It was after midnight on New Years and the Fuller family house was finally beginning to settle down.
The children had all gone to bed, which left DJ, Steve, Kimmy, and Stephanie alone downstairs cleaning up.
DJ turned towards Stephanie and Kimmy as she tied another trash bag. "Hey, you guys worked so hard getting everything ready today. Get some rest. I can finish up here"
"You sure?" asked Stephanie.
DJ nodded with a smile.
Kimmy yawned in a dramatic, very Kimmy-like way. "Thanks Deej. I am pretty beat now that you mention it"
Stephanie and Kimmy each headed to their respective rooms which now left DJ and Steve alone in the living room.
DJ now turned her attention to Steve who was crouched down on the floor seeming very focused on scrubbing away at a mysterious stain. "I know you must be tired too. You can head home if you like. There's nothing more to see here" she said with a light chuckle.
Steve stood up after cleaning the stain. "Nonsense. I want to help"
DJ felt her heart warming at how sincere Steve was even when it came to the little things like cleaning up after a New Year's Eve party.
She tried to shake away these thoughts, the reminder of reality painfully sinking in.
The man she was in love with had told her mere hours ago his plan to propose to his girlfriend CJ. He was supposed to do it that night, but CJ, an OB/GYN doctor at UCSF Medical Center, got paged into work at the hospital at the last minute. Delivering babies would always trump proposal plans.
"So, that was a pretty fun little get together, huh?" said DJ, interrupting her own spiraling thoughts.
"Yeah, it was. Though definitely not as crazy as the last New Year's Eve party we went to together" replied Steve.
DJ and Steve both chuckled in unison at the memory of all those years ago when DJ snuck out to a party with Steve hosted by one of his wrestling teammates.
There were plenty of wild antics and drinking involved which the couple didn't partake in, but simply witnessing it had been enough for them.
An hour later, the house had returned to it's usual cleanliness.
"You know..I have an unopened bottle of champagne here with our names on it. Think of it as a thank you for helping me clean up" said DJ with a grin on her face as she held up the bottle.
Steve thought for a moment. "Sure, why not!"
Before long, DJ and Steve had drank nearly the entire bottle of champagne between the two of them and were now on the couch laughing and reminiscing.
DJ had become so comfortable she hardly even noticed that her legs were now laying across Steve's lap. Steve's hand rested comfortably on one of her legs.
"So..it's a new year. Do you feel any different?" Steve asked after their laughter had died down.
DJ paused briefly to consider his question. Did she feel any different? Was there any truth to the idea that a new year meant some sort of reinvention of yourself?
"A little. Yeah." replied DJ. And it was true. Something inside of DJ was different, yet she couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what that something was. "What about you?"
"Same as you. Just a little." said Steve. He was absentmindedly rubbing DJ's legs as he spoke. DJ looked down noticing this and debated in her mind whether or not she should say something. His touch felt comforting and she couldn't deny that she was enjoying it.
"Could you use some more champagne? 'Cause I think I could sure use some more champagne" DJ blurted out as she suddenly sat up on the couch.
She grabbed the bottle from the the floor near the sofa, taking one look at the bottle and erupting into a fit of giggles.
DJ's giggling was infectious and Steve joined in as well. "What are we laughin' about?" asked Steve.
"The champagne bottle..it's empty" DJ responded in between her bursts of giggling like a young schoolgirl.
This caused Steve to laugh even harder, he could feel DJ shaking with laughter as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
Soon, the laughter faded and when Steve looked down at DJ he saw a change in her eyes, a flash of vulnerability and perhaps uncertainty. He couldn't quite tell.
As DJ looked at Steve, she suddenly felt a sense of longing for everything she was about to lose.
She knew that even if they couldn't be together, once Steve married CJ their friendship could never be the same. Their friendship was the only thing that DJ had to hold onto, and now she was holding on by a thread.
She thought about Matt, who she loved. But was she in love with him? Truthfully, she didn't think so. She couldn't really picture herself marrying him. Which brought her back to Steve. How could he make such a serious decision in so little time? Was he really in love with CJ? And if so, was he ever truly in love with DJ?
DJ stared deeply into Steve's curious, calming green eyes. She glanced down at his lips, a light tint of red from the strawberry champagne. They were perfect, everything about this moment with Steve would be perfect if only…
Somewhere along the way, DJ lost her train of thought and found her lips pressed fiercely into Steve's. This shouldn't be happening. This is wrong. Everything about this is wrong. DJ thought.
Reluctantly, she pulled back and the two of them attempted to catch their breath and process what had just taken place.
Steve hovered over DJ, his breathing hasty and uneven. "Deej, I know this is wrong. We should s-stop but I-I don't want to stop…"
"Then don't stop.." replied DJ in a whisper.
He crashed his lips back into hers, this time with more passion and desire than anything DJ had ever felt before.
Their heated make out session continued until DJ pulled back once more.
This time, DJ eyes held a stronger gaze of certainty, lust even. "Let's go to my room" she said.
Steve raised his eyebrows in a way that said "are you sure" to which DJ nodded.
Without another moment of hesitation, Steve lifted up DJ and carried her bridal style upstairs to her room.
When they got to her room, Steve shut and locked the door behind them. He laid her down on the bed, his hands sliding up her dress as he kissed her tenderly.
"W-wait..I need to turn the lights off first." DJ said softly, gesturing towards her floor lamp that illuminated the bedroom.
Steve looked at her with a perplexed expression. "Why?"
DJ sighed, feeling embarrassed. "Because Steve..I'm not that young girl with the perfect young body that you might remember. I just...I feel a little self conscious." She admitted.
"DJ, sweetheart…" Steve began as he slowly reached behind DJ, unzipping her dress and carefully peeling it off and allowing it to drop to the floor, revealing a mismatched set of a cream colored bra and black panties, slightly tattered at the hems. "you'll always be perfect in my eyes."
Steve's lips met DJ's once again and she began unbuttoning his top as they kissed, he shrugged out of the top and DJ ran her hands across his bare chest.
He then began kissing down her neck and chest, his kisses were slow and sweet yet the fiery passion still very much alive. The man unhooked her bra and took his time giving each of her breasts all of his attention with every kiss and touch.
Steve then kissed further down until he reached her stomach which wasn't exactly toned and also bearing the stretch marks of a woman who had given birth three times and didn't quite have the time to get her body back the way she wanted it to be. He ran his fingers over the stretchmarks and proceeded to softly kiss them.
"Donna Jo, you..are so...beautiful" he uttered in between kisses.
DJ was completely overwhelmed, tears of joy and relief fell down her cheeks as she affectionately ran her fingers through Steve's hair.
"Steve.." DJ said in a whisper.
"Yes, my love?" answered Steve.
DJ let out a shaking breath. "I want you"
Steve kissed her forehead, pressing his body firmly against hers. "You have me. All of me"
And with that, the remaining pieces of their clothes were off and the pair spent the rest of that magical New Year's night making sweet passionate love for the very first time.
For now, there was nothing but pure love between them. The regrets...the regrets they would deal with when the morning arrived.
