The Verbal Variant - A sequel to The English Element
Disclaimer: In no way, shape, or form do I own anything to do with The Big Bang Theory (except DVDs). CBS, Chuck Lorre, and Bill Prady have that honor. I am just a fan.
Chapter 14 - Double Date Redux
It was Saturday evening and Raj and Katherine were dressing for their double date with Leonard and Penny. Raj paused in the middle of buttoning his shirt to look at Katherine. She sat at her vanity brushing her hair. I can't believe a woman that beautiful is really my girlfriend he thought. Katherine glanced in the mirror and noticed him looking at her; she blew him a kiss. I am so lucky he thought Katherine is beautiful, smart, funny, affectionate, passionate... she makes me so happy. He finished buttoning his shirt and moved to stand behind her. She had finished her hair and was rummaging through her jewelry box. Katherine felt Raj put his hands on her shoulders; she looked up and turned to face him. "What is it darling?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being my girlfriend."
Katherine blinked away tears. She stood up and embraced Raj. "Raj, I should be thanking you for being my boyfriend. You are the sweetest, most wonderful man. I've never been this happy." She kissed him. Katherine had intended the kiss to be short and sweet, but Raj had other ideas. "Raj!" she broke away from him laughing. "We don't have time for that."
"C'mon." Raj grabbed her and kissed her again.
"You'll have to take a rain check. We have reservations." Katherine slipped out of his grasp again.
"Fine." Raj stole one last kiss then went back to dressing for dinner.
An hour later they pulled up to the restaurant. As Raj opened the door for Katherine she said "You look really handsome in that suit."
"Thank you."
As she stood she whispered to him "And sexy. All I'm going to be thinking about during dinner is getting you home and ripping it off you." She walked toward the restaurant. Raj stood stunned for a moment, watching her hips sway as she walked. Then he grinned and followed her inside. I am definitely lucky to have her.
The table wasn't ready yet, and as they waited Raj reflected on the past couple of days. Things had been tense at lunch Thursday; Raj had actually been grateful to get back to the office and work with Sheldon. Friday had still been awkward, but a bit better. They had all been really careful about what they said and no one had brought up anything remotely personal.
Leonard and Penny arrived just as the table was ready. They sat down and greetings and discussions of the menu kept things going at first. After they ordered the conversation was carried by Katherine and Penny, who were determined to make the date successful. They kept bringing up topics they knew the boys enjoyed until Raj and Leonard started talking despite themselves. Just after they ordered dessert, the girls went to the ladies room, leaving the two men alone. They sat in silence a moment, then Leonard said "I guess we're even for me sleeping with Priya now."
Raj bit back his usual response to the idea of his innocent sister being sullied by Leonard and instead decided to accept the olive branch Leonard was awkwardly offering. "We are only even if you swear to never mention that unholy incident again."
"Deal."
With that they turned the conversation to Marvel's The New 52. They were deep in discussion when the girls returned.
"Well, it looks like you two mended your fences." Penny said smugly.
Leonard replied "Yeah, we decided we could put it behind us."
"Good." Katherine beamed.
They girls were too smug about this. Leonard decided to tease them. "We just have to swap girlfriends for a night to be even."
"Leonard!" Penny exclaimed.
Raj looked at Leonard, startled; Leonard shot him a look and kicked him under the table. "It's the only way." Raj said in as serious a tone as he could manage.
"Raj!" Katherine exclaimed. The boys were unable to keep a straight face any longer and burst out laughing.
"They must be over it if they can make tasteless jokes." Katherine observed.
"Humph." Penny said, frowning at the still laughing men.
"Penny, I just realized something; didn't they sound just like men who won't be getting laid tonight?" Katherine inquired.
Penny grinned wickedly. "You're right! I couldn't quite put my finger on it at first, but that's exactly what they sounded like."
The men sobered instantly.
Sunday evening Penny was at Amy's apartment, helping her get ready for dinner. Amy was more confident in the dress after the male attention she had gotten at the club and she was getting used to wearing makeup.
Knock Knock Knock "Amy?" Knock Knock Knock "Amy?" Knock Knock Knock "Amy?"
"Just a minute Sheldon." Penny yelled toward the door then said to Amy "Go into your bedroom. I'll open the door and then you can make an entrance."
"Why?"
"Just trust me bestie." Penny waited for Amy to go into her room, and then she opened the door. Sheldon stood in the hall, wearing the black suit she had helped him buy, but with a blue shirt and a different tie then he had worn to the award banquet. Penny was stunned for a moment, as she had been when he had tried it on the first time. The blue shirt exactly matched his eyes and the tie; she smiled as she noted the superhero logos all over it. "Nice tie Sheldon."
"Thank you. Stuart special ordered it for me." Sheldon said as he entered the apartment.
"I should have guessed." Penny turned toward the bedroom door and raised her voice slightly. "Amy, Sheldon's here."
Amy walked out of the bedroom, as her gaze went past Penny to Sheldon she stopped in her tracks. Amy had never seen Sheldon dressed up before. Her heart sped up as she took in his appearance; had his eyes always been so blue? She felt as if she had never truly seen him before.
Amy took Sheldon's breath away. She was wearing the dress she had worn just under a month ago when she and the other girls had gone to a club. It had annoyed him that night; for some reason he hadn't liked the idea of Amy going out dressed like that where other, lesser men could see her. Tonight, however, the sight of her caused him to experience confusing and unfamiliar emotions.
He suddenly wished that he had refused to participate in the ridiculous "double date". He wanted Amy in her normal clothes and to be doing something familiar. He didn't like these confusing new emotions.
Penny was gleefully watching Amy and Sheldon stare at each other. "Amy, you look beautiful." she said "Doesn't Amy look beautiful Sheldon?"
Penny's voice broke the spell Sheldon was under. He remembered that Leonard had told him that it was a non-optional social convention to compliment one's date's appearance. "Yes. You look very beautiful Amy."
Amy blushed, for some reason Sheldon complimenting her appearance was different then when he complimented her intelligence or wit. She made a mental note to think about that later. "Thank you Sheldon. You are looking quite handsome this evening."
"Thank you." Amy's compliment caused more of those confusing feelings. "We should depart. Raj and Katherine are waiting in the car."
"Of course." Amy went to pick up her purse and the shawl Penny had loaned her. Sheldon remembered that his Mee-Maw had told him that a gentleman should always help a lady with her wrap.
"Allow me." Sheldon draped the shawl over Amy's shoulders, automatically smoothing out the wrinkles; his fingers tingled when he touched her.
"Thank you." They left the apartment and took the elevator to the lobby. Sheldon opened doors and pushed the elevator buttons for her. Amy's instinct was to do all that for herself, but when the girls were coaching her for this night, they had told her that she should allow Sheldon to do these things for her. When she had asked why, Katherine had said something about the chivalric code. Amy didn't understand why medieval rules for knights applied to the twenty-first century, but since they all had more experience with dating then she did she acquiesced. She had to admit that having Sheldon do things for her was nice. It made her feel cared for, cherished even.
Sheldon was still disturbed when they got to the car. As soon as the others exchanged greetings, he proposed a car game in order to gain some control over the situation. He proposed the elements game; Katherine suggested they substitute geographical places names for elements. Sheldon conceded, desperate to engage in something even slightly intellectual. Amy sitting beside him was distracting, making him aware of physical impulses he usually repressed. It never had been before, but tonight the scent of her perfume was intoxicating; he couldn't think properly. Perhaps he was coming down with something. Ordinarily he would be panicking at the idea of illness, but tonight he was actually relieved at the possibility of logical explanation for his issues. If he was sick, if he had a fever, it would explain why he felt so warm, and why he couldn't concentrate on the game. He frowned as he realized that being sick wouldn't explain why his gaze kept going to Amy's cleavage.
Sheldon was grateful when they finally arrived at the restaurant. He took deep breaths when he exited the car, hoping to clear his head. Sheldon saw Raj offer Katherine his arm, so he did the same for Amy. Once again, his skin tingled when he touched Amy.
Katherine was glad to see that Sheldon was behaving well. She had asked Raj to set Sheldon a good example tonight and so far he was doing so. Penny had called her just before Amy and Sheldon had got to the car to tell her how they had stared at each other, and Katherine was glad that the first part of the plan had been successful.
Dinner began well; Raj and Katherine were prepared to tolerate Amy and Sheldon's idea of good dinner conversation. Katherine sat diagonally across from Sheldon and was delighted to see how often he looked at Amy. The conversation was mainly scientific topics mixed with occasional "fun facts" from Sheldon. Sheldon and Amy's reaction to each others appearance is a good start, Katherine thought, but they need to be in a more intimate situation; someplace where they can be alone together. Katherine decided that she needed to talk to Amy. She stood up and said "Excuse me; I need to powder my nose." She looked at Amy.
"Oh. I'll join you for some female bonding."
Katherine broached the subject while they were washing their hands. "Amy, how do you think things are going?"
"Can you be more specific?"
"How do you think things are going with Sheldon?"
"I'm not sure. I was very much struck by his appearance this evening."
"That suit and shirt do bring out his eyes."
"Indeed. I am definitely experiencing the symptoms of arousal, such as …"
Katherine interrupted her. "That's okay Amy, I get the idea. How do you think he's reacting to you?"
"It's hard to tell with Sheldon. I did note that his pupils were slightly dilated, but that might have resulted from him taking an antihistamine or decongestant. Alternatively, it could have resulted from head trauma or use of illicit drugs."
"I think we can rule that out Amy." Katherine said. She began reapplying her lipstick. Amy followed suit. "I think we need to get you two into a more intimate environment, someplace you can be alone together."
"Like the back seat of a car at a Lover's Lane?" Amy asked excitedly.
"I don't think that's quite Sheldon's style. Let's see what's going on tonight." Katherine put away her lipstick and took her phone from her purse. She Googled a few things and found that the Samuel Oschin Planetarium at Griffith Observatory had a show at 8:45 that evening. "This is perfect." Katherine said, showing her phone to Amy.
"It does look to be rather informative, even if it is dumbed down for the masses." Amy remarked.
"Amy, the idea is to be with your guy in a dark room, not to learn anything."
"Oh. That's very clever of you Katherine. Sheldon would refuse to participate in something obviously romantic, but by disguising it as educational he will fall into our trap."
"Something like that. I'll bring it up when we get back to the table. Just follow my lead."
They rejoined their men. Katherine took advantage of the break in the conversation their return caused to say, "You know Amy was telling me about an article she saw on the planetarium at Griffith Observatory."
"I didn't know you were interested in astronomy Amy." Raj remarked.
Amy scrambled for a believable answer. "Oh well, you know how women love shiny things, like diamonds and stars."
Katherine inwardly groaned, but forged ahead with the plan. "The planetarium is featuring a special presentation about the possibility of water and life on other planets. Doesn't that sound fascinating?" She looked at Raj meaningfully.
Raj wasn't sure what she was up to but he had promised to support her tonight. "That does sound like an interesting presentation."
"We could go tonight after we finish dinner. We should be able to catch the last showing."
"I concur." Amy said, after Katherine kicked her under the table.
"I can't refuse two such beautiful women." Raj said.
Sheldon looked at him oddly before he said. "I suppose it would be humorous to see how they dumb down such a complex concept for the masses."
"Excellent!" Katherine exclaimed. They decided to pass on dessert to make sure they got there in time for Sheldon to be able to find the perfect seats.
Author note: Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapters. I would love to hear any thoughts, comments or constructive criticism so please review.