Dallas, Texas

"You're not from around here are you?" focused on the action happening a few yards away on the dancefloor, Jack didn't notice the girl at his side until she planted herself next to him, when he looked up though, he wondered why that was, because she was certainly attractive enough to turn a few heads. "No, I'm not. What gave it away?" answering her question honestly, he took a few seconds to study her appearance and demeanour before subconsciously adjusting his sitting position to indicate he was interested in a conversation. In all honesty, even an average looking girl would have probably had a chance with him in the same position at present, he wasn't engaged in any activity other than drinking and watching and although that wasn't boring, it wasn't thrilling either, a bit of company wasn't unappreciated. "I was watching you earlier, I was hoping you'd ask me to dance, then I saw you dancing…" Chuckling to himself as he listened to the girl talking, he couldn't even fake offence at her statement because even in a slightly drunken state, he had enough self-awareness to know his strengths and weaknesses, and dancing the way everyone else was tonight was not one of his strengths. In Alaska, he could dance, but apparently, in Texas, dancing meant something entirely different; he was still having a good time though, despite being completely lost when it came to following a set of unexplained steps. He, Bobby, and JR had spent the evening so far talking, drinking, and admiring what the women of Dallas had on offer, and although he had decided to take a breather from the dancefloor while his cousins participated, retreating to their table by himself, he didn't feel like he was alone, especially now he had an attractive companion.

"Oh you were were you?" deciding he liked her candour, he smiled and then waved over the hostess JR had arranged to provide them with table service, "in that case, how about we have a drink and then maybe later you could show me how it's supposed to be done". Turning his attention back to his companion as soon as he knew he had the hostesses attention and she would be over shortly, he then continued the conversation as if he hadn't paused at all, "I'm Jack by the way", flashing her a smile and receiving one in return, his thoughts about his current position improved. If this girl turned out to be using him for a free drink and not much else, then he'd be a bit bothered, but he'd get over it, it's not like he was looking for anything serious. If she turned out to actually be interested in him though, that would be nice too, he was always interested in getting close with a pretty girl on the dancefloor, and elsewhere he played his cards right. What he wasn't particularly interested in was settling down with any one girl, not at this point in his life, but in his experience, no sane girl came to a club on a Saturday night looking for a husband either, so he was probably safe.

If all went well though, he wouldn't be going home alone, he was just like most other men his age in that respect, as were his cousins. They had started and progressed their evening as a group of men, but the topic of women and/or the introduction of women into the group was far from forbidden or frowned upon. From what he gathered from their increasingly open conversations as the evening wore on and their mental states became more and more affected by the alcohol they were consuming, the chivalry of the Texas gentleman was not something that applied across the board in every interaction with women. There were women you went to bed with and ladies you courted and treated gallantly with the intention of one day marrying, both types seemed to respond well to courtesy and charm, but generally only the latter was privileged enough to be on the receiving end of that behaviour for long periods, the former's appeal had a limited lifespan. He'd never thought about it in such black and white terms, but hearing an inebriated JR and Bobby talking about it like it was a fact of life had convinced him that it must be true. Personally, he had never considered marriage to any woman, so he couldn't say it was absolutely true, but it certainly made sense; in his own experience, different girls served different purposes, purposes which were in the same vein as those his cousins described. "Susan", listening to his companion as she told him her name, he nodded and smiled again, "it's a pleasure", looking her up and down as he responded, his previous thoughts returned to his mind; Susan certainly looked like she'd be a pleasure to have, at least in the immediate future.

Across the room, on the dancefloor, both JR and Bobby were oblivious to anything but their own actions; born and raised in Dallas, neither man had to consciously tell their feet and hands what to do when leading their dance partners in a two-step or following the crowd in a line dance, it all came very naturally to them. Without clear minds, neither had really considered that perhaps Jack didn't share their experience and understanding, and with somewhat selfish motives out on the dancefloor, neither had really noticed that Jack wasn't dancing too. Luckily for them, Jack seemed to be doing just fine on his own, in fact, depending on what scale one used to measure success, he was winning. Bobby had yet to select a woman to focus his efforts on to secure himself some satisfaction at the end of the night, so he was trailing in third place. JR had the hard job of looking but not touching in order to make sure he didn't go without at the end of the night, putting him in second place, because his success hinged on his self-control before he reached his and Sue Ellen's bed. Jack was currently in first place for success, because he had a girl who he was interested in, who was interested in him, and who was present, here and now. It wasn't really a competition, JR had a wife, one who apparently adored him and was eagerly awaiting his return, so he wasn't running the same course as Bobby and Jack, but even Bobby and Jack on the same path weren't in competition with each other, or at least not a serious one. Naturally, all together after a few drinks, things were said, things that indicated a level of competitiveness and praise for certain results at the end of the night, but ultimately, nobody was keeping score, they were all far too involved in their own actions to pay attention to the rest of the group.

To be continued…