Dallas, Texas

Entering the dance club after dinner, a nice steakhouse somewhere downtown, Pam scanned the room looking for her friends, leading Bobby to their table as she spotted them. She was pleased they had easily agreed when it came to making plans for their evening date during their picnic a few days earlier. She liked Bobby a lot and wanted to continue spending time with him, but abandoning her friends for a man was not her style and considering she already had plans with them, it was nice to so easily merge those with her date with Bobby. They had been in the same situation before, informally, where they had met by chance in the same club while out with their own groups; that time hadn't ended well, but this time felt different.

She had left the club alone the previous time they had been together, because as much as she had wanted to stay, because she did like Bobby, she couldn't ignore his behaviour, sticking around to pretend it was ok. She hadn't been content to ignore Bobby's silence when it came to defending her when JR was rude and snarky toward her, she'd excused herself and noted he didn't exactly chase after her to apologise. He had made it up to her in the period following that night, sending her an apology note and apologising in person before taking her out several times, showing her that he wasn't the jerk his brother seemed to be. She had made sure to leave him on the night it had all happened though, to prove a point; his 'Bobby-Ewing-handsome-wealthy-playboy' thing didn't excuse him from acting like a gentleman and if he wanted her, he had to behave well toward her. She wasn't wealthy like he was, but she wasn't desperate either and it mattered less to her that he had money than it did that he was a nice person; Bobby was not the first man of means she had dated and he wouldn't be the last if they entered more situations where he neglected to defend her. She really did have a good feeling about their time together from now on though, he had been nothing but good to her recently and considering how he had apologised to her for his lack of action, she hoped things would be different if they ever faced the same situation again. She had stood up for herself when faced with JR's nasty comments toward her and she would do it again if he said anything, it wasn't a problem for her, it was simply that if she was going to date a man, she had to know he cared enough for her to stand up for her too.

This time really did feel different though, even the circumstances were different, they were together, on a date, not strangers in the night, and while her friends were there if anything did go wrong and she didn't want to leave with him, that wasn't her plan. "Bobby, this is Kathy, Brenda, and Connie", reaching three of her friends, she didn't waste any time in making introductions, "everyone, this is Bobby", waving her hand between the three women and Bobby, she was pleased when he smiled and said hello, just like any polite person would. Sitting down, she continued to talk, explaining how they all knew each other, "we used to work together, now we only see each other on evenings and at weekends". There was a larger group of girls in attendance tonight, mostly girls who had all worked at the same store she had, but some friends of friends too, they had a fairly similar group each week though, it was fun and safe to go out together, so they did. Bringing a date wasn't a strange thing though, plenty of men had come and gone from the group and the group still remained, that was the good thing about a reasonable sized group, single or dating there was always someone to talk to.

"We make our weekends and evenings count though, don't we Pam?" nodding at Connie's comments, she smiled when she noticed Bobby looking at her curiously. The way Connie worded things could make them sound a whole lot more interesting than they were sometimes, not that Bobby had to know that though, she'd let him discover on his own that shots on a work night was probably as crazy as she typically got, and even that wasn't a frequent occurrence. "We sure do. You have to if you want to maintain a friendship", responding, she brought things back to a normal level, not that it had ever really gone beyond that, except maybe in Bobby's mind. She really was just a normal young woman, she had a job, she had friends, family, and she dated, there wasn't much else to her life really and she liked it like that. "Well, it's nice to be here tonight. Speaking of friendship though, now that you're settled here, how about I go and get us some drinks, give you some time to catch up alone", winking at her as he shuffled out from their table, she smiled again, it was considerate of him to think she might want to talk to her friends alone for a bit. "Thanks", touching his hand lightly, she responded to him before turning back to her friends, ready to hear their honest opinions.

Across the room, over at the bar, Jack sat alone, but far from lonely; he wasn't interested in anything serious like Bobby seemed to be or like what JR had, he was much more interested in sampling what the big city had to offer. "Bobby", spotting his cousin a few yards down from where he was sitting, he called out to him to get his attention, standing when he did. "I'll be back", excusing himself for a moment, he wasn't completely sure he'd have anyone waiting for him when he came back, however that didn't really matter, there were plenty of single women around. "I didn't think I'd see you here tonight. Where's that pretty girl of yours?" joining his cousin, he asked his question casually, more as a greeting than any deep enquiry. "At the table with her friends, I'm just getting us some drinks; I thought I'd give them some time to talk alone, probably about me. Come back with me, there's a whole group of them, I'm sure you can find one you wouldn't mind dancing with", responding, Bobby's comments were equally as casual, friendly too, and he didn't hesitate in saying yes, he was there to socialise after all.

Walking with Bobby back to the table after getting their drinks, he grinned to himself as he spotted the group, they would fit just fine into his plan for the evening, just fine indeed. Stopping as they reached the table, he nodded in appreciation as Bobby touched a young woman's hand to get her attention; if she was his girl, it was no surprise he was so smitten with her. "Pamela, this is my cousin Jack; Jack, Pamela, my lovely date this evening. I think you two met the last time we were here", introducing them to each other, they took a seat, joining the rest of the group. "I think we might've, nice to see you again", smiling at Pamela, Jack was fairly sure he'd never actually met her, only seen her from afar considering he'd been a little busy himself the last time they'd all been at the club together. That didn't really matter though, he'd heard enough about her from both Bobby and JR to know who she was; Pamela was a pretty girl with a controversial surname, one he was not going to enter a conversation about considering his own controversial surname and only recent acceptance into the Ewing family. He had the advantage of having heard two sides of the Ewing history, enough to know there were differences in perspectives, even just within the Ewing side; he had no plans to say anything though, it was none of his business what Bobby chose to do and he didn't care to make it his business either.

"I'm afraid I don't recall our first meeting, but it's nice to meet you now", smiling at her latest Ewing introduction, Pam didn't get the same feeling from Jack as she did JR, which was a relief; Jack seemed more like Bobby, friendlier and less ready to attack at any moment. She really didn't remember their previous introduction, but it was possible they had met before, he just hadn't made as much of an impression as JR. Annoyingly, now she was thinking about JR and found herself looking around cautiously before eventually just asking the question, "no JR?" Speaking in a tone that betrayed her feelings, she almost felt bad about her relief when Bobby shook his head to say no, almost, not quite though. She was having a good time with Bobby and she really didn't want a repeat of the last time they'd been in the same situation in the same place, where JR's attitude had put a dampener on things.

"That's a shame, I'm sure Sue Ellen would've enjoyed spending time with people her own age", not particularly caring about JR, she had more genuine feelings for Sue Ellen, they were barely friends, only just feeling out what could be, but she knew enough about Mrs JR Ewing to know she was desperate for someone to relate to. "Maybe some time, but tonight I think those two are just fine by themselves", listening to Bobby's tone, she believed that there was something between JR and Sue Ellen that she didn't understand, because he didn't seem to be joking. Whatever it was that Sue Ellen loved so much about him she would never know though, she'd only met him once but she didn't feel it was unreasonable to say she didn't like him. "I hope we are too, because I want your attention tonight, I don't want you distracted", grinning at her, he managed to take her thoughts away from JR and bring them back to their date. Glancing over at Jack as she realised she'd turned away from their conversation, she was surprised to see he'd already moved on, striking up a conversation of his own just fine, that was no problem to her though. "You have it. Let's finish our drinks and then dance, I'm feeling energetic tonight", responding, she met his eye as she spoke, letting him know she meant everything she said; she had plans for their evening and dancing was just the beginning.

To be continued…