The prom ended on a good note. The girls continued singing pop music all the way to the parked limo while the boys giggled about their beach house after party. The plan was to split up between Sheldon and Amy's houses and meet up at the beach house an hour later.

After listening to Amy's mother lecture about sex, drugs and alcohol, the girls packed up and headed out in Penny's car.

"So, not to sound completely creepy, but I totally picked up something sexy at Victoria's Secret last week." Penny said.

Bernadette smiled. "Oooooh scandalous! Does Leonard know?"

"Not yet…"

Amy smiled too. "I, too, have prepared special pajamas for this evening."

Penny raised an eyebrow and turned to Amy. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yes. I bought purple plaid pajamas with capri-length pants. It even has a matching robe…"

Penny just nodded. "Sure, nothing says sexy like showing all kinds of ankle…"

Bernadette giggled. "I didn't buy anything special for Howie. I was afraid if I turned him on too much he'd be done before we began…"

Penny twitched. "TMI."

"So Amy, are you going to seduce Sheldon tonight?"

Amy raised her eyebrows. "If by seduce you mean attempt to engage in prolonged conversation while simultaneously avoiding topics like Star Wars and model trains… then yes."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, he's still a guy. He's crazy about you and he decided to go to some school he doesn't even like that much to be with you. I'm sure you could convince him to get it on if you tried hard enough."

Bernadette jumped in. "I don't know, his mom seems really religious. Maybe he was just raised to wait until marriage. Then again so was I, but what mom doesn't know won't hurt her."

Amy smirked. "Frankly, I'm just looking forward to a fun-filled weekend with friends. Last year, there was no way my mother would have ever let me spend the weekend with my friends. Not that I had any…"

Penny sighed. "Wow this conversation just got really depressing. I'm turning on the radio…"

And for the rest of the ride, the girls sang their favorite songs in unison.


In Raj's car, the boys had similar conversations.

Raj turned to Howard in the passenger seat. "So did you see me talking to that girl, Delaney? What did you think?"

Howard tilted his head back and forth. "Eh, decent rack, I'd give her a 7."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "You two are so incredibly shallow."

"Well excuse us, look who's talking."

"How am I shallow?"

Howard continued. "You're dating, arguably, the hottest girl in 11th grade."

"So what, Penny's friends with you guys now. You know there's a lot more to her than her looks."

Raj nodded. "Yes, but you had a crush on her for years because she was hot."

Sheldon interrupted. "Gentlemen, as much as I'd love to continue bantering about various women and their aesthetics, I believe we have more important issues to discuss concerning tonight."

Leonard sighed. "I'm going to regret this, but go on…"

"First and foremost, we all agree on sleeping arrangements, correct? Raj and I will take the largest bedroom upstairs, Penny and Leonard will take the spare room on the first floor. Howard and Bernadette will be in the adjacent room by the kitchen and Amy will take the converted guest room by the stairs."

Howard cringed. "You're really going to make Amy sleep by herself?"

"Yes, she informed me that she suffers from night terrors, so it's best that she remain on the same floor as me in case of emergency, but not so close such that she wakes me up during an episode."

Howard decided to pry for more information. "So you don't plan on spending any time… alone… with Amy?"

Sheldon paused. "I can't say I know for sure, but I do not have any immediate plans to do so. Why do you ask?"

Leonard cut Howard off before he could speak. "Let it go, Howard. You're never going to get the answer you want out of him."

"Now hold on." Sheldon interrupted. "I'm offended by your insinuation that Amy and I should engage in carnal activity for the sole purpose of adhering to a post-prom tradition mainly upheld in movies and situational comedies."

Howard paused for a second. "Yeah, I'm still going to bone my girlfriend."

Raj made a disgusted face. "How crude. I prefer the term 'make love.'"

"I'd prefer if you step on it. I don't want to keep m'lady waiting any longer."


Once the gang arrived at the beach house, Sheldon immediately completed his twelve point cleanliness inspection.

Amy yawned. "It's already one in the morning. Maybe we should get some sleep and start partying tomorrow."

Bernadette concurred. "Yeah, plus I need to take a shower to get some of this hairspray out of my hair."

Penny sulked. "Oh come on guys, it's prom night! Let's do something fun. I promise I won't keep you guys up all night."

Amy shrugged. "What did you have in mind?"

Penny looked to the side. "How about…. Oh! We should play poker!"

Howard creeped over her shoulder. "Strip poker?"

Bernadette rolled her eyes. "I don't know, I haven't played cards in a long time."

Sheldon walked in from the kitchen wearing latex gloves. "Cards? We're playing cards? Which card game? Ooooh tell me we're playing Mystic Warlords of Ka'a!"

Penny shook her head. "No, not one of your funny games. I mean like regular playing cards. Maybe a game of Texas Hold'em? Since you guys don't know much about gambling, we don't have to play for money or anything. I wouldn't want to steal everyone's cash."

Sheldon shook his head derisively. "Penny, Penny, Penny… I assure you we're all well versed in card games and the notion of gambling. Secondly, I was born in Texas. My father spent my childhood preparing me for moments like this."

She smirked. "Well then, bring it on Texas boy! Whatcha thinking? Maybe $20 buy-in, no limit?"

Howard folded his arms. "I still think strip poker is a good idea, but if Sheldon's bluffing then I'm out. No need to make this a sausage party."

Amy shook her head. "Sorry, I promised my mother I would shy away from all drugs, alcohol, gambling, and coitus this weekend."

Sheldon stared into Penny's eyes. "I, for one, do not have a need to acquire your lunch money. And since you're probably going to be undressed upon going to bed with Leonard shortly anyway, I'm not sure strip poker serves a purpose."

Penny scoffed. "Oh ouch... that burned. For the record, I don't lose. So you'd be the one sulking in your tighty-whities."

"Your confidence is admirable, but as we Texas folk say, it's on, Penny."

"Junior rodeo on…"

Leonard started to get nervous. "C'mon, it's late. Do we really have to do this?"

"YES!" Penny and Sheldon yelled in unison.

Raj held a flask in his left hand and took a swig. "Alright, I'm in."

Amy crinkled her eyebrows. "Where'd the flask come from?"

"Amazon. I'm a prime member. It really saves on shipping costs in the long run."

Bernadette smiled a bit. "Oh what the heck, I'm in."

Howard perked up. "Alright, we got a game."

Leonard looked around nervously. "Oh boy… Amy, why don't you deal the cards? It's easy, and you don't have to deal yourself in."

She thought about it. "Alright."

Less than ten minutes later, Leonard and Howard sat off to the side self-consciously. Leonard was down to an undershirt and boxers while Howard was merely in a white dickey, underwear and socks. Both men resigned from the game after losing five consecutive hands. Raj remained in, despite sitting at the table shirtless. The alcohol made him a bit inebriated, causing him to gawk at Bernadette's chest clothed only by her strapless bra.

She started to get angry. "Deal me some real freakin' cards already!" She barked at Amy.

Penny playfully his Bernadette's shoulder. "Don't yell at Amy." She turned to Amy. "Alright, time to deal me a winner. It's your best shot at seeing Sheldon naked anyway."

Amy glared at Penny as she dealt them their next hands. Penny and Sheldon remained fully clothed and highly competitive.

As Penny and Sheldon glared at each other with death stares, Bernadette politely bowed out. "Yeah I think I'm just going to go to bed…"

Howard looked up. "Wait, but you're not out yet…"

Bernadette smiled at Howard. "Would you rather me take off my clothes in front of all your friends, or would you rather me go to bed…" She said as she coyly motioned for him to follow her.

Howard jumped up. "Leonard, you can tell me about this in the morning. I'm going to BED!" He giggled as he followed Bernadette to their bedroom.

Penny and Sheldon continued their intense game. Penny picked up her two pocket cards and held them close to her. "Check…"

Sheldon smiled. "Ah yes, the start to the over-played check/raise. Where one attempts to disguise a rather strong poker hand by fooling their opponent into betting. Well, I do not fall for your tomfoolery. Check."

Penny grimaced. "Chicken…"

When the final card was revealed, Penny and Sheldon both smiled. She stood up. "You know what, let's do this. All in."

Sheldon stood up. "If you wish to end the game in a personal loss, then you've made the right call."

"No, don't give me that. I've got you."

"Alright, believe as you will. I see your bet and I call you."

Amy noticed there were a lot of high cards on the table, but she couldn't imagine what Penny and Sheldon held in their hands to induce such confidence. "Wow, this is getting intense."

Penny glared at Sheldon. "Go ahead. Show."

"Alright…" Sheldon said as he flipped over his two cards. "Full house, three aces and two jacks. No need to applaud or remove your undergarments."

As Sheldon reached to clear the cards from the table, Penny planted her hands on Sheldon's. "What makes you so sure you've won?"

He smirked. "You've spent the majority of the night bluffing your way through this game. And with a mere 4% chance of winning, I hardly think your luck won out."

Penny smiled really wide. "Well suck on this Mr. Cooper. Royal Flush!" She yelled as she flipped over the two cards in her hand. Sheldon just stared at the table, blinking oddly. Raj and Leonard ran over to the table in disbelief.

"Holy Crap!" Raj yelled. "Someone take a picture of this!"

Leonard smiled at Penny. "Did I ever tell you I loved you? I'm so proud of you!"

Penny jumped up and down. "I did it, I did it! I've never gotten a royal flush before! Heck, I've never even seen one!"

Sheldon continued to blink oddly. Amy looked at him with soft eyes. "It's okay, Sheldon. You played really well. It was the right call to make."

He sighed. "Yes, well, good game, Penny. Clearly, I underestimated your corn-fed roots."

Penny continued beaming. "Thanks, I think. Don't worry about clothes, it's late. It's time for bed. This was fun guys!"

As Penny disappeared with Leonard, Raj made his way to his room, leaving Amy and Sheldon essentially alone at the table.

"You're okay, right?" She asked him.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be? I just lost to Penny…"

"So she's good at Poker. You're brilliant in so many ways, this hardly matters." Amy replied in an attempt to soften the blow with flattery.

And it worked. "You're right. What's a silly little card game compared to my vast intelligence..."

"Besides, poker is just a game of luck and deception. It's actually better that you're not a deceptive person."

Sheldon smiled a bit. "Amy, would you care to accompany me to my bedroom? I'm still obligated to remove my garments in front of a crowd, per the rules of this game."

Her eyes widened. "Wait, really?"

He paused before speaking. "Bazinga! I was just demonstrating my ability to deceive. Goodnight, Amy."

As he walked into his bedroom, Amy just stood there furrowing her brow. "Now neither one of us has any luck…"