We're a Bad Idea, Right?

Audrey Barbour is an 18-year-old glassblower living in a colonial mansion on the Long Island Sound in Essex Harbor, Connecticut. She discovered her passion while living in Vienna, where she apprenticed under a glassblower named Emilia. When her mother, Monica, was diagnosed with depression, she and Audrey moved back to the States, settling in Connecticut while Audrey's father, Jeff, remained abroad for work. Audrey converted their guesthouse garage into a hot shop, a studio for blowing glass, and launched an Etsy store called Golightly Glass with her best friend, Henry Chen, who manages the business side.

Audrey has been accepted to both the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School and a yearlong fellowship at the Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina. Her parents insist she attend Wharton, dismissing glassblowing as impractical. Audrey has secretly paid Blue Ridge's deposit but cannot afford the remaining $10,000 in tuition, and her parents refuse to fund it.

Henry, Audrey's closest friend and business partner, is reeling from his breakup with Ellie Hopper. Ellie tells Audrey the split was mutual, but Henry reveals that Ellie had been emotionally cheating on him with her ex-boyfriend Chase Reynolds. Henry proposes that he and Audrey fake date to make Ellie jealous. The arrangement might also attract the attention of Griffin Keeler, Audrey's crush and their coworker at Constellation Catering. After a month of deliberation, Audrey agrees to a trial date.

Before the date, Audrey makes a final plea about Blue Ridge as her parents prepare to leave for their 25th anniversary trip to France. They refuse, and her father suggests she recover her deposit. Frustrated, Audrey has Ellie's 13-year-old sister, Tate, bleach and cut her hair into a dramatic blond bob. She and Henry then go on their first "date" to a bookstore and sushi restaurant, soft-launching their relationship on social media. They run into Griff, who is stunned by Audrey's new look, and Audrey impulsively announces she is hosting a party the next night.

At the party, Audrey and Henry negotiate their fake relationship's rules: It ends at graduation or sooner if Ellie or Griff shows clear interest, and kissing happens only "when they need to." After the guests leave, Audrey and Henry drink wine she stole from her parents' cellar, and she impulsively kisses him. They make out, and Audrey is unsure whether she is drawn to Henry specifically or simply enjoys the intimacy.

That same night, drunk and emotional, Audrey logs into her parents' Bank of Fairfield reserve account and pays the full $10,000 of remaining Blue Ridge tuition. The next morning, she is horrified to find the payment confirmation. She confides in Henry and Griff, and Griff suggests she rent out the carriage house apartment as a short-term rental to earn the money back before her parents return.

Since Airbnb is banned in Essex Harbor, Audrey registers on Here-to-Stay, a curated rental platform. Because hosts must be 25 and property owners, she registers under her mother's identity. She names the property Fair Winds and sets the nightly rate at $450, then convinces her cousin James, who was supposed to stay with her during her parents' absence, not to come.

The first guests leave a glowing five-star review. The next guests accidentally give Audrey and Henry pot brownies, resulting in an unintentional high that leaves them both at Henry's house overnight. At school, Ellie asks Audrey directly if she and Henry are dating; Audrey confirms they are, and Ellie reveals that Griff and his girlfriend Libby have broken up.

As more guests cycle through, Audrey discovers that family heirlooms have gone missing from the apartment, including a silver biscuit tin, a ship's bell clock, and her mother's Tuscan pitcher, which has been replaced with an imitation. The financial returns are also disappointing: After platform fees and the shares owed to Ellie and Griff for helping, she nets only about $300 per night and remains far short of her goal.

Audrey's feelings for Henry shift. She grows jealous when Ellie drives Henry to school, treasures their private moments, and realizes her crush on Griff has faded. At a catering company party, she tells Henry she can no longer pretend and confesses her real feelings. They share a genuine kiss. Griff asks Kenzie, a junior coworker at Constellation Catering, to prom, and Henry asks Audrey.

With approximately $4,000 still to repay, Griff pushes Audrey to rent out her mansion, arguing it could command $2,000 per night. Henry initially opposes the plan but agrees after James texts him to support Audrey "no matter what." Joel and Lana, class secretaries for Fairfield University's fifth reunion, book the house for two nights and hire Audrey to coordinate a Saturday after-party.

Before prom, Ellie admits she was the one who took the missing heirlooms weeks earlier, motivated by anger over Audrey dating Henry and concern about strangers handling Monica's treasured belongings. Everything is safely stored in the hot shop. Audrey confesses that her relationship with Henry started as a fake-dating scheme, and Ellie takes it with surprising grace, acknowledging that Audrey and Henry's connection is genuine.

At prom, Henry tells Audrey he loves her but argues she should consider attending Wharton after Blue Ridge rather than skipping college entirely. He also expresses concern about long-distance, telling Audrey he does not want her to feel "tethered," though he does not explain why. Audrey is devastated and takes an Uber home alone.

The next night, the reunion after-party unfolds at the mansion. James and his girlfriend, Isa, arrive; Isa's band performs after Griff's original act turns out to be high school freshmen. Crises pile up: Red wine stains the white couch, Chase crashes the party and Ellie shoves him into the pool, Joel drives a rented Porsche into the Sound, and guests raid the wine cellar. During the chaos, Audrey meets Trina, a Wharton admissions officer, who suggests she could take glassblowing classes at Temple University's art school while attending Wharton.

After the party, Audrey and Henry confirm in the hot shop that the bank account has been fully restored through Here-to-Stay profits, the reunion party payments, Audrey's savings, and Henry's $1,000 contribution. Audrey tells Henry she loves him, and he reciprocates. He reveals the source of his fear of long-distance relationships: His parents' divorce resulted from his father's constant traveling as a comedian, and he worries the same pattern will repeat. Audrey argues that Henry would be a "touchstone, not a tether." Henry recounts a dream that mirrors their chaotic adventure and says it was a dream, not a nightmare, because she was in it. They sleep together for the first time.

The next morning, the crew races to restore the house before Jeff and Monica return. When her parents arrive, Audrey pitches a gap year: She will attend the Blue Ridge fellowship, then enroll at Wharton. Monica reveals that her resistance stemmed from fear that if Audrey professionally pursues her passion, she might fall out of love with it. Both parents agree.

Jeff privately tells Audrey he discovered the Here-to-Stay operation weeks ago through a Facebook post by Ron Taylor, a former colleague, but chose not to interfere because he trusted her. In the hot shop, Audrey and Henry affirm their love and commit to making their relationship work across the distance, sealing it with what they call "a Hollywood kiss."