Dallas, Texas

"Now darlin', full disclosure, I didn't spend much time appreciating the arts when I was in college", possessively caressing her thigh as he spoke to her, it wasn't hard for Sue Ellen to work out that as romantic as he could be, JR's charm, appearance, and directness were most likely what got him what he wanted in the past. She believed it, Bobby had once told her that JR didn't really have girlfriends, he had women; dates for parties, dinner dates, women that keep him company, but she was the first real girlfriend he'd introduced to the family. Hearing that had made her feel good, knowing that he'd chosen her to be his girlfriend, specifically giving her that title, it made her feel like she really was special, like he had strong enough feelings for her to continue to court her even after she made her position very clear.

"Mm, I believe you", responding to his comment, she held eye contact with him and smirked before taking a drink. Considering the way things had been for him before her, she could understand how it would be easy enough for him to get everything he wanted without ever having to make a commitment, or even a real effort to date women and show them a good time before being rewarded for those efforts. In her own college experience, she had witnessed numerous similar situations; it had appeared sometimes that things happened spontaneously, that despite all the house rules and societal beliefs about purity and chasteness, nobody really paid attention to anything but what they wanted in the moment. The girls she had called sisters during her years as a student all wanted husbands and a man doing anything even remotely romantic always sent excited whispers and giggles through the sorority house, but in that same group, moral standards differed; she would never have been completely intimate with a man before marriage but not everyone felt that way. With that in mind, JR's comment about not appreciating the arts when he was in college rang true to her; she wasn't so sensitive about his life before her, only his life after they met, so it was less painful and more amusing having it confirmed to her. JR hadn't had girlfriends before because he hadn't needed or wanted them, he had his women and that had been enough; even womanisers had to settle down at some point though, because there was little joy in being old and alone, there was little acceptance for that path either, not in the Ewing family.

"That's not to say I'd never been to the ballet or symphony, but I didn't make a habit of it. This is still authentic; you're a certain class of lady, the type you date, even college me would have identified that". Raising an eyebrow, she laughed as he continued to speak; he was explaining things that didn't need explanation and that she knew already, they had actually dated, it was always nice to be complimented though and from the tone he was using she was sure that's what he was doing, he certainly wasn't criticising her. "Well, thank you. I'm looking forward to the ballet, because I really do enjoy it, that's not to say though that I'm not still interested in being someone other than the sweet, datable girl you met in 1967. I'm open to anything. You don't have to have me back at the sorority house before the doors are locked…" Shifting in her seat as she spoke, she enjoyed the way he gave her thigh another squeeze before grinning again. "I'll keep that in mind darlin'", responding and continuing to hold eye contact with her as he spoke, he then returning to his meal with a satisfied expression, "now, let's eat, we're going to need all the energy we can get to experience everything I have in mind after all of this talk". Doing as he said, she felt giddy; she already loved dating him, but this was something different and therefore more exciting, even if it had barely even begun yet.

Across town, Bobby and Pam were in a similar position, though their relationship was genuinely in the casual, beginning stages; they knew a lot about each other in some respects, but in others, they were still strangers. They had been on a few dates prior to their current date and had talked a lot; he knew of her interests, she liked dancing, skating, window shopping, swimming, spending time catching up with her friends over drinks or coffee, and generally just doing fun, relaxing things outside of work. She had to use her free time wisely, because she only had a limited amount, more than that though she had to make sure to do something fun with her life outside of work, because she found office work suffocating compared to working in a store like she had in the past. She held her family in high regard too, she made sure to spend time with her brother, father, and aunt regularly, because they were very special to her.

Just as he knew a lot about her, she knew a lot about him; she knew he liked horse riding, swimming, dancing, football, and skating, she knew he travelled a lot for work and had mixed feelings about his job, and she knew his family were very important to him too. The first time they had met, he had been out with his niece and sister-in-law, that pretty family picture sat well with her, even if she had conflicting thoughts on the family he was a part of in relation to her family. She was trying hard not to just see him as a Ewing, because he was much more than that and it wasn't fair for either of them to fight a fight they really didn't know the factual details of. Seeing beyond his surname was getting easier, though as it currently stood, it was hard to completely ignore it when so many of his stories revolved around work he did for his family company, or personal experiences he'd had with members of his family.

She probably didn't help the situation by continuing to ask him questions about his job, even when she knew he was about to have a new job ranching in just a few weeks; she was curious about what exactly he did for his money, though every time he elaborated she grew more wary. They lived in different worlds; she was very much a working woman, doing what was required to get by in life, taking advancements in the workforce not because they were wonderful opportunities, but because the money was better. He on the other hand had his pick of opportunities, they didn't always thrill him or please him, but he was lucky to not have to start right at the bottom again when switching to something completely different. In some ways she was jealous of what he had that she didn't, what she could have had if his father had not cheated her father, in other ways she was glad to be who she was though, to live the life she did. She had to work for what she had, nothing was handed to her, but from what it sounded, she had a lot more freedoms than he did when it came to making certain choices, she didn't have Jock Ewing breathing down her neck wanting to know why she was making the decisions she was and dictating how changes would occur.

Finishing their drinks and bar snacks, they walked out of the relaxed Tex-Mex bar and restaurant they'd stopped at along the way to their planned dinner location, both of them silently considering how much they knew about each other in some ways but how new to each other they were in others. It wasn't difficult to get to know someone on the surface, it was the deeper connection that took longer to develop. They were partway there, they had scratched the surface of more personal topics and had broken the physical barrier that new romances started with, they both wanted more too if some of their casual flirting was to be believed. For Pam though, it wouldn't be wise to get too far ahead of herself too quickly, because she'd felt the same way with other men in the past and never had anything come of it, so who knew how things would turn out.

"Bobby?" breaking the silence as they reached his car, standing next to the passenger door together, Pam reached up to stroke his face, looking into his eyes and kissing him softly before pulling back to speak, "I just wanted to let you know I'm having a good time". She knew she was being forward with him, she had never been one to conform to every societal standard regarding men and women though, especially one that was so tame, a soft kiss was hardly propositioning him. "So am I", kissing her again in return, Bobby smiled and opened the door for her, "come on, let's go, there are more good times waiting for us ahead". Following his direction, she took a seat and watched as he closed the door behind her and walked over to the driver's side, smiling at her again as he got in himself; he was boyishly handsome and gentlemanly actions seemed to come naturally to him which was nice. Whether he was the man she would spend the rest of her life with was a question that was far too premature to be wondering about, what she did know was she was attracted to him and wouldn't mind exploring that attraction, she wouldn't mind that at all.

To be continued…