Penny stood perfectly still with the soft breeze tossing her hair. It was obvious to Leonard that she was holding back tears, but before he could speak, she grabbed her bag and ran toward the beach house.

Leonard just stood in the sand, watching her. He spoke softly to himself. "She loves me…"

Sheldon interrupted the moment with a shrill scream. "Ahhhhhhhh! There's a crab on my laptop! There's a crab on my laptop! Leonard! Amy! Do something!"

Raj just laughed to himself and picked up the tiny sand crab and looked at it adoringly. "Aw, looks like someone got lost."

Amy just shook her head. "It's just a baby crab, Sheldon."

"Crustaceans are merely the insects of the ocean. There is no reason for me to feel differently toward a crab than a pill bug." Sheldon replied.

Howard smirked. "Surely you've eaten seafood before, and somehow I doubt you've tried eating insects."

Leonard adjusted his glasses. "No, he just tries feeding them to me via snow cones…"

Sheldon folded his arms. "I also eat hamburgers, but I have no desire to go cow tipping with your corn-fed girlfriend."

Immediately, Leonard was brought back to worrying about Penny. But before he decided whether or not to check on her at the house, Sheldon stood up and brushed sand off his arms. "Speaking of which, I do believe that Penny had the correct idea vacating this beach. I can't get any work done with this terrible glare on my laptop screen."

Amy folded her arms. "Sheldon, we're supposed to be having fun. It's post-prom weekend…"

He looked at her matter-of-factly. "I know. That's why I'm going inside."

As Sheldon headed inside, Leonard decided to stay at the beach. He knew that Penny didn't like talking about emotions, especially love. Besides, he already knew what he needed to know. She loved him.


Penny sat on the area rug in the living room, still in her bathing suit, when Sheldon walked through the front door. She quickly turned her head and softened her expression. "Oh, hey Sheldon."

"Hello Penny. You left just in time. The wildlife on the beach is abundant this time of day."

She scrunched her eyebrows and ignored his comment. "I would have thought Leonard would have followed you back."

He shook his head. "We both know Leonard lacks adequate judgment toward safety. His mother and I discuss it regularly."

"No, I mean… you know what, forget it." Penny stood up and started to walk to her room when Sheldon interrupted her.

"Are you suggesting that Leonard should have followed you to the house after you told him you loved him for the first time?"

Penny looked shocked. "Um, yes, actually… I didn't know you were paying attention to that. Or that you cared."

Sheldon scoffed. "I don't care, I was just merely inferring based on facts."

"Right…"

"Did you want to speak to Leonard?" He asked.

Penny thought about it for a second. "Not really…"

"Did you tell him you wanted to be escorted back to the beach house?"

"No…"

Sheldon folded his arms. "Did Leonard recently acquire telepathy?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "Ok, I get it Sheldon. Leonard's not coming back. I should probably go back to the beach and just forget about the whole thing."

"Please do so. I wish to be alone." He replied as he sat down on the couch with his laptop.

Penny tilted her head. "Aren't you coming? You're not really going to sit in the house alone are you?"

"Amy said we're supposed to have fun. I enjoy my own company."

"Oh come on, let's go back to the beach. Maybe we'll play volleyball or something."

Sheldon started typing on his laptop. "I think you of all people know I rather play with myself."

Penny broke out into laughter. "Oh my gosh, I love that you have no idea what you just said! You're hysterical, Sheldon."

He looked up with a confused expression. "Did I say something amusing?"

"Bye Sheldon!" Penny said as she headed back to the beach.


When Penny found her friends again, Amy greeted her with a smile. "Welcome back, bestie. I don't suppose you saw Sheldon in your travels."

"Yeah, he's at the house playing with himself." Penny replied.

Leonard just squinted a bit at Penny, confused by her statement for a brief moment. Amy rolled her eyes and continued. "Any idea as to our plans for this evening?"

Bernadette walked over and shrugged. "We could build a sandcastle."

Penny pursed her lips together. "I was thinking more like take some shots and build a bonfire, but that works too…"

Howard rushed over to Bernadette's side. "Actually, I was thinking we could play a little D&D tonight. What do you guys say?"

Leonard and Raj immediately smiled, while Penny made a face. "What's D&D?"

"Dungeons and Dragons!" The boys said in unison.

Bernadette just looked at Howard. "I thought you said D&D was just for the boys…"

"Oh it'll be fun." He replied. "I may have taken the liberty of writing up a special prom themed quest for all of us."

Amy smiled. "Sounds like fun!"

Penny laughed a bit to herself, causing Leonard to tilt his head. "What's so funny?"

"I'm spending post-prom playing a nerdy role playing game. Sober. You guys seriously made a new Penny out of me."

He smiled. "Nah, I think she was there all along…"


The gang minus Penny gathered around the coffee table in the living room to get ready for their beloved role playing game.

As Penny emerged from the bathroom in a thin robe while towel drying her hair, Leonard continued to watch her with a slight smile.

Howard leaned toward Leonard and whispered. "Need I remind you again that you're hitting that? You can't gawk at her."

Leonard chuckled. "No, you can't gawk at her. I can do what I want."

A few minutes later, Howard stood up with his notebook in hand. "You've all been invited on a special quest. Location – Pasadena High School Prom."

Sheldon raised his arm. "I object."

Leonard dropped his shoulders. "On what grounds?"

"I don't like the location."

Amy rolled her eyes. "This is your silly game. Just go with it."

Howard continued. "Everyone is dancing, having a great time, when suddenly the room starts to fill with a smoky haze. Everyone falls unconscious. When you wake up, the room is abandoned. Decorations on the wall are slightly askew. It's just the six of you, or so it seems. Your quest, if you choose to accept it, is to solve this mystery and save prom night. It's 9:30pm and you're in the center of the dance floor. What do you do?"

Sheldon spoke quickly. "Nothing. Prom night was already saved by removing everyone else from the premises."

Leonard tapped Sheldon on the knee. "Sheldon, behave. You love D&D. Just get into it."

Sheldon sat up straighter. "Alright. I head toward the emergency exit to vacate the property."

Howard looked up from his notebook. "It's locked."

Raj tilted his head. "So if it's just the six of us, does that mean Bernadette is my date?"

Howard rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"Nice…"

Howard leaned forward. "Lay one hand on her and I'll have an ogre come out and eat your character."

Sheldon began to smile. "Ogres! That makes things far more interesting. Go ahead Raj, feel up Bernadette."

Raj smiled. "Okay."

Bernadette got annoyed. "No! No one is touching me!"

Penny pursed her lips. "I think an ogre is the least of your worries at this rate, Raj."


As everyone got more into the game, Penny took her chances with the dice. "C'mon, momma needs a new pair of shoes!" She said as she rubbed the dice between her hands.

She jumped out of her chair upon rolling the dice. "Fourteen!"

Howard smiled and continued looking at his notebook. "Alright, you lowered the gate and make your way down a dark, musky corridor. At the end of the tunnel, you find a small, ornate box on the ground. Behind it is a numeric keypad. Amy, what's your next move?"

Penny smirked. "Dark, isolated place under the school on prom night? I know what I'd be doing…"

Sheldon responded to her comment without making eye contact. "Luckily it is Amy's turn, since your carnal shenanigans would not contribute to our mission whatsoever."

"Oh come on, have a little fun once in a while. Just hook up in the game."

Bernadette smirked. "Oooh, let's cast a love spell on Sheldon and Amy and see what happens."

Penny took the bait. "Alright, I'm casting a love spell on you guys. It's not like it'll happen in real life anyway."

Amy started to feel flushed. Instead of reaching for the dice, she stood up and excused herself from the game. "I don't feel like playing anymore…" She said as she scurried off to her bedroom.

Penny and Bernadette looked at each other nervously, mutually realizing that they just offended Amy.

Sheldon didn't seem to pick up on his girlfriend's sudden discomfort. "I told you this was a stupid location for a quest…"


Amy sat on her bed, feeling ashamed that her friends didn't take her relationship seriously.

It's not like every high school couple has a physical relationship. This must be the peer pressure mother warned me about…

And yet part of her felt insecure that her boyfriend had no interest in pursuing carnal relations. She always thought she'd have to be the one to stand her ground. But in this case, Amy felt like she could beg Sheldon night and day, and he still would have no physical interest in her.

Hormonal imbalance? A true dedication to academia? Or is it just me…

She remembered the recent night out on her porch, where he kissed her in the rain, and told her that he couldn't be without her. Where had that Sheldon gone? Why weren't any subsequent kisses the result of untamed passion, rather than an amendment to the relationship agreement?

Amidst her pondering, she heard a familiar knock on the door.

::Knock knock knock:: Amy

::Knock knock knock:: Amy

::Knock knock knock:: Amy

"It's open…" She said reluctantly.

Amy looked over her shoulder to see Sheldon enter the room and softly close the door behind him.

"You didn't have to come in here." She said.

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you! Will you tell them that? They insisted otherwise."

Amy looked down at her hands on her lap. "I just don't want to go out there. They think our relationship is a joke, Sheldon."

"I don't think our relationship is a joke." He replied. "A joke is, a horse walks into a bar and the bartender says 'why the long face?'" He then proceeded to chuckle at his own humor.

Amy decided to bite the bullet. "Sheldon, I need to know. Are we ever going to have a physical relationship?"

His sigh became a little more serious. "Oh boy… I can't say I didn't know this would come up eventually."

"Well?"

He thought about his answer for a moment before responding. "I haven't ruled it out."

His answer didn't impress Amy. "Oooh talk dirty to me…" She said sarcastically.

"Now hang on, our relationship agreement states that we have a relationship of the mind. You signed off on that section, did you not?"

"Perhaps. But I'm a bit taken aback that you're not at all interested in an intimate relationship with me. It makes me feel… unwanted."

Sheldon sat down on the bed next to Amy. "I think that what we have is extremely intimate." He said with soft eyes.

Amy looked up at him. "You do?"

"Yes. Look, it's only been one academic year since we've met and we're already in bed together! How much faster can this thing go?"

Amy laughed a bit at his comment. "Come on, Sheldon. Let's go finish the game."

"Hang on." He interrupted. "I do believe our characters had a love spell cast on them. It wouldn't be fair if we didn't see that through."

She felt her heart beat a little faster. "Okay…"

He reached into his pocket to pull out a D&D die. "Now where did we leave off…" Amy didn't quite understand the game as well as Sheldon, but she decided to take their role playing game as fall as he'd let it go.

Tentatively, she spoke. "Okay. I remove your jacket. What do you do?"

He rolled the die and watched it land on a 12. "I remove your bolero."

She faintly gasped. "Okay… now I try to remove your shirt." She rolled the die without looking at the outcome.

Sheldon nodded. "It comes off. And now I remove your…" He rolled the die. "Tiara."

"Keep rolling." She responded quickly.

Their game continued on for quite a while, getting increasing intimate with each roll. It may have not been conventional, but this was their post-prom moment. And she wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.