Dallas, Texas

Arriving back at Southfork, JR felt frustrated and unsatisfied. He'd been dating 'nice' women for two weeks and was beginning to lose hope for the future of Dallas' high society. The ladies were all so similar, boring and lacklustre, the next generation of submissive wives for wealthy men, of which he was one, however nothing about them enticed him. He didn't mind submissive women, he enjoyed the power, but it was awfully dull to converse with someone who had no thoughts or opinions of their own. The other men of Dallas could have them, he wasn't interested.

Seeing no lights on inside the house he entered and quietly made his way to his bedroom thankful that his father had already gone to bed because he really didn't feel like having another discussion about the hypothetical John Ross Ewing III and when and how he'd come into the world.

Noticing a paper on his dresser, he was reminded of the invitation to judge the upcoming Miss Texas pageant which improved his mood. He'd been to bed with pageant winners before but Miss Texas would be the ultimate conquest. With that thought, suddenly he didn't feel so down anymore.

Austin, Texas

Sitting in a meeting with her mother, Billy Frampton and Mrs Sommers, the head chaperone and pageant director of the Miss Austin pageant, Sue Ellen listened to the plans laid out for her.

Clint had begrudgingly agreed that Billy should be her escort considering Billy had offered and Clint didn't actually want to do it himself, his objection mostly jealousy.

Having made it clear to Billy she was thankful for his offer, but she was serious about Clint, she hadn't quite gone as far as to tell him about the engagement, but he'd gotten the message.

As the meeting ended, they said their goodbyes and she left with her mother. They'd be driving up to Fort Worth later to get settled before the pageant the next day.

An abundance of well wishes and encouraging comments coming her way in recent weeks, Sue Ellen was very aware of where she stood. She hadn't won yet. She'd be up against thirty-one other women, thirty-one other women who'd been told the same things she had, that they had exactly what it took to win.

Fort Worth, Texas

Awaking on the morning of the pageant, Sue Ellen's nervous stomach wouldn't settle and being around her family was doing her no good. Her mother and sister talking at her rather than to her she didn't feel much like a person.

Paula and Clint were driving up together and Billy would be coming alone so soon enough she'd have some support, but before then she felt alone.

All she could do was her best, and Clint had a point, a pageant was just a pageant, but still, she was worried.

Arriving at the convention centre himself, JR spent the afternoon mixing with the other judges, the beautiful contestants kept well away from their eyes for now.

Sue Ellen stood backstage surrounded by thirty-one other contestants, their escorts, as well as hair and makeup assistants and the staff working the pageant. In less than ten minutes, she'd be on stage representing Austin and vying for the state crown. She wanted it, she wanted to be Miss Texas, it was nice being chosen, she knew that, however the competition itself wasn't something she enjoyed participating in.

The other girls looked so confident, if they were nervous they weren't showing it.

"It'll be fine, you look fantastic and I've heard you sing, you have the voice of an angel."

Stroking her hand encouragingly, Billy's words were exactly what she needed to hear.

"Thank you." Smiling, she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Lining up, Sue Ellen put on her best pageant smile, hooked her arm through Billy's, and then the introductory parade began.

The spotlight was bright but she could still tell the audience was significantly larger than that at the Miss Austin pageant. Brushing off the thought, not afraid of crowds, she walked confidently toward the end of the stage and back around.

The first round was the question and answers, Sue Ellen's question was easy and non-controversial and she was very pleased she'd gotten so lucky; a good impression on the judges early on was paramount.

Looking over the judging panel, she noted there were five in total, three women and two men. Fixating her gaze on the youngest of the judges, one immediately caught her eye. Very handsome, he seemed to be immensely enjoying the parade of women in front of him, which she understood, a pageant wasn't simply a parade of pretty girls, but that was a part of it.

Listening to the answers the other girls were giving, she thought she saw the handsome judge grimace a couple of times, never too obviously though.

Miss Galveston hadn't been as lucky with her question as she had, unaware aware of the war in Vietnam and unable to answer her question articulately. Miss Amarillo was another she felt for, she'd made the mistake of saying she agreed with the theory of evolution, then spoken about God creating the world in seven days, her answer going around in muddled circles before she finally finished.

Standing onstage listening to the other girls, Sue Ellen began to get an idea of who her competition was and who wasn't much of a threat.

Still listening, her gaze moved back over to the young judge. He had the striking blue eyes and even though she hadn't made eye contact with him, she could tell his eyes were an important part of who he was, they added mystery to his attractive appearance.

Studying him, she wondered who the mystery man was. He had to be a guest judge, he looked nothing like the usual male pageant judges, but if they'd announced his name at the beginning then she had missed it.

Moving moved backstage with the other contestants, she then changed into her swimsuit for the next segment.

Sue Ellen was always self-conscious when it came to the swimsuit category; it was so strange to be standing in front of a crowded theatre in such a tight, skimpy garment. In no public setting other than a beach, lake or swimming pool was it appropriate for a woman to show more than a few inches of skin above her knee, but the swimsuits selected by the pageant committee made her feel like everything was on display.

Aware she didn't have much choice, she ignored her insecurities as she walked out on stage, following the other girls in the designated pattern. As she got close to the judges table she noticed the handsome young judge looking straight at her and his attention, while flattering, made her feel embarrassed. She liked the look of him and clearly, he liked the look of her, but for her to be so exposed and he not, that was strange.

At the judge's table, JR was enjoying the show. As the introductory parade lasted only a few minutes, the women moving quickly, he wasn't able to get a proper look at any of them, but he supposed that's what the individual categories were for.

The first parade had given him a good overview and his opinion so far was that all of the contestants were beautiful, but a few were special, one in particular. He recognized Miss Austin's escort, Billy Frampton, his daddy had done business with Frampton Industries a few times, but the Frampton's lived and worked out of Austin so they were not frequent business partners with Ewing Oil. To get a man like Billy Frampton to participate in a beauty pageant told him a lot about the girl, she was impressive. For whatever reason the girl appeared shy, almost as if she was unsure about being on stage, but she was beautiful and she was a pageant queen, so he had no idea why she would have any doubts.

As the contestants answered questions he cringed at the stupidity of some of the answers and wondered when college educated girls had lost the ability to think. To her credit, Miss Austin answered her question clearly, articulately and personably, impressing him enough to give her a perfect score.

Thirty plus ladies to choose from, his mind continued to return to Miss Austin. Her name and background escaped him but he wouldn't let it be that way forever. He was sure she would win, there was just something different about her, something magical, and he'd do whatever it took to make sure he had his chance to find out everything there was to know about her.

Up next was the swimsuit competition, something he'd been looking forward to, although now that it was occurring he couldn't help but be reminded of a cattle auction, and he couldn't stand cattle auctions. He'd been to a few with his daddy and brother, they would bring in one group of cattle, auction them off and bring in the next group that looked very similar to the last. He'd never had much of an interest in the ranching side of his family so the cattle up for auction could be the same ones being sold over and over for all he knew.

Much like a cattle auction, the similarity between the girls prancing around on stage trying to look sexy started to lose his attention; they all looked very similar, except for one girl, Miss Austin. She wasn't trying to look sexy, but she did. There was something about her, innocence perhaps; she was a proper lady and that was more appealing than any of the other women flaunting themselves onstage.

He knew he had to talk to her and he knew the plan to conquer Miss Texas had just become a whole lot more complicated. He didn't want to settle for just having her in bed, he wanted her in his life.