While my dance team was working on one of our many routines for the upcoming international competition, Jerome was laying on one of the benches and constantly whining. Since he was new to the studio, he was an alternate and he would constantly whine. He didn't care that he was an alternate. He just liked whining.
The other alternate was a girl named June who filled in for Mae while she was living in Quebec.
When we finished the routine, the studio head, Lilith, asked both Jerome and June how it looked.
"It would have looked better with me in it," Jerome said, which made Lilith roll her eyes. "I'm bored. I just want to dance."
"Are you always this annoying?" June asked.
"No," Jerome said.
"He is," I said. "Everyone thinks so."
"Liar," Jerome said. "Not everyone."
"Yes, everyone," I said. "Even Nolan. He told me you're really annoying."
"My boyfriend would never say that behind my back," Jerome said. "To my face, maybe, but not behind my back."
"No, he would," I said.
"Shut up, you don't know him," Jerome said.
Okay?
"What?" I asked. "I don't... I'm so confused. Mae, are you confused? I don't know my brother? What?"
"I'd get used to it if I were you," Mae said. "He can be very confusing at times."
"I can see that," I said.
Lilith called a five minute break, so Mae told me she was going to get a drink of water. I then sat down on the bench Jerome was on and he sat up. "So, did you talk to her?" I asked.
"I did," he said.
"And?"
Jerome didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled out his phone and started texting someone, most likely Nolan. He was completely ignoring me.
"Seriously?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry," Jerome said. "I didn't know you wanted to answer now."
"That's why I asked you," I said. "I swear, I'll never understand you. So?"
Jerome smiled. "She said if you would propose, even when you're eighteen, she would say yes."
"Really?" I asked.
"Would I lie about that?" Jerome asked. "I'm serious. So, are you going to propose to her?"
I smiled faintly. "I think I will."
"Okay," Jerome said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go fangirl with my boo."
"Tell him not to tell anyone else, okay?" I said. "If Nolan tells anyone else in my family and Tulip finds out, she will freak out a lot and probably even tell Mae."
"Don't worry, I'll tell him not to say anything," he said before getting up and walked across the studio to call Nolan.
Shortly after, Mae sat down beside me. "So, want to see if we could use the studio tonight to practice our duet?" she asked.
"Sure," I said, even though I would rather go out and buy an engagement ring. Internationals was drawing closer and I was going to be a lot busier. Hopefully I would find time to go out and buy a ring.
I would just need Jerome to keep her busy.
The five-minute break was over, so we got back to working on our routines. We have been working harder than we ever had because internationals was the competition. If we won, we would be known all over the world.
Well, for the dance world anyway.
When the rehearsal was over, Mae and I asked Lilith if we could stay a bit longer to work on our duet. She, of course, agreed to it. Duets were one of the hardest dances to do. You had to have strong chemistry for it to be good, and you had to trust your partner. If you messed up, so did your partner.
Jerome was also staying with us for a few reasons. One, if anything happened to me, he would have to step in so he has to know the dance. Two, we wanted him to give us his opinion on the duet.
And the biggest reason was the fact that he didn't have a car yet so I was his ride here.
I hooked my phone up to the speaker and handed it to Jerome, telling him to play the music when I gave him the cue. Mae and I got to our first position and I gave Jerome the cue, so he started the music.
Dancing with Mae was one of the best feelings in the world. It helped us win a lot of competitions and not only that, but it also helped me make the decision of staying with her when I was doubting our relationship.
Both dancing and Mae were the two most influential things in my life.
When we finished the duet, which, of course, had to end in a hug, we looked at Jerome. "How was that?" I asked once I caught my breath.
"So beautiful," Jerome said. "Makes me want to cry. I'm pretty sure we'll get passed the duet round with you two. Scratch that, I know we'll get passed the duet round with you two. Just don't go twisting your ankle, Ryder. There's no way I would be able to dance with Mae like that."
"Don't worry, I won't twist my ankle again," I said.
"Again?" Jerome asked.
"I did a few months ago," I said. "At the very end of my solo. Thankfully, nobody noticed until after I was limping off the stage. But trust me, I am going to be very careful."
"Please do," Mae said. "I hated how you were with your twisted ankle."
"Yeah? And you were way too jealous because of April," I said, rolling my eyes and giving Mae a smile.
Jerome covered his ears. "No, I don't want to hear that she-devils name until after Nolan and I bury her. We still need to find the perfect place, as well as make sure there aren't any clues leading to us."
"Okay, you do that," I said. "Mae, want to practice again?"
"Sure," she said, so we did our duet twice more. I wanted to do it over and over again, though, because this was my favourite duet that we ever did.
When we finished the last time, Mae said she was going to run the the washroom before we left.
Perfect.
When she was out of the studio, I looked at Jerome. "Can you distract her tonight?" I asked. "I want to pick up a ring before I get way too busy preparing for internationals."
"But of course," Jerome said.
"Thank you," I said. "I'll also be going to the grocery store for a cover, so is there anything you need?"
"Chocolate," Jerome said. "I need my chocolate."
Mae shortly came back, so the three of us left the studio and went to my car. When we got to our apartment, I told Mae I was going to head to the grocery store and she tried offering to come with me, but Jerome quickly thought of an excuse to get her inside.
I took a deep breath before driving to a jewelry store. Being an engagement ring was going to make things even closer to being official and it was making me feel very nervous.
I debated whether or not I should propose for a long time, but every time I thought I wouldn't, my mind would go back to thinking about it. Not to mention I've been having myriad dreams about the two of us getting married.
I guess it was a sign for me to actually propose.
When I got to the store, it took me a while to pick out a ring but once my eyes laid on a specific one, I knew it had to be that one. It was very similar to her promise ring, with an infinity symbol connecting the center. The only difference was that the center was squared instead of a heart shape, and it was a diamond inside.
After buying the ring, I made my way to the grocery store to pick up a few things we actually needed, as well as Jerome's chocolate.
Now all I had to do was think of when to propose to Mae at Internationals.