The Risk

The next morning, as they’re about to have sex, Jake reminds Brenna that he isn’t wearing a condom, knowing how careful she is about contraception. Brenna reveals that she’s taking a contraceptive pill. Jake views her decision to go ahead without a condom as “a beautiful gift” (322).

Afterward, Brenna resolves to speak with her father and try to mend their relationship. For courage, Jake lends her his pink-and-purple beaded good-luck bracelet. The encounter makes Jake an hour late for hockey practice, where Coach Pedersen is furious. Jake lies, claiming that his alarm clock failed to go off.

After practice, Hazel surprises Jake and invites him to brunch at a place they both like. Over the meal, Hazel questions the seriousness of his relationship with Brenna and raises concerns about the challenges of a long-distance relationship once Jake goes professional in Edmonton. She suggests that Brenna will distract him from his career, leaving Jake anxious and pressured about balancing his professional ambitions with a serious commitment.

When Jake returns to his apartment, he tells Brenna that he was late for practice and that their relationship is a “distraction.” He regretfully explains that he can’t ask his teammates to make sacrifices for the team without making them himself. Saying that he needs to focus solely on hockey and his next game, he asks her to move out. Hiding her devastation, Brenna pretends to agree, stating that the relationship was never going to work anyway because of his move to Edmonton. She quickly packs her belongings, keeps a stoic facade, and leaves the apartment for her father’s house.

Brenna arrives at her father’s home and initiates an emotional conversation, beginning with an apology for getting pregnant at 16. To her astonishment, Chad begins to cry. He confesses that he was never ashamed of her; rather, he was terrified of losing her. He explains that finding Brenna on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood was traumatic because she looked just like her mother in the morgue after her fatal car accident. He admits that his emotional distance over the years was a result of his fear of losing her and not knowing how to comfort her. They resolve to start over and rebuild their fractured relationship.

The following evening, Brenna visits Summer’s house, where she finds Mike. He reveals that Rupi has just broken up with him. In a moment of commiseration, Brenna admits that Jake also dumped her. She then helps Mike reconcile with Rupi by coaching him through a phone call where he admits how much he likes her. Hunter appears and reassures Brenna that he’s no longer angry with her. He admits that his off-ice behavior cost the team the championship game and announces his intention to clean up his act, take a vow of celibacy, and work to earn the team captaincy next season.

On Saturday morning, Brenna learns that her cousin Tansy is engaged. While discussing it with her father, she admits that Jake broke up with her to focus on hockey. This leads Chad to reveal the origin of his long-standing rivalry with Harvard’s Coach Pedersen: Pedersen made an unwelcome pass at Brenna’s mother in college, and her father punched him for it. During the conversation, Brenna suddenly remembers that she still has Jake’s good-luck bracelet. Realizing that his important tournament game against Michigan is that day, her father takes charge and drives her to Worcester, arranging tickets for the game on the way.

After arriving at the arena, Brenna bumps into Hazel on the way to the locker rooms. Hazel agrees to pass the lucky bracelet back to Jake when he arrives.

Alone in the Harvard locker room, Jake is consumed with regret over breaking up with Brenna, admitting to himself that he acted out of fear after Hazel’s questioning made him panic. His thoughts are interrupted when Briar players Mike and Fitz enter the locker room, calling him a “dumbass” for breaking Brenna’s heart. Jake agrees that he made a mistake and tells them that he plans to win Brenna back after the game. Shortly after, Jake is surprised to find that his parents have come to Worcester to support him. Hazel is with them and wishes Jake good luck.

Jake panics, realizing that he loaned his good-luck bracelet to Brenna. Just then, Hazel enters the locker room and returns it. She confesses that Brenna arrived at the arena 30 minutes earlier to give it back. Hazel admits that, out of jealousy, she almost kept the bracelet from him to sabotage their relationship. She then confesses that she has romantic feelings for Jake. He accepts her apology and forgives her but clarifies that he only sees her as a friend and insists that she make a sincere effort to get to know Brenna. Jake tells Hazel that he has Brenna’s number memorized and uses her phone to contact Brenna.

Brenna receives a text from Hazel’s number summoning her to the locker room at Jake’s request. Her father encourages her to go and invites Jake to dinner if they reconcile. 

In the locker room, Jake apologizes profusely, calling himself a “coward” for panicking under the pressure of a serious relationship. He tells Brenna that he loves her and asks for a second chance. Brenna admits that she loves him too, and they reconcile with a kiss. As she leaves, Brenna runs into Coach Pedersen. She tells him that she knows about his failed attempt to pursue her mother in college and calls him “a sore loser” (379).

Brenna is in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Frozen Four, the National Collegiate Athletic Association national hockey championship. She watches the final game between Harvard and Ohio State from a private box with Jake’s parents and Hazel. The score reaches 4-1 when the buzzer sounds, giving Harvard the championship. After the celebration begins, Brenna checks her phone and finds a voicemail from Georgia Barnes. Georgia reveals that she has accepted a new job at ESPN and wants to interview Brenna for a position as her personal assistant. Brenna is ecstatic about her future.