Supernova Souls - Ryan Upchurch

-20-

After all the work on the ranch had been done for the day, both Delilah and Ryan were beyond exhausted and hungry. On their way back up to the house they'd struck up a conversation with each other about whatever dumb shit they could possibly think of. Somehow, they ended up landing on the topic of old childhood stories, a topic they both excelled in and had countless stories about.

"Okay- okay." Delilah could barely breathe from laughing so hard. She clutched his shoulder and looked up at him with the biggest, goofiest grin he had ever seen in his thirty-one years of life. "You did what?!" Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she looked into his.

"I saaid," he started, a playful grin of his own beginning to show through on his dirty face while he decided to raise the pitch in his voice to a more annoying, obviously oversaturated southern accent. "When I was like, fourteen, my mama pissed me off so like the very smart kid I was, I packed my shit-by shit, I mean a half eaten bag of tater chips, a five dollar bill, a couple a' my toy trucks and like two bucks in change and stuffed it all in my backpack- and ran away but I only got like halfway down the road before Austen's chubby little ass came waddling down the street like a mo'fuckin' penguin and the little bastard TACKLED me."

"WHAT?!" Delilah practically yelled, howling out a laugh. "THE. FUCK?!"

"Yeah! His ass was tiny but the little shit was built like a fucking linebacker!"

"Penguin linebacker?!" She bit her lip, hoping that small barrier would keep her laughter inside but it really didn't. Her wide eyes watched his frantic facial expression as he tried to maintain his composure and not burst out laughing like she was.

"HE FUCKIN' JUMPED ON MY BACK AND PUSHED ME DOWN ONTO THE ROAD!"

"Ohhh my God.." she said. "I would've whooped his ass."

"Yeah! And the best part?" He said, cocking his head to the side while he looked at Delilah, locking his blue eyes with her hazel ones to assure he had her full attention. "My mama was on the porch watching us! She didn't do shit!"

"Three words. Beat. His. Ass."

"I did when we got back in the house and mom wasn't there. He crushed my chips too, boy, I was pissed." Ryan dug the heel of his boot into the dirt and looked up at the beautiful blue sky, his mind wandering for a few seconds just because it could. His day had been horrible, and so was his attitude most of today, but somehow once he had gotten to talking to Delilah, his mood lifted.

They kept walking until they got to where her Silverado was parked-next to his F-450, closest to the gate-and she finally spoke up again. "Hey.. if you want to, you can come to Sonic with me." She said shyly, playing with her key fob. "Y'ain't got to."

"Sure." He shrugged. "Why not?"

She dug the heel of her boot into the dirt and mindlessly dug a small hole in the ground with her heel, her eyes watching her foot but not paying attention to what was going on around her. She smiled like a fool at the ground in front of her for a good few seconds before she wiped the smile off her face and looked up at Ryan.

Just then, he noticed how her eyes brightened. The shades of both dark and light brown that ruled over most of the color in her eye shimmered under the light of the sun, and from the sheer happiness she got from knowing he had said yes-the smallest things could make her happy. The small green shades in her eye were a bright emerald, and the little bitty pieces of light blue turned to a mesmerizing crystal blue, almost white when the sun hit it just right.

"My truck or yours?" He asked.

"Mine, I've got a full tank of gas to waste." She pressed the unlock button on her Chevy's key fob and the taillights lit up, the red light dancing on the mixture of grass and dirt.