Chapter 8

The next morning the brunette hardly emerged. They had not slept enough even if she was far from complaining. It had been a wonderful night, the most wonderful night of her life. Their embrace had been sweet and tender but also incredibly passionate. Quietly she began to stir and felt two strong arms around her waist. The young woman couldn't help smiling. She turned to watch her boyfriend admiring her lovingly. That immediately made her laugh. She snuggled against him and placed a quick kiss on his lips.
"It is 8:30 am, we have barely slept, and you are already awake. You are amazing I hope you know that."

"I may have heard about it, especially last night," the young man teased then returned his kiss after seeing her blush like an embarrassed teenager. He slid his lips into her neck, smiling.

"You knew how to be very creative. I grant you," Tani whispered playfully. This time it was her turn to laugh. Damn, they were good together. None of them had ever felt so light.

"I could stay like this forever."

"Me too, but we're going to have to go down and I'm going to have to change. We don't have time for that," she sighed with the same smug expression on her face. She got up, then put on her clothes the day before.

"Or we could have breakfast brought up to bed."

"I would love that, but I would be remiss. You don't spend a lot of time with your family and we leave after eating. You have to take advantage of every minute. Also, I just met them, we arrived as friends and it would be quite embarrassing," the pretty Hawaiian exposed, blushing slightly. They all had time to explore their relationship

"It's adorable. Finally, you know that we are adults. They are not naive enough to believe that nothing happened, especially after last night," the old Seal joked.

"Do you see yourself being so open in front of your grandmother?" The playful policewoman asked.

"Okay, there you have a point. I'm going down, join us as soon as you're ready," Junior laughed, realizing the significance of his words. It would indeed be very embarrassing. Although he was part of a very open-minded family, the young man was too modest to be so obvious. He placed a tender kiss on her lips, put on a t-shirt and shorts, watched her go into her bedroom and went down to the living room to have breakfast. A few minutes later she joined them. They took their meal in a good mood. The young couple no longer hid at all. They had kissed several times in public. For the first time, Junior had been able to meet the gaze of his grandmother who sported an expression of the style "I told you so". After the meal they continued to play with the children, to discuss between cousins or even to pack their bags while tidying up the bazaar caused by the weekend. The whole morning was spent in the same atmosphere. They were just plain happy and very pleasant. Around noon they got together to snack on some sandwiches before they left. Indeed, all good things must come to an end, just like this getaway. Students were to join their campuses, adults were to return to work, and the older students were to return to their tidy daily routine.

So, an hour later they all found themselves in the hall. For several minutes there were long hugs where everyone promised to keep in touch, even to see each other again before the following year.

"Children we were so happy to see you. Above all, don't hesitate to come back quickly," Junior's aunt greeted, taking her godson in arms with her husband, brother, and wife by his side. At the end of the weekend, there was no longer any animosity or embarrassment between father and son. "This also applies to you Tani, now you are part of the family," Claudia whispered in the young woman's ear. She straightened up and smiled, blushing as grateful as embarrassed. This little ride lasted for a few more minutes and then they hit the road. For a good half hour, they walked along the coast, singing each song that played on the radio, the windows open and their hair blowing in the wind while enjoying the magnificent sun. They laughed, exchanging a few kisses. After a while, the look of the young Hawaiian girl changed.

"Are you okay?" He asked intrigued.

"Yes everything is fine, you mind that we make a short stopover. This time it is my turn to show you a particular place." She smiled weakly to reassure him because even if she was a bit nostalgic everything was fine.

"Of course, where are we going?" He continued, feeling better. He was still doubtful, however. Five minutes later and after a few instructions they arrived in front of a large park. It was a green place with infrastructure for children, benches and a view of the sea. The duo got out of the car. She took his hand, guided him to the playground and they sat on a bench.
"My mother often took us here when we were young," the brunette announced after a few minutes. Her boyfriend immediately turned his head towards her. Tani never talked about her mother, never. He traced a tender circle on the back of her hand with his thumb.

"It is not because I took you this weekend that you are obliged to share this with me."

"I know but I want to, don't worry. She left when I was 8 years old. She left us alone with my father, whose heart she had broken. She never came back, never wrote or telephoned. Even today I have no idea where she is. I don't even know if she is still alive. I'm not very good at it. I mean to communicate, talk about my feelings and not self-sabotage but the two of us. I want it to work," she confessed head down. It was the first time she had told a boyfriend about her family. Junior was really special.

"There's nothing wrong with that. I too have a lot of progress to make in certain areas. All that matters is that we both want it to work. For the rest, we will gradually advise. For your mother, I am sincerely sorry to hear that, and I will be there whatever you decide to do. Anyway, she has no idea what she missed: an incredible woman, courageous, intelligent and with a heart of gold," the policeman tenderly concluded by plunging his eyes in hers. The Hawaiian smiled, then kissed her on the lips. Sometimes he was afraid. Before admitting her feelings, he had more than once feared to ruin their friendship and losing her forever. Only now that they had declared their love he felt like he was lighter. Tani had never defined her well-being in terms of the attention she was given, particularly that of men. With Junior, she felt complete. To be honest with her feelings, to stop being afraid made her feel lighter. Quietly they returned to the car and set off again for the young woman. The sailor went down to retrieve the bags and open the door for her, then his teammate willingly invited him to return. The duo spent a calm and romantic evening watching a film tenderly entwined on the sofa.

"You know if I don't come back tonight McGarrett will understand that I slept here and we will be toast tomorrow morning?" The brown asked. They hadn't discussed what they wanted to say to the team even though it was likely that everyone already knew about their relationship. After all, they hadn't been discreet about their respective feelings.

"I do not care. I have no desire to hide. We don't need it. The team is the family," she reassured a sweet smile on the lips. She was not afraid. Happier than ever he kissed her again. Their embrace deepened which led them to the bedroom for a long, passionate night.

The next morning the young couple woke up early and strangely rested. None of them were used to sleepy mornings or peaceful nights because of their work. These few hours of sleep had therefore been sufficient. They had lunch quietly, got ready and then left for work with the knowledge that they were going to be harassed by their colleagues (in the good sense of the word of course). When they arrived, no one moved but they could feel that they were being watched. So, it was half an hour later that Tani joined Quinn and Adam in their office when Junior did the same with Steve, Dani, and Lou. Fortunately, the day promised to be calm because the curiosity of the four men was common knowledge.

Whether for the young couple or their teammates, none of them knew what awaited them in the future, but the solidarity which they always showed on their ground or during lighter subjects like their love story suggested that whatever happens they could face it all.