Austin, Texas
Patricia Shepard called the Singletree Hotel for a fourth time, receiving the same answer she had the previous three times, her daughter had not returned to her room yet. Looking at the time she questioned whether to call Southfork, it was quite late and not really an appropriate time to call a personal residence, but she had to be sure her daughter was not straying from her careful life plan, she would be worthless on the marriage market if she were tainted in any way. She dialled the number for Southfork, "hello, Ewing residence" a male voice answered, it didn't sound like JR, "hello, this is Patricia Shepard, Sue Ellen's mother, I was wondering whether my daughter was still there?" She was antsy and impatient, she would not have Sue Ellen throw her life away with a little mistake, "yes ma'am, there was a small problem but that is being dealt with as we speak, she should be returning to her hotel soon" Raoul spoke but was distracted by the sound of dishes falling in the kitchen. Patricia kept speaking, but received no answer and then heard rapid Spanish being spoken, she worked out that she must be speaking to a domestic servant, she gave up on getting any more answers. The man had said that Sue Ellen would be returning to her hotel soon and she trusted her daughter to do just that, Sue Ellen knew exactly what was at stake.
Dallas, Texas
She was in heaven as his hands skilfully moved to the buttons and began to undo them, "we have to stop" she weakly pushed him away, "why?" he asked while continuing to kiss her neck and earlobe. Involuntarily moaning at his touch, she made a stronger effort to move away from him, this felt so right but for some reason she had a terrible feeling, "I can't", he stopped and looked at her with a mix of lust and confusion in his eyes "you can't? What does that mean?" She sighed at the timing of this conversation, she knew it was coming, but didn't exactly plan to have it like this, especially with the way she was feeling right now and the way she knew he was feeling. Sitting up she looked him in the eyes and asked, "What's 8x12?" now he was incredibly confused, "what?" She giggled, "I asked you what 8x12 equals". "I know what you asked me, it's 96, but I'm searching my mind for a connection between what we were just doing and a math equation" he was beginning to get frustrated, if she wanted to have a conversation, they could have done that earlier, or later, but not right now, right now he needed release, not talk. "How did you know the answer was 96?" somewhere in this conversation there was a point, but he'd yet to make any link to what that point was, "I don't know how, I just know that it's the answer. Darlin' what does this have to do with anything?" he kissed her again, hoping to distract her enough to forget their conversation. Pulling away and looking toward the ground she started to speak, "JR, you know what 8x12 is because of the way you were taught, rote learning, memorization based on repetition of information. You've met my mama, now imagine living with her for the past 20 years, hearing certain ideologies repeated as fact. My whole life I have been trained into submission by my mother to live by her rules and become the perfect lady, one day the perfect wife. A lady possesses a gift meant only for her husband. It sounds so stupid when I try to explain it aloud, lord knows I don't agree with everything my mother preaches, but there is something inside me stopping me from moving any further. It doesn't matter what I want or how wonderful I feel, I just can't. That's what I meant when I said that we had to stop" she moved to stand up, certain that he would be irritated, angry and frustrated with her for leading him on, letting him get this far with her only to tell him no. She didn't intend to tease him, she didn't even intend for them to end up here tonight, but she was very attracted to him and one thing had led to another.
As she stood up and turned, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back down, "its ok, I understand. I can't say that I'm too pleased about finding out right now" emphasising the unfortunate timing of her confession "but it does please me to know that when we do finally go that far and that special gift is unwrapped, and I intend to be the one to unwrap it, you'll be all mine and no one else's. That's actually a very appealing thought" he grinned with a devious glint in his eye. "You mean you're not mad?" she was still unsure of his reaction, she expected much worse, especially knowing his reputation. From previous experience, men did not appreciate being denied something that they wanted, especially something so intimate. Each one of her previous boyfriends had been annoyed with her boundaries regarding that area of their relationship, even Clint, the most reasonable of her exes. She just could not believe that JR was taking it so well. "No, I'm not mad, I promise" he kissed her lips sweetly to show that he meant what he was saying. "As I said, I can't say that I'm too pleased about it, but big picture, just think of how exciting our wedding night will be and that's just the beginning" he laughed as the devious grin that had been on his face just moments before reappeared. She was shocked and thrilled, he had mentioned their future before, but never anything as concrete as his previous sentence, she would love to be his wife one day, and if their earlier passion was any indication, their marriage would definitely be exciting. He watched her expression as he spoke and was pleased when she seemed to react positively to his words.
He reached up and touched her cheek, "we don't have to go any further than you're comfortable with" he whispered and then pulled her into a passionate kiss. They spent the rest of the evening snuggled together, giving each other kisses and caressing. Sue Ellen was very happy with how the situation ended up and for the first time in his life JR Ewing really, properly understood the meaning of intimacy and the feelings it evoked when you were with the right person. Bobby had been right, he'd really only confirmed what JR already knew, JR really was in love. The idea of JR Ewing being in love scared him, but at the same time he thought, if he was going to be in love with any woman he was glad it was Sue Ellen, a real lady and perfect wife material, a flawless mix of sweetness and sensuality.
Teresa stood in the hallway, conflicted about what to do; JR had been so insistent about getting Sue Ellen's clothes washed and dried as quickly as possible, but she had knocked on the door and received no answer. Should she walk in? Leave the clothes outside? She didn't want to get in trouble, JR was scary when he was angry. Bobby walked up the stairs saw her standing outside JR's bedroom door, approaching her he asked if something was wrong, she explained the situation to the gentler Ewing son and was pleased when he offered to take over the responsibility. "JR?" he knocked a little stronger and spoke a little louder, when he received no answer he decided to take a chance and go in himself. Opening the door slowly and quietly, trying to prevent himself from seeing something private, he was surprised to see JR and Sue Ellen asleep together, limbs intertwined, both still partially dressed and looking extremely content. Smiling to himself, he placed the small pile of clothes on the bedside table and quietly left the room. His brother was not the kind of man to choose to sleep with a clothed woman, Bobby knew he had been right, Sue Ellen was very special, and JR Ewing was in love.
To be continued…