Dallas, Texas

"…I can't believe Bobby mentioned me cheering", responding as Pamela mentioned something Bobby had told her on their date, Sue Ellen smiled to herself as she thought back to her happy college days. "I haven't cheered for years; I did love it though, not so much because I'm a natural dancer, because I don't think I am, but because I like being a part of a group to achieve something. I learned to love being on stage for pageants, but it was always easier and more comfortable being in front of a crowd cheering because of the collective aspect. No one notices you as an individual that way, and in my life back then, that was nice. I don't think I was ever exceptionally shy, I was just overexposed and cheer allowed me to strike a balance between doing something I enjoyed in front of a crowd, and still having a little bit of anonymity".

Thinking back to her pageant days, she had only good things to say about cheer, likely because her mother had had little to do with it as it was run through the college rather than privately where she appointed herself coach. She was being honest in what she said about her lack of shyness, she had been conservative and traditionally minded back then, not asserting herself too much and submitting to more than she would now, however, one didn't become Miss Texas without possessing a certain amount of confidence. It wasn't as if she only cheered because she wasn't confident enough to perform on her own, she had cheered because she liked it and she was good at it, plus, it was as much a social activity as it was a sport and back then she had loved that about it.

"That's interesting, about the crowds I mean, I never thought of it that way, I guess I never had reason to though, overexposure is not something I've ever had to deal with; I was always a cheerleader, never head cheerleader, so the attention was nice, but not overwhelming. Being in high school probably had something to do with that too though; I was friends with the right group, so I didn't have a hard time, but outside of school I wasn't the girl throwing the parties, I was just the girl who went to them…" Listening to Pamela responding to her comments, Sue Ellen sensed that her home life had had something to do with what she was saying, though she felt it a bit rude to ask seeing as she had deliberately not elaborated.

"I wasn't just a cheerleader just because I wanted to be friends with the rest of the girls though, I love dancing but my high school was pretty small and we had no majorettes, so cheer it was. I still love dancing though, in fact, that's one of the things I often do with my friends; like we did on Saturday, we go, have a few drinks and dance. You're welcome to join us next time if you want; I know you said you're not a natural dancer, but I'm sure you have some rhythm, don't you? My friends are all very nice too, I'm sure Bobby can confirm that, he met a couple of them".

Smiling as Pamela made an effort to include her again, like she had done on Saturday, Sue Ellen felt a small pang of guilt about the prospect of going out without JR, though that dissipated when she remembered that he had actually been with Bobby on Saturday; if he could go out with friends, then so could she. "What's that look? Please, don't tell me you're hesitating because of your husband again…" seeing the look on Pamela's face, she was reminded of Paula's attitude toward men and dating, submissiveness wasn't something that naturally factored into either of their thoughts. "…if you are though, I suppose I can deal with you bringing him if it will make you feel more comfortable", noting the tone of voice Pamela was using, she knew she was making an effort, despite probably not liking JR just as much as he had told her he didn't like Pamela.

"I'll let him know that; I don't see the harm in me doing what he did though, after all, I'm married, but so is he. If things work out for you and Bobby too, perhaps we could double date?" smiling happily at the prospect of doing something social with people her own age, and the prospect of finally having a couple to double date with, her earlier concerns about JR all but disappeared. It was fair to say she could do things for herself and JR could do things for himself, they could easily do things together too though, so it wasn't really anything to worry about, especially since it wasn't actually a real disagreement yet.

"Mm, perhaps. I think you might be jumping ahead a bit though. Bobby and I aren't together, plus, I'm not sure your husband will want to spend time with me, or I him if I'm honest…" not going quite as far as to mention how rude JR had been to her during their very brief conversation on Saturday, Pamela still made her point clear. Sue Ellen was being naively optimistic when it came to the possibility of double dating and while she didn't want to hurt her feelings by saying it would never happen, she also didn't want to give her false hopes and ideas. "I don't mean that to sound harsh, it's just, I'm sure you know how dating is, you date one man, you date another, then another, perhaps the same man a few times, but you play the field. I'm excited to see Bobby again this week, but I don't want to get ahead of myself yet, let alone give you any false ideas about the future".

"Oh, of course, I understand", thinking back to her college days again, Sue Ellen actually did understand what Pamela was saying and she understood the choice she was making. She hadn't always been in a relationship with Clint or JR, she had had periods of being single where she had dated college boys of her choice and 'suitable' men her mother set her up with; some dates she had truly enjoyed, others she had disliked immensely, she definitely valued a good date experience though. "I dated a lot of men before I married JR, though when we did start dating our relationship moved from casual into official fairly quickly", not quite comfortable enough to mention her dissatisfaction at the fact that JR had hesitated for a long time before taking things to the next level and proposing, she paused and then continued speaking. "I know what you mean though, Bobby isn't the only man you're seeing, and that's ok, and even if you were to say he was the only man in your life, it would still probably be much too soon to commit to plans with other couples before you're even a couple to begin with. I remember the thrill of dating, some of the horror too if I'm honest, I guess I just neglected to remember that you're not actually in a relationship with Bobby and you are still seeing other people".

"Exactly, I don't even really know him that well. I have a feeling we can have fun together, we did when we were dancing on Saturday, but one experience is not something to expect a relationship from. He's taking me skating this week though, so we'll see…" listening to Pamela speaking, it was obvious to Sue Ellen how excited she was about her date with Bobby even though she was being realistic about the prospect of it going nowhere. It was somewhat sad that Pamela's small titbits of information were so interesting to Sue Ellen, because she was so desperate to have friends and another couple to socialise with, however, she couldn't help it, she was pleased for Pamela and Bobby and she did wish them the best with their future dates. "Skating? I have to say, that surprises me… Bobby is a good skater though, when he's looking where he's going…" unable to supress a slight smile at the events following Bobby's last skating race win, despite the fact that he'd been concussed afterwards, Sue Ellen was quick to add, "I'm sure you'll have fun together". Meaning what she said, because Bobby was an easy person to have fun with, she hoped things would go as well for Bobby and Pamela as she felt they were for her and Pamela so far. If her watch was correct, they were about halfway through Pamela's lunch hour and since they hadn't run out of things to discuss or had any major disagreements, she felt like things were looking positive.

To be continued…