Chapter 2.
Boston
Amy opened her eyes to the sound of the train rattling. The first lights of the dawning passed through the window, which was covered with a thick layer of bright snow. The fatigue was evident in her eyes, the night had been long, she slept vaguely for a couple of hours while her mind kept turning over the events of the previous night.
Slowly, Amy raises from the bed, placing her glasses on and peeking her head into the bottom of the bunk. Sheldon hadn´t slept there, the bed was still made and his belongings were in place.
It was incredible how hard his words affected her, it was not the first time that other scientific degrading her for the simple fact of being of the opposite sex, but this time it hurt her more than ever. During the dinner, Sheldon had seemed the opposite of that and it might be that discovering that he wasn't being what most offended her. She shook her head, trying not to think about him anymore, not about his words, or his intense blue eyes.
Leaving the bathroom, already with her clothes changed, Amy placed her sheets onto the bunk and prepared herself to go to the cafeteria, a good tea and a copious breakfast may change her mood for today, after all, this trip has only just begun and she wasn't going to let that stupid man bother her. Besides, maybe he had gotten another room and she wouldn't have to see him again for the rest of the week.
Opening the door of the room, her heart and body startled when Sheldon was standing on the other side of the door. His hair was tousled, he looked tired and she noticed dark circles under his eyes. Grabbing the door tightly, Amy gave a little shout, covering her mouth immediately.
- "Good morning, Miss Fowler". Sheldon said in a surprised tone, he seemed also agitated to find her behind the door.
- "Oh, hello". Amy said, trying to calm her breathing.
- "I'm sorry I scared you, I came to pick up some things, It'll be quick, I will not bother you anymore".
- "Sure". She simply said, diving his body and heading to the corridor, but her curiosity was more powerful that her pride. "Have you found a new room?".
- "Not yet, I slept in the communal area, after the reviewer in charge of the distribution of the rooms told me, not with very good words, that it wasn't time to bother him, his wife thought the same thing but with way more heavy words".
Amy suppressed a laugh, dissimulating as she placed her hand over her mouth. She image the scene, with Sheldon screaming at that hour of the night. "Well, don't worry because I will not be here, I'll spend the morning in the cafeteria, enjoy your room".
- "Oh...Amy...wait, can I accompany you at breakfast? We can discuss your work, I have tons of questions I want to ask you".
- "I don't see why you should waste your valuable time listening to a plain woman's work, I'm sure you'll have many better things to do, professor". Amy said with her head high, turning away from him and walking fast down the corridor before Sheldon could even reply to her.
Amy walked steadily through the corridors of the train, it was still early and almost all the passengers remained in their rooms. The light came through the windows clear and bright, and only a large snowy meadow was visible on the horizon. Amy felt a lump in her throat, she didn´t like to be rude, but that man had deserved it.
After a few more meters walking and reviving over and over the conversation in her head, Amy felt a hand on her shoulder, which made her turned on herself to gaze again into the blue eyes of Sheldon.
- "Dr. Fowler, wait a minute". Sheldon said with heavy breath, which made his disheveled look a little sadder. Nothing like the elegant and handsome gentleman he had met the night before, now, he looked like a confused child. "I'm not very good at interpreting people's feelings, but I think you are mad at me, is that right?".
- "I don't think I have to clarify this, but yes, that's right, I'm mad at you and your words of last night hurt a lot."
- "Excuse me, but I don't understand what do you mean". Sheldon said, passing his fingers through his hair. "I probably drank more wine than I'm used to, and that might make me do things that I wouldn't normally do, I'm really sorry, if that's was the case".
- "It wasn't that, it was the way you were upset to discover that Dr. Fowler was a woman, look, I don't have time for this nonsense, I don't think we should continue talking, my credit as a scientist is supported by my work and colleagues, I don´t need your compassion".
- "I think I don't understand you, my surprise was not because you were a scientific woman, I admire your work, Dr Fowler, it was a pleasant surprise to discover that it was you, and I don't believe in the genders as such, I believe in the mind, and trust me, yours is one of the best I have ever meet".
Amy blushed at his words, it wasn't the typical compliment a lady could expect, but it had been the most interesting and flattering until this date. "So, then, why that way of reacting and getting out of here as if I were the devil myself?".
- "To be honest Dr. Fowler, it's true that I exude myself with the reaction, but in my defense, I have only once shared space with a woman in my life, and … it didn't went very well".
Amy squinted her eyes, of course, that man had a bad love experience, surely that woman hurt him deeply, and now the simple idea of sharing space with another could trigger that kind of anxiety. She placed her hand over his shoulder, in consolation.
- "My sister can be a hard nut to crack". Sheldon finished the sentence with a big sigh.
Amy couldn't contain her laugh this time, which came out of her lips like a bullet. Sheldon confused looked at her, but after a few seconds he joined her without being very clear about the reason for all of that.
Her white teeth and rosy lips seemed even more beautiful when her melodious laughter came from them. He found himself looking at her with surprise and admiration in equal parts, and without knowing very well how to process it, he simply stopped thinking and enjoyed the moment.
Amy dried the happy tears that had flooded down her eyes, stopping gradually her laugh and looking with a big smile at the young man who was a pleasantly surprised to her, maybe she wasn't very wrong in her first look at him and after all, it was going to be an interesting trip.
- "I think it will be a pleasure if you join me at breakfast, how sounds some toast, scrambled eggs and tea?". Amy said softly. She notices how his eyes were still tired, but his expression had relaxed and he looked brighter and sweeter.
- "Sounds delicious, shall we?". Sheldon offered his arm politely and both headed towards the restaurant wagon.
Sheldon walked holding her warm arm and seeing how the snow covered every inch of each window they crossed by. He found himself smiling with the fact that, it could be a simple coincidence, but today he had toast and scrambled eggs in his weekly breakfast plan. Feeling the cracking of the train under his feet, he thought that maybe this trip has been the best decision he has ever made.
After several hours and uncounted teas later, the empty mugs vibrated to the rattle of the train. After a long and incredibly intense talk about Amy's recent work, the conversation turned to her studies, and into the university where the train was passing at the moment.
Boston was covered with a thick layer of snow and the flakes didn´t stop falling, since they both sat down for breakfast several hours ago. Amy had lived for four long years in Boston and know the harsh winters of the area, but she had never experienced anything like that, it was scary and beautiful on equal parts.
Studying at Harvard had not only been her dream throughout her life, but it also became her salvation after a dark and lonely adolescence. It was the moment in which she understood that not everything was tears and frustrations, and that she would always have that place to return, where to feel at home, in a home that she never really had since she was a child.
- "And look, now we are going to pass above the Charles River, it's covered with ice and snow, but trust me, in spring, it looks beautiful, and there is where the team trains for the regattas against Yale every year". Amy explained, pointed to the places while Sheldon gawked at the window and imagining the scenes of each of the anecdotes she was telling.
- "Sounds like it was a great time for you, right?".
- "Oh, it was". Amy sighed. "In fact, I think it was one of the best things that could happen to me, leaving California, and start a new life away from ... ". Amy bit her lip, unsure of whether to continue her sentence.
- "It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you do not want to". His voice was soft and sincere as his hand rested on hers.
His warm hand onto hers makes Amy quiver over her whole body. She looked up at his intense and blue eyes, his gaze was so tender that it was impossible not to question if she would not have known him for years, maybe in another life or another universe, because no one ever looked at her like this, and this man did it, someone with whom she had spent less than a day.
- "It´s alright…". She whispered. "Someone told me one time that is easier to talk with people who you don´t know".
- "Good morning, Mister Cooper". The harsh voice of one of the reviewers interrupted the moment, causing both to withdraw their hands in unison.
'Cooper'. Amy whispered in her head, 'that name it was familiar'. She repeated, trying to remember where she had heard that name before.
- "Mister Conrad, what a pleasant surprise, this is Dr. Fowler, the woman I told you last night". Sheldon said, pointing to her with his hand. "Amy, this is the reviser, Mister Conrad, he is in charge of the distribution of the rooms".
Amy nodded her head and returned a smile to the man who doesn´t seem very happy to be there. His height was similar to Sheldon's, but his body was at least three times his size. Some strands came out from his cap, dark as coal with a few scattered gray hairs that denoted his age. His eyes were brown and his gaze penetrating. Amy thought about the situation of last night and how easy it would have been for that big man to silence Sheldon with a single blow of his strong arm.
- "Mister Cooper, I have good news for you, I revised the passenger tablet and there will be a room available, but it´s for Miss Fowler, I hope it's not an inconvenience, miss?. We, of course, will take care of changing your belongings".
- "Of course, not". Amy nodded with a smile.
Since Sheldon apologized in the morning to her, they hadn't discussed the issue, and it was clear that Sheldon didn't want to share space with her, it would be much easier this way. Anyway, in six days they would not see each other again.
- "By the way, it will not be available until the next stop, Chicago, we'll arrive within a day, I hope you two can share the space one more night". They both nodded, and the man walked away without another word.
- "I'm sorry I caused so many problems in your trip Amy, I hope the new room will be nice".
- "I'm sure it will be". Amy simply said, lowering her gaze to her half empty cup of tea. Trying to hide her disappointment. After the pleasant morning sharing their mutual love for science she had imagined in vain, a week just as entertaining.
After a few minutes in silence, and many turns of her head to reopen the conversation, Amy discovered why that name earlier sounded familiar to her.
- "By the way, I didn't know that your last name was Cooper, do you know you share the name with one of the physicists that I admire the most ? What a coincidence".
Sheldon looked at her with a big smile. He had tried to hide his name during the trip to avoid any scientist who, like him, will be returning from the congress and thus avoid having to talk about the issue he had been keeping for two years for himself.
- "It's me". He whispered.
- "What? Are you telling me you are Dr. Sheldon Cooper, the physicist?". Her eyes widened and even Sheldon could see a glint in her eyes. And as he nodded Amy´s mouth opened.
- "I can´t believe it, is an honor to meet you, I followed your work since I was studying for my doctorate, I even did my thesis based on one of your studies, why didn't you tell me before?".
- "I'm sorry, I wanted a quiet trip, when people discover who I am, I stop being Sheldon and they just want me to read their works … I thought it was the right thing to do".
- "It's alright, I understand, that's why you told me you were a professor?".
- "No, that's true, I've been a professor for two years already, as I suppose you should know I left my research project, and well, I´m happy with what I do now, I don't think I'll come back to that anymore".
Amy nodded, listening to his words, she knew about his break in his investigation of the so-called parity laws, but she believed that it was just that, a break, not that he had left it forever.
- "Sheldon, may I ask, why you left your research if, as the newspapers said, you were about to make a great discovery in your field, it could have given you a Nobel".
- "Not everything is as easy as it seems, Amy, … I had several moments in my life to regret but leaving physics has not been one of them". Sheldon lied, swallowing once more the words he wanted to say, but he couldn't, not yet.
The rest of the day flew by, the science talks spread until lunch and tea time. Both enjoyed the stimulating conversation of the other, convinced that they had never before enjoyed so much the company of another person in their lives.
- "Amy, what do you think if we enjoy a dismissal dinner tonight? After all it's going to be our last night as roommates".
- "It sounds perfect, why don't you go first to change yourself and in an hour I'll go, we can meet in the common room, at 8?". She asked looking at her watch, that marked six o'clock in the afternoon.
Sheldon nodded, getting up from his seat. "I'll see you in two hours, m´am". He said with a soft smile, making Amy's cheeks flush.
Amy found herself smiling like a fool minutes after Sheldon had left the room. Maybe that they will be separate in different rooms would be the best. Amy couldn't afford to have a crush on someone she would never see again in her life, she need to stop to imagine how his lips would taste or what it would be like to touch his soft skin. It was not the plan that she need to follow. She repeated to herself over and over again, trying, in vain, to focus her mind on the book that had been left on the table all day long.
Amy looked at herself in the small bathroom mirror of the room. With the rattle of the train it was much harder to prepare for dinner than she had imagined at first. Slowly, she applied the red lipstick on her thin lips, and carefully placing it in her little black bag. She checked her hair one more time before leaving the room and walk to the communal area.
The sound of her heels against the carpet rumbles in her ears to the beat of her heart, which for the last two hours had throbbed hastily in her chest like a bomb about to explode. The memory of last night's dinner made her skin goosebumps, his eyes, his voice, the sound of the piano … Maybe it had been a magical one night, but the possibility of reliving those feelings made her feel that it was no more air in her body.
Sheldon leaned his body against one of the walls of the communal area. The glasses clashed gently with the movement of the train, in the armchairs sat several gentlemen reading newspapers and smoking big cigars. The windows were covered with snow, that had not stopped falling since early in the morning, and his feet were trembling restlessly on the padded carpet.
For the fifth time in the last ten minutes, Sheldon checked his pocket watch, which seemed to didn't move as quick as it normally would do, still marking 7:58, two minutes for Amy to cross the threshold of the door. The memories of the previous night continue to reproduce in his mind like a movie. He could feel the taste of wine in his mouth, the color of her eyes or the smell of her perfume.
Sheldon didn´t know why he behaved like he did, maybe it was the alcohol or the intense connection with a woman which he had never experienced before, but now he doubted that he could have the strength to behave again as he did, to create a similar scenario, to return to feel what he felt, that warm sensation that he had never experienced before in his life, and that has consumed him since last night.
The sound of the wall clock in the room startled Sheldon, who was nailed watching how the door opened and Amy's bright smile lit up his face. Sheldon had to hold himself at the window when his legs faltered with Amy's presence before him.
Her long and dark hair fell with beautiful curls down her pale shoulders, under a long and tight green dress that fell onto the floor and marked her contoured figure. The cowl neck showed his white and soft arms and sexy clavicle. Sheldon found himself contemplating her long neck, and traveling for her hips with his gaze over and over.
Amy walked softly to him with her eyes fixed on his intense blue eyes. Her lips were red as the wine that Sheldon still could see in them and her eyes were marked with a black eyeliner which made them perfect. Sheldon tried to get any word out of his mouth but it was impossible, it was like all the air of his body had been consumed.
- "Amy, you look … wow". Sheldon barely stammered with a silly smile on his face.
- "Thank you, Sheldon, you look so handsome as well".
Amy gazed to his perfect body, he looked so handsome that she almost fall in his presence. Sheldon wore a beautiful black suit, with a bright white shirt and a bow tie that adorned his neck. His hair was perfectly combed, and the smell of his colony inundated every one of her senses. His eyes were dark and so deeply that she could lost in them.
Not knowing what to do next, Sheldon approached a few more inches to Amy, leaving a small kiss on her cheek that she replied with a smile and a shy wink. Sheldon felt like a fish out of water, he didn´t know if this would be considered a date, and in that case, he didn't know from where to start, his experience with women was totally not existing, and his body was experiencing feelings and reactions that he wasn't even capable to process.
Amy looked shy at Sheldon's intense eyes, and in agile move, she put her arm through his, and nodding, they both walked slowly down the long corridor of the wagon. The warm heat of her arm made his whole body tremble, she was soft as velvet and he could even see how her skin goosebump like his own.
Suddenly, a tremor was felt under their feet, and abruptly the train stopped in his tracks, causing both bodies to fall on the soft carpet. Sheldon, fell on his back and opening his arms, he grabbed Amy's body which slipped on top of him.
After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, finding Amy's face only a few inches from him, so close, that he could smell the scent her minty breath from her lips. Both were stunned and unable to move their bodies and inch, that remained one over the other while their breathing marks the rhythm of their agitated hearts, but, the screams of the rest of the passengers brought them back to reality.
The lights had gone out for a few seconds, glasses had broken on the floor and the silence reigned in the dark night. The rest of the passengers had been, like them, surprised by the abrupt stop of the wagon, they were rising from the floor and approached to the windows with wide eyes.
The windows were covered with a thick layer of white snow, an avalanche had fallen over the tracks, covering half the train.
- "We are trapped". Sheldon whispered, feeling a lump in his throat as the words left his lips.
Thanks so much to all of you for reading and for your amazing reviews! Love all of them so much! Hope you are enjoying it and next wednesday new chapter, stay tuned!
Thanks to my beta Linda for her always support!