship impossible.

From Tucker’s perspective, the hockey team is in a slump, and morale is low. Tensions are heightened by the new defensive coach, Frank O’Shea, who seems to have a personal vendetta against Dean since O’Shea was formerly the head coach of Dean’s prep school hockey team. During his practice, Tucker is preoccupied with thoughts of Sabrina. He finds himself unable to stop thinking about her and keeps their interactions a secret when a suspicious Dean questions where he was over the weekend. Tucker reflects on his desire to find a serious relationship like his friends Garrett and Logan, who have both recently fallen in love. When his teammate Hollis invites him on a weekend trip to Boston, Tucker agrees to go. His primary motivation is the hope that he might run into Sabrina.

Sabrina returns home from her demanding schedule of classes and two jobs to find her stepfather, Ray, hiding a letter. She grabs it and opens it to find an acceptance to Harvard Law School. Her initial excitement is quickly dampened by Ray’s vulgar comments, which her Nana laughs at, so Sabrina retreats to her room to celebrate with her friends via text message. The next day, Sabrina visits the Harvard campus at the invitation of Professor Fromm. Her excitement briefly sours when a student mistakes her for an unhoused person seeking legal aid because of her worn clothing.

The subsequent meeting with Professor Fromm is brief. Sabrina confirms her already-existing plan to quit both jobs before classes start, which pleases Fromm, and the professor advises her to spend loan money on a new wardrobe to better fit in on the Harvard campus. The humiliating experience leaves Sabrina feeling deeply ashamed and insecure. As she heads to her waitress shift at the strip club, she questions whether she can ever overcome her socioeconomic background to truly belong at a place like Harvard.

Tucker and his hockey teammates, Hollis and Fitzy, leave their first bar and follow Hollis’s brother, Brody, to a western-themed strip club called Boots & Chutes. Tucker is shocked to discover that Sabrina works there as a waitress. She signals for him to keep their acquaintance a secret, and he becomes increasingly protective and angry as his friends and other patrons objectify her. When a group of men harasses Sabrina, Tucker confronts them, with his teammates backing him up. Afterward, Tucker texts her, and they talk privately. He assures her he didn’t follow her there but admits he was hoping he might run into her in Boston. Unbothered by her job, he’s relieved to learn she has unblocked his number. The chapter ends with Sabrina agreeing to meet Tucker after her shift.

Tucker waits for Sabrina after her shift, and despite her embarrassment about her home, she agrees to take him there so they can hang out. At her house, which is run-down, Tucker discovers her tidy bedroom is her refuge and sees her acceptance letter to Harvard Law. The celebratory mood quickly turns intimate, and they have a passionate sexual encounter. Their time is abruptly interrupted by Sabrina’s lewd and drunken stepfather, Ray. Tucker verbally confronts Ray, and Ray eventually leaves on his own. Embarrassed, Sabrina becomes distant and asks a concerned Tucker to leave, ending the night abruptly.

After receiving an explicit text from Tucker, Sabrina is consumed with jealousy when she sees him on campus flirting with another girl, Amber. Her friend Hope teases her about her intense reaction. When Tucker sees her watching him, Sabrina tries to flee, but he catches up to her. She confesses that their sexual relationship is a distraction from her goal of escaping her toxic home life and getting into Harvard, and that the scene with Ray is one she would like to erase.

In response, Tucker reveals his own vulnerabilities, explaining that he isn’t wealthy and attends Briar on a hockey scholarship. He shares the story of his father’s death and his mother’s subsequent struggles, which fuels his desire for a meaningful connection. He tells Sabrina that her background doesn’t matter and that he wants to support her, not distract her. Promising to be patient, Tucker gives her a tender and gentle kiss. The kiss, full of genuine emotion, scares Sabrina more than their previous passionate encounters.