Lady in Red Pt. 02 Ch. 19

Steve had stepped down from the stage and brought the female sailor that had asked for a dance back up and danced with her while the girls sang their songs. He changed partners for each song, and without exception, the ladies had tears running down their cheeks by the end of the dance. Each woman would give Steve a quick kiss and then wave to her friends and crew mates.

The audience loved it. It got even better when Steve and Charlie took over the singing and Gwen and Jordan began bringing sailors up to dance. The crowd yelled its approval when Gwen pulled Rear Admiral Hendricks to the stage for a dance while Jordan coaxed Captain Mercer to join her. They were great sports, as well as accomplished dancers. It made for a special moment that would long be remembered by the crew of the Teddy Roosevelt. When Gwen knew she would be doing her final dance with an audience member, she brought Arnold Gavin, her former classmate, up on stage. They had discussed his role before the show. As she danced close with him, his hand would slide down and rest on her firm ass. Gwen would pull her head away and look back at her ass and make a show of pulling Arnold's hand up to her back. She pulled his hand higher three times during the number and the audience loved it.

Jodie Lane, the sax player, was a tremendous hit. She was a pretty girl with flaming red hair and a slim figure, but she dressed in tight shorts and a top that displayed her toned midriff as she played. She was very good and looked extremely sexy. Her talent and appearance improved an already great show. It went so well that it ran half an hour over the four hours they had promised. For one of the encores, Steve and Gwen performed their dance number from 'Dirty Dancing' and the applause for it lasted several minutes.

Once they were finished the show and packed away the equipment, the ladies all went to the female quarters to sleep in some of the crew's bunks, while Steve and the other men joined the male crew in their bunks. Steve, Jason, Chip, Charlie, Pete, and Jared were accustomed to small bunks and fell asleep immediately. It took the others a little longer.

The next morning saw the gang saying their goodbyes after breakfast as they prepared to fly to the USS Nimitz for their July 4th show. A short time before they were scheduled to depart, Captain Mercer caught up with them. He surprised Gwen with an apology.

"Ms. Anderson, I want you to know that we're disciplining the young man that groped you during his dance with you last night. This ship prides itself on the conduct of its crew and Petty Officer Gavin failed miserably to adhere to our standards."

"Captain! That man was a classmate of mine in high school. I asked him to go along with it as a little joke I thought the other men would appreciate. I asked him because he's a friend and such a gentleman. I was confident that he'd know better than to take it too far. I should have told you. Now I have to apologize to him. Can I see him, please?" asked Gwen with genuine concern.

"I just happen to have Gavin with me," grinned Captain Mercer. "When I called him in this morning he insisted it was a set up and that you had asked him to help you pull it off. I wanted to believe him, but I really needed it verified before I could accept his story.

"Send Petty Officer Gavin over here," directed Captain Mercer to a man behind him.

As soon as Gwen saw Gavin, she rushed over to him and gave him a warm hug. "I'm so sorry I got you into trouble, Arnold. I'm trying to convince Captain Mercer to let it go. I told him that I had asked you to let your hand slide down a few times. Forgive me?"

Gavin was beaming from ear to ear as Gwen continued to hold him in her embrace.

"I think you've managed to set the record straight. Ms. Anderson. As long it was part of the show, there will be no repercussions, except for how his crew mates will treat him from now on. I suspect more than a few of them will be quite envious," predicted Captain Mercer.

"I want to thank you all on behalf of the United States Navy," added Rear Admiral Hendricks. "Your show was absolutely perfect. It had the prerequisite beautiful women, great music, dancing, and even a bit of burlesque at the beginning. It was very well done. I have already spoken to the Secretaries of the Navy and Defense. They were both delighted with my report. I think the Navy will be asking you back in the future."

"Sir, this was the best trip we've ever had!" declared Jordan. "Your crew treated us like royalty and we're so darn proud of what you all do that we feel honored that you would have us. The Navy is always there when we need it, and we'll always be available when you need us!"

Early afternoon found the three transport helicopters putting down on the USS Nimitz in the Red Sea. Once again there was a very enthusiastic reception for the ladies as they left their helicopter. They waved and smiled as they were greeted by Captain Lanceford and Admiral Emily Laughton.

Admiral Laughton seemed surprised, but pleased when Gwen and Jordan greeted her with a hug rather than a handshake. They were soon chatting like old friends as they waited for everyone to get off the other helicopters. Although they were not in uniform and Chip was officially retired from the Navy, Admiral Laughton smiled when both Steve and Chip stood at attention and saluted her. Then she noticed that Jared, Pete, Jason, and Charlie were all at attention. Her smile widened at the respect the men were showing her and her position. She motioned for them to relax and join the ladies as they were shown their sleeping quarters and introduced to their guides for the day.

Gwen and Jordan were asked if they would like to take a ride on one of the new F35' fighter jets. "I'm battling morning sickness and it isn't always easy on these ships. Flying upside down faster than the speed of sound doesn't appeal to me at all" replied Jordan as she begged off.

"I'd love to go up in one!" declared Gwen with enthusiasm. "I can be ready in a few minutes."

Half an hour later Gwen was introduced to the pilot that would be taking her up. Gwen was unable to conceal her surprise when she discovered it was very attractive woman with short blonde hair.

"I'm Sam Petrosky. I'll be the one flying you around this afternoon," announced the woman as she held out her hand. "You look surprised. You're not worried about having a female pilot, are you?"

"Not really. It's the fact that you're Polish causes me concern," wisecracked Gwen.

The blonde's mouth dropped open as she stared at Gwen for several seconds. Then she began to laugh. That was all it required for everyone else to break into laughter.

"I think we'll get along fine," chuckled the pilot. "I knew you had a sense of humor, but I thought your sister, Kate, was the funny one. You're even more beautiful in real life than you are in the movies and on TV."

"Thanks. You aren't too hard to look at yourself," countered Gwen. "I guess Kate is known as the funny sister, but I have my moments."

"I bet you do," agreed Sam. "Especially when you're in Steve's arms. He's the whole package. Imagine looking like that and being able to dance the way he does. He's so masculine, but he isn't all caveman-like."

Gwen began to wonder about how much this girl knew about her and Steve. "You haven't met Steve by any chance, have you?"

"Seriously? He was a year behind me at the Academy, but I really got to know him when we won that swing dance contest in Georgetown my senior year," replied Sam as the two women walked toward her jet.

"That was you?" asked a surprised Gwen. "He sent pictures and videos, but I think he may have deliberately avoided sending me any clear close-ups of you. I had some issues when I started Stanford. I had to make a real effort to not be jealous of Steve and all the beautiful women that flocked to him."

"I can understand why you'd feel that way. To be honest, he could have 'flocked' me just about any time he wanted, but he was always a gentleman. He often talked about you and how he'd given his word to you. His word is very important to him. It made it so much easier to dance with him. I knew he wouldn't fall in love with me, or even try to seduce me. I may not be as beautiful as you, but it seems impossible to be friends with a man. Sooner or later, they want to get me into bed," stated the blonde pilot. "Steve's probably the only man I've actually had as friend in my adult life.

"The ironic thing is that I kind of fell in love with him. I did exactly what I worry men will do. I guess maybe I'm not very good friend material. When I finally meet a guy that's willing to be just friends, I fall in love. Pathetic, isn't it?"

"Hardly," responded Gwen. "Every woman that's known him very long has fallen for him big time, and that includes my sisters, mother, and aunt. It's just a fact of life and I've come to accept it, along with the fact that he's totally mine, although I often wonder why."

"Yeah. I thought he had something going with Naomi Wilson because of the way they were always together and so friendly. I pretty much decided that she was the one standing between Steve and me, so I asked her about it," revealed Sam. "She was very understanding. She told me that she was in the same boat. There's something about finding a good guy that's faithful to his girl that makes us want to make him unfaithful so we can have him. But then he wouldn't be the man he is and we wouldn't want him. It's a damn paradox!" laughed Sam.

"How'd you like to dance with Steve tonight?" asked Gwen with a big smile as an idea formed. "We could do a swing number and Steve could dance with you in front of everyone on the ship. Would you be willing to do it?"

"You wouldn't mind? I thought you might hate me after I told you how I felt about him. We might be a little rusty, but I'd love to do it!" agreed Sam enthusiastically.

"I think it would be a real treat for the crew to see one of their own cut the rug like a professional with another one of their own, namely Steve. I'd like to keep it a secret right up to the time when we get ready to play the song. I want to surprise Steve," admitted Gwen to her new friend.

The concert that evening was a huge success. The men in the audience had heard about the opening scene with Gwen and Jordan being caught with their tops down and were eager for the show to begin. Many had watched it on Youtube. Gwen and Jordan had no trouble finding five sailors to volunteer to hold the banner, as well as lower it on their signal. The routine seemed to work even better when the audience knew what to expect.

Jodi played like a woman possessed. Jordan and Charlie seemed to be in a zone and were playing and singing great. Steve was performing in front of his fellow Navy people and was really outdoing himself. Gwen found herself raising her performance to stay with her friends.

The love songs and ballads went over extremely well. When Jordan sang 'Crazy', Steve danced with Admiral Laughton while Gwen danced with Captain Lanceford. The entire crew yelled its approval.

Steve was taken by surprise when Gwen announced that they were going to try a song they had only practiced a few times, but never performed before an audience.

"As you must have noticed, we have a super sax player with us. It turns out she's accomplished on the trumpet as well. Not having someone to play trumpet kept us from performing this next song. Now we do, so we're going to do the song. The really cool thing is that Steve will be dancing with one of your ship mates as we do the number. They haven't been working on this at all. In fact they haven't even seen each other for years. Sam Petroski? Please come up!"

Seconds later Sam ran up on stage in a low top that looked like a sailor's shirt and a pleated white skirt. She headed straight for Steve, who was still dressed like a sailor from the opening number, and gave him a lingering kiss while the audience members called her name and whistled loudly. He appeared to still be in shock as Sam pulled Steve to the center of the stage.

"Let's do the routine we won the contest with," insisted the blonde woman. "We knew it by heart back then and I bet we still do."

Steve was quickly coming around and by the time the music started, he was as prepared as he could be on such short notice. Jodie stepped to the left front of the stage with her trumpet while Gwen and Jordan stood to the right.

Jodie began playing and soon Gwen and Jordan started singing 'Boggie Woogie Bugle Boy' while Steve and Sam moved to the music. What followed amazed everyone, including Gwen and Jordan. Steve and Sam never stopped moving. Their legs moved in all sorts of ways. Steve would roll her over his back and pull her under his legs, all so fluidly and quickly that the audience was shocked into silence.

By the time the number was over, Steve and Sam were gasping for breath as they waved to the cheering crowd. Sam again kissed Steve and hugged Gwen when she hurried over to join them. Jordan was right behind her.

"That was incredible!" praised Jordan. "I knew Steve could dance, but wow! Sam, you were great!" The entire crew of the ship was on its feet cheering and applauding the dancing duo. Steve and Sam took several bows before Sam left the stage and Steve picked his guitar back up. Steve quietly told his friends that he wouldn't be able to sing for a few minutes as he fought to establish a normal breathing rate.

With the full moon overhead and the emotion and effort all of the musicians put forth, Charlie felt it may have been one of the best shows they had ever done. Jordan and Gwen were quick to agree as the friends discussed it afterward. Everything had fallen into place to make it a very memorable evening.

"I'm here to tell you that the crew absolutely loved the show!" declared Ted during a lull in the conversation. "You girls made a lot of them shed some tears with your love songs. Steve and Charlie had the females crying their eyes out. They loved the dirty dancing song, but that performance Steve and that blonde pilot put on was unbelievable."

"I heard some of the guys calling her 'the ice queen' before she started dancing. They couldn't believe the way she performed once she and Steve got going," added Jason. "I don't know what you've scheduled for the movie you're shooting, but I'd suggest that Steve and Gwen try a number like that. I still can't get over how you guys danced to that boogie!"

"I arrived at the same conclusion," agreed Diane. "We need to work a swing number into the movie. We know Steve can do it, so it's all on Gwen to learn it."

"Me and my great ideas!" lamented Gwen. "I never knew they'd be that good. Now I have to try to learn to do that. I saw how out of breath Steve was and he's in great shape. This'll take a lot of work. I know that."

"But it'll help make the movie a success," predicted Paula. "I wonder if Charlie and Jordan can write a good swing song for the movie?"

"It's more apt to be my swan song," joked Steve. "I'm still trying to recover."

Lady in Red Productions quickly edited the footage from the two shows and sold the finished product to a major network to be aired that evening in the U.S. at nine east coast time, which was still several hours away.

The next morning saw the group tour more of the ship after breakfast in the galley. They thanked the crew for serving their country and for making them feel so welcome before they piled onto the transport helicopters for the first leg of the long trip back to the United States.

The Red Lady touched down in Washington late in the evening of July 4th. The plan was to spend some time in D.C. while Steve and Gwen planned to catch up on their obligations in the city.

"As soon as everyone reached the hotel, Lisa spoke to her group. "We have a problem. You all know that we're under contract to buy that manufacturing plant in Illinois. It seems that there is a lot of unrest in Blakely, and it centers very close to the plant. If it's damaged in some way, we'll never meet our schedule to produce those action figures for Christmas.

"If we back out of the deal, we'll never find another location in time. If we complete the purchase, how will we know if we'll be able to get people to work in such a volatile situation?"

"I think we'd better tell the crew of the Red Lady to file a flight plan for Peoria for tomorrow morning," stated Steve. "That's the nearest airport. The best way to handle this is head on. I'll take Jared, Jason, Charlie, and Chip and see what we can accomplish."

"I really don't think so," argued Kate. "This concerns all of us and we'll all go. Look at Jordan, Lisa, and Gwen's faces. Do they look like they want to be left behind?"

"This could get a bit nasty. It would be better if you girls stayed here," reasoned Jared.

"I'll call Dad and have him meet us there tomorrow. He's going to be the plant manager, so he needs to be in on everything," insisted Naomi. "We'll all plan on leaving for the airport at eight AM, okay?"

Steve placed a hand on Chip's shoulder as he was about to argue. "Choose your battles. I can see that we won't win this one. Let's get some sleep so we're ready to go in the morning."

"Naomi, you were so forceful! That was great," praised Jordan. "You and Kate saved me trying to argue and plead with Charlie to go."

"Let's see if you thank me after we get there. I've been watching the news on the TV on the wall while we were talking. It looks like it's getting worse there every day. Let's hope it quiets down," worried Naomi.