"Come on Carlyle this is the 9th place we've been to" W.D groaned, he had agreed to go engagement ring shopping with Phillip but he couldn't decide on a ring, he had dragged him all over town and they still had no ring.
Phillip ran a nervous hand through his hair, sending his neatly combed hair into a scruffy pompadour, "is it really my fault if I want the ring to be perfect?" He asked.
W.D sighed, "why are you so worked up over the ring? You know Anne will say yes no matter what the ring looks like".
"Will she? I'm so nervous about the whole thing, I just want everything to be perfect" Phillip frowned at the rings on the shelves, none of them were right.
W.D grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face him, "are you seriously worried Anne won't say yes? Phillip, she was enamoured by you from the second you met, she loves you, of course she's going to say yes you idiot" he laughed.
Phillip felt his cheeks flush slightly, "yeah, you're right. It's just scary and exciting and it feels like I'm on a rollercoaster".
W.D laughed, "yep that's love for ya".
They walked around the shop looking at the shelves, "what about this one?" Phillip asked holding up a plain gold ring.
W.D gave him a dubious look, "okay Carlyle, I know what I just said about the ring not mattering but you are not proposing to Anne with that" he said critically.
Phillip sighed and placed the ring back on the shelf, he around a little more before he stopped in his tracks, his arm flying out to stop W.D.
There on the last shelf at the back of the store was the perfect ring, it was a delicate silver ring with a diamond encrusted centre. It was glamorous yet not too flashy, a few sparkling diamonds encrusting a circular centre.
Phillip pointed to the ring, "that's it. That's the one" he gasped, W.D followed his finger until his eyes fell upon the stunning ring.
Phillip found his legs working to their own accord carrying him over to the ring, W.D whistled in appreciation, "it's perfect".
Phillip picked up the ring carefully, as if it might shatter at his touch, the diamonds dazzled in the light, "Anne is going to love it" he breathed.
W.D sucked through his teeth, "she better, have you seen how much it costs?" He winced.
Phillip glanced at the note next to where the ring lay, let's just say it put more than a dent in his bank account.
He grimaced and grabbed his chest, "ouch, that is going to wipe me out, I'll have practically no money left".
W.D patted his back, "I'm sure we can find another ring" he said comfortingly, Phillip's eyes cut back and forth between the ring and the price tag.
He groaned, "no, this is perfect. I guess me and Anne can have a small wedding".
Back at the circus Anne and Maurice were rehearsing alone, Lauren was off with a few of the female oddities.
Anne stood idly by as Maurice untied the ropes from the rigging, "so where's W.D?" He asked casually.
Anne shook her head as she shrugged her shoulder, "out somewhere with Phillip, he said Phillip needed him for security at some meeting downtown" she said.
Maurice nodded, "guess it'll be just you and me today then", he turned his head so Anne couldn't see his smile.
Anne touched her foot as she stretched her back, she wasn't aware of Maurice watching her, he looked away as she switched her legs then turned his attention back on her, "we need to practice our hoop tricks".
Maurice cleared his throat, "the uh, the one with both of us?" He asked, she stood again and nodded, "I'm not used to sharing a hoop with anyone like that" she explained.
Maurice retied the rope to the rigging, "yeah, sure" he nodded.
He followed her to the hoop and watched as she climbed inside the larger hoop designed for the two of them, she hung her legs from the outside frame of the hoop so she was suspended upside down.
"Okay, first we'll figure out the positions we will take and then the transition, how we'll work it into our act" she ordered.
He held his finger up for her to wait, "I have an idea but I need the hoop higher" he walked over to the rigging and adjusted the ropes so the hoop was maybe 10 feet off the ground.
He jumped so he caught the bottom of the hoop, "what're you doing?" Anne laughed as he swung the hoop back and forth, his face was inches from hers as he pulled himself up.
He laughed, "this isn't as easy as I thought it'd be" he grabbed the bottom of the ring with both hands and held his body outside of the ring, his body curving in a c shape so his feet hovered by the inside top of the hoop under Anne's.
He strained slightly, his muscles rippling but he had enough upper arm strength to hold himself there.
Anne laughed, "you never think anything through do you? Why do you always dive into things head first without any previous thought?", Maurice chuckled lowly, "because sometimes the best things are the ones you dive head first into without thinking" he whispered.
Anne merely gave him an odd look and laughed.
He was face to face with Anne, her hanging from the inside of the hoop, him curved around the outside, "what about this?" He asked, his voice tense as he strained to hold himself in place, suspended only by his hands gripping the hoop.
Anne arched her eyebrows, "how long can you stay in this position?" She asked, he attempted to shrug but when his arms shook he stopped, "I'm not sure" he laughed.
Anne smirked, "wanna find out?" She asked, "what're you proposing? We just hang here upside down?" He asked, she laughed, "why not?".
He cocked his head, "alright, how long can you stay upside down for?" He asked, Anne grinned, "I'm not entirely sure, I've tried to test it before but I got bored after a few hours".
He widened his eyes, "hours?" He asked in surprise, she nodded, "doesn't your head hurt after a while? Do you not get headaches?" He asked, she stuck out her bottom lip and shrugged, "no, it doesn't bother me at all".
He took the chance to study her face as they hung upside down almost nose to nose. He had grown up with her but last time he saw her she was a scared, shy slave.
Now she was a beautiful confident young woman, she had grown up well. Her face was stunning and her body was breathtaking.
He focussed on her full pink lips, she spoke pulling him from thought, "I was thinking, can you play?" She asked.
He shook his head, "huh?" He asked, "like an instrument, you said you were in a band and we're looking for more people to play music behind the scenes, we've got a pianist and a drummer but that's it" she elaborated.
He nodded, "I can play the guitar" he said, her face lit up, "so are you interested? You can do it when you're not in the ring", he offered her a smile, "why not?" He repeated her previous words with a wink.
Anne's eyebrows twitched and she looked towards Phillip's office, "great, well I'll talk to Phil about it later, he'll be thrilled" she said.
"Can I ask you something?" Maurice asked, Anne's eyes darted back to his, "okay".
"Why Phillip?" He asked.
Anne was very taken aback by his question, she frowned and squinted her eyes feeling confused in response, "what?" She asked.
Maurice looked at her fiercely, "why Phillip?" He repeated.
Anne laughed nervously, "what do you mean why Phillip?" She asked still not quite understanding.
Maurice wetted his lips, "why are you with Phillip? He's white, and rich and someone I would never pin a girl like you to love, why him? Why not someone who shares your dark complexion, who you'd have more in common with? Why not me?" He asked.
She stared at him in stunned silence, was he seriously asking her this? She was suddenly very conscious of how close they were.
She could feel his breath against her skin, she could smell his last meal on his breath, she could see every little detail on his face.
She was suddenly very aware of everything as if she had suddenly developed hyper senses. She was aware of his deep brown eyes staring searchingly into hers, she was aware of how his breathing had quickened and how he had somehow moved closer without her noticing.
"I love Phillip" she said strongly. She had her suspicions there was something unspoken between her and Maurice, not that she was interested at all of course.
Maurice was her friend and now her trapeze partner she wanted to shut this down straight away without any conflict. She wanted to remain friends and partners, nothing more.
He smirked, raising one eyebrow, "why?" He asked, a laugh light on his tone.
Anne's frown deepened, "because he is kind and loving, he makes me happier than I've ever been in my entire life, he accepts me for who I am. He is the most amazing man I have ever known. Because beauty goes deeper than the skin and he has the largest heart. Because my heart belongs to him" she replied passionately.
Maurice rolled his eyes, "I bet I could make you happier. Anne we've known each other since we were kids, we've shared experiences Phillip could never even begin to imagine. There's something between us, there always has been, nobody understands you like I can. I know you Anne, we've got far more in common than you do with that gringo" he laughed.
Anne once again looked at him with complete shock, was this really happening? "I am making this perfectly clear right now so there is no confusion. I love Phillip. You're wrong, he understands me better than anyone except W.D maybe. It doesn't matter where we came from, or the fact we came from there together. I haven't seen you in 4 years Maurice, you don't know me. Not really, I'm not the same Anne I was 4 years ago".
Maurice laughed, "I've known you a damn sight longer than he has, he couldn't possibly understand you, not like I do. So why not me?" He repeated.
Anne's face changed to one of irritation, her glare sharp. She was biting back a lot of anger. It just washed over her like a wave, she could not believe how Maurice was acting but she decided it was best she held it back. For now at least.
"Because you're not Phillip" she answered bluntly, Maurice raised his eyebrows once and bit his lip. He looked at her with a wanting look in his eyes Anne did not like, "no I'm not" he said huskily.
Anne's eyes widened as he leaned forward in an attempt to kiss her, she pulled her head back and turned fast so his lips pressed against her cheek instead.
She fought the instinct to push him away, he could fall and if he fell from the position he was in despite the fact they weren't very high off the ground it could potentially be fatal if he landed wrong.
Anne instead slapped him, "how dare you" she hissed, Maurice turned his head slowly back to look at Anne again.
He moved his jaw a few times experimentally, his face completely unfazed by the experience, "I will have you Anne" he said determinedly.
Anne grabbed the bottom of the ring, she released her legs' grip and allowed herself to drop, she hung from the ring and let go, reaching the floor safely, "I can promise you you will not, my heart belongs to Phillip".
Maurice dropped from the ring too, "maybe for now, but I will wait for you, you will see you are better off with me" he reached out to stroke Anne's cheek but she slapped his hand away.
She glared at him angrily, "rehearsal's over" she said coldly, turning on her heel and walking away.
Maurice watched after her.
Phillip and W.D just so happened to walk into the circus as Anne walked away out of the ring.
Maurice watched as Anne's angry expression melted away into one of happiness, she jogged towards Phillip throwing herself at him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, laughing silently as she said something he could not hear.
"I will have you Anne Wheeler" he muttered to himself.
