Chapter Five
It had been four blissful weeks in Hawaii and her time there was coming to an end. In that time she had spent the last three weeks mostly with Steve, his sister Mary and Danny. Mary would usually call after she finished work and they would meet somewhere for lunch and then they would be joined by the boys later. Sometimes they just spent the day, especially the weekends when Steve and Danny were not working, at Steve's beach.
It was always fun when Grace, Danny's cute daughter came over, they always had fun swimming in the sea and Kono was trying to teach her how to surf. Unfortunately she was not that great and she could not get her balance on the boards and every time she fell off, everyone on the beach would laugh.
For the first time after her kidnapping, or even before that, Naomi was feeling like she belonged. Before she had gone to Paris for her fateful vacation, she had a lot of friends but they were not close friends, who goofed around and made one feel comfortable in their midst. And although she had only known Steve, Mary, Danny and Kono for a few weeks, she felt like she had found genuine friends in them. Friends who actually cared for her and enjoyed her company.
Since she had been in Hawaii, she had even started thinking about going back to school. She had completed her first year of pre-med before her kidnapping and she wanted to continue. She had always wanted to become a doctor, but after the kidnapping she had lost the courage to face all those people at college who knew about the 'incident'.
At that very moment she was standing in Steve's kitchen getting a pitcher of iced tea out of the fridge, when Steve walked in from the beach dressed only in his board shorts. Naomi went pink when he smiled at her. He was so handsome and when he was all wet with his hair sticking in all directions after his swim, he looked even yummier.
"Ahh, tea. Just what we need" he came over and pulled out some glasses and followed her back to the beach where the rest of the group sat.
This time it was Danny trying to learn how to surf, even though he hated the water. Steve laughed as he watched Danny sputter in the water.
"Can you imagine that man does not like the beach?"
"He is an odd one. But he compensates for his oddness by being the funniest guy I know" Naomi laughed as she watched their antics.
Grace came running over, "Hey can I have a glass please?" she asked politely.
"Yes you may" Naomi poured some into a glass that Steve held out to her, "Here you go honey".
She thanked them and walked off. "She's a great kid. I've never been comfortable around kids but I guess I never spent much time around them" Steve said as they walked to the group.
"From what I can tell, you do quite nicely".
"Thanks. You mentioned earlier that you were leaving soon".
"Yes, I leave on Monday, although I don't want to" she looked longingly around. "I'm really going to miss this place".
Steve stopped before they were in earshot of the others, "Is that all you would miss?"
She smiled and played dumb, "What else is there for me to miss?".
Steve laughed and jokingly bumped into her, "Cheeky".
They joined the rest of the group and spent the day relaxing. They ended the night with a bonfire and Steve had dragged out his guitar, which he played, though not very well. He was obviously out of practice.
Steve insisted on driving her back to the villa, although it was not as late. For some reason, he always made sure she was home by a decent hour, as if she was back in high school.
When they reached the enormous villa, he stopped the truck "What time is your flight on Monday?"
"Eleven thirty in the morning".
He nodded his head, "Alright. I'll be there to say bye, just text me the gate you're supposed to be at".
"Steve you don't have to, you'll be busy with work" she looked at him, but because of the dark she couldn't make out his expression.
He reached for her hand, "How can I let you leave without saying goodbye. I would have liked to do something tomorrow but I have to go into work".
She smiled at that, "Okay. I'll text you the gate" she hesitated, not knowing what to do, "I have had the best three weeks in a long time with you all. I don't know how to thank you for it".
"You can thank me by keeping in touch. You have my number and whenever you feel like you want to talk just call me or Mary or any of us" he turned her face toward him and brought her closer to him. He kissed her lightly on her lips at first. Then he added pressure and parted her lips with his tongue.
They had kissed quite a few times, but they had always been chaste, friendly kisses on the lips or the cheeks. But this kiss was very different. Naomi felt his tongue and after a slight hesitation, she parted her lips and allowed him in.
Steve kissed her sweetly and sensually, but he was never aggressive, which was very comforting. Just as she was getting more involved in the kiss, the light of the front porch came on. Steve broke away, both of them breathing hard, the only sound in the truck, "I feel like I'm back in high school" he laughed slightly as he pushed her hair behind her ears and caressed her cheek.
She laughed with him, "I think I should head inside" she was able to see his face now and could make out his wide grin, "Goodnight Steve, thanks for the lovely day".
They got out of the truck and walked to the front door, "You're welcome. I'll speak to you tomorrow" he kissed her once more on the lips and cheek, "Goodnight Naomi". He waited for her to get into the house and then drove away.
As she walked into the foyer, she knew she had a silly smile on her face. But then she saw her father and that smile faded.
"What the hell was he doing kissing you like that?" he asked her sounding angrier than she had ever seen him, especially at her.
"He likes me and I like him. We kissed" she explained.
"And I take it that you have been spending all your time with him. Instead of going out to meet James as I had asked you to".
"Yes. I don't know why you are so angry at me, I never lied to you".
He huffed, "You were very clever. You only said you were sightseeing and never told me who you were meeting".
"You make it sound so seedy" she was pissed now.
"You can tolerate being with that guy, who is a nobody, but you cannot make time for James, who is one of the most influential men in the business world. Not to mention one of the richest".
She was fuming now. She had never known her father to be so nasty, "Everything is not about money. And 'that guy' has a name. Steve, and I happen to like him. A LOT! And he is NOT a nobody".
"Well at least we will be leaving on Monday" he walked back into the den and slammed the door shut.
She was so angry she couldn't think straight. All she knew was that she had to get out from under her father's thumb, or she would never be able to regain control of her life.
-X-
Steve made it to the airport with half an hour to spare before boarding would start. As he reached the gate he spotted Naomi and her father; they were sitting a few seats apart and not talking, it looked a little strained.
As he approached he admired her; as always she looked beautiful dressed in casual tight blue jeans, a striped blue and white t – shirt and a black fitted blazer with rolled up sleaves. For once he noticed she was not in heels but in red flats. He was always amazed that she managed to look sophisticated yet sexy even dressed in a bathing suit, it was just in her make up.
He watched her as she lifted her head and spotted him, her face broke out into a smile. She got up and started walking toward him, but he also noticed the displeasure on her father's face. He decided to ignore it.
"You came" she said as he reached for her and hugged her close.
"I couldn't not come" he pulled away, keeping her close and looked at her face. "Your father does not look too happy".
She sighed, "Yes, he has a problem with me socialising with you" she looked a little guilty.
Steve decided to laugh it off, "He wants you to be seen with a reputable rich businessman, rather than a lowly soldier".
She immediately looked at him and frowned, "Yes he does and no you are not a lowly soldier. In fact he even has a rich businessman lined up for me".
He was pleased at her offended response on his behalf, but he was slightly jealous, irrationally of a guy who could potentially be a rival. "So who's the lucky guy? Have you inspected all his teeth?" he asked and he was unable to sound as non-chalant as he would have liked to sound.
"His name is James Remington".
"Does he have a roman numeral attached to the end of his name?"
She giggled, "No but he could have one if he wanted to. He's a real pompous ass".
The shared a look and laughed. "Your dad's coming over" Steve pointed out as he put her further from him.
"Commander McGarrett, nice to see you" Morales shook his hand and smiled, although it was not a genuine one. "I know you have grown close to my daughter, but you didn't have to come all the way to say goodbye. You must be busy".
Steve just smiled, he would not give the old man the satisfaction of making him uncomfortable, "Actually it was no trouble. It's been great catching up with Naomi over the last few weeks".
Morales looked at him haughtily, "Now that we're leaving I'd like to thank you for showing Naomi a good time".
"My pleasure" he then looked at her, "Want to have a quick coffee?"
She looked at her watch, "Sure, we have time".
They were seated at the café, which was not as busy, "I am thinking of applying for college here" Naomi said as she looked a little uncertain.
"That's great. I never knew you hadn't finished college".
"I had finished the first year of pre-med before the kidnapping. But I didn't continue when I got back".
"Pre-med. Wow! You're smart" Steve joked and got a smile from her.
"Very funny" she pulled a face at him. "Anyway, I was thinking I'll send out my applications as soon as I get back home and hopefully I'll be able to start just after the summer".
"Naomi that's really great. You should try University of Hawaii, its got a great pre-med programme and it's close to all of us, so you will know someone when you start out".
He watched as she played with the silver bracelet she always wore, "I think that sounds like a plan". Just then her father came toward them.
"I think it's time to start boarding" Steve mentioned and got out of his seat. He walked with Naomi behind Morales and they got into the Business Class line.
Just before their turn Naomi turned to him, "Steve, thanks for everything and I'll hopefully see you soon".
"Keep in touch and let me know about your plans" they hugged and when she went to pull away, he stopped her.
"Can I kiss you?" he asked her, aware that they were being watched.
"You have to ask?" she smiled and reached up to put her lips to his. It was the first time she had initiated a kiss between them.
It started as just a chaste kiss, but it turned into something much more. He cupped her face as he felt her arms go around his waist as they held onto each other. He slipped his tongue between her lips, being bold but it paid off. She welcomed him shyly but she settled more into the kiss and she sighed.
When Steve pulled away he saw an older woman smile at them, which made Naomi blush bright pink, "Oh God!" she groaned and hid her face in his chest.
Steve pulled her face up and kissed her lightly on her lips, "Bye Naomi" he said against her mouth.
"Bye Steve" they pulled away and again Steve noticed Morales glaring daggers at him. Steve just smiled and waved at him, watching the old man get angrier.
"I think we just made your dad mad. You okay with that?" he asked, now wondering if their blatant display would effect her in some way.
She shrugged and smiled, "Hey, it feels good to be a bit rebellious. It's very liberating". She reached up and kissed him on the cheek quickly, "Okay now I really have to go. Say hi to Mary and the others for me. I'll be in touch".
"Bye. Have a safe flight" Steve watched as Naomi turned and went through the gate. She turned and waved at him, then disappeared.
Steve only smiled as he turned back to head outside. A strange excitement was coming over him at the prospect of Naomi coming back to Hawaii.