By the time they finished breakfast, Nick had forgiven Brian and Abby enough to take them out in the boat as planned. Nick made Brian do the dishes to help make up for the joke that he pulled on him while he and Abby got things together to take out in the boat. They filled a cooler with ice to hold drinks, and in another small cooler they put some snacks in case one of them got hungry.

On the walk to the dock, Nick made Brian carry the coolers. Brian didn’t complain because he knew he deserved it, and anything that Nick could make him do was well worth it. Once on the boat, Abby took a seat while Brian put the stuff up out of the way and Nick untied the lines and went into the control room.

The ocean was calm and beautiful, and the sun was shining high and bright in the sky. It was a picture perfect day. Abby zipped up her jacket as a light breeze came off of the water. She heard the motor come to life, and a few seconds later the boat started to move. Brian came out and took a seat next to Abby.

“Nice, huh?” he asked with a smile.

“Yeah, it really is. Nice boat, too. I’ve never really been a big boat person.”

“How come?”

“I don’t have a problem with them or anything, I’ve just never really had many opportunities to go out in one. I like it, though."

“I go out with Nick whenever we get a chance. This is the first time in a while, though. We’ve either been busy or… other stuff. Nick brought his little brother Aaron out for a three day weekend this past summer since they were both on a break.”

“That’s awesome. When was the last time you came out?”

“Um… I don’t really remember because it’s been so long.” Brian chewed on his bottom lip as he fudged his story. The last time he was out in the boat was with Elizabeth. The memory was fuzzy, but he remembered how much fun they had and how intimate the time was.

Abby sensed his tension and watched as his eyes got a glassy covering. She watched him for a few minutes, and the whole time he didn’t blink. Whatever he was thinking about seemed to over take him. Abby decided to stay quiet until his little moment passed.

After another twenty minutes the boat slowed to a stop and Nick appeared. He grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and sat down on the other side of Abby. “What are we doing?” she asked.

“Just chillin’ here for a few,” he said taking a drink of water. “Why are you so quiet, Brian?”

“No reason.”

“Uh huh, there’s always a reason. You just don’t wanna say it in front of Abby.”

“That’s not true.”

“Of course it is. Just like how she’s quiet now because of you. It’s the whole chemistry thing or something like that.”

“Nick, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” Brian said.

“You can deny it all you want, but that ain’t gonna change the facts. Nick may be blonde, but he knows all.”

“Nick knows how to bullshit, that’s what Nick knows.”

Abby sat back while they talked over her, and her eyes went back and forth to whoever was speaking. It was a little awkward sitting there with them talking like that, and she could tell that Brian was getting annoyed.

“It’s a little thing called denial, dude. You’ll realize it one of these days.”

“Why don’t you just save us this nonsense and tell me what the hell you’re talking about.”

Nick leaned up and looked from Brian to Abby then back to Abby. “Do I really need to say it out loud?” It wouldn’t matter if he did say it because he knew that Brian would never admit having feelings for her. Nick knew he was probably doing everything in his power to not have feelings at all.

Brian just rolled his eyes and looked away. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Nick went over to the railing and looked out at the water. Abby got up a few seconds later and went into the cabin. Brian didn’t even notice she was gone until about ten more minutes passed. He looked over and saw that she was gone. He asked Nick if he knew where she went, but he said no. Brian went around and found her sitting in the cabin chewing on her thumb.

“Whatcha doing?” he asked leaning against the doorframe.

“Rocket science.”

“Sounds fun. Mind if I join you?”

“Only if you think you can handle it.”

“I’m sorry about Nick. He gets all weird sometimes, and he likes to push buttons.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Come back out. We’re gonna be moving again soon. Nick’s going to show you this really cool cove that we usually swim in when it’s warmer. Come on,” Brian said sticking his hand out until she stood up and took it. They went back out on deck pushing the past conversations to the back of their minds.