Catherine followed Jessica out back carrying the salad. Once they put the food on the table, Jessica went back in to get the bread and Matt followed her in to get the dishes to set the table. Catherine was going to help out, but they had insisted they could get it all and left her and Steve to talk.

Once Matt and Jessica had gone back inside, Steve pointed at Catherine's glass of wine, "Feel better?" he asked teasingly.

"Yes, actually I do." Catherine grinned at him.

Sensing that she was just as nervous as she, Steve wanted to put her at ease. He held up his nearly finished bottle of beer, "I know the feeling. I was nervous too. I don't usually do blind dates."

Catherine's grin grew wider, "Me either."

"What made you say 'yes' to meeting me"? Steve asked her.

Catherine shrugged, "Jess can be pretty convincing. We've been friends forever and we've never fixed each other up before. The fact that she was dead set on introducing you and I said something, I guess. I trust her. Besides, she's my best friend so I could hardly turn her down. And…..her lasagna is awesomely delicious. I wouldn't miss it for anything."

Steve laughed and the sound made Catherine feel warm inside, "Oh I get it….It was really the lasagna that made you say yes, huh?"

"Not entirely." Catherine admitted, "I have to admit, I was intrigued when she told me about you."

Steve's eyebrows shot up, "Oh? What did she say about me?"

"I'll save that for another time." Catherine said, "Let's just say, I think she may've been right." She lifted her glass to take another sip as she looked at him over the rim.

"Now you have me curious." Steve's eyes twinkled, "Guess I'll just have to figure out a way to get it out of you. I can be very convincing, you know."

Catherine felt her knees go weak again.

They heard the French doors open as Matt and Jessica made their way out to finish setting the table. The two couples sat down together. Catherine noted how the chairs had been moved so that there were two on each side of the table rather than one on each side leaving Matt to sit beside Jessica and Steve beside Catherine.

Wine was poured, food was passed around, and the foursome began to enjoy dinner together as the sun set over the ocean ahead of them. It was the perfect setting and Catherine began to relax as she realized Jessica had been right about another thing: Steve was easy to talk to and had a great sense of humor. She caught Jessica watching her a couple of times as if trying to gauge what her friend was thinking. After being friends for so long, they could usually read each other pretty well and Catherine had no doubt Jessica could probably tell how impressed she was with Commander Steve McGarrett. She definitely hoped he wanted to see her again. It could make her time at home very enjoyable if he did.

After they'd finished eating and Steve and Matt had both complimented Jessica on her "incredible lasagna", they all began to clear the table and take everything back into the kitchen. Catherine wanted to help Jessica with the dishes, but once again, Jess insisted that Matt could help. She was just going to put everything in the dishwasher, she argued, and she wanted Catherine and Steve to spend more time together. Catherine reluctantly agreed and turned towards Steve.

He reached out a hand to her, "Wanna go for a walk?" he asked.

Catherine realized she couldn't refuse him. Besides, a walk with him on the beach sounded wonderful.

She smiled as she took his hand. He looked pleased as he led her back out of the house. They walked silently for a few minutes until they reached the shoreline behind Jessica's house. They removed their shoes and continued on the sand for a few minutes. With the soft breeze coming off the ocean, the soft scent of Steve's cologne was drifting her way. It was intoxicating. The man really did smell good. It made her want to….

"So, tell me about yourself." Steve's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What do you want to know?"

Steve cast her a sideways glance that matched his boyishly crooked grin, "Everything."

"Excuse me?"

"I want to know everything. So start by telling me anything you want me to know."

Catherine smiled before looking at him indulgently, "Okay." She said before taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts, "Soooooo, I'm a Navy brat."

Steve's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"Yep, my dad was in the Navy. Actually he was an Admiral….so most of my childhood was spent between Pensacola, Coronado, and finally Hawaii. When I was old enough, I signed up too…..and the rest is history, I guess."

Steve shook his head in understanding, "I get that. My dad and grandfather were both in the Navy. So was my Uncle Joe…..well he was sort of my 'surrogate uncle'. But he was also a SEAL. I lived with him for a while growing up and he's the one who encouraged me to become a SEAL."

"Family can be a strong motivator, huh?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah…Family…..AND situations."

"What do you mean?"

"Long story for another time." Steve answered. "Let's just say I felt a connection with the Navy. And a need to be involved with the SEAL's so I could right some wrongs." Steve looked at her and his eyes softened, "But this is too serious a conversation for now. So, tell me what you like to do when you aren't living on an air carrier?"

"Well, on the rare occasion I'm home, I usually just relax, spend time at the beach, catch up on some reading. But I also love to surf when I can. And…..I love to ride horses, but I don't get to do that very often anymore."

Steve was intrigued, "You ride?" he asked.

Catherine shook her head, "Yeah, I use to. My Uncle Cliff owns a ranch in Texas. We use to visit several times a year and I would ride whenever I was there. There's something about being on the open range on a horse. It's…"

"Freeing." Steve answered for her.

She looked at him and smiled, "Exactly. I love to ride. It's just me, my horse, and the land. I love the peacefulness of it."

"I know what you mean. I love to ride too." He turned towards her, "Maybe we can ride together sometime?"

"I would like that." She answered as she continued to smile at him. She'd found a man who shared her love or horses and riding. Damn, could it get any better?

After a few more minutes, they decided to turn around head back towards Jessica's house. Catherine doubted that Jess would even worry if she didn't show up for a while considering how hard she had worked to get the two of them together….but Catherine still wanted to get back even though she was enjoying Steve's company.

They made their way back inside to find Matt looking through some DVD's they'd picked up trying to find one to watch. Jessica heard them coming in and turned towards them. A happy smile crossed her face as she found her friend and Steve still holding hands. Noticing Jessica's curious glance at their clasped hands, Catherine quickly removed her hand from Steve's and walked towards the living room. Steve was right behind her, though. She could feel the heat of his body on her back when she stopped.

"Have a nice walk?" Jessica asked innocently.

"Yeah. It feels great outside. You guys should go for a walk too." Catherine said. Then, her eyebrows shot up instinctively as she realized….. a little too late…..that she had basically just asked for more alone time with Steve. Matt turned around at her unexpected suggestion and caught the grin Steve was sending him over Catherine's shoulder.

"Catherine's right, babe. Why don't we go for a walk?" Matt said as he grabbed Jessica's hand to lead her outside. Then stopping beside Steve, he said, "Choose whatever movie you like. We might be gone awhile, so go ahead and start without us." He wiggled his eyebrows at Jessica before she playfully smacked him on the arm.

Steve laughed and moved to put his arms around Catherine to pull her back against his chest. "Take your time," he commented back to Matt.

Despite wanting to be cautious, Catherine found that she liked the way she felt in Steve's arms. She felt like they "fit" as she leaned back against him smiling happily.

Matt and Jessica walked out as Steve loosened his arms from around Catherine to turn her around. "You wanna pick out a movie while I get us another glass of wine?"

"Sure."

Steve made his way to the kitchen while Catherine went to look over the movies. They had several to choose from, but she decided to choose something that everyone might like. From what she'd heard "Pirates of the Caribbean" had been a big hit with a little bit of everything: Action, suspense, romance…..and Johnny Depp.

Steve returned with glasses in hand. "So what did you find?"

"How about Pirates of the Caribbean? I think it has a little bit of everything, so everyone should be happy."

Steve hadn't heard much about it. Being deployed meant he wasn't usually up to speed with what was "in" at the moment, but he was willing to give it a shot.

He handed Catherine her glass before taking the DVD case from her to load it into the player. He turned back around to find her watching him intently.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Fine. Why do you ask?" She took a sip of her wine.

Steve took a step towards her, "Because you look nervous."

"I'm not nervous. I'm just….."

"Just what?" Steve probed as he took another step towards her. Her eyes met his and she could feel the heat flying between them. He had that "sultry, erotic, sex-on-a-stick" look that made her body feel all sorts of sensations….in all the right places. She tried to keep her wits about her, though.

"Okay, so maybe I'm a little nervous." She admitted.

One more step and Steve was right in front of her. He took the glass from her hand and held on as he put both of their glasses onto the coffee table. Then, he turned back towards her. She was watching him intently as she unconsciously licked her bottom lip. Steve saw the slight movement as an invitation. He reached a hand up to stroke her cheek softly before leaning down to kiss her. Their lips met, and although the kiss started out gently, Catherine could feel the heat between them. Steve was happy when Catherine opened her mouth and began to kiss him back. Fervently. Thoroughly. Exceptionally.

Good God the man could kiss, Catherine mused. What else could he do with that talented tongue?

When they pulled apart a few seconds later, Steve smiled at her, "I've wanted to do that all night."

"Really?"

"Yes really. Can I do it again?"

Catherine chuckled softly and suddenly felt braver than she had all night. She was going to blame it on the wine. "Of course. But just so you know, I may not be responsible for what happens if you kiss me again."

One of Steve's eyebrows rose as he gave her a naughty grin, "Is that so? Well, in that case, I definitely want to kiss you again." He put his mouth on hers and flicked his tongue along her lips prompting her to open to him again.

Before she knew it, Steve had moved them to the large chair in Jess' living room that was big enough for both of them to sit on. They made out like teenagers for what seemed like hours, but was realistically only about 10 minutes, before Steve finally moved away.

He was breathing heavily as he put his forehead against hers and whispered, "Maybe we should…..um…maybe we should slow down."

Catherine agreed. "Okay," she panted breathlessly. Steve was right. They needed to slow down. If they didn't, she was going to end up ripping his clothes off so she could see more of the body she was aching to touch.

But she didn't do this on the first date…..so they needed to stop. She said a silent 'thank you' that Steve had had the willpower to stop them even though her body was craving more. Much more.

Catherine started to move off of the chair they were sharing to move towards the couch, but Steve pulled her back against him. "I didn't say you should sit on the other side of the room...I just said we should slow down."

Catherine grinned and Steve felt his heart flip slightly inside his chest.

"Okay." She said quietly as she settled on the chair beside him and he started the movie.

Opening credits were still rolling on the screen when Matt and Jess came back inside. Matt cast a surprised glance in Steve's direction. He and Jess had been gone for nearly 45 minutes and the movie was just starting?

"Whatcha been doing?" he asked curiously.

"Talking." Steve said even though he had a 'cat who ate the canary' smile on his face. Jessica picked up on it immediately; especially since Catherine wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Talking." Matt repeated. "Yeah…..okay."

Feeling Catherine tense a little beside him, Steve rubbed his hand soothingly up and down her arm to put her at ease. "So are you gonna watch this movie with us or not?"

Matt and Jessica cuddled up on the couch and the foursome was soon all watching together.

As the movie ended, Matt looked down to see that Jessica had fallen asleep laying against his chest. He looked over towards Steve to find that Catherine had fallen asleep as well. Matt turned off the tv and looked towards his friend.

"Sooooo?"

Steve knew he wanted to know what he thought of Catherine, but didn't give in.

"So what?" he retorted.

"What do you think?" Matt said glancing towards Catherine.

"I think I need to thank Jessica later." He whispered.

Hearing her name, Jess began to stir. She woke up to see Catherine curled up and asleep next to Steve on the chair. She grinned happily as she and Matt started to get up off the couch. She cast a glance towards Steve. Before she could say anything to wake Catherine, Steve stopped her.

"Don't wake her." He said.

Jessica didn't look completely convinced that it was a good idea to leave Cath asleep with Steve…..even though they were on a chair in the living room. Steve gave her a reassuring smile. "I promise, I'll be good. She's fine, Jess. Let's just let her sleep."

Jessica left the room to retrieve a blanket for the two of them. Once they were settled, Matt and Jessica left to go to bed as well.

Steve couldn't contain he grin on his face as he reclined on the chair with Catherine in his arms. It just felt right.

And he wanted to explore what could happen between them.