Dallas, Texas

"What do you think? Time to move on?" looking around the growing crowd at The Longhorn Bar, Bobby glanced at his brother and cousin who both nodded in agreement and began to make moves to leave. So far, things appeared to be going ok, JR seemed to be behaving himself, he hadn't said anything rude to Jack yet and although his hesitation to accept him made it clear he still wasn't quite on board with him joining the family, what little Texan charm he did possess seemed to be magnified by their surroundings. Very rarely did he and JR socialise outside of whole family events or father-son experiences, so to do so tonight and actually have JR acting like a normal human being instead of a jealous, competitive, control freak was actually kind of nice. It was still far too early to decide that JR actually was human and had it in him to be someone people actually wanted to spend time with socially, however, if things kept going at the rate they were, then maybe that would be the case, even if just for the evening.

Looking back to check they hadn't left anything behind except a table of empty beer glasses, Bobby wondered exactly what was going on in JR's mind as he noticed the surprisingly large tip his brother had left at their table. JR wasn't cheap and he could very much afford to tip well, so the actual monetary amount wasn't what surprised him, it was more the thought behind it, was JR up to something, or was he just being nice? He didn't know. His brother was a man who apart from events like the Ewing Rodeo or Barbecue, almost never drank beer or indulged in down-home life, he also never did much that wasn't of some benefit to him, in similar cases using money to ensure he and his party were well attended to. There was nothing wrong with using money to his advantage, it just surprised Bobby that he was doing it here, at The Longhorn Bar, it wasn't somewhere JR generally chose to spend his time, so it seemed pointless to be so generous and forward-thinking, a large tip upon his first order next time would guarantee him the same good service. Whatever was motivating JR was interesting because it was somewhat confusing, it wasn't a bad thing at all though and he had no complaints, so he wasn't going to mention it and risk changing JR's strangely good mood this evening.

"So Jack, it's your choice, do you want to continue the true Texas experience and head somewhere with a band and a dance floor, somewhere you can find a pretty lady to help you practice your two-step, or are you more of a contemporary club kind of guy?" Taking the opportunity the short change in scenery as they headed out of Braddock provided them, Bobby asked Jack a question, not only to assist him with exactly where they were going when they left the highway, but also to get to know his cousin a bit better. He felt like he knew the basics about Jack and the life he'd lived so far, but deeper than that he still wasn't sure about him, it wasn't that he was suspicious of his motives like JR was, it was more that he just didn't know Jack as a person yet, he wanted to though.

"Well, we have bars and bands in Alaska, though I'm beginning to see it's a bit different here; I'm sure there are clubs too, in Anchorage, I can't say I've spent much time there though. Here in Dallas, I've done both, I went out a couple of nights ago, just to see what's around, I think I ended up near one of the colleges, that was interesting to say the least. I've never seen such contrast in events in such close proximity, I walked into one place and there was a woman on stage ranting about something or other, I'm not sure what, I didn't stay long enough to listen, but the protest crowd audience seemed transfixed. Just next door to that though, completely different atmosphere, nobody in that sports bar seemed to care that a riot was about to break out next door. I didn't stay long there though, too many guys, the next place was more my style, I guess you could call it contemporary Texas? You know..."

"Jack". Listening to his cousin answering Bobby's question in the most drawn out way possible, JR bit his tongue in an effort to not appear too hostile, though by the time it got to the point where it sounded like Jack was really going to start explaining what he perceived modern day Texas to be, he could no longer stay quiet. "Look Jack, Bob and I both went to college, you don't need to recap the social scene, we lived it, and we live here in Texas, we get it. Now, please, do get to the point". Earlier, he had decided that perhaps Jack wasn't so bad, he did seem to be able to hold a conversation, even if it was a lot of small talk, but now he wasn't so sure. He had lived enough of his own life to have memories and experiences of his own, so he didn't particularly care about hearing what other people did in their own time, and have to listen to Jack drone on about exactly that just wasn't appealing at all.

"I'm sorry JR, am I boring you?" not even needing to look into the back of the car to know Jack was making a face at him, JR rolled his eyes and made a face of his own before laughing lightly as Bobby cleared his throat awkwardly. "No, no, you keep going, just stay on topic, that's all", responding, JR was mindful that Bobby was watching him, probably silently begging him to 'behave' or waiting for him to act out so he could have something else to add to the list of reasons why he made more of an effort with others than his own brother. With that in mind, he didn't quite verbalise everything he was thinking, instead choosing to say less and allow his tone to say the rest, before passing the conversation back to Jack.

"I was getting there before you rudely interrupted… Anyway, my point was, I'm happy to do whatever you two think is best, I'm pretty easy to please; beer, pretty ladies, good music, that's all I'm really looking for, the rest isn't all that important. I don't have anybody to impress here, I don't know anybody here, and nobody around here is going to talk about where they did or didn't see me". Listening to Jack respond to Bobby's original question, JR had to agree with his cousin on his final few points, nobody in Dallas knew who Jack was, and honestly, compared to what he imagined Alaska to be like, anything in Dallas was probably a novelty to him.

As for handing control back over to him and Bobby, he was interested in that too, though he was going to stay quiet about his preferences unless a risky situation actually became something real rather than a figment of Sue Ellen's imagination. He could handle whatever the evening had in store for them, he did have some respect, self-control and experience in not partaking in the action set out for his companions, he had done so plenty of times in business when the purpose of female companionship was for blackmail purposes rather than his own personal enjoyment. He wasn't under any illusions though, women didn't just cease to exist because he decided he was a happily married man, nor was he blind to their presence because of that, so if it were up to him, a bar or club full of pretty women wasn't his ideal place to be at this time in his life. He could trust himself not to act on whatever temptation was around, and provided that he came home to Sue Ellen like he had promised, he trusted that a night out wouldn't ruin his marriage, but getting too close to temptation generally was not a good thing. It was one thing to trust himself, but quite another to trust other people, the situation with Cynthia Moore, which Sue Ellen had inconveniently reminded him of recently, was evidence of that, he'd messed up there, but she'd taken things much further than they should have ever gone. He had no plans to do anything but have a few drinks with Jack and Bobby, but still, he wasn't interested in entering a situation which could endanger his marriage, that part of his life was over, he'd come to terms with that realisation.

"Ahem", hearing Bobby clearing his throat again, JR turned his attention to his brother; it was nice to see he had finally decided to join the conversation, especially since it had been his stupid question that had started the whole thing in the first place. "Beer, pretty ladies, and good music, I know just the place", rolling his eyes as Bobby reiterated exactly what Jack had specified, as if it were something difficult to find and they were lucky to have him around, JR scoffed a little but for the most part stayed silent as he attempted to see the humour in the situation. If Bobby wanted to think he was the most well-connected Ewing in Dallas then there was probably no real harm, in fact, it could even be of some benefit to him, indirectly. Bobby was young and unmarried, so socially it was more than acceptable for him to keep company with a lot of women, and with his exit from Ewing Oil not having happened just yet, perhaps it was good for him to be distracted with trivial matters like this.

Murmuring something in agreement, he closed his eyes for a moment and was actually relieved when the conversation turned toward football. It wasn't football season and he was no expert, but he knew enough to make intelligent comments where appropriate, and more importantly, he knew more than Jack when it came to the Cowboys specifically, allowing him to regain some of his lost ground. His brother and cousin weren't the worst people to be around when things were they were all discussing something bland, something they all agreed on, or when he knew a lot more than them, so he didn't anticipate not enjoying the rest of the evening, he just associated that enjoyment with his personal feeling of power or lack of power. With that in mind, his mood had instantly improved after moving the conversation away from Jack's annoying observations about the Dallas social scene and anything else he naively thought himself an expert in. He was trying with Jack, and he was succeeding, things hadn't reached anywhere near breaking point yet and that was a success to him. He wasn't ready to try to do things on anybody else's terms yet though, so for now he was loosely guiding the conversation, not quite prepared to just let go and allow things to go wherever they naturally flowed. Perhaps when he had figured Jack out completely, but not yet, not while he was still new in town, not before he understood and respected the hierarchy.

To be continued…