For the rest of game night, Amy could not shake the heat of that moment.
"One, two, three, wrestle!" she yelled. Penny took Sheldon down with one sound flip. "One, two, three, pin!"
"Mwah!" Penny exclaimed. And there, in all her brave and beautiful confidence, Penny executed so easily what Amy wanted to do every moment she was around Sheldon. Penny's lips curved into a smile, pecked his cheek again. Sheldon's nose glowed pink-red from Penny's lipstick and his own irritation.
"Penny, stop that!" Sheldon cried. "Amy, do something! Help!"
And Amy did the only thing she could think to do. Emboldened by Penny's physical dominance over Sheldon, her brazen flirtatiousness, Amy crawled across the floor and peppered Sheldon's shiny forehead with her own kisses.
Sheldon writhing on the floor, increasingly flustered, unable to pull away. Penny's lips puckered so close to her own. Li'l Leonard just sitting back and watching in amusement.
At the end of the night, everyone was still tugging at the blueberry-drenched towels around their necks as they stood to leave in the living room.
"You know," said Amy. "There's only one way to settle who wins. Sure, my bestie and I handed the gentlemen's proverbial asses to them tonight. But we must increase the competition sampling pool before we can declare a veritable winner. We must have a re-match next weekend."
Sheldon, always eager for another chance to prove himself, excitedly agreed. Penny shrugged and said sure. Leonard smiled a little uncertainly at Penny.
"Sure!" he squeaked in agreement. "Okay."
Good-natured kisses brought on by friendly physical combat were one thing. But Sheldon Cooper was a special case, not a simple man of flesh and blood. He would need some prodding along.
The next weekend, Amy came prepared. She arrived at Penny's an hour before game night in a scandalously above-the-knee skirt. She had ditched the Star Trek doctor outfit idea at the last minute—too obvious, she thought. Penny had laid out all of her cosmetics on the coffee table for them to get ready. When Amy removed the small plastic baggie from her bag and set it beside a shade of man-eater red lipstick, Penny spewed wine all over the counter.
"Amy Farrah Fowler, is that what I think it is?"
"Pish posh," said Amy, smoothing her skirt against her knees. "Things got very heated last week. This will loosen everyone up a little. Add an element of relaxation to our cutthroat competition."
Penny laughed and shook her head. "I mean, I'm fine with it," she said. "But we'll just see what Dr. Sheldon Cooper has to say about this."
They started out with crossword puzzle races. Leonard was game for whatever Penny told him to do, so all three of them took turns doing hits as they filled in their puzzles. Sheldon tut tutted and hastily passed the pipe along every time it came to him. He spouted off concerns about legality, about fire safety, about the effects of mind-altering substances on the rational brain.
But after two just two rounds, Leonard and Penny and Amy's interest in the game began to dwindle. Leonard dimmed the lights and put in Star Wars: A New Hope. Penny snuggled up next to him on the couch. Amy gaped at Sheldon and held up her hand until he begrudgingly took it.
Five minutes into the movie, Sheldon sat upright in the darkness, exclaiming "Wha! This was supposed to be game night, not movie night! You three hooligans are in violation of so many sacred paradigms right now! It's a wonder I've let it go on this long."
"Just relax," Amy cooed, touching his shoulder.
"No! I will not relax... Fine! You know what?" Sheldon snatched the pipe and lighter from the table. "We'll just see what all the fuss is about. Since nothing makes sense anymore anyway, right?"
Amy bit her lip and steadied herself on the couch. This is what she'd been hoping for. Just the nudge he needed.
"Here," she said, holding the lighter for him. "Do you need me to demonstrate?"
"I most certainly do not!" Sheldon scoffed. "I've been watching the three of you all night. Good Lo-ord."
He broke into an intense coughing fit on first try, just as Amy expected.
"Oh, sweetie," said Penny. "Don't fight it. Just breathe. Relax."
Amy stroked his back between his shoulder blades as he took a sip of water.
"You got it?" she asked.
"I've got it, okay!" he snapped.
"Just... give it some time," she said, as much to herself as to him.
They continued passing the pipe down the couch as the movie continued. Eventually, as Amy finished a hit and turned to Penny, she found Penny and Leonard gently making out in the darkness beside her.
This is it, she thought. But has it begun to affect him, too?
Amy set the pipe on the table and glanced sideways at Sheldon as she gently took his hand. It warmer and clammier than usual. She felt his pulse in his wrist, sensed its quickened speed. She listened to his steady breaths as he watched the movie. Leonard moaned ever so softly on the other side of the couch; Amy doubted Sheldon could even hear it.
"How are you feeling, Dr. Cooper?" Amy whispered softly. Sheldon closed his eyes for a moment, and his hand tightened around hers. When he opened his eyes, he looked at her, slightly confused, but calm.
"I'm..." he glanced down at their hands. "Fascinated." His eyes returned to hers and did not waver.
Amy brought one hand to his cheek, and his gaze intensified as his jaw tightened.
"Ay-me?" he said.
"Mm?"
"If you have any other experiments in mind, I suppose I'm—feeling open to scientific inquiry."
And for the first time, Sheldon's eyes were on Amy's lips. She pursed them in delight, and before she could say anything, Sheldon leaned in and kissed her gently. His mouth was soft and warm and sweet.
"There," he whispered huskily into her mouth, his eyes still closed. "Was that—?"
"That was perfect, Sheldon," she said, and stopped his lips with hers.