Chapter 8: What?

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I love you, Amy, but I don't want to end the break.

"What?" Amy replies as Sheldon presents the tea box for her to make her selection.

"I would like to finish our agreement of ten dates followed by a relationship summit." Sheldon states matter of factly. "We have approximately 26 hours before everyone will return. I'd like to use this time to talk through our relationship issues, uninterrupted. During this time, all questions are automatically predicated by the rules of factual truths. We also have to stay within line of sight for the duration." Sheldon suggests.

" I'm confused. I need some clarification as to what is prompting this."

"Ending the break right now is impulsive and reckless. It's fueled by lust." Sheldon says as he is pouring the water into Amy's mug.

"Truth, Do you regret last night?" Amy asks softly.

"Yes. My regret is that it was either to prove a point to Penny or a life affirming action to our conversation about your father. I should have stopped it."

"I'm not sorry that it happened."

"Of course not. You've been trying to get in my pants for years."

"Excuse me? First of all, Sheldon, first of all, that was entirely mutual. Don't you dare deny that now. Secondly, I don't do anything that I don't want to do, ever. Just because I have to drag you kicking and screaming into everything involving our relationship does not make it okay for you to blame me."

"I'm not denying that it was mutual. I'm saying that it wasn't rational given our emotions."

"Love isn't rational, Sheldon! You can't apply some formula and expect a firm answer! Sometimes one plus one equals six. If intimacy is going to always be a fight with you, then I can't do this. You were just as into it last night as I was, maybe even more so."

"I know and that scares me."

"What scares you?"

"Losing control." He whispers.

As they move to the couch, Amy takes Sheldon's cup from him and after setting it next to her own, turns to face Sheldon and takes his hands.

"If all other events leading up to the moment in the tent are removed from the timeline of last night, do you still have regrets about it?" Amy counters.

"Excluding events from Penny's comment up to the moment that I kissed you,no, zero regrets. "

"Zero regrets. Is this now a regular part of our relationship?"

"I feel that added intimacy will complicate what we are attempting to accomplish by taking a break."

Which is?"

"When you asked for the break,you said that being in a relationship with me is extremely challenging for you. I feel the need to prove that I'm worthy. I am trying, Amy. I'm so far out of my comfort zone that I can't even see the line. You're absolutely right that in the past, you have had to force changes upon me. I'm ready to commit to you for the rest of our lives... not because it's social convention, or even as a solution to Leonard moving out, but because I love you. I never thought that I'd be able or willing to do that but that ring box in my room is undeniable proof that I need you in my life. I have from the moment that you asked for tepid water. 26 days without you broke me. If we got engaged or even married and then you changed your mind,it would kill me. Give me the chance to prove that I can be the boyfriend... the husband...that you need and deserve. I need to show you that much."

"You are worthy, Sheldon. You're the best boyfriend. I may become frustrated by you, but those are my issues, not yours. I know that you are trying. Proposal, we cut the remaining six dates in half, and I'll accept the ring at the end of the third date."

"Counter Proposal, we keep all six remaining dates, plus the bonus date and hold a relationship summit at the end of the third date to chart our progress. We can choose to eliminate the remaining dates at that time."

"And the ring?" Amy asks.

"I choose when and how to propose at a later date not to exceed one year."

"Seven dates and six months." Amy counters.

"You have yourself a deal." Sheldon says as he makes himself more comfortable and then pulls Amy to cuddle with him. Amy turns her head to smile up at Sheldon. Taking Amy's hand into his, he runs his thumb over her ring finger repeatedly.

"For somebody that used to abhor touching another person, you sure seem to not be able to keep your hands off of me." Amy teases.

"As a general rule, yes,however, every rule has an exception and you're mine. Next item on the agenda, intimacy. I want to wait to engage in intercourse until we are married."

"Oh. I thought that you didn't subscribe to Christianity's views on abstinence before marriage?"

"My upbringing does play a role in my decision making process, however, I'm also fighting my phobias. I think that I can overcome them with enough time to prepare for it."

"How do you feel about other activities, such as what happened last night?"

"I expect that to be a regular occurrence. Which brings me to our next order of business, contraceptives. I'll be using a condom, however, I would feel much better if you also used birth control."

"Already taken care of. I'm on the birth control pill."

"I see. In the past we have discussed the possibility of having a child together. Do you see that in our future?" Sheldon asks.

"Yes, I see children in our future together. I've had a recurring dream where I come home and you are having a tea party with our daughter and all of her stuffed animals."

"I imagine I'd enjoy that. Did you have tea parties as a child?" Sheldon says with a smile.

"Not in the way you're imagining. I was attending high teas with the children of celebrities and the most powerful people in Los Angeles at the age of four. I was expected to be a well cultured young lady from a good family. Make believe was strongly discouraged. I read a lot as a child. My father's study had one entire wall full of books from floor to ceiling. I spent hours of my life in there lost in Wonderland or on a river raft with Huck Finn. Books were my friends. I still read for pleasure every night before bed. I can't imagine what you were like as a child."

"My dad called me Scrap Metal because I was always taking things apart to try to improve their design and function. I'd always have a pile of spare parts on the work bench. Dad pushed George and I to be his idealized version of men... physically strong, athletic... George Jr was everything that my dad could want in a son. I was not. Meemaw realized that I am different from the rest of my family when I was very young. She encouraged my interest in the sciences and intellectual curiosity. One of the first experiments I ever conducted was the mixing of baking soda and vinegar in Meemaw's kitchen sink. I was almost three and Meemaw swears to this day that I jumped higher than a kangaroo stepping on a tack. Meemaw always asks after you. I can't wait for you to meet her. Oh, Missy sent me a text message with a video of Houston playing with the Mozart cube toy that you sent him. Mom said that it's his favorite toy."

"I'm so glad that he likes it! How old is he now?"

"18 months." Sheldon says as he grabs his cell phone from off the coffee table and quickly brings up the video which shows a chubby cheeks toddler slapping at a toy and giggling as the tell tale "dun dun dun dun" of Mozart's Fifth Symphony rings out. Off camera, they hear Missy saying, "can you tell Auntie Amy and Uncle Sheldon thank you?"

"Thank you! Toy!" Is followed by largely indecipherable baby babble. The video ends with Missy looking into the camera and saying thank you.

"He was trying very hard to tell us he likes it!" Sheldon laughs.

"He's adorable. Will we have time to see them for lunch during our layover?"

"We have a two hour layover. It should be plenty of time if we stay in the airport. I always speak with Meemaw on Saturday night. I'll mention it tonight."

"Great." Amy says before yawning. "Sorry. I'm more tired than I thought."

"We can go take a nap in my room. I need to do some work but I'll stay with you until you fall asleep."

"That's okay. You work." Amy says before kissing Sheldon briefly and then getting off of the couch.

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One hour later as Sheldon proof reads his speech for the 26th time, part of the conversation about star constellations is replaying in his head.Star light, star bright, first star out I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight. I've lost count of how many wishes upon stars I've made over the course of my life. He quickly brings up Google and searches for "star necklace pendant." The first webpage that appears is from Tiffany's and about half way through the page,he spots the perfect gift for Amy. He quickly enters his credit card information and clicks that he will pick it up in New York City. He clears his search history and then decides to go check on Amy. He finds her sound asleep in his bed, curled up around one of his pillows. As quietly as he can, he crawls in behind her and lays an arm over her waist. The movement of the bed disturbs her and she awakens.

"Sorry. Go back to sleep." Sheldon whispers.

She rolls over to face him and latches her lips onto his in a hungry kiss which is immediately reciprocated. As air becomes a necessity, Sheldon breaks the kiss and trails kisses along Amy's neck as his hands are unbuttoning her blouse. Not to be outdone, Amy tugs at Sheldon's t-shirts, the collars of which get stuck around Sheldon's head. Laughing, they stop momentarily to remove the shirts and blouse before resuming kissing, this time much slower than the last. While kissing, Sheldon uses his hands to squeeze Amy's breasts through her bra. He's surprised by how something can be so firm and yet squishy at the same time. He removes the straps from Amy's shoulders and she lifts up slightly to undo the clasps and drops it to the floor. He kisses her again on the lips before trailing a line of kisses to her right breast and taking it into his mouth while rolling the nipple of her left breast between his fingers. He's not sure what to do, so he experiments with suckling and flicking his tongue to see what actions cause Amy to emit that erotic moan that is causing his pants to become painfully uncomfortable. He decides to switch sides and repeat the same process, with identical results. Amy moves her hand down to stroke him through his jeans and he almost loses control right there. With a loud "pop" he releases her breast and throws his head back in ecstasy as Amy continues to caress him.

"I need to remove my jeans." Sheldon says while carefully unzipping the fly. Amy helps him to carefully remove his underwear and his manhood springs to life before her eyes. She quickly removes her skirt, followed by underwear, and they lay side by side grazing their fingers along their partner's exposed skin.

"I didn't come in here just for this." Sheldon informs her.

"I know."

"Just hands or would you like to try oral gratification tonight?" Sheldon asks.

"I'm willing to try whichever you are comfortable with." Amy replies.

He gently pushes Amy to lay on her back and while laying on his side, he lets his fingers dance down her skin from her neck, to her flat abdomen and skimming down her legs to the apex between her thighs. He dips two fingers in and finds the little nub engorged and seeking his touch. He rubs his fingers in soft circles as he watches Amy's face contort in bliss.

"How does it feel?" Sheldon asks.

"Wonderful. I can't describe it."

"I'm ready to try oral stimulation. Let me know if I need to stop. We should have a safe word."

"Koala." Amy suggests.

Sheldon smiles in response and helps Amy position herself before he moves so that his legs are hanging off the bed as his head is positioned precisely. Amy opens her legs to him and he closes his eyes as he mentally prepares for this. Concentrate on the noises Amy is making. It's all about her. Overcome your fears. Eyes closed. He flicks his tongue three times and Amy bucks her hips off the bed in an attempt to get closer to his mouth.

"Okay?" He asks.

"Mmmm. Don't stop." Amy begs.

Returning to what he was doing, he finds himself pleasantly surprised that he is enjoying doing this to Amy... for Amy. He's trying to remember what Howard told him about oral gratification. Write the alphabet with your tongue. It isn't long before Amy is bucking her hips wildly against him and he laps like a dog as she screams his name when her orgasm hits her.

"Wow." Amy says as she comes back to Earth.

"Are you okay?" Sheldon asks.

"Better than okay."

Just then they hear the front door closing. Panicked, Sheldon frantically pulls the blanket over their nude bodies and pushes himself up so that only his back is visible from the door if somebody were to walk in. A few seconds later, Amy receives a text message on her cell phone. Grabbing her phone, she reads aloud.

"We need to talk when you are finished in the bedroom. No rush.- Leonard."

"It's rude to keep them waiting." Sheldon says.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with Penny right now. I have other plans." Amy says as she grasps Sheldon's length in her hand and slowly strokes from base to tip.

'I can't argue with your logic. Why does that feel so much better when it's your hand?" Sheldon asks.

"No more talking." Amy says as she releases Sheldon and then slides down to the end of the bed as Sheldon lays on his back.

"Safe word is koala" she reminds him just before she uses her tongue to lick from base to tip and back down. She has to fight her gag reflex as she takes all of him into her mouth. Deciding he's too large she moves her head up until she's more comfortable and then wraps her hand around the lower part of his shaft. She looks up at Sheldon to see him watching her intently. He brushes her hair out of her face before she grasps one of his hands and starts bobbing her head. It isn't much longer before he's squeezing her hand while frantically saying "koala koala." She stops as Sheldon grabs Kleenex from his nightstand and with two last pumps of his own hand, releases into the Kleenex.

He pulls Amy up to him for a rough kiss before she lets her body go limp and lays fully on top of him, listening to his heartbeat thump wildly in his chest.

"Okay?" Sheldon asks her.

"Yes. You?"

"Yes. We need to go talk to Leonard and Penny."

"Just a few more minutes." Amy pleads.

"Whatever you want." Sheldon replies.

Coming up next: the smackdown. Thanks for reading. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it.