Dallas, Texas

12 May 1972

"JR, Ms Larson called in while you were out. She left you this."

Susan's announcement had surprised him because they had no further business to attend to as far as he was concerned however, upon inspection of the envelope she handed him he understood. It wasn't business Lovey was interested in.

Looking over the set of photographs she'd enclosed he resigned himself to the fact that he simply didn't understand women as well as he thought he did. This one was hot and cold and he didn't grasp why. She'd had the opportunity to have what the pictures and note indicated she wanted but she'd turned him down and now, out of the blue she was contacting him, apparently eager to reconnect.

Intrigued, he found himself where the note had invited him to meet her, although he wasn't entirely prepared for what he found when he arrived.

Opening her apartment door to him, wearing nothing but a loosely tied robe, he wondered again what he'd missed earlier because her mixed messages had never indicated she had this level of interest in him.

"Lovey Larson, what are you up to?"

Looking her up and down as he walked inside, his comment was intended as both a genuine question and a flirtatious remark. He wanted to understand her, but he wanted to see what the robe was hiding too.

"JR, let's not spoil our time with talk."

Taking his jacket, hanging it up beside the door, her hands were soon on his chest, unbuttoning his shirt as she spoke.

"What do you want to do?"

"This."

Face-to-face, she didn't hesitate to kiss him, her former disinterest nowhere to be seen now.

Pulling at the silky tie around her waist, he slid his hands underneath the fabric, running his fingers over her bare skin.

Noting the tightening and then loosening of his own pants, it was only when his clothing situation became inconvenient that they separated.

"I ask again, what are you up to?"

Catching his breath, not an easy task when four of his five senses were being actively stimulated, he did manage to communicate one thought he had.

"They say don't mix business with pleasure. Our business is wrapped now."

Kneeling, untying his shoes so he could easily step out of his pants entirely, she spoke in a soft, casual voice, as if her answer made complete sense, which in a way it did, but in another way it didn't.

"Right."

"Mhm. Come on; let's go where we'll be more comfortable."

Leading him over to her green velvet chaise longue, prompting him to sit and then sitting so close herself that she was almost on top of him, it didn't take long before she was actually on top of him, only a thin layer of silk separating them.

Her mouth on his, her hands in his hair, on his chest, and moving further down, his doing the same, making quick work of discarding her robe, not a single thing felt off anymore, everything felt good, very good, right up until her grip on him felt intentional, as did the movement of her hips.

"Stop."

Pushing her off his lap as she attempted to bring them together, overwhelmed by a surprisingly strong feeling that there was something odd going on.

"What? Why?"

"Not like this."

Standing, he turned away from her, finding it easier to think when she wasn't directly in his line of sight.

"In the bedroom then."

"I meant bare, like this."

Walking over to where he'd discarded his pants, pulling his wallet out, not at all surprised when he felt a hand on his wrist. Intuition was a hell of a thing.

"You don't need to. I'm taking care of it."

"Sorry honey, I've heard that before."

"You don't trust me?"

There were trustworthy women in the world but Lovey Larson was not one of them, he was certain of that.

"Frankly, no."

Honest, he knew they wouldn't be going to bed together today or any other day, and he was a lot safer for it.

"Excuse me?"

"Tell my daddy I said hello."

Collecting his clothes, he didn't give her much time to respond, heading down the hall to find the bathroom, locking the door behind him as he attempted to settle his excitement and dress.

13 May 1972

Galloping across the dry fields, her horse and her mind racing, Sue Ellen felt like a character in a western film, out for blood.

She liked Clayton a lot but his son was another story.

Leaning against a tree trunk watching their horses drinking peacefully from the pond, his kiss had been the last thing she'd expected to experience and in the moments between being kissed and realising it wasn't what she wanted, she'd made the mistake of reciprocating, something she could kick herself for now.

She'd kissed a lot of men before marriage but since saying 'I do' she'd been a one-man woman and had intended to remain that way. She loved JR and while she couldn't deny she thought Dusty attractive and appreciated his friendship, that was all she thought of him as, a friend.

Considering that, his reaction to her rejection and confused questions following his attempt to romance her was even more hurtful.

"Dusty, do you care for me for me or are you doing this for some other reason? Perhaps because you work for Jock? Or because you don't much like JR?"

"Sue Ellen."

"Answer the question."

"I care for you; I work for Jock; I think JR is fine, we'll never be friends but we're not enemies."

"What's your motivation for kissing me?"

"You looked like a woman who needed kissing."

"I'm married."

"That's a shame."

"I don't think so."

"Is there something else going on here?"

"That's what I want to know. Do you want to be my friend or my lover? And why?"

"If lover is on the table then I'll take that option."

"It's not."

"It could be. There's no danger."

"There's danger to my marriage. Infidelity isn't healthy or right and isn't something I want to participate in."

"It could be very healthy. I hear JR is the only man you've ever known. Don't you wonder what it's like to be with another?"

"No."

"You should, it's only natural."

"I love JR."

"I'm not talking about love."

"Dusty."

"You're perhaps safer than ever. We could be wonderful together and no one would ever know. There's no risk of illegitimate offspring."

"Why? Are you sterile?"

"Not me, you."

"How do you know that?"

"I know."

Slapping him hard, she'd then stormed over to the pond, mounted her horse, and run away, desperate to leave Dusty and their entire awful interaction behind.