Austin, Texas

JR rang the doorbell and waited, Sue Ellen's car wasn't in the driveway, but he hoped that it was just because they'd sold her car when she moved to Dallas, not because she wasn't home. He stood on the doorstep waiting, silently annoyed with himself for not calling first, he could have at least enquired about her plans for the day without telling her that he would be visiting, if she had plans and was out all day, then he'd just wasted a trip to Austin. His thoughts were pushed out of his mind as he heard voices inside and the door began to open, "JR, how lovely to see you. Please, come in" Patricia smiled as she invited her son-in-law into their home, she was being a lot friendlier than JR had ever seen her before and he wasn't sure what to think of her new attitude. As he walked into the living room, he began to regret his decision, Sue Ellen didn't seem to be home and he couldn't think of anything worse than having to spend the day speaking to Patricia Shepard. "Please, have a seat, I'll tell Sue Ellen to make an extra cup of coffee", he breathed a sigh of relief as she mentioned Sue Ellen, she was just in the kitchen preparing the coffee. An hour later, they had covered all the polite topics of conversation and JR was ready to leave, he loved his wife, but socialising with her family was draining, this wasn't how he'd envisioned spending their Saturday together. His prayers were answered when Patricia announced that it had been nice talking to him, but she had to take Kristin to her dance class; finally, he and Sue Ellen had a moment alone together.

"JR Ewing? Is that you?" he panicked as he heard the woman call his name and approach their table, Sue Ellen was just in the bathroom and would be back any minute, and he really didn't want to explain his connection with the other woman. "Amber, how nice to see you. How are you?" he smiled back, though he couldn't care less about how she was, they only had one connection, and it wasn't one that really required social niceties. In the light of day, it seemed as if they were two old friends saying hello, but both knew that their friendship was one in name only, their relationship was purely business, but not the kind of business that one would speak about openly. "I'm good; you know how the business is. I haven't seen you around lately, don't tell me you're no longer in the oil business", JR smirked, he would never leave the oil business, it was his life, "no, no, I've just been busy in the office with existing deals, but I suspect Ewing Oil will be looking for new business soon". He looked her up and down, they'd had some good times together and it was at that moment that he realised how distant he'd been from the social side of Ewing Oil, he'd hardly been to any business dinners, parties, or private engagements in the past few months. He wasn't sure whether it was of his own doing or whether his father had manipulated it so that he was tied to the office, he really did miss the social scene though, he used to have a lot of fun at those gatherings. Sue Ellen exited the bathroom and noticed her husband speaking to a tall, blonde woman, they seemed to be rather friendly and she wondered what their relationship was, she'd never met the woman before and as far as she knew, JR didn't really have a lot of friends. JR spotted Sue Ellen approaching and adjusted his persona, "I look forward to that", Amber replied, not noticing the young brunette woman approaching them or JR's change as he moved further back from her; "darlin' there you are. I want you to meet Amber, a business acquaintance", Sue Ellen eyed the blonde woman, she didn't look like anyone she'd ever met in the oil industry, but if JR was introducing them, then they had to be just business acquaintances; she wasn't completely sure though, something about the situation was just a little off. "Amber, this is Sue Ellen, my wife", her facials changed as she heard his words, she never thought of JR Ewing as the marrying type, he was a man who liked variety, she just couldn't imagine him settling for one woman for the rest of his life. "How do you do", Sue Ellen spoke, she was taught to always be polite when meeting new people and she wasn't about to let her gut feeling interfere with her behaviour. "Hello", she smiled at Sue Ellen and felt a little bad for her, she seemed like the perfect wife and she just couldn't imagine JR wanting her forever, she would end up hurt one day, "I really must be going, I'll see you around sometime JR, nice to meet you Sue Ellen". She may not be well versed in polite society, but she knew when her presence was not needed and when to exit a situation, she didn't want to cause problems, that wasn't her job and it wouldn't help her, it was better to leave now.

Sue Ellen watched as the woman walked away and she wondered what had happened, the woman had left very quickly and it made her suspicious about what their conversation had been about before she approached them. "JR?" she asked as they sat down again at their table, "yes darlin'?" he knew what was coming and thought fast, he couldn't exactly tell his wife what their real business connection was. "Who was that woman? She doesn't look like a normal oilman", she wanted him to answer honestly, but she also wanted him to give her a reassuring answer, she didn't want her gut feeling to be correct. JR had prepared an answer, "that's because she's not. She works in public relations darlin', so she's not really in the oil business, just the business of keeping oilmen happy"; Sue Ellen wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but it sounded reasonable, and she wasn't going to annoy him by asking multiple questions, it would just make her look paranoid where there seemed to be a perfectly acceptable answer. "Oh, ok" she replied as the waiter arrived with their meals, JR was pleased when she seemed to accept his answer, he had further information planned as a backup, but he didn't really want to spend the afternoon lying to her. "Mmm, perfectly cooked", he complimented the food and Sue Ellen's thoughts moved on from their surprise meeting, she wouldn't spend the afternoon worrying about something that had an innocent explanation, she wouldn't do that to herself or their relationship. JR was her husband and he loved her, he hadn't done anything to make her distrust him and she didn't think it was fair of her to treat him any differently.

Dallas, Texas

Sue Ellen lay in the hotel bed with a satisfied smile, she couldn't believe that just a month ago she'd been so scared about doing exactly what they'd done tonight, in the very same room as their wedding night; she realised now that it was something to enjoy, not fear. Her mother had done exactly what she'd done her entire life, made everything into a duty and an obligation without explaining the personal satisfaction and joy that could come from the same action, she knew that she had a lot of things to learn on her own, but she hadn't quite realised how many. She was always learning new things about marriage, but so far, it was much more satisfying than she'd been led to believe; she wasn't just acting out of obligation, she actually enjoyed being the supportive wife, it wasn't just something that she had to put up with in order to have access to money and status. Initially she had been wary about JR's experience and her inexperience, but she thought differently now, he was so gentle with her, and he knew exactly where and how to touch her. She was happy to let him take control and she hoped that he enjoyed it as much as she did because she would hate to think that she disappointed him. "I love you JR", she rolled to her side and kissed him lightly, "I love you too Sue Ellen", he replied, and deep down, he meant it, though there was a new feeling emerging on the surface; emotionally he loved her, but physically, he had just realised that he wasn't completely satisfied. His accidental meeting with Amber, one of a group of girls that attended parties to 'entertain' men, really had him thinking about his old life, he loved the freedom and excitement of being a bachelor, and he was beginning to miss that. He was stuck, Sue Ellen was the perfect wife and he was supposed to be a good husband, but he couldn't help but want more, need more.

To be continued…