Taking Chances

Happy New Year Baby

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.