Hey, guys! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait! So, I own nothing and fingers crossed you like this chapter!
It wasn't a date.
It was the millionth time D.J. had thought that since she had met the man for coffee all those months ago. But this was different. This was so much more different than movie night or coffee.
This was them…being in love and taking it slow until D.J. decided she was ready to date again.
"It's dinner and a movie," Stephanie said, coming into her sister's room, noticing the older girl wearing slacks, a nice T-shirt and flats, pacing the floor. D.J. ignored her. Steph, wanting to get her sister off the fact that her ex-boyfriend was coming to pick her up for dinner and a movie in fifteen minutes, grasped for something to say. "Tommy's shirts and everything out?"
"Yeah, his mom and dad took them last night," D.J. answered.
"It's no big deal. Deej, you've been out with Steve before. You guys went out for coffee, you guys kissed in our living room during a movie."
"I admitted yesterday I was in love with him."
"But he knows you aren't ready to date again! D.J., we keep coming back to this point! If you wanna date the guy then do it! If you don't, then don't! You're driving the rest of us bananas, not to mention what J.D. is going through. Max is still too young to know his mother's in love with another, but it hasn't been a year and Jesse is still devastated. He wants you to be happy, but you need to decide what you want because this back and forth of wanting him but not wanting to date, because you're driving the rest of us nuts!" Stephanie admitted.
D.J. stared at her younger sister. She knew what Jesse was feeling. She had gone through it herself, but at an older age. And her father had also waited a year, and hadn't just had a baby two weeks before.
Not a date.
D.J. and Stephanie were still staring at each other, daring the other to say something when the doorbell rang.
"MOM! STEVE IS HERE!" Max yelled, even though he hadn't even opened the door. "Yay, yay, yay!"
The six year old had become close to the high school wrestling coach. They had formed a bond, and while D.J. certainly loved it, Jesse wasn't so fond of it. Even though he wanted his mother happy and thought Steve was a good guy, he was far from having a bond with the man.
D.J. threw a panicked glance at her sister and Stephanie smiled.
"If Kimmy calls—" D.J. said, speaking of her absent best friend that was out with her daughter that night.
"Tell her you and Steve are fine and that you're not going to run off to Reno without her," Stephanie finished.
"I love you."
"Love you too."
D.J. opened the door to see Steve in nice shoes, black pants and a nice blue shirt. The two stared at each other, drinking in the other's gorgeous appearance.
"Deej, you look—" Steve said.
"You do, too," D.J. said, a little shyly.
Stephanie rolled her eyes at the lovesick couple and made a face, much like she did when she was twelve, at the cuteness of the couple aimed toward Max.
"Have fun," Stephanie said, ushering the two out of the house. She turned to her nephew. "Ice cream time!"
Steve opened the car door for D.J., like the old gentleman he was. D.J. thanked him and got in, buckling her seatbelt while waiting for Steve to get into his side of the car.
"So, Sizzler still one of your favorite places?" Steve asked, although he already knew the answer.
"Oh, like you don't already know," D.J. said, smiling.
"Onto Sizzler, then!"
They talked very little to the restaurant, and even though this was only a friendship date, Steve didn't want to admit how much he wanted it to be a real date. D.J., on the other hand, was just wanting to get through the night with the boy she was in love with even after all these years.
They got to the Sizzler after a few minutes and D.J. opened her own door while Steve got the door to the restaurant.
"Table for two," Steve said, walking up to the hostess.
"Okay, give me on minute," the hostess said, looking over to see an available table. "Okay, follow me."
D.J. and Steve followed the teenager to a table in the back.
"First date, huh?" the girl asked, and Steve and D.J.'s bodies froze. "You guys look as nervous as nervous could be."
Steve and D.J. glanced at each other and glanced away as the girl left.
"So," D.J. said, opening up the menu, trying to clear the awkwardness away, "what movie are we seeing?"
"Trainwreck, if-if that's okay," Steve said.
D.J. smiled and giggled.
"That's fine."
"Good."
And they started to relax. And after a while, while eating their food, they fell into their old rhythm. And while they weren't the same people they were back fifteen years ago, they were still the same D.J. and Steve.
Which made D.J. very upset when she realized that this wasn't a date.
And she wanted to scream, and to cry, and to just shout to the world that she was in love with Steve Hale and she wanted to be his again, and him hers. She wanted to jump across the table and kiss him and tell him how much she wanted it to be a date.
And that's all she kept thinking about through dessert and part of the movie. And even though she just had a baby with her late husband, she wanted this man again. She wanted him in the house, as more than just a friend. He felt right.
He felt like love, which, coincidentally, was what he tasted like, too.
Let me back up about five minutes.
After the movie, Steve had driven her back to her house.
"I had an amazing time tonight," D.J. admitted.
"Me too. Do it again?" Steve said.
D.J. bit her lip. It was now or never.
"In…in a different way," she said.
"Oh, so mini-golfing?"
She chuckled at that.
"No, more like…a date."
Steve stared at her.
"Deej, are you sure? I mean, we don't have to if you're not ready."
D.J. could see her sons, sister, best friend and best friend's daughter peeking through the windows. She tried to ignore them as she did one of the hardest things she ever had to do.
"I'm ready. I want to be yours again, Steve," she said, and took the back of his neck in her hand and forced his mouth to meet hers in a love-filled kiss.
It took her back to their kisses years ago, all their sweet kisses. But this wasn't a sweet kiss. It was a passionate, tongue-filled kiss that went on for a long time before both had to break for air. But their heads were like magnets, drawn to each other for their foreheads met after their lips disconnected and they smiled.
"I love you," D.J. said, opening her eyes to meet his sparkling ones.
"I love you too. Be my girlfriend again?" he asked.
"Yes," she admitted, pulling him into another kiss, but one more sweet. She pulled away and bit her lip. "I've gotta go."
"Yeah, me too," he said, pulling away from her arms. He started down the steps but raced back and kissed her quickly citing, "One more for the road" as a reason and then racing down the steps again and drove away.
D.J. grinned and walked in the door to see Stephanie and Kimmy smiling hugely.
"I'm glad you're happy, Mom," Jesse said, hugging his mother.
"Thanks, hon," D.J. said.
"So, you and Steve-O again?" Kimmy inquired.
"Oh, like you all weren't watching through the window! Don't think I didn't see."
"Oh, like you weren't going to omit details," Stephanie said.
Max, Romano and Jesse gave each other a look and quietly excused themselves to let the adults talk.
"So," Kimmy said as D.J. sat next to her on the couch, "spill."
And D.J. admitted everything. Everything during the date, all her thoughts, all the comments the hostess said, but left the details of the kiss and what she felt during the kiss to herself. No, that would be kept inside her.
"You and Steve." Stephanie's head fell back against the chair's headrest. "We all thought you would get married."
"You weren't the only ones," D.J. said.
"We weren't?"
"I think everyone imagines that they'll marry their first love. I certainly didn't think we'd go our separate ways, but we did. But…being in love with again…it feels so right."
"You guys going on a real date soon?" Kimmy asked.
"Yeah," D.J. answered. "Soon."
"And we'll have another kid in the house after that," Stephanie said.
"WHAT?!" I shouted. "Are you pregnant?"
Stephanie shook her head.
"No! I meant Jasmine! You and Steve get married she'll be your stepdaughter," Stephanie explained.
"Marriage is a few years off the table," D.J. said.
"Well, you never know."
Stephanie and Kimmy headed to their separate rooms and D.J. changed into her nightclothes. She crawled into her bed and looked at the photo of Tommy. She knew Tommy wanted her to happy, she did. She knew she had promised herself never to fall in love again, but that wasn't what life had had in store for her. She smiled at the photo, though. While she knew that Steve had her heart after all those years, Tommy would always be the guy. The guy who had stolen her heart unexpectedly, the guy who had fathered her children, who had been there through everything.
It would take a little more time to adjust to Steve being in her life, but she adapted well to everything else. She just hoped when she did adapt the whole way, her family followed suit.
Oh my gosh I'm sorry! I know it's been a long time but school and such! Anyway, enjoy this one for now while things take over my life! New chapter coming ASAP!