Starring Role

[Edgar Kane]

</FONT></COLOR></SIZE>

A year and a half into their relationship Edgar Kane new it was time for the next step. Many would have told him it was too soon, especially with the issues Kalani had with commitment and the history of men in her life. But Edgar didn't care, he shook off anyone who advised him against proposing to his girlfriend for he believed in his heart none of them knew her as well as he did. The tension and anger they had felt towards one another when they had met had now completely dissolved, it seemed impossible that two people who had once annoyed each other were now so close and so in love. Everyday Edgar counted his blessings, the biggest of which was his beautiful, intelligent and head strong girlfriend who he never could have believed would go for a guy like him. Originally when they had met the ballerino had acted terribly towards Kalani, they had rubbed each other the wrong way and he had come across as rude and childish, now as he had settled into their relationship he was nothing more than a big teddy bear. He melted at the very sight of Lani and it seemed there was no stopping him acting like the corniest guy on earth. So when it came to the proposal there was no doubt that it had to be the corniest thing he had done to date. For Edgar this meant consulting his best friend Amaryllis, who had been rather mysterious as of late but still managed to put her head together with his to come up with a plan. Phase one of this plan required permission from Kalani's step father Tamas, for Edgar knew the man was one of traditional values and he wanted to make sure all was right, although he would have married his daughter without permission he knew that Kalani would be more comfortable with accepting if Tamas was agreeable.

Once this hurdle had been jumped Edgar very casually asked about Kalani's rehearsal schedule, and when he found out she would be rehearsing late one night it seemed that Edgar's plan was all ready to unfold. Arriving at Lani's New York apartment with Amaryllis laden with bags from a sweet shop the pair began their work. Edgar hadn't landed a lead role with his ballet company since he starred opposite Kalani in Swan Lake, so it was fair to say that money was tighter than it usually was, and it made him feel a little less than a man that he was going into a proposal without a big sparkling diamond ring, but he hoped that his girlfriend would understand that he loved her more than anything in the world and that he would make it up to her a million times over. Picking Amy up and placing her small frame to balance on a chair he passed her up strings of candies to hang along the rafters of the apartment as he twirled raspberry licorice around the banister and filled his mother's crystal bowls with candy hearts and pink candyfloss. Pink heart shaped helium balloons were tied to each of the dining chairs and giant lollipops and candy canes in vases were scattered around the room tied with big pink bows. Amongst all of this pink candy was Edgar Kane, all dressed up in a hired white tuxedo and shirt complete with a powder pink bowtie and sash and Edgar's favourite part, the white top hat. The young man hugged Amy goodbye and thanked her for her help before crouching down on one knee and checking his watch, Kalani was due home any minute now.

Edgar waited patiently, refusing to get up from his position down on one knee until Lani said that magic three letter word, so by the time he heard the key in the door he had developed a cramp in his calf. But all was forgotten as he laid eyes on his future bride, looking more beautiful than he had ever seen her despite the fact she was only dressed in the gear she had worn to rehearsal. "Kalani," he stared, catching a lump in his throat as he composed himself, made sure his bouquet of white chocolate roses was steady in one hand and the ring in the other. "You are the most precious thing I have ever had," he smiled a little sheepishly, "you know what I'm going to say, you know I want to ask you to be my wife, that I want to take care of you for the rest of my life, it is why I have a terrible cramp in my leg and why I look like such a fool in this get up. Kalani Ingrid Mauven, will you marry me?" he asked with all the courage he had inside him as he popped the pastel pink velvet ring box to reveal a ring of candy. "I know it isn't much," he stammered, "but I promise to buy you a new one each day until I can afford the kind of ring you deserve" he explained, shifting uncomfortably on his one knee as he came to realise just how ridiculous he must have looked crouched there amongst all the pink ribbons and candy. Edgar wasn't finished with the surprises yet, his ballerina girlfriend played the starring role in his life and hanging over the back of the dining room chair behind him was the kind of dress a leading lady deserved to wear, a vintage pink cocktail dress adorned with tiny crystals and tulle, even if it did seem a little girly for Kalani he hoped she would humour him and put it on so that they could dance around the apartment looking like the pastel coloured bride and groom that topped wedding cakes.​

<SIZE size="50"><COLOR color="#000"><FONT font="Verdana">

 

[Kalani Mauven]

Although Kalani and Edgar had faced some undue hardship, as of late things were picking up. She had a role in one of her very favourite ballets. While it wasn't the leading role, it was a very important one nonetheless and made her understudy for the lead. It gave her long days to work in St. Petersburg but she was pleased, her only complaint was that she wished that Edgar was able to dance with her in Don Quixote but he was in the chorus so it was not to be. This, of course, did not mean she didn't dance with him. In fact every so often music would play in their cozy apartment and they would clutch onto each other affectionately and sway quietly - in a way ballet never allowed them to. He made her happier than Kalani would have ever believed possible and she felt blessed because of it and the way he touched her life. For this and for many more reasons the blonde was eager to go home to him.

With her brow still laced with sweat from practice and her body aching Kalani was ready to take a shower, eat and fall asleep on the couch wrapped in her boyfriend's strong arms that she always did. With this thought in her head more than any other, not even her steps that she went through her head all the time, she smiled as she opened the door to the New York apartment and hoped that he was home instead of with Amy and Jenn. While Kalani loved them both so much all she wanted tonight was a quiet night in. It was for this reason that she hadn't really noticed the changes in the apartment as she called, "Edgar, I'm home," while closing the door behind her. The blonde realized that he knew of this when she looked forward, straight into his blue eyes and she moved forward to kiss him in greeting as they had become accustomed to but stopped herself when he began speaking. The ballerino spoke words that Kalani couldn't comprehend although she knew them all to be true. She knew that she would one day marry Edgar and love him until the day she die but she didn't expect any of this so soon.

Kalani could swear that her throat was closing and she was in some sort of anaphylactic shock from Edgar's question and she opened and closed her mouth like a guppy as she tried to get air. With eyes as wide and brown as a horse's in a barn fire, Kalani tried to look at Edgar and figure out why he was doing this all so soon. Yes, she loved him. And yes, there was no doubt in her mind that this would never change but she couldn't see his reasoning on rushing it. They'd been together only a little over a year, after all. It wasn't for not knowing Edgar well enough or not trusting him that she thought this was a bad idea, she was just plain petrified of the entire situation at hand. Even as Edgar shifted and excused the ring that Kalani wasn't even paying much attention to as he opened the box for the ring, it was hardly important anyway, she was just trying to think. As much as Kalani adored Edgar she was petrified of this step. Saying 'I love you' and moving in together had already been such a huge deal for the blonde and sometimes she was even scared of the fact that if she lost him it would break her heart. Kalani wanted to marry Edgar, sure, but not so soon. She wasn't ready yet and it scared her that if she told this to her perfect boyfriend he would leave her... She was so scared that she even started to cry silently. Not knowing what else to do she dropped her bag on the floor and walked towards Edgar shakily as tears continued to spill down her cheeks. The ballerina kneeled in front of Edgar so they were at the same level and she hugged him tightly. "I love you, Edgar," she said as she kissed his neck, his cheek, his jawline and then finally his warm lips with her own tear stained ones before she slumped back onto her knees. "I want to marry you someday but..." she trailed off as if her already weak voice didn't have the strength to say what she needed to. Kalani just wasn't ready for this, she wasn't ready to be someone's wife when she was still learning how to be an adult. "I'm not ready but I will be. Don't leave me, please," Kalani begged quietly as she put a hand on her boyfriend's cheek lovingly. It was a hard thing for her to do, to beg him, but here she was on her knees for and with him. As she waited for an answer she raised a shaking hand and ran it through the hair poking out under the top hat that was resting on his head. Normally she would have teased him about it playfully but this was an exceptional circumstance where all she could think of was hoping that his ego wouldn't be hurt enough to leave her or that by some chance of fate she wouldn't be the way she was and could change her answer to a positive one. However, this was not to be. Kalani was still shivering in fear at the offer made and still had tears running down her fair cheeks.​

 

[Edgar Kane]

Edgar's eyes shot wide open when he heard the apartment door open and the call of his girlfriend who hadn't realised he was knelt right in front of her as she entered. Even with sweat beading on her brow he had to catch his breath as he took in her beauty. Never would Edgar understand how such a beautiful, strong, funny young woman would love him just as much as he did her. Beginning to speak, Edgar did not realise that he had just missed his girlfriend's usual greeting kiss, in fact he didn't seem to notice anything as the room began to spin around him, his eyes blurred and everything began to sound muffled around him. Edgar put it down to nerves but thanked every deity he could think of that his lips kept moving and sound kept coming out of them as he proposed a life together with Kalani forever. But because of the room spinning around him Edgar had not yet noticed the centre of his world standing before him stammering with a look of terror in his eyes. Of course she wasn't ready, but Edgar had not considered it as he knelt before her in a white tuxedo holding his heart out on a platter for his girlfriend to take. Shaking his head the young man watched a tear spill down his cheek as Lani approached him, but it wasn't a tear of joy, at least as far as he could tell. The utterance that she loved him escaped her lips as they trailed up his neck and jawline to meet his but all he could muster was a shake of his head, no, he was saying to himself silently, this wasn't how it all happened in the movies or in books. Kalani was supposed to scream a resounding yes! and jump into his arms and never leave him. It wasn't supposed to be like this, and immediately Edgar felt as though his world was crashing down around him. "I, I love you too Lani" he stammered, a tear beginning to prick his own eye as the words left his lips, this beautiful woman standing before him meant all his world to him, she was his world and the last thing he had intended to do was upset her.

Bringing his other knee down to the floor he knelt before her and took her hands from his cheeks and held them in his as he pulled her gently down to his level so that their eyes met and their knees almost touched on the floor. The word someday rang through his ears and Edgar felt his throat closing over, it was all too soon, it was his fault and he shouldn't have rushed Kalani, he thought he knew her better than anyone else did and now all he could think was a curse on himself for not knowing this would be his girlfriend's reaction. Holding her hands tightly a small smile spread across his lips, he listened intently to Lani's words and when he thought he understood them he looked straight into her hazel eyes, "Leave you? I would never leave you. You are everything to me!" he exclaimed, squeezing her delicate hands a little more tightly. Then it came to him, a way that he could fix everything and keep his dignity in tact, she had said someday, and Edgar new that that day would come. "You don't have to marry me now," he began, letting the idea play on his own lips before laying it out completely to Kalani. "Yes, we could, be engaged now and just wait! I'd wait forever if I knew you would be my wife" Edgar smiled, and perked up considerably, this way his ego would not be too scarred and hopefully they could both be just as excited about the future nuptuals.

Edgar's palm went to Lani's cheek and with the pad of his thumb he gently wiped away the tears from her pale cheeks just as he had done the night she had confessed her family problems to him at the dance studio before he had taken her home. The memory of that night warmed his cheeks and he no longer felt so hurt by the rejection he had just faced. Letting a chuckle play on his features the young man felt releived, "Just as well I decided not to let Amy wait and hide out back" it was a lucky break, it could have been more than just awkward if the brunette had jumped out from behind to congratulate the couple. "So, what do you say? Kalani Mauven, will you marry me," he said gingerly for the second time as he looked into his girlfriend's eyes, "someday?"​

 

[Kalani Mauven]

There was no doubt in Kalani’s mind that Edgar was going to be in her life forever and that she would love him for the same amount of time. She’d even accepted that Amy would be in her life the same amount of length because of that but she wasn’t ready to make it official. She wasn’t ready to face the fact that one day she might wake up and he would want a divorce or, on the other side of the spectrum, that he would want children and she would be forced to give up her career because she would have to slowly gain weight before even thinking about it. Kalani loved Edgar, sure, but there were things she just wasn’t willing to give up yet or feel yet. She just wished that he would have been able to understand this instead of putting a strain on their relationship as this would no doubt be one. She knew that he loved her and for now that was all she could handle but as she looked into his grief stricken eyes she wondered if he would anymore after she finished her sentence, after she told him she didn’t want to marry him. Not right now, anyway.

Kalani saw a tear form in Edgar’s eyes and hated herself for doing this, for hurting him but she couldn’t say ‘yes’ when she wasn’t ready. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them and one day she hoped that Edgar could appreciate that it was self-less as much as it was selfish. But for now the blonde looked upon Edgar and knelt with him, her thighs barely grazing his and she squeezed his hands as he held them, to let him know that whatever he decided was okay. That if he needed to leave her she would be okay one day but words bubbled out of her mouth before she could control them, begging him not to. She didn’t want to feel the pain of losing him about as much as he wanted to feel her rejection. But Edgar was always a more loving person than Kalani and returned the tight grasp of her hands and spoke words that meant more to the blonde than he would ever have been able to know. “I feel the same way, Edgar. You don’t even know,” she said quietly, her gaze at their hands which Kalani had only now realized she was holding onto for dear life. Kalani needed Edgar more than he, or even she knew.

Uncertain of what else to say Kalani let silence wash over them, hoping that she would have some sort of epiphany and be free of her trust issues but Edgar spoke before it happened and the blonde listened intently to him, not daring to look up until he said that they could ‘just wait’. She smiled softly, the tears in her eyes slowing as she looked into his deep orbs and she mulled over the idea of having a long engagement. One that’s long enough for the ballerina to be ready. She knew that one day it was going to happen regardless, they were bound for life. Soul mates, even. Since that party over two years ago they’d had something special brewing. Certainly with difficulties along the way as with every relationship but it was real. The night that Kalani could not remember was one that had led her to interlocking her fingers with Edgar’s and closing her eyes as his lightly calloused hand cupped her cheek until she opened her eyes at the mention of Amy. Glancing around until she got the true meaning of his words and sighed in relief. She loved Amy but the girl’s presence could make this much more uncomfortable than it already was. “Thank God,” she mumbled quietly as she offered a nervous smile to Edgar, a silent apology. I know you love me but I just can’t do anything about it yet. Then as he asked her to marry him once more and added the important word at the end she smiled and nodded her head vigorously.

“Yes, Edgar Kane, I’d love to be your wife, someday,” Kalani said without the faintest scent of distress at these few words because she knew that while this wasn’t a completely empty promise there wasn’t enough weight on it for her to be scared with a capital ‘S’. The last time Edgar had put her into this place of pressure it had been when her little sisters were born and with the word 'commit' instead of marry. "We'll learn as we go, right?" she asked with a smile flaking onto her pink lips as she remembered him saying that they would learn how to trust and be a couple as they went on before kissing each other and continuing on til this very moment.​