I feel like I haven't updated in a while, but it hasn't been too long. I've just been working a lot, at a job I already hate more than my last one, so I feel like I never have time anymore. I don't work too much this week, though, so I'll for sure have at least one more chapter up, probably two. The boating adventure will be fun, don't you worry. And I've come up with part of the ending and I love it, so hopefully everyone is looking forward to it. Don't worry though, it's a while off. And to the reviews, much love, as always.

Spiederman sat on the edge of the deck of their house, staring down to the beach where Nic was sitting on a lounge chair, typing on her laptop.

"Talk to her," Jude suggested, standing over him. "It won't kill you, Vin."

"Too much has happened," he murmured.

She rolled her eyes. "It's been a day. When you're forced into an awkward situation with her after three years, we'll talk."

"Yeah, how's all that going?" he asked. "You and Squinty still on rocky terms?"

"I don't know." She sat down next to him and let out a long sigh. "To be completely honest, I'd like for things to go back to normal, but I just don't think I can do it yet. To quote you, too much has happened."

He laughed. "Yeah, but you guys were in l-o-v-e when he left. Nic and I were just having fun when she went running back to her ex-husband."

"Or when you kissed your ex-wife right in front of her," she added. "And we weren't in love. I loved him, but it was unrequited."

"All right, Shakespeare," he teased. "No one uses that word."

"Nic would," Jude pointed out. "She is a brainiac, you know."

Spiederman was momentarily silent. "Do you believe in love at first sight? Or that you can fall in love with someone you don't even know?"

"Obviously not," she chuckled. "I hated Tommy when I first met him."

"Well, when I was e-mailing Nic, before we met, it was like talking to you or one of the guys because it was so easy," he explained. "She was really open and I could tell she wanted to help Tommy, and then you when I told her how depressed you were."

"Thanks," she scoffed. "You had her thinking I was a basket case."

"Yeah, well, I'm not one for lying," he joked. "I was still married, so I didn't think anything of it, but it was crazy how strongly I could feel for a girl I'd never even met."

"Three words: you love her." Jude paused. "And now three more words: talk to her."

He sighed. "You make it sound so easy and it's not, dude. It's like, I have the right to be mad because she told Chris I meant nothing to her, but she gets to be mad because she saw Karma kiss me."

Jude groaned. "You're killing me, Spied. Look, she told Chris that so he wouldn't go after you, you idiot. She told me this morning she's falling in love with you and if you can't see it, well, I feel sorry for you." She stood up and walked back into the house.

Nic was working on a new article about finding the perfect private school for a teenage girl when she felt someone standing behind her. "Tommy, leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad," Spiederman told her, settling into the sand next to her. "If I've worked up the courage to talk about it, we're going to."

"What, no date with Karma?" she asked coolly, closing the computer and putting it back in its bag. "Her lips are probably getting cold."

"Funny," he said dryly. "You know, I'm not the only one at fault here, Nic."

She gaped at him. "Please, do tell how meeting with my ex-husband to protect you by saying there's nothing going on between us is remotely like kissing your ex-wife?"

"You didn't have to meet with him!" he cried. "I told you I don't care if he comes after me. And if his big plan is to get Karma down here, whoop-dee-doo! She can't hurt me."

"I just didn't want to put you into an awkward situation," she explained. "I don't want to be around Chris, so why would you want to be around Karma? Or why would Tommy want Megan here?"

"Good point," he nodded. "Look, I'll admit that I've put up walls since all the crap with Karma, so I'm not ready to just let someone new in and now that I'm thinking about it, I'm cautious. Seeing that you were with Chris just unnerved me a little more than I thought it would, whether it was with good intention or not."

She smiled half-heartedly. "I can understand that, I guess. I mean, we're not together, so it shouldn't have bothered me so much to see you with Karma, but it did."

"I know this may sound weird, but I'm glad it did," he admitted. "It means you care and I was afraid you really didn't."

"I do," she assured him. "I absolutely care; probably more than you think."

"What's that mean?" he whispered.

Nic eyed him plainly. "It means I'm falling in love with you, Vincent, that's what."

"Really?" he whispered again. "Cause I don't do so well with liars and cheats."

She leaned down and kissed him. "I only lie to get ahead and lying to you won't do that for me."

"You wouldn't lie to get me to kiss you?" he murmured into the kiss.

"Would I really need to lie to get you to kiss me?" she teased, kissing him again. "If I'd have kissed you this morning, after you threw that tabloid at me, you would've given in and this fight would've ended then."

He laughed and pressed his forehead against hers. "You're so right."

"Duh," she smirked.

"Well, that's one couple down and one to go," Sadie mused from the window in her and Kwest's bedroom. "Now, about my sister and Tom. How can we get them together for a long period of time so they can talk?"

"Stick them on a dinghy and ship out to see?" he suggested.

"Let's stick to land here, Jack Sparrow," she teased. "Now, unfortunately, the two of us are not sneaky masterminds, so we're gonna have to recruit some help," she continued, looking back out the window at Nic and Spiederman, who were now both on the sand, playing a fifth grade hand game. "They're so lame."

"Let them be 11-years-old again," Kwest said.

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Spied's always an 11-year-old."

"Touché," Kwest laughed. "So, shall we go talk with them?"

"Round up the rest of the band, too," she nodded. "This could take all the conniving brainpower we're got."

Nic and Spiederman were finishing their game when Sadie, Kwest, Wally, and Kyle approached from the houses.

"Based on the look on Wally's face, you either need me to plan something or he's gotta go the bathroom," Spiederman stated. "And since he's out here and not at the toilet, I'm going with my first guess."

"And I'll bet it deals with Jude and Tommy?" Nic put in.

Sadie scoffed. "How'd you know?"

"Well, they're the only two not out here, so it's process of elimination," Nic replied. "So, since you came to us, we obviously need to create the plan."

"Exactly," Kwest confirmed. "And since the two of you obviously worked out your problems, you can work out theirs."

Spiederman started thinking about it. "We're gonna need a boat."

"A boat?" Kyle repeated. "And where will we get this boat?"

"We have one," Nic offered. "It's docked at Harbor Cove, and we rarely use it, but it's there."

"Nice!" Spiederman cried. "Now, how many rooms are on this boat?"

"A master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, and a living quarter, complete with full kitchen and bathroom," Nic reported. "It will suffice, I promise."

"Anyways, we'll somehow get Jude and Tommy 'stuck' in one of the rooms, preferably a smaller one, and we'll end up on the top deck, with no cell phone service, and won't realize they're missing for oh, say, 3 hours?"

Sadie squealed. "It's genius!"

"It's not that great of a plan," Wally murmured to Kyle. "Effective, but not squeal-worthy."

"Sadie's different," Kyle reminded his friend. "She likes pink and dolls and like, painting her nails."

"Boo," Wally whispered. "Girly stuff."

"So, shall I call the harbor master and tell him to expect us tomorrow morning?" Nic spoke up. "They like notice to prepare our departure."

Kwest nodded. "Yeah, do what you gotta do. No one has any plans for tomorrow, right?" Once everyone had shaken their heads, he grinned. "Good. Nic, let's do it."

The following morning, Jude was woken up by Spiederman jumping on her bed.

"What are you doing?" she yelled, throwing a pillow at him. "It's 10:00."

"We're going boating today!" he cheered happily. "Get up and get dressed. We're leaving at 11:00." With that, he jumped down and left the room.

Jude groaned and rolled out of bed, stumbling all the way to the bathroom. After a 15-minute shower, she put on her red string bikini, covered it with a pair of brown Bermuda shorts, a white tank top, and old flip-flops. She let her hair air dry and went downstairs to the kitchen, where everyone was waiting.

"Finally ready, Sleeping Beauty?" Sadie teased. "We've been waiting all morning."

"Ugh, Spied said I had until 11:00," Jude whined, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Besides, Nic and Tommy aren't here."

Kwest looked up from the local newspaper. "They already went to the marina to get things ready. I remember how to get there from when we were younger."

"Let me finish this and then we'll go," Jude yawned.

As everyone went out to load up the Range Rover, Jude and Spiederman remained in the kitchen, cleaning up.

"So, I saw you patch things up with Little Miss Montreal last night," she joked, unplugging the coffee maker. "Things okay?"

He nodded. "Better than. We're pretty much in love now."

"Now?" she scoffed. "Right, like you haven't been since you met her."

"Okay, but it's in the open now," he clarified. "We're gonna go full force with our relationship."

Jude eyed her best friend. "Does she know this?"

"Well, I think it's unspoken," he shrugged. "I won't take no for an answer either."

"You never do," she muttered. "Remember when I had to Boobgate issue with Karma? You guys would go around singing that ridiculous made-up song 'Life's a test, but you always do your best, exposing your right breast' all the time, even when I threatened to fire you all. 'No' is not in your vocabulary in any way, shape, or form. It gets annoying at times."

"You know how I do," he laughed. "You wanted lyrics and at the time, those seemed to describe you pretty well."

"Come on, you two!" Kyle yelled from outside. "We're leaving, with or without you!"

"Cool your jets, Bono," Jude told him, locking the door as she followed Spiederman out. "We're ready."

They rode the entire way listening to the SME boys sing some of the creative songs they'd made up over the years, including 'The Boob Song' and 'The Why Can't We Have Kwest Blues.'

"Here we are," Kwest announced, parking in a gravel parking lot along the ocean. "Harbor 12. It's called The Nicola, after their paternal grandmother. That's also where Nic got her name."

The group stood at the base of harbor 12, staring at the massive yacht in front of them. Nic and Tommy were standing on the top deck, he in hunter green board shorts and a white t-shirt and she in a navy blue bikini and white boy shorts, watching them take it all in.

"Let the games begin," Kyle whispered, following Spiederman and Wally onto the boat.