After dark in Vancouver, Ilya goes for a walk and buys cigarettes, a habit he has mostly quit, smoking by the harbor and reflecting that these brief escapes make him “incandescently happy.” Back at the hotel, he encounters Troy at the elevators carrying a bag of liquor. As captain, Ilya knows he should intervene but feels too exhausted and hypocritical to bother, so he lets Troy go up alone.

The next morning, Troy is absent from team breakfast. In the lobby, Troy’s father Curtis introduces himself to Ilya, makes an offensive joke about Troy having women in his room, and mentions he cannot reach his son. Ilya buys Gatorade and goes up to Troy’s room, finding him hungover and reeking of vodka. He gives Troy the Gatorade and tells him to skip practice. When Ilya mentions Curtis is waiting downstairs, Troy turns pale but insists on handling his father himself. Before leaving, Ilya comments that family and fathers can be “hard.” Troy agrees, and Ilya reflects that the two of them may have “more in common” than he thought (202).

After midnight, Shane drives from Montreal to Ottawa to see Ilya, unable to wait until morning despite their two-week separation. He listens to a Russian-language podcast to stay awake and reflects on how Ilya brings both wildness and warmth to his life. At Ilya’s house, Shane lets himself in, watches Australian rugby, and falls asleep on the couch before Ilya arrives home from Winnipeg. Ilya wakes him and they embrace and kiss. Ilya admits he has not been sleeping well. They go upstairs, and when Shane returns from brushing his teeth, believing Ilya needs rest more than sex, he finds Ilya already asleep. Shane cuddles close to him.

The next morning, Shane is working out in Ilya’s basement gym when Ilya enters and challenges him to kiss him without falling off the stability ball. Shane accepts and falls. Ilya sits seductively on a weight bench, making his intentions clear, and Shane steps between his legs. Ilya instructs Shane to turn and face the mirrored wall, standing behind him and whispering praise in English and Russian while encouraging him to watch his own reflection. When Shane finds the intensity too much, Ilya dims the lights—installed, he explains, for Shane’s yoga and meditation. Shane orgasms watching himself in the mirror. Afterward, Ilya tells Shane to shower while he makes breakfast, joking about chocolate pancakes before agreeing to make Shane’s protein shake instead.

In December, Ilya has his third session with Galina. He describes his isolation; outside of hockey and his boyfriend, he has no one to confide in. Galina suggests he find someone on the team to open up to. She also questions whether Ilya has changed too much of his life for Shane, like playing for Ottawa and selling his sports car collection. She advises him to try to talk to Shane about his feelings, though Ilya insists that he doesn’t want to be a “burden.” After the session, Ilya initiates a friendly conversation with Luca at the arena gym, and when Harris arrives with Chiron, Ilya joyfully cuddles the puppy.

A week later, Ilya tells Shane on the phone that he came out as bisexual to Troy. When Shane asks why, Ilya reveals Troy came out to him first, after Ilya took him to a gay bar. Shane becomes jealous, and when Ilya points out that Shane can confide in people about their relationship while he cannot, the conversation escalates into an argument and Ilya hangs up.

That night, Ilya plays poorly. Back at the hotel, Troy visits and they watch a movie together; Troy reassures Ilya that he is a good captain and that the team “idolizes” him. After Troy leaves, Ilya texts Shane a heart emoji. Shane immediately replies with an apology and they reconcile.

On Christmas Day at Shane’s parents’ house, Shane and Ilya are tense. Christmas Eve had been pleasant—Shane gifted Ilya a foosball table, they played, and had sex—but Christmas morning brought bickering over small things, and Shane suspects Ilya is hiding something.

Back at Ilya’s house, Ilya gives Shane a framed photograph from their first photo shoot together, an outtake of them both laughing. Shane is deeply moved and says he will hang it at the cottage. Ilya stiffens at the mention, and Shane assumes he is upset that he won’t display it in his home. They have sex, but the tension remains.

On Boxing Day, Ilya casually invites Shane to a teammate’s party. Shane dismisses it as too “weird” and refuses. Ilya becomes furious, accusing Shane of unwillingness to acknowledge their relationship. Shane defends himself by citing career risks, then makes a cutting remark about Ilya’s team and his teammates smoking weed. It hurts Ilya, as he chose Ottawa specifically to be close to Shane. When Ilya asks if Shane would choose him over hockey, Shane’s answer is unconvincing. Shane asks the same question back, but Ilya refuses to answer. Instead, he tells Shane to leave, but Shane refuses. In his anger, Ilya backs Shane against a wall and puts a hand on his chest before quickly pulling away, his own “fury […] scaring him” (240). When Shane repeats the question, Ilya quietly says that he “already chose” him, then asks him again to leave.

Shane drives home to Montreal in shock, replaying the fight. He realizes the extent of Ilya’s sacrifices and how their life is structured around his convenience. Terrified the fight could end their relationship, he texts an apology. When Ilya doesn’t respond, Shane calls his mother, Yuna, who reassures him of Ilya’s love and advises patience. Afterward, Shane scrolls through Ilya’s Instagram with real attention for the first time, discovering it is a coded chronicle of their relationship filled with inside jokes and symbols. Overwhelmed by this evidence of Ilya’s devotion, he breaks down sobbing.

The next day, Ilya tells Galina he feels worse than ever. She calmly lists the pressures he faces, tells him she believes he is depressed, and advises that he and Shane need to have a difficult but necessary conversation.

Ilya calls Shane and they FaceTime, both apologizing for their parts in the fight. Ilya reveals he has been seeing a therapist for about a month and told her about their relationship by name. Shane is surprised and slightly hurt but tries to be supportive. They agree to talk more in person, ending the call on better terms but anxious about the future.

In January, the Ottawa Centaurs win in Carolina, boosting morale. Ilya is on a new line with Bood and Troy, their chemistry improving. As they board the plane to Tampa Bay, Ilya notices Troy’s obvious crush on team manager Harris and feels a wistful jealousy at their easy closeness.

A loud bang rocks the plane and it suddenly drops. Amid screaming, Ilya’s only fear is dying without seeing Shane again. With just Wi-Fi access during the emergency descent, he opens Instagram and sends Shane a series of messages—telling him he is the “best thing in [his] life,” that he loves him, and that “whatever happens,” he is “with” him (256). The plane lands safely, and Ilya vows not to waste his second chance.

Meanwhile, Shane’s team loses in Washington. On the bus, he sees Ilya’s missed call and reads the Instagram messages, puzzled by their tone until a teammate mentions the Centaurs’ emergency landing. Shane realizes the messages were meant as last words and is consumed with panic and anger at how their secret would have forced him to mourn alone.

Later, Ilya FaceTimes a tearful Shane from a Tampa parking lot. Shane’s voice cracks as he insists Ilya is “not allowed” to die before him. After the call, Ilya joins his teammates at the hotel bar.