A/N: Thanks again everyone for commenting! It really is encouraging and keeps me writing because I don't want to let you down!
Chapter 2:
The next morning, Delilah got up at eleven. She rolled out of bed and went down to the kitchen to get some breakfast that her stomach was screaming for. Her mom and dad were down there eating lunch and talking.
"It's about time you got up," her dad said to her. Delilah mumbled something indiscernible at him and opened the pantry getting out a box of Lucky Charms. She looked out the window as she poured it into a bowl and saw that Reid and Tyler were in the pool swimming laps. Delilah wasn't on the girls swim team. She wasn't on any team. She didn't participate in school sports, but she went to every school game, or meet, there was. She was athletic though. She liked to run and swim, just not for a team. She also rode horses, or rather, a horse, her horse Darcy who was an off the track thoroughbred gelding. He was a little crazy, but she loved him. She had decided to name him after Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, her favorite book.
She took her breakfast outside and watched the boys swim their laps while she ate. After a while, the boys got out of the pool. Delilah was distracted from her breakfast because she was watching Reid dry off. Her heart rate picked up as she watched him rub off his abs and chest with a towel. The spoon she had been holding fell from her hands, bringing her back to the present. A blush jumped to her cheeks as she realized what she had been doing. She ran back into the house without saying anything to either of the boys. She ran up to her room, snapped the door shut with her back against it and slid down to the floor. She rested her head in her hands and began to rub her eyes trying to erase the picture in her mind.
"No, no, no," She chanted to herself. "He's Reid, he's Reid! He's too pale, and too cocky. He's a total jackass." She decided to use logic rather than criticize Reid. "I don't like Reid." She said firmly, "He is just a friend who just happens to be fiercely good looking. So are Pogue and Caleb. I would have looked at them the same way. It can't be helped, he's just a hot guy, but that does not mean I like him."
After sitting on the floor of her room for ten minutes, Delilah finally collected her thoughts. She took off her pajamas and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank top. She then pulled her hair back into a ponytail and grabbed her tennis shoes from her closet and ran downstairs. Her mom was going into town and she was going to drop Delilah off at the stable where she boarded Darcy. Reid and Tyler were walking down the long hall to Tyler's room. They had changed out of their swimming shorts.
"Where are you going?" Tyler asked her.
"To see Darcy," Delilah said without stopping to chat. She didn't feel like talking to Reid right now.
An hour later Delilah was on Darcy, trotting him around the outdoor arena. She was excited because her mom had told her in the car that her dad had gotten tickets to the Red Sox game next week for her and Tyler and their friends. Anytime her dad got tickets to somewhere, whether it would be a sporting event or an amusement park, he would get tickets for the Sons of Ipswich. He knew how important keeping the bond of the boys was; he had had it with their fathers when they were Tyler's age and he didn't know how he would have gotten through the changes without them. Now that Delilah was home, he also made sure to get a ticket for Audrey because he didn't want Delilah to feel alone by being the only girl.
Delilah had warmed Darcy up and decided to work on her jumping. She had been jumping for fifteen minutes and was halfway over a jump when she saw Tyler's truck was parked in the parking lot. She then spotted him and Reid walking towards the arena. Her eyes narrowed. She hadn't called for a ride home yet and she wasn't going to let them bully her into leaving early. She continued to ride around until the two boys were sitting on the fence.
"Hey baby girl," Reid said as she came towards them.
"What are you doing here?" she asked them flatly.
"Well, Reid and I went to lunch and we decided to stop by on our way back and pick you up," Tyler explained.
"Well I'm not ready to go," Delilah said, getting ready for an argument. She didn't think Tyler would want to hang around and wait for her, but he didn't seem to mind.
Delilah was ready to quit riding, but she didn't want Tyler to think that she stopped because he was there, so she rode for another 20 minutes before hopping off and taking Darcy back into the stable. Reid and Tyler followed talking and laughing about God knows what and Delilah proceeded to un-tack and take care of her horse. She was finally done and they headed out to the parking lot.
"Shotgun," Delilah called jogging to the truck before Reid.
Reid walked to the back of the Hummer and flipped Delilah off. "Aww, Reid, that's so nice of you," Delilah cooed, "I love you too!" And she flipped him off back. Reid grinned at her.
"Tyler, could you drive me to the store later?" Delilah asked him when they were half way home.
"Yeah, why?" was his response.
"Well, some of the girls from school are coming over tonight for an 80's night and I wanna get food and stuff," she explained. Reid's attention picked up at this.
"Well, hey, what girls? And aren't we invited?" He asked.
"Eww Reid, I don't want you to have contact with my friends, they might catch something," Delilah smirked.
"Ha, ha, ha, fuck you," Reid said. Delilah laughed.
The evening finally rolled around and Delilah was in the kitchen putting out some chips and other snacks. She was so excited to be having a girl's night and spending time with the girls she had gone to school with years before. They were having an 80's night and they were doing it properly. They would be watching '80's movies, listening to '80's music, and dressing in the '80's style. Delilah was wearing an acid washed mini skirt, red pumps, lacy ankle socks, and an off the shoulder tee. She had also stolen Reid's look and was wearing fingerless gloves, only hers were made of lace. She had completed the look with a ponytail that was off to the side of her head and she teased and puffed up her long bangs, which were normally swept to the side elegantly. She was dancing around the kitchen to Lionel Richie while putting out more food when she heard someone sniggering from the doorway. Delilah spun around, leaving a scuffmark from her shoes. Tyler was watching her and laughing.
"You know, there is a reason why the eighties were considered one of the worst decades for fashion," he teased.
"Like you would know anything about fashion," Delilah said, "What are you doing tonight?"
Tyler shrugged, "I think I'm just gonna hang out here."
"Well," Delilah said, "You have to stay upstairs. This is supposed to be a girls night, oh sorry about that."
"What?" he questioned her.
"Well I just realized, I didn't invite you, even thought you're the biggest girl I know."
"Ha, ha, no," Tyler said grabbing the bag of chips Delilah had just opened.
"Hey! Those aren't for you!" She tried to grab them back.
"Well if you want me to stay upstairs," Tyler explained grabbing a couple of sodas from the fridge, "I'm going to need some nourishment."
"Fine," Delilah huffed opening a new bag of chips.
The doorbell finally rang. Delilah shooed Tyler upstairs and raced to let her friends in.
"Ahh!" She screamed eyeing Audrey. "You look great!" She was wearing a pair of leggings with an oversized shirt, a huge belt draped around her waist, jelly sandals, and huge, neon green earrings.
"Totally eighties," she said spinning around. There were headlights heading up the drive and Michelle and Shelby climbed out of a car. They too were dressed the part of your typical eighties girl. Delilah led the way into the house wear the girls sat around the kitchen for a while, eating and talking.
"I love this song!" Shelby said jumping off her stool and heading over to the stereo, turning it up. It was Billy Ocean's Get Out of my Dreams, Get Into my Car. The girls began to do stupid eighties dance moves. They were laughing, but half of the noise suddenly stopped. Delilah turned around to see Tyler walking into the kitchen. His presence made Shelby and Michelle quickly stop dancing and brought a blush to their cheeks.
"Sorry," Tyler said, a little red too, but Delilah suspected that it was due to suppressed laughter. He walked over to the freezer and pulled out a pint of ice cream. "Carry on," he grinned.
"Oh my God Delilah," Michelle said, "Your brother is gorgeous."
"Eww," was Delilah's only response.
"Oh come on!" Shelby added, "He might be your brother, but you have to admit he is good looking. Not to mention his friends."
Michelle and Shelby got a far off look in their eyes as they dreamed about the Sons. Delilah wrinkled her nose in disgust, "They are jackasses."
"You're only saying that because you are too close to them to see how beautiful they really are," Michelle said, "You don't know how lucky you are to be surrounded by them all the time. I would take full advantage of it if I were you. I bet you'll marry one of them."
"That's an awfully random thought," Audrey joined in, "But I bet you're right. Let's figure it out who it is."
"Oh God, come on you guys, this is supposed to be a girls night, forget the boys!" Delilah sighed.
"Not Pogue," Shelby said thoughtfully, "He's nice and all, but you're personalities wouldn't mesh well. Plus, he's already dating Kate, and they seem perfect for one another."
"What about Caleb?" Audrey added. The girls sighed at the thought of the handsome, kind Caleb.
"Not Caleb," Michelle said coming out of a semi-trance, "He's too sweet for Delilah."
"What?" Delilah said, "Too sweet? So I should be with some dirt bag who hits me?"
"No, it's just that Caleb would give you everything you want with no fight. You need someone to argue with in order to keep you centered," Audrey explained.
Delilah wrinkled her nose and picked up some cookies and a bottle of water, "Well, I'm going to go watch a movie now, so if you want to stay in here and figure out who my husband is going to be, go ahead."
"That only leaves Reid," Michelle concluded, ignoring Delilah.
"Yes!" Shelby and Audrey said.
"I had never thought about it before, but you two would be great together!" Audrey exclaimed.
The girls looked at Delilah to see the look of horror that just came over her face, "Eww, I think I just threw up a little."
"Shut up," Shelby said, "He's beautiful!"
"He's an ass," Delilah said, "That's gross, it's just, eww. I'm leaving now, I'm going to go watch a movie and hopefully forget the disgusting things you guys are talking about."
The other girls laughed and followed her into the family room. They spent the rest of the evening taking pictures and watching Back to the Future, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The girls finally left the house at 2:00 am. Delilah cleaned up the house before dragging herself upstairs to her room. She passed the upstairs loft and saw that the TV was still on.
"Tyler," she whispered to herself. She thought about going up to wake him up and make him go to bed, but then she decided he could get up himself. She went to her room and flopped onto the bed falling asleep almost immediately.
