" A Fantastic
Journey For Those Who Love Elvis..." more Sonya
Snyder
Jimmy
kicked off the evening with an old B.B. King number.
Elvis smiled as the crowd hollered its approval. We watched as
couples fanned out onto
the darkened and cozy dance floor. Jimmy had B.B.’s
style down, and for a moment stopped the crowd’s
collective motion with his passionate guitar solo.
I stood to whistle my support for Jimmy over
the crowd, but stopped as I saw Elvis’ eyes widen.
A busty blonde passed our table, her low-cut, sleeveless
blouse
clinging closely to
what little skin it covered. A man followed helplessly
behind her, oblivious to all except what moved as she
walked.
“Have mercy,” said Elvis, his eyebrows upraised. “Where’s
that woman’s clothes at?”
We watched as the couple interlocked legs and began
to sway to the music. The women melded with her dance partner, who clearly
enjoyed himself
every step of
the way.
“Well, he doesn’t seem to mind.” I offered up.
“It never ceases to amaze me, baby.” Elvis said, as he sat
back in his chair and laughed.
Elvis watched the near-pornographic show on the dance floor. His reaction entertained
me more than Jimmy’s band. When Elvis saw that I was enjoying
his shock, he stopped carrying on about the under-dressed woman.
“Oh, come on,” he said and grabbed me by the hand.
I willingly followed him out onto the dance floor. I hadn’t worn
this night-on-the-town dress for nothing!
As any loyal fan would, I knew that Elvis was not one to dance much, so I had
not expected this gesture. He held my hand and led me out onto the floor. I watched
couples move into each other’s arms and longed for Elvis’ arms around
me, but he had other ideas. He released my hand and moved out on his own. I could
see his smile as he turned to face me. His shoulders moved to the rhythm, and
he slid one of his long legs out in front of him. In a casual leaning stance,
he watched me approach. The singer’s voice and the slow beat enveloped
the floor in a sensual rhythm. My heart melted as Elvis nibbled his lower lip
while he got into the music’s funky beat. I was reserved
at fi rst and took my spot all too far away from his arms. As
the music
played
on, I became
more relaxed and soon was able to meet his gaze with some confidence.
I blushed at subtle movements his body made as he moved
to the music. In perfect timing, he rolled a shoulder in my direction.
Laughingly, I shook my bare shoulder
back at him. I was not an accomplished dancer, but I did enjoy
the freedom of moving to music. I noticed people watching us and wondered if
they
could feel
the electricity between us.
I had finally let go and was getting caught up in the music when I noticed a
smooth sensual hip gyration from my dance partner. I laughed in embarrassment
and glanced around at the people flanking us. He only smiled and continued to
watch me dance. When I couldn’t bring myself to copy his
movement, he did it again. I tried to contain my laughter and
instead mustered
up all the femininity
I could. I swayed my hip forward in what I hoped was an irresistibly
sexy move. Elvis laughed and sprung forward. He grabbed me to
him and kissed my neck as
we hugged. I was finally in his arms and happy to be guided by
his perfect rhythm. He had no fancy dance steps, but rather just
held
me close and
slowly swayed
from side to side. I closed my eyes and completely gave myself
up to the moment. I was moved by swaying hips commanding me to
follow
his
led.
When the music stopped, I felt it only when he released
me, as it was playing on in my head and heart. Everyone on the dance
floor clapped. I turned toward
the stage and also clapped, hands over my head, for my dear friend.
Before I could lower my arms, black sleeves slipped around my waist from
behind and held
me firmly. I continued to clap amid the crowd as it whistled
and screamed for more.
“Thank you, thank you everyone.” Jimmy squinted into the stage lights
and shaded his eyes. “We have a very special guest in the
house tonight.”
Even in the thick of the bouncing crowd, Jimmy’s eyes met mine and twinkled
with mischief. How my heart stopped beating and pounded in my ears at the same
time, I’ll never figure out. There was no place to hide
and no time to squeeze through all the bodies to escape. I could
only
brace
myself for the worst.
“Ladies and gentlemen . . .” Jimmy began as the horn section
gathered behind him.
“Mr. Elvis Presley!”
Jimmy pointed out to the dance floor in our direction, and the crowd parted around
us. Elvis abruptly stopped nuzzling my ear and tensed from head to toe as his
name hung in the air. Slowly, he lifted his head and looked up at the stage.
All eyes were focused on us.
“I’ll be a son of a . . .”
Elvis left his curse unfinished. I turned to see a look of anger on his face.
His eyes flashed fire and the muscles in his jaw flexed rapidly. The first few
bars of “2001: Space Odyssey” sounded with great
effort from the three-person horn section on stage. Elvis dropped
his
arms from my
waist and
fidgeted uncertainly. Everyone waited for his response.
“Come on, Jon, do it for Sam!” Jimmy yelled from the stage.“Ladies
and gentlemen, I hear Jon is an Elvis impressionist. If we clap real loud, maybe
he’ll come up here and sing a song for us.”
I turned to Elvis as the last few bars of the famous
number grew stronger.
“You don’t have to do this.” I had to yell into his
ear over the roar from the encouraging crowd.
This work is not authorized or endorsed by the Estate of Elvis Presley
or by the estate of any other person. All rights reserved. No part may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission
in writting from the copyright owner.
© 2007 by Patricia
Garber, PatriciaGarberLLC.
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