I don't mean to dampen the mood here, but... I just read the news about Lisa Marie's passing on 1/12/23. That's so sad. Our prayers and love go out to the Presley family. Now, Lisa is with her father and her son 💙💜
~ ~ ~
Someone ran into my apartment the next evening and pounced on my bed as I was sitting there, staring at a poster of Elvis from his last film Viva Las Vegas. That man on that poster, the man who I only dreamed of meeting since 1955, the man who was the desire of almost every woman in the country, the man who drew people in with his sultry voice and charm...
That man kissed me. And I kissed him back. At twilight. Was this real?
"Hello!" Donna hollered, waving a hand in front of my face. "Are you in there?"
I snapped out of it and met gazes with my sister as her long blonde hair framed her face. "What?"
"I've been saying your name for the past several seconds, and you didn't hear me at all. I don't think you even noticed me come in. You're completely distracted because of what's been going on with you and Elvis. The whole country knows your story, and Mom and Dad are up the wall."
"Naturally," I said as I still gazed at the poster. "I just can't believe it happened."
"You're telling me. First the press says horrible stuff about you, and then they try to rip you apart on the street. They would've done that if Elvis hadn't come in and saved the day."
I still stared at his handsome face on the poster. "That's not what I mean."
Her brows creased in confusion. "Then what do you mean?"
For the next few minutes, I told her about what unfolded in the exam room, what he told me not to do, but I did it anyway. "I totally went against what he advised, and he got so upset with me. Well, I got upset with him, too, since he couldn't see that I really wanted this."
"Or wanted him. That's most of the reason why you went to the set."
"He figured that out, too, and tried to force it out of me." Heat encumbered my whole face. "And he did, just not verbally."
"What do you mean?"
Those soft lips as they moved magically with mine for a few seconds... his strong grip on my arm as my emotions heightened... his intoxicating cologne...
"Hey, I'm losing you again," Donna said and clapped her hands in front of my face, and I snapped out of it again. "Wow, something must've happened. What happened, huh? Ooo... your face is completely red! Spill it!"
My gaze went to his lips on that poster, lips that I only dreamed would move on mine. "He... kissed me."
Donna made the biggest gasp I could remember her making, and she covered her mouth with both hands as her blue eyes went extremely wide. A scream escaped her after the huge gasp. Lila started barking because of that scream, and she hopped up on the bed to see what was going on.
"Elvis kissed you?!" Donna hollered as she dropped her hands and Lila got into her lap. Her whole face was as red as mine. I only nodded. She squealed. "Oh my goodness! See?! What did I tell you?! That man is in love with you!"
For the first time since I met Elvis, I was inclined to believe it. "He at least has feelings for me. Either that, or it was completely spontaneous."
"Spontaneous shmontaneous. Him kissing you wasn't an accident. Men kiss women because their heart beats for them. Now tell me every single little detail. Is he a good kisser? Did he wrap you up in his arms? Well?"
Her big blue eyes lighted with interest, and I had to let out a chuckle. My mind went back to that wonderful moment. "He took my arm to keep me from walking away, and since he was sitting, we were at eye-level. He begged me to tell him why I was really on the set, and..." My gaze floated to the poster again dreamily. "He got closer and closer and... his lips touched mine before I could answer."
"Aww! How romantic! And under the stars!"
"Not necessarily. It was dusk, so no stars were out."
"Ooo, low lighting is even better! So? Is he a good kisser?"
I giggled. "Yeah, he is. He moved his lips on mine for a little while, and I moved mine, too, but then... I broke away and ran away. The feelings those lips, though... it was heavenly."
"Wait a minute, what?" Donna demanded, disregarding my dreamy expression. "You were kissed by the sexiest man in America, and you ran away? Are you out of your mind?!"
"I was scared. You know what the papers are saying. Even Elvis's manager told him not to associate with me anymore because of it."
"And he totally disobeyed because of his feelings for you. But seriously, Shannon, Elvis Presley kissed you, and you ran away. No one was around and it was getting dark... you two could've gone into a passionate kissing session. No body would've known."
The thought of that happening with him sent pleasurable tingles through my little body. "I just don't want either of us to get into trouble. They called him a pedophile because of me. The same thing happened with Brandon, and he cheated on me since he didn't want people to call him that."
"Excuses, excuses. Elvis is nuts about you, Shannon. You have to do something about that."
My telephone started ringing, and I answered it. I listened for a moment. "Oh, hello, Hal." I listened, and my mouth turned into an O. "You want me to be a reoccurring extra? Really?" Donna's eyes widened and mouth dropped open as I listened to Hal. "Well, I run the vet five days a week. I don't know if I will be able to be on the set all the time." Donna gave me another "are you crazy?" look. "Okay, well... just let me know when I would be needed if it's not going to be often. I'm just curious, though... who would I be playing?" He told me. "Oh... well..." He spoke again. "Okay. No, I can be at a meeting tomorrow at ten if it's not going to take long. Okay. Thank you. Goodbye."
I hung up the phone, and the second I did, Donna exclaimed, "Holy moly, you're going to be a reoccurring extra on the Roustabout set? Well, I guess that answers the question of what you're going to do about this situation with Elvis."
"But Hal said I would mostly be playing a child since the small woman attraction would only be seen in one scene, and they already shot that one. That was the first thing I was in. I could play an adult, though, as long as I'm sitting in a crowd and am sitting on something to make me seem taller."
"That's good, though, isn't it? This is a huge opportunity for you." She read my expression. "You don't want Elvis to be upset again."
"I don't want either of us to be slandered further," I corrected. "The producer said I could come in for a little meeting tomorrow with John Rich, the director, and discuss it. If I don't like the proposition, I won't take it."
"It already seems like you're not thrilled about it since you didn't like playing a child."
"But this could do good things for me and my clinic."
She folded her arms. "Those are just more excuses. You're conflicted about this because you want more than anything to see Elvis again and kiss him, yet you don't want things to get worse concerning the reputation you two have."
Like Elvis, Donna could see right through me. "Do you think I should do it, regardless of the role?"
"I think so. Even if Elvis is out of the picture, you had the time of your life being on that set. And who's to say that they won't need your vet services again and you would have to go back to the set anyway since that elephant or a monkey or something got sick, hm?"
She had a point. I glanced at the poster again and stared at Elvis's handsome face as my heart pounded. What should I do?
~ ~ ~
The Paramount film lot was really something else. It was like a little city within a bigger one, with normal buildings that looked like they could be on a normal street but were built for the purpose of filming. It was very spectacular. I was already small, but I felt smaller when I arrived and saw how massive the lot was.
"Wow..." I mused as I walked through, looking at everything, and at the same time, I was trying to find the "stage 20" building where they had the Roustabout set on. I had parked outside of the entrance and walked in. "Elvis normally worked in this kind of place every day? That lucky man."
People were walking around, and I had no idea if they were crew people or actors to other movies or shows being filmed in the lot. My heart started racing when I thought about other actors who could be present—Audrey Hepburn, Marolyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Marlon Brando...
"Oh, Lord..." I muttered at the thought, my mind whirling. I spotted the "stage 20" building and asked a man how I could get in. This middle-aged man's brows rose.
"You're looking to get onto a film set, miss?" he asked, then looked around. "Are your parents with you?"
My heart pricked in slight annoyance. Maybe I shouldn't have worn a purple dress that was loose on me and covered my feminine form. "I was asked by the director of the film Roustabout to meet him in this building. I'm supposed to be an extra."
"I see. Well, I'm afraid I can't let you in by yourself. Where are your parents?"
I needed to clear this up. My blonde hair was down and to my elbows today, but usually that didn't make me look any older than when I would wear a ponytail. "I played one of the carnival attractions in a previous scene—the little woman. I'm twenty-four years old." I took out my wallet from my purse and took out my driver's license. He took a look at it, stunned.
"Well, I'll be... that's something else. My apologies, miss."
"It's okay. I get that a lot."
"I bet. Just head on through this door. Actually, let me escort you."
He probably felt badly because of his assumption of me and wanted to make up for it. "Thank you. That's very kind."
We went into the building, and immediately, I saw people walking down the hallway we entered. A woman saw me and said, pointing at me, "Oh my, you're the little vet! From the paper!"
Others in the hallways heard that, and they came up to me, asking me questions about what happened recently between me and Elvis, and among all the commotion, I heard someone mention that Elvis was on the set in this very building. Of course, why wouldn't he be if this was where part of the set was to the film he was in?
"Okay, okay, leave the lady alone, people," said a male voice loudly, and I saw Hal come through. "Dr. Comm, if you would follow me."
I did what I was told without question and looked back at all the people still looking at me and talking among themselves. The man who escorted me in stared at me in disbelief. He most likely heard of me from the papers, he just couldn't believe I was that person. Well, who else would it be? I didn't know of any other people like me who was a vet in the area.
"I trust you found the building alright, Dr. Comm?" asked Hal.
"Yes, thank you. I got turned around a few times, but I found it. This lot is huge."
"Indeed, it is. Glad that you're here. So, we'll be passing through one of our sets since John is working on a scene at the moment."
That meant that I would be seeing Elvis. Was I ready for that after the last thing that happened between us? I could still feel his sweet kiss on my lips.
We walked through the hallways some more, and then Hal opened a door for me, and we both came out into a much larger area, and I could see a set that was dimly lit. It looked like a portion of the carnival set since I saw the dunk tank and trailers off in the near distance. These films had double sets! That was interesting.
Elvis came into the picture, and he was wearing what he was the last time he saw me—light-blue slacks with a matching coat, and there was a black turtleneck underneath the coat. My heart started beating unhealthily fast as I saw John talking with him as well as very gorgeous brunette woman in a slimming red dress. I recognized her. She was the woman playing the fortune teller, another woman that Elvis's character Charlie has a thing with in the film. Jealousy pricked my chest this time.
"Okay, ready on the set!" John called, and Elvis went over to the dunk tank area. The set was pretty dark, so it was probably supposed to be nighttime. "Action!"
"Isn't this fun, huh?" Hal leaned down and asked me. "We'll wait a moment while they do this scene, then we'll bug John.
"Okay," I said as I saw Elvis looking for something around the dunk tank stand. At that moment, the woman in red approached him, and I couldn't help the envy I felt. She was a tall, shapely beautiful woman who most men would go after most likely. Elvis probably thought her a vision.
"Hi," said the woman, and Elvis turned around.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
"Don't want to."
"Bad dreams, huh?"
"Mmm, nice dreams. But why just dream them?"
"Where's Joe?"
"He's in jail. They held him. Kathy and Maggie have been out trying to find a bondsman." She looked to his back, and she reached into his back pocket and pulled out the wallet he picked up earlier. "Finders keepers?"
"What do you think?"
"I think you're hung up with splitting it with me and getting a good mark with Kathy for springing Joe."
He started walking away saying, "There's nothing like looking for the best in people, is there?"
She took hold of his arm, stopping him, then said as he turned to face her, "Don't be nervous."
"Nervous? I never was."
He went in and kissed her. I let out a little gasp as the hurt suddenly overcame me, and hot tears stung my eyes. They wrapped their arms around each other, then she pushed him away, saying, "Hey, want 'em selling tickets?"
"Now who's nervous?"
The scene went on as my vision became blurry, and I hardly heard what they were saying. Something about rooms and cars. He went in and kissed her neck, but she pushed him away. The scene ended with her angrily her calling him a louse. I sniffed and wiped my tears away, trying to get a hold of myself.
Elvis was a natural at acting, it looked, but... with beautiful women, he had to...
"Cut!" John called. "Great! We may use that take." Hal went up to him and whispered something in his ear. He nodded. "Okay, everyone, twenty-minute break while I step away for a little meeting!"
The lights suddenly went on, and the actors and crew started bustling about. Another woman came up to Elvis and touched up his hair as he spoke with the woman in red, and... it was a bit irritating how great they looked together, especially in the light. I wished I looked like that woman, mainly for her height. If I was born correctly, I would be as tall as her, probably. Well, maybe a bit shorter, but still, I would be average height for a woman. Donna was a petite young woman at about five-four. I probably would've been the same.
"Hi, there, Dr. Comm," John greeted me with a smile. "Good morning."
"Good morning."
"Ready for our meeting?"
"Yes, I am."
Elvis turned his head in our direction, and the moment he saw me standing there about thirty feet away from the set, his eyes widened, and a look of alarm encumbered his features. The woman with him was trying to talk to him, but he kept on glancing at me. She asked him what was wrong.
John ushered me away from the set, and we exited through that same door and eventually came to his office, a room half the size of my apartment, and it had pictures of actors and posters of various films all over the wall. I eyed one that had Elvis in it, one from this film. I looked away from it as we started talking about John's proposition.
"I gave it some thought," I told him as I sat in a cushion chair in front of his desk, and my feet dangled from it. "And I decided to take you up on that. I just ask that I be informed when I am needed ahead of time so I can make the necessary arrangements at my clinic."
"That's agreeable. Thank you so much, Dr. Comm."
"Shannon. Please."
"Alright, Shannon. And are you sure? We all know what was in the press."
"Yes, I'm sure. I need to be professional about it all. Honestly, this is a huge blessing. My dreams came true regarding starting my own vet clinic, and now, I'm going to be a reoccurring extra for an Elvis Presley film while being a vet at the same time."
"Boggles the mind, doesn't it?"
"I just think I'll kick myself if I don't accept the offer, and my family would have a cow, too, so... if not for me or the clinic, I would do this for my family. Uncle Billy's going to be ecstatic when he finds out."
"I bet he will. Okay, well, I have to get back out there. You alright to find your way out? Or, you can stick around and watch the filming if you like."
And see Elvis kiss that woman again? "Thank you, but I have to get back to the clinic. I said I would be gone an hour."
"Very well. I'll have Hal call you with a schedule."
"Okay."
I left the office first, and the moment I came out, I was looking up at Colonel Parker. I gulped. Oh boy...
"Colonel Parker," John greeted, then passed him, and Elvis's manager tipped his hat, and a cigar sat in his mouth. He took it out as he gazed down at me, and I felt like a bug. He was as tall as Elvis, but he was larger. I was miniscule compared to him.
"Dr. Comm," he said in his accent. "Good morning."
"Good morning, Colonel Parker."
"So, I heard that you're going to be an ongoing extra for the film."
"Yes. I don't think I'll be around often, though, since there aren't many carnival scenes left to do. I may come in for other little extra parts, though."
"I see. Well, I wanted to speak to you about something, something that my boy informed me of yesterday. Or more, something that I wiggled out of him." I pressed my lips together, having an idea of what that something was. "You two have gotten pretty close recently, and I have to say, it was a mistake on his part and yours."
I couldn't be intimidated by this man! "I admit that it was. I know, Colonel Parker. I know it shouldn't have happened. I knew that I shouldn't have been on the set, but I wanted to come. And for the same reason, I wanted to accept Mr. Rich's offer. Being on a film set is something that I never thought possible for me."
He nodded, and his expression and eyes weren't mean, but stern. "I understand, Dr. Comm, but... I can't have my boy being called certain names in the press."
What he was trying say suddenly became clear, and it was something that Elvis informed me of already—"You want me to stay away from him."
"It would be the wisest thing to do. Plus, you said yourself, what happened between the two of you the other night was a mistake."
"Was it really?" we both heard behind us in a very familiar voice, and I let out a gasp when I saw Elvis standing there, hands in his pockets, and a sad look in his eyes that matched his blue outfit. We stared at each other for a moment before the Colonel spoke up.
"It was, Elvis, and you know it. Now, Dr. Comm has to get back to her clinic."
"You accepted John's offer, didn't chya?" Elvis asked me, disregarding what his manager said. Of course Elvis would've heard about that offer if his manager knew about that kiss and the consequences of it.
"I... did..." I said, my heart nearly in my throat and pounding through my ears, making my hands start to go numb. Elvis's brows creased.
"Colonel, could you excuse us for a minute?" Elvis asked, and the Colonel almost protested but... "Please, Colonel," Elvis said forcefully, and his manager left us.
"Elvis..." I started, but he took the doorknob to John's office and opened the door.
"Let's talk in here."
"I don't think that's wise."
"Then do you want to talk about us when people are walkin' by?"
A man walked by right after he said that, proving his point. Without a word, I walked into the room, but faced away from him as he shut the door. My little body shook a bit because of my heavy heartbeat and nervousness around the man I was crazy in love with.
"Shannon..." I heard behind me. "Look, that scene I did out there... Sue Ane is just another actor, and we were only actin' out a scene for the film. And I think I should add that she's married and wasn't thrilled about playin' that woman out there. I wasn't thrilled about doin' the scene, too."
It was flattering that he felt like he had to explain, and I could admit that it made me feel better to know the whole story, but still... "I know it was only acting. You're a pretty swell actor. I've seen you in films before, of course, but seeing it in person since I started being a part of all this... it's amazing."
"Thank you, but you know that's not what I mean. You felt somethin' out there when you watched that scene, didn't ya? I know I felt somethin' when I found out that you saw it." I said nothing to that. "The last time we saw each other, I kissed ya, and you kissed me back. And the next time you see me..." He let out a huff. "Why'd you run away after we kissed, huh?"
"Because I didn't want to cause us more unnecessary harm."
"Then why risk bein' on a set with me?"
Here he goes again with trying to get something out of me, and it's the same question from before. "No matter what I say, you're going to refute it like you did the other night." I turned around, and I wanted to melt at seeing him simply standing there looking amazingly handsome without even trying. "It's the truth when I say that I wanted to do this for me and my clinic, and I would add my family, too. They're over the moon with happiness for me, since when I was younger, they thought I wouldn't make anything of myself since I would be the size of a child my whole life and no one would take me seriously. This is another way that people can take me seriously. Yes, like I said before, I'll step in as a child for the most part now, but I'll get older and look my age, and I'll just maybe play a small person sometimes, I don't know. I just think this is a wonderful opportunity. And knowing you and getting tangled up with you, my favorite star for the past ten years..."
My voice cracked. Emotion constricted my chest, and I blinked some tears away, and they dripped down my cheeks. I looked away from Elvis, but still faced him. He came and sat down in the same chair I sat in earlier when talking to John, and he turned it to face me.
"Hey," he said, but I didn't want to look at him. "Let me tell you somethin'... It was no mistake, what happened between us the other night." I still didn't look at him, but he took my chin and made me face him, and I stared at his blue eyes. "I wanted to kiss ya."
There was complete sincerity in his eyes and voice, and it shocked me. "But... I'm the size of a child. You shouldn't waste your time on me, especially when you have other much bigger and beautiful women in your life. I couldn't compare to them. I..."
He leaned in, and I felt his lips on mine again, and they started moving on mine in a deeper fashion than before. My whole body wanted to ooze onto the floor as those soft lips felt mine for a few seconds, and my eyes drifted closed. Before I could respond, though, those lips left mine.
"I act with other women," he said softly right near my mouth, "and maybe there are other women in my life, but right now, I'm just lookin' at you. And I promise... I'm not gonna be like that sleaze who broke your heart."
He had to mention Brandon at a moment like this. "It will eventually happen," I said and stepped away from him and faced away from him again. "The same thing happened with him. You know the story... People called him a pedophile because he was seen with a person people saw as a child." I gulped hard, and tears came to my eyes again. "Maybe I should tell John that I decided not to take the job. I don't think I'll be strong enough to see you in person on a regular basis. Um... I should get back to the clinic."
I about went for the door, but, like the last time, he took my arm to stop me. "You don't wanna do that and you know it."
The firmness in his voice was rather sexy. "It's for the best that I stay away from you as to not ruin your reputation. Mine, whatever. It won't hurt my clinic since my customers there are mostly people I know and won't stop coming just because of things that were said in the paper, but you... it will hurt you. You have fans overseas. You're insanely famous." I shook my head. "I'm not going to do that to you."
I tried to release myself, but he held fast. He used some strength and forced me to him, and I stood right in front of him as he was still sitting down. I stared at those blue eyes again, not a foot away from my own.
"You don't wanna do it," he said again in a lower tone.
I should just tell him the truth. "You're right. I don't. But it's the wisest thing to do."
He pulled me a little more, and my face came literally a couple inches from his. I thought he was going to kiss me again, but... "What if Lila wants to see me, huh?"
My whole face felt hot from the blood my heart was rapidly pumping into it. If I didn't get out of this man's intoxicating presence, I would pass out. "Then..." I didn't know what to say.
"Don't say no to John. You deserve to be an actress."
A man from out in the hallway was hollering, "Where's Elvis? Has anyone seen him?"
"You have to go," I said, and I tried to get away, but he still held fast. He leaned in again, only he kissed me on the cheek, and I felt his hot breath as his face lingered there for a moment. His lips made my skin tingle.
"Yeah," he breathed and leaned away. He let me go. "You'll see me again. And by the way, I told myself that I wouldn't kiss ya again, but... I just can't help it anymore."
His gaze went down to my mouth, and before he could lean in and kiss me for the third time, I said nothing, left the room, and literally ran down the hallway and back outside. Panting, I stood there in the road between two large buildings, trying to recover from not running, but what was going on between me and a super famous man, a man probably most of the world knew about.
This was real. Little me was having a romance with the big Elvis Presley.