Dallas, Texas

As the early morning sunlight streamed into the room, Sue Ellen awoke, for a moment she was confused about her surroundings but as she looked around the room, she remembered the previous night. She really hadn't intended to end up in JR's bed that night, but the situation had been out of her control, well, somewhat out of her control, there were other choices she could have made, but none of those choices were as appealing as the one they had made together. She felt terrible about teasing JR, in his mind she had probably led him on, but it was unintentional, she realised that she probably would have gone all the way with him if it weren't for the inconvenient mental reminders of the indoctrination she'd received her whole life. It really was as if her mother were there, whispering all the awful things that would happen to her if she moved any further. No matter how much she wanted to believe that she was her own person, she would always live with the knowledge that she was who she was because of how her mother had raised her, it wasn't that easy to just ignore her conscience, a conscience that was shaped by the way she was brought up. She thought about the way that JR had reacted, it was much different to the way Clint had acted or any of the men she had dated. Clint was the first man she'd allowed herself to almost go there with, but she was very thankful that they hadn't; JR was the man she was truly in love with, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and the man that she wanted to give her gift to. She had been in love with Clint, but it was completely different to the way she loved JR; she knew that JR was the man for her, she just hadn't known that there was anything better when she was with Clint. As they lay in bed spooning together, JR's arm tightly wrapped around her waist and his leg underneath hers, she had no regrets. Looking at the clock and realising it was only 5.30am, she snuggled back down and soon fell asleep.

JR awoke as he did every morning, at 6.55am exactly, his body clock was never wrong. This morning was different though, he was snuggled together with his arms around Sue Ellen. He smiled to himself as he remembered the previous night, Marilee's actions really had been a blessing in disguise; they'd never gone this far together and he was enjoying their closeness. Despite the lack of conclusion to the physical action she'd started and her admission that there wasn't going to be any until she was married, he was still surprisingly alright with how the night had ended. He was JR Ewing after all, he had a certain way of persuading people to do what he wanted; she may have said no once, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep trying. His mischievous grin appeared on his face again, he knew how attractive women found him and how charming he could be; Sue Ellen was no different, in time she would either give-in to his powers of persuasion, or he wouldn't even have to try and persuade her, she wanted him last night, but had been guilt-ridden that she'd stopped herself. With a little bit of subtle cajoling, that guilt would disappear. He intended to marry her eventually and if that were the only option then he wouldn't have a problem with it either. He'd rather not have to wait until marriage though, he was a man, a man who was not used to being denied. Sue Ellen stirred a little, wiggling her body in her sleep but not waking up. JR was suddenly reminded just how much of a man he was; if she were any other woman, he would wake her up and they'd rectify the situation, but she wasn't and he didn't want to hurt her feelings. This was going to be a lot more difficult than he had initially thought.

He lay still, his mind trying to find a solution to the problem; if she didn't stop moving then he didn't know what he would do. This wasn't something he could fix himself while she were next to him and she'd made it clear the night before that she wasn't exactly open to offering herself as a solution. There was one other option, but she was too much of a lady for him to even think about suggesting that one. Trying to replace his thoughts with anything to distract him from the current situation, he remembered a few business deals he'd managed to put together at the barbecue. He quietly laughed to himself, no one could put together a deal like ole JR. Sue Ellen was only lightly sleeping and started to wake at the sound of his laugh, it was delightfully evil, he was very attractive when he was like this. She slowly turned over and faced him, "I love that laugh you know, there's something so appealing about a man who's in control", he hadn't realised that she was awake, had she been moving on purpose? "Oh, you know me, I'm always in control", she smiled at him, "mmhm and I love it", she moved her face toward his and kissed him "good morning" she whispered as they came apart, "good morning" he whispered and kissed her again. As she moved her leg, she could tell exactly how he was feeling and smiled smugly to herself; "I saw that smile. I'm glad to know that you're enjoying my pain". She laughed at his facial expression as he spoke, "well, it's not often that I get to enjoy the feeling of being in control in our relationship", he was about to speak when he was interrupted by the phone, "just let it ring" she didn't want to end their nice moment. He stopped himself from answering, he really didn't need to, there were other people in the house. The phone rang three more times and he got impatient, "what do we pay the staff for?" he grumbled and finally answered.

"Hello?" if he'd thought he was getting anywhere with their casual morning flirting, any chance of that was ruined when he heard the shrill voice on the other end of the line, "JR Ewing? What have you done to my daughter? I'd like to speak to her please, now!" Patricia sounded angry and even JR was a little scared, he silently handed the phone over. Sue Ellen had seen JR's face drop and then heard the all too familiar sound of her mother's voice, her stomach dropped as he handed her the phone. "Hello mama", she prepared herself for the verbal chastisement she was about to receive, "Sue Ellen, you better have a good explanation for why you're still at Southfork when you told me that you were staying at a hotel last night. I called the hotel and they informed me that you did not even return to collect your night things so I dread to think about what you slept in or where you slept. It's 7.30am on a Sunday, I can't imagine you're out of bed already, and JR handed you the phone very quickly, that makes me doubtful that you slept alone in a guest room. What were you thinking? You know how important it is that you act like a lady at all times, a small mistake could make you worthless and then you'd really regret it. I know what is best for you, and your behaviour last night and even right now is not acceptable. What do you think would happen to your reputation if word got out about this? I hope it's only innocent, but I've met JR, that man is not interested in keeping virtuous young ladies like yourself pure and chaste. He's a man and men are only interested in one thing and that is not something that unmarried ladies should be partaking in". Patricia finished speaking and Sue Ellen felt the return of all the guilt from the previous night, she had a valid reason for why she stayed at Southfork, but no reason for why she didn't send someone for her things and why she didn't stay in a guest room.

She shook off her feelings, she didn't actually do the things her mother was accusing her of and she shouldn't have to feel guilty for imaginary actions, "mama, yes I have a good explanation. At the barbecue last night a waiter accidentally spilled red wine on my clothes and I had to wait for the maid to wash and dry my clothes. I honestly didn't think of asking someone to go to my hotel and bring my things back here because I didn't plan on staying. JR and I fell asleep last night while he was keeping me company but I promise you, nothing happened. I know the lessons you taught me and I live by those lessons. You are reading too much into the situation, it's much more innocent than you think" she finished speaking and hoped that her mother believed her. She had changed a few details in the story because she really didn't feel like explaining the Marilee situation or why she was wearing JR's shirt, neither fact her mother would be able to know, she wasn't physically there. Patricia listened, her daughter appeared to be telling the truth, but she was still suspicious of the exact details, "kept you company? I dread to think about what that involved, I am not happy, but I will accept your explanation for now. If I were you I would make sure that no one hears about this and I expect that this will not happen again, you have an important reputation to keep. We'll talk tomorrow when you return home and I expect to contact you at your hotel tonight. Goodbye" she coldly ended the conversation and Sue Ellen felt terrible as she hung up the phone. JR had just witnessed first-hand how unfeeling and formal Sue Ellen's mother could be and the immediate affect her words had on her daughter, he understood exactly why she acted the way she did the previous night; he pulled her toward his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

She was calmed by their closeness despite the guilt that her mother had made her feel about this very situation. JR moved one hand from her back and began gently stroking her hair, "don't believe everything she says, remember, I love you and I intend to show you how much I love you", she smiled to herself as he reaffirmed his love for her, especially after the way she had acted last night, "I love you too" . She lifted her head from his chest and placed light kisses on his skin, slowly moving up toward his lips, "thank you, I needed this". She moved to look at the clock and noticed a neatly folded pile of clothing, the clothing she had been wearing yesterday, "JR? Did you put those there?" she motioned toward the bedside table, he glanced over at where she was pointing, he hadn't noticed the clothing when he'd woken up. "No, Teresa must have put them there after we fell asleep" she nodded and spoke, "JR? What are your parents going to think? I can only imagine that they'll come to the same conclusion as my mother. I don't want them to change their opinion about me. Maybe I should leave before everyone wakes up". JR laughed, she was always so self-conscious, almost too concerned about how other people perceived her, "darlin' we didn't do anything wrong, and even if we did, it's no one else's business. Stop feeling so guilty, you have no reason to. Besides, we've missed the window of time where you could leave the house before anyone wakes, Lucy will be downstairs watching cartoons and daddy will already be dressed and probably reading the newspaper, and family breakfast is at 8, so the table is already set. I'm afraid you're just going to have breakfast at Southfork" he grinned, he liked waking up with her and having breakfast together would be an added bonus. She was still slightly panicked about ruining her reputation with his family, but his words did reassure her a little bit. "Fine, but you have to take me back to my hotel this morning; I need to shower and change clothes before we do anything else today". She moved to get up, realising that he'd said breakfast was at 8am and it was 7.40am, she didn't want to be late to her first Ewing breakfast, that would just add extra embarrassment to the whole thing. JR thought about telling her they could shower together, but she already seemed on edge and he didn't want to push his luck, "I suppose we're getting up then?" he responded to her moving out of the bed, "I'll shower first and you can get dressed in here, or you can go to a guest bedroom if you'd like? There are extra toiletries in the guest room bathrooms". She thought about it for a minute and decided to get dressed and he would bring her an extra toothbrush, she didn't want anyone to see her in the hallway and ask her what was going on.

Dressed and ready for breakfast they walked downstairs.

To be continued…