My heart dropped as I watched her run out of sight. I took a few steps in her direction, and the Colonel came up and put a hand in front of me, stopping me.
"You're not going anywhere, Elvis. Let them deal with her."
I pressed my lips together as my chest ached a little. Katelyn's feelings were hurt, and rightfully so. I wasn't a girl, but I had been around girls enough to know their first kiss was a big deal. And I stole hers from her. I felt terrible. No wonder she was upset.
"I'll go and see if she's okay," Sharon said and left. Nancy stayed put for a few seconds then went and followed her, having the expression like she had no choice. I planted my hands on my hips, trying not to go follow them myself. I would apologize.
"Wow, I bet you never had that kind of reaction before, Elvis," Henry remarked with a chuckle.
"No, I haven't, but I haven't had to kiss many girls in the past, for work."
"Well, you sure will in the future. Now, let's get a few more shots while we wait for Katelyn."
I still eyed the way she ran. "Alright."
Henry instructed what he wanted me to do. I really didn't like it when I had to force a smile. I didn't think I would feel better until I knew that Katelyn was okay.
If only I first kissed her under different circumstances. But would I have the guts to kiss her off of the camera? Probably not. I couldn't, actually. It wasn't allowed. But I knew that if I got the chance, it would melt my insides like when I kissed her moments ago. I hadn't had that reaction from kissing a girl before in the few times I had done it. The feeling of those soft lips, the feeling of my fingers against her little waist and how doggone wonderful that felt...
We most likely would have to kiss in the future in front of a camera, since we were a media couple, but this first one would take the cake because it was the one I would never forget. I was told once that the first kiss could tell a lot about how a relationship would turn out. On screen or not, this was our first kiss... and it wasn't great. At least for her. Darn.
~ ~ ~
Katelyn never came back out to the set. Nancy had come out after about ten minutes and told everyone that Katelyn was done for the day. That made my heart drop even more if that were possible, since it was already at my toes.
I eyed the area where Katelyn and I stood when she told me about my unfortunate future as I sat on the sofa in my dressing room after the shoot, about an hour after Katelyn ran away from me. She ran away from me. When had a girl ever done that before? Girls usually chased after me. She was different. That was what made me fall for her in the first place.
And yes, I had fallen for her. Hard. I could admit it. I wouldn't feel so rotten if I wasn't loony about her.
"Hey, Elvis," the Colonel said as he came into the dressing room and shut the door behind him. "You ready to head out soon? We have to be at that interview in an hour, and we have to be there a little early."
I still stared at that spot, and I recalled all the times I had encountered Katelyn. My manager came over to me. "Elvis? Did you hear me?"
"How come more times than not when I'm around her, she has tears in her eyes? That makes my heart hurt somethin' awful."
He let out a long sigh and planted his hands on his hips. He knew who I was referring to. "She's just an emotional girl, that's all. A lot of girls get emotional when they're around you."
"Yeah, but this is different."
"Maybe it has to do with the fact that she knows something about you."
Of course. She was always in tears because she was always hiding the truth about my future, a future that I wanted to keep from the Colonel for the time being. I didn't want to drop that bomb on him after what happened earlier. That would just make me feel worse. I didn't want to hurt anyone else. "Do you know if she's still here?"
He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "I ran into Nancy out in the hallway just now, along with her shadow Miss Young, so I assume so."
"I wanna see if she's okay - Katelyn."
"I'm sure she's fine. I'm actually happy that she ran away after you kissed her. Other girls would take full advantage of that."
He had a point. Maybe I should take advantage of his reasoning. "So, she doesn't like me like that. I guess that's a good thing. So, as a friend, can I go see if she's okay? I can be quick about it."
I gave him my puppy-dog eyes and jutted my lower lip out a little. This only sometimes worked with him. I hoped it would now.
"Okay, stop with those eyes of yours," he complained. "Fine, but I'm going to be right behind you."
I stood up from the sofa. "Swell."
The Colonel was really a good manager. It was disheartening, learning what would happen to me because of him. Or he was at least a part of it a bit. I couldn't see that in him now, since he was allowing me to do something that he didn't want me to do. He wasn't a fan of Katelyn. I knew that much. It said a lot that he was letting me see her after she ran away after I kissed her.
We left my dressing room and went up to her dressing room door right across from mine. We heard something from the inside... singing.
"Do you hear that?" I asked the Colonel, leaning into the door.
"I hear it. She's not bad."
"I know."
We both came up close to the door. The words to the song came through...
"Take my hand, take my whole life too... for I can't help falling in love with you." She paused. "Wait, no, wrong pitch," we heard her say. She started again. "Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you... Shall I stay? Would it be a sin... if I can't help falling in love with you?"
Those lyrics made in her sweet voice washed over me. What a beautiful song! "Elvis," the Colonel began to protest, but I put up and arm, muttering a "Shh."
"Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes some things are meant to be... Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you. Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be... Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you..."
The singing stopped, and my heart pounded rapidly while my mouth hung open. She had that kind of voice, and she hadn't said anything?! I knocked, not thinking about it first. The Colonel and I waited there for a couple of seconds, then the door opened. The moment Katelyn saw the both of us standing there, her eyes widened the widest that I had seen them go.
"Elvis!"
"Hey, Katelyn." Her face gained crimson, and how adorable that was. "Look, I just wanted to say first that I'm sorry about earlier. I'm sorry I made you go through somethin' that made you upset."
She shook her head. "No, no, don't be sorry. I was just embarrassed, that's all. I mean..." She glanced at the Colonel. I read her look. I muttered to him to step down the hall a little ways, out of sight. He did so. That seemed to do the trick. Katelyn continued, "Um, well, that was my..."
"I know. And I'm sorry I stole it from ya. That was cruel of me."
Her lips turned into an O. "Oh, no, that's not what I meant, I just... well, like I said, I was embarrassed. I didn't run because you kissed me, I just, um..." She scratched the back of her head. I smirked at how cute she looked nervous. "I just didn't know what to do. I mean... how can a girl react when her favorite star kisses her? I probably would've fainted if I hadn't run."
I nodded to that, stopping myself from grinning like a fool. "So... it's not because I stole your first kiss from ya? You said that you wanted it to be more secluded. That's why I feel bad about it."
Her grip on the door tightened, I noticed. "Well, not everything is as we want them to be. Look, Elvis, please, don't feel bad. I'm a teen-aged girl. I get emotional. And... gosh, I just hate that I always seem to cry when you're around. It's so embarrassing."
I shoved my hands into my black slacks pockets. "You had a reason to." Her eyes saddened, and I knew she was thinking about what she told me about my future. I had to change the subject. "Nevermind. So, I heard ya singin' a minute ago."
She looked away from me and cleared her throat. "Um, yeah, I... well, that song..."
"That song was beautiful. And your voice... How come you never said you can sing? Your voice is so sweet and passionate."
She looked back at me, her eyes wide with surprise again. "Really?"
"Yes. And I'm not just sayin' that. Your voice really is somethin' special. I think they should have you sing, maybe record somethin'. That song you just sang is a good start."
She waved a hand in front of her. "Oh gosh, no, no, I can't sing. I mean, I don't want to record any song, especially not that one."
"Why not that one? I may have only heard it behind the door, but I could feel my bones turn to puddin' as I listened."
The corner of her mouth lifted. "Thanks, and... that song is sung by someone else. I don't want to plagiarize."
"Who sings it? I don't recognize it."
"You wouldn't. It hasn't come out yet."
Ah, now I get it. "Okay, I see. It's a future song. Do I know the artist?" She didn't say anything, she just stared at me with her pretty blue-green eyes. They said it all. "Wait... do I sing that song in the future?"
She nodded. "You do. It's another one of those soothing songs that can make a baby fall asleep, like it did so many times for me when I was young. And it's a song that can sooth a hurting heart. It's helped me in that way more times than I can count."
My lips fell into a little frown. "I'm sorry that you were compelled to sing it."
She knew what was meaning, but instead of looking sad, that pink returned in her cheeks, and she looked down at her shoes. She said in a sheepish voice, "I wasn't singing that song because I was hurt..."
I saw her lips purse and her face gain more color. My heart pulsed as I realized a giant reason why anyone would sing a song - because it applied to what they were going through. She was singing about falling in love, and right after I kissed her.
"Katelyn..." I began, but the Colonel came up to us.
"Well, I think that's enough talking for now. Miss Brier, Elvis and I both have to be somewhere."
She popped her head up. "Oh, okay. I guess I'll see you when I see you, then."
"You, too, Katelyn," Elvis said. "And really, you need to use that sweet, melodic voice of yours. I think I may have a talk with my record company about it."
"Oh, no, don't do that! Really."
"But if it's my song, I have a say in it, right?"
"But you don't sing it until 1960."
1960, huh? Interesting. "Even so. The world needs to hear that voice of yours."
She said nothing to that.
"Okay, time to go," the Colonel urged and grabbed my shoulder.
"Okay, okay," I said to him, then to Katelyn, "Goodbye. See ya 'round."
"Goodbye. And yes, you, too."
I gave her a smile then went on back into my dressing room. That smile stayed. I would never forget that singing voice of hers, and I was certainly not going to forget that song, a song that I would sing in 1960. And a song about falling in love...
Katelyn basically just told me that she was falling in love with me. The Colonel, again, commented that I was grinning like a fool.
~ ~ ~
This is the type of voice that I imagine Katelyn having, and what Elvis heard through the door. Enjoy this ~