Eight summers earlier, Poppy and Alex return drunk to a San Francisco hotel at the end of a trip celebrating Alex’s college graduation and upcoming MFA program. Before describing the trip, Poppy reflects on feeling trapped back home in Ohio, where living with her parents and seeing old classmates makes her feel judged and stalled. Poppy is dating Julian, an impulsive artist she cares about but whose recklessness and inconsistency bother Alex. Alex has already made it clear that he thinks Julian does not understand or deserve Poppy, and that tension hangs over the trip.

In Sonoma, Poppy and Alex use her travel blog and credit card points to stretch their budget, and Alex cheerfully helps her stage photos for social media. At a winery, Poppy jokingly tells a bartender named Mathilde that she and Alex are newlyweds, and the lie starts getting them small perks throughout the trip. The joke turns serious for Poppy when talk of marriage makes her cry. Poppy admits that she fears only her parents will ever love her and that she might die alone, and Alex comforts her by saying that he loves her and, if she wants, they can die alone together.

Because Mathilde recommends it, Poppy and Alex book the Blue Heron Inn near Muir Beach. The inn gives them passes to Muir Woods, and they spend two peaceful days moving between the beach, redwoods, games, drinks, and cozy meals by the fire. The stay deepens their private intimacy, and Poppy deliberately keeps most of it off her blog because she does not want to share Alex, or this place, with thousands of followers. Their trip feels increasingly like a romantic getaway rather than a simple friends’ vacation.

On their final day in San Francisco, Poppy and Alex walk the Golden Gate Bridge, browse bookstores and vintage shops, joke about returning for their fiftieth anniversary, and splurge on an expensive seafood dinner before still needing pizza afterward. While walking later, Alex says Poppy might have had more fun with Julian. Poppy admits that she considered inviting Julian but is glad she did not because she is happy it was only the two of them. When Alex asks whether she is going to break up with Julian, Poppy immediately thinks yes, but only says maybe.

That uncertainty follows them into a Hemingway-themed bar, where they drink heavily before returning to the hotel at two-thirty in the morning. Alex quietly takes care of Poppy by making her drink water, and when he starts to leave, Poppy asks him not to go. Alex lies down beside her, and Poppy falls asleep curled against him. The next morning, Poppy wakes up mortified by how intimate the night felt and decides she cannot break up with Julian right away. Even though she is starting to understand her feelings, Poppy wants time to prove to herself, and to Alex, that ending her relationship would not just be because of him.