Vail, Colorado

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of Miss Texas 1967 is… Sue Ellen Shepard". Watching as she hugged one of the other contestants before turning back to the crowd and waving ecstatically as a white sash was placed around her chest and a beautiful sparkly silver crown on her head, he admired the stunning young woman from his place at the judges table. He had been watching her all evening and locking eyes with her as she walked across the stage to the sound of applause and 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' song playing in the background, he knew, he knew he would have her, not only in his bed, but also in his life.

Awaking with a start, JR blinked a couple of times as he looked around the dark room and tried to register where he was and when it was. Feeling a leg draped over his, he turned his head, catching sight of his wife and the barely visible numbers on the clock and immediately realised where and when he was, and why he was there. His dream had been a memory, a memory of a time in his life where he had experienced something completely new and exciting, and a time in his life that had shaken him and changed his perspective on women, and love. He would be lying if he said the first thing that attracted him to Sue Ellen was her personality, because it wasn't; he'd made up his mind about her before ever actually interacting with her, even if he had heard her speak before he'd introduced himself. With pageants, the answers given on stage didn't necessarily reflect on what kind of person the young lady actually was, he knew that, so he hadn't put too much emphasis on Miss Austin's answers, though he had been impressed with her in comparison to her competition. In a way, Sue Ellen's personality had affected him a little bit though, he'd focused on her at first because he'd thought she was beautiful, and he'd recognized her escort, but after admiring how sexy she was without consciously trying to emphasise her sexiness, and how shy she seemed in comparison to the other girls flaunting themselves, he'd been hooked. Miss Austin, Sue Ellen Shepard, was something the other girls on stage weren't, she was a real lady, at least in his eyes. She knew what she had to do to win the title she was competing for, but at no point would she even entertain the idea of selling herself in a way that was beneath her in order to gain that title. Later, he came to understand that pageants themselves were something Sue Ellen enjoyed, but mostly because she wanted to make the most of the lifestyle her mother forced her into, not because she had always dreamed of sparkly crowns and sashes. The Miss America loss had been hard on her, she couldn't deny that, but he had a feeling that it was the uncertainty of her future without a title and a crown that was more upsetting than the actual loss of the competition, because once he finally proposed and they did marry, she seemed more than content to move on. Skipping the part of their marriage where things had gone a bit awry, he knew that the moment John Ross was born was the moment that really solidified her happiness with the path her life had taken. He knew from talking to her, and from being around her in general, that being a wife, mother, and simply being Sue Ellen Ewing, were all the titles she needed; she didn't pine for a Miss America title, or wish she had had the opportunity to further pursue her modelling career; she was happy with the life she had now.

Tensing for a moment as Sue Ellen moved slightly, brushing against his body as she did, he muttered a couple of words to himself under his breath as he felt his body reacting to her closeness. He had awoken for a reason and it wasn't simply because he'd recalled a vivid, happy, wholesome memory in his dream; he'd been able to ignore the small, subconscious biological reaction at first, but with every gentle wiggle his wife made in her sleep, his issue seemed to get worse and worse. "Sue Ellen, are you awake?" knowing she wasn't but trying his luck anyway, he gently nudged his wife; she wasn't a huge fan of being woken up in the middle of the night, especially not after an exhausting day and exciting evening, but he had a problem and she was the obvious solution to his problem. He may have been remembering 1967, but it wasn't 1967 and he didn't have to act like it was; they were married and he didn't have to suffer in painful silence through uncomfortable moments like this, at least not as his first option.

"Mmm, what?" mumbling a few words in response to her husband's gentle but continuous nudging, Sue Ellen didn't even bother opening her eyes as she questioned what was going on. "Darlin', I have a problem… one you could help me fix…" Half asleep, she mumbled a few words into her pillow before going silent again, "JR, I'm tired… can you fix it yourself?" it was true, she was exhausted, she had been skiing all day, then they'd gone to dinner and out dancing, and then they'd returned to their hotel suite for an evening of completely enjoyable, but physically exhausting intimacy. Now, it was the middle of the night and before he had started nudging her, she had been in a deep sleep; she wasn't interested in being awake and she certainly wasn't interested in using her brain to fix whatever problem he wanted to discuss. They were on vacation, everything could wait until the morning, it wasn't as if they had to get up and leave to go anywhere quickly. Exhausted, the moment of silence between speaking and waiting for JR to respond was almost enough time for her to return to the deep sleep she had been enjoying before he had attempted to wake her; as it was though, she wasn't quite asleep when it finally registered with her what was going on. His frustrated sigh and the friction of their bodies against each other as he moved to get out of bed was just enough to spur her thoughts and allow her to realise what he had meant earlier. While she felt a little sorry for him, because she was well aware of how worked up he could get when he was sexually frustrated, she didn't feel guilty enough to move toward him to give him the help he had been asking for. Instead, she buried her head deeper into her pillow and mumbled a few inaudible words before inevitably succumbing to her tiredness.

Getting out of bed, JR paced around the room for a few minutes as he tried to calm himself down; he wasn't mad at his wife, she was tired, it was understandable, it was the middle of the night, but damn, he was annoyed and growing more frustrated and tense as time ticked on. He didn't have to deal with blue balls, he could easily fix his issue himself and Sue Ellen had all but told him to do so, but he'd just been thinking that it wasn't 1967 and he was past having to do so out of frustration rather than just doing it because he wanted to and it felt good. He was no stranger to the latter option, even now as a married man, but in most situations nowadays, he consciously chose the times when he felt like having a bit of fun himself, just like he often chose the times when he wanted to enjoy his wife. All of his frustrated thoughts were a bit useless now though, Sue Ellen wasn't interested in helping him and no matter how hard he seemed to try, his body did not want to listen to his mind. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity of unsuccessfully trying to calm himself down, he finally allowed himself to succumb to his urge, taking one last look at his sleeping wife before hurrying into the bathroom.

To be continued…