Dallas, Texas

"I think I underestimated you, I knew you were a good dancer but you're a much better skater than I imagined". Laughing at Pamela's comment as they skated around the rink to the rhythm of the music, Bobby glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow before quickly returning his eyes to the other skaters ahead of them, he had already had one accident at a skating rink in front of Pamela and he really didn't want to have another. "Oh, you imagined me skating did you?" glancing at her again, he raised an eyebrow and then smiled boyishly, letting her see he was joking and fishing for a certain answer, even if it wasn't true. He had thought about her a number of times between their first eventful meeting and the beginning of their current date and to hear she had done the same would please him. He knew she must have thought about him, because he had spoken to Sue Ellen a number of times and she'd mentioned a few discussions with Pamela herself, and since they had been introduced through Sue Ellen, surely that, plus her previous experiences with him was enough to spur a few thoughts. "I'll admit I did, but my mental images were hardly flattering, after all, my experience with your skating skills didn't exactly lead me to believe you possessed any great skating talent", seeing her smirking back at him, he felt good, even if she was making fun of him; the important thing was that they were talking casually, without any tension.

"I'll give you that one. I'll take your comments as a compliment too; I'm an excellent skater, not to mention, dancer, football player, rancher, and kisser". Listing off a few things, showing off a little bit, even if it was risky bringing his college football and Southfork ranching back into conversation and possibly pushing things to move too fast, too soon, he grinned as he spoke, and laughed aloud as she responded, "modest and humble too", raising an eyebrow of her own. From the way she looked away after meeting his eye, he could tell she was really thinking about what he'd said, the smile and slightly pink hue on her cheeks told him which part she was focused on too. It was still early in their date, but he was attracted to her and her to him, so a goodnight kiss wasn't completely above reasonable expectation, though sex probably was, and that probably wasn't a bad thing. He had no problem bedding women he barely knew, he had discovered long ago that there was something very pleasant about a woman's touch, and being single, he'd confirmed that time and time again, without regrets, but without any real memories either. With Pamela he wanted to remember, like he did with the few other women he had slept with that actually meant something to him, and in his experience, having a romantic, sensual evening before heading to the bedroom made for better memories than a quick, unemotional encounter. He was getting ahead of himself in his thoughts though, because it really was a bit presumptuous to assume he and Pamela would get that far with each other based on where they were now, he knew that, but there was no harm in having confidence and hope.

Continuing to skate around the rink to the rhythm of the music, which alternated between fast and slow songs, they held hands at times, appreciating that they were on a date, but at other times they did their best to outperform each other in the silent competition they'd found themselves involved in. It was nice, they talked when they had something to say, and when they didn't they were quiet, skating and dancing wordlessly, communicating through touch, smiles, and other forms of body language.

Slowing and coming to a stop as the end of the current skate session was announced and the music quietened, Bobby was the first to speak, "we have tickets for the next session too, but how does dinner sound before that? I heard the diner next door do an award winning burger and fries". Having already tried and failed at showing her the fine dining experience, he was cautious about suggesting they go anywhere that really counted as nice, in case she decided he was just a rich jerk after all. That didn't really affect him though, he had money, but he wasn't a snob and hadn't been raised in a particularly fancy lifestyle, he could enjoy a good burger and a beer in a sports bar or diner just like any other guy, especially after his years in college, he had been no different to his frat brothers or teammates.

"Sounds good to me", not hesitating in her response, he continued to smile as he had been as he noticed too that she was holding his hand as they skated over to the gate at the side of the rink; the small touch of a hand in his was hardly monumental, but it felt pretty good. In his opinion, their date was going well so far, the fact that they were skating, about to eat burgers and fries reminded him of his much younger self, and that wasn't a bad thing. Pamela was around his own age, they weren't actually that old as far as adults went, so it wasn't beyond comprehension that they could, and would both enjoy themselves more in a fun, young setting rather than an older, more formal setting. He knew that the setting of their first date hadn't been the reason that date had ended early, but still, if he could get Pamela to like him in a more relaxed setting, perhaps when they did address the elephant in the room again, they would be able to look past it.

A little while later, after removing their skates, returning them to the rental counter and leaving the rink, they were seated in the diner, surrounded by other young people, some friends, some couples, some high schoolers, some college students, and probably some people just like them, younger adults just there to enjoy themselves. Perusing the menu in comfortable silence, they then ordered their food, and at that point, he felt like it was time to start talking again, which was good, because apparently so did Pamela, "so…", "what…" both speaking at the same time, they laughed in unison as they then paused and waited for the other to speak again. "You go first", motioning toward her, he handed the conversation back over to her. "Thank you. I was just going to ask you about your social life; I get the feeling you're no stranger to going out dancing like you were on Saturday night, but you haven't really mentioned it, I don't think I've ever seen you out before then, and from what I gathered from Sue Ellen, that wasn't an ordinary event. So I was going to ask, do you know a secret I don't? Some club that I should be going to that my friends haven't heard about?" Listening to her, he shrugged in agreement at her point that he hadn't really elaborated on his social life other than talking about his sporting achievements and interests, perhaps it was time to talk about himself a bit more, he was after all, just as unknown to her as she was to him. Smiling playfully, he paused for a second before beginning to respond, "well, I guess that depends on where you usually go…" it had been a few years since he'd really been on top of the social scene as far as clubs went, but he wasn't completely out of the loop and he could certainly answer her question personally.

To be continued…