When Amy woke up the next morning, she was on her side facing away from Sheldon. She could feel that he was still there even if she couldn't see him. His arm was around her, and she realized that his hand was gently cupping her right breast. She took a quick intake of air, and wondered if he was awake and if he knew how he was holding her.
Amy could usually gauge if Sheldon was asleep by his breath and his heart rate, but both of those were drowned out by her own louder breath and heart rate. It wasn't like this was the very first time he had touched her there. It had been a while, sure. It had been before.
Sheldon nuzzled Amy's neck and gently squeezed her breast. He kissed the back of her neck, and Amy, said "oh," in what almost sounded like a squeak. Then he stiffened behind her and removed his hand. She turned toward him to see what happened.
"I'm sorry, Amy. I don't know what came over me," Sheldon said, looking completely mortified.
Amy stretched to kiss him. She didn't usually try to kiss him unless she had brushed her teeth, but he looked so panicked and embarrassed. "You do that whenever you want. In fact, I seem to recall an update to the Relationship Agreement that says you can even take my shirt off first, now."
Sheldon blushed more, but nodded. Amy thought about putting his hand back where it was because she was quite enjoying it, but she didn't want to upset Sheldon. It wasn't until he had gotten up to get ready for work that she realized that she hadn't been at all scared he didn't want to touch her when he pulled away. Amy smiled at the realization that she was starting to really trust him again.
"Are you going to skip work again today?" Sheldon asked as they ate breakfast in the kitchen after they were dressed and ready.
"No. I can't avoid the attention forever. Yesterday, I just had a little trouble processing everything. Well, that and I wanted to spend the day with you."
"Would you like to pick me up again? It's Tuesday, so we could meet everyone at The Cheesecake Factory," Sheldon suggested.
"Yeah, I can do that. You don't want to ride over with Leonard and just meet me there?" Amy asked. That was how they usually did things. She almost always drove him home from the restaurant. She was willing to pick him up though. She loved any extra time she got to spend with him. He answered that he would much rather have Amy pick him up before complaining about Leonard for some reason or another.
People were much more relaxed at work, and by the time that Amy left, she decided that she had gotten enough done to make up a little for leaving early the day before. She knew that Sheldon would be waiting for her, so she left to pick him up.
In fact, Sheldon was waiting in the parking lot when she arrived to pick him up. He got in the passenger's seat and leaned across the car and gave Amy quick kiss. She loved that he did that now. He wouldn't have done it if she had gone inside, but the car was private enough for him to kiss her. Kripke's office had been too public, but they had a point to prove there.
Amy knew they would never been like Leonard and Penny making out in the back of a darkened movie theater, and she was glad for it. Her feelings for Sheldon often led her to think about doing inappropriate things to him in public places, but she knew neither of them would ever be comfortable with it.
They pulled into the parking lot of The Cheesecake Factory. Amy wondered how much longer this little tradition would continue. Penny had had two callback auditions for the soap opera job she had been coveting. It could be that Penny's days of being a waitress were coming to an end.
Sheldon and Amy went inside. Everyone else was there, and they greeted them enthusiastically. Penny pour them each a glass of water and asked, "What's new guys?"
"We've decided on a date for the wedding. We are getting married on September 23rd," Amy told the group.
"Wow, that's soon," Penny said.
"Yes. I was hoping that you might have some advice or some ideas, given your own recent nuptials," Amy said.
Penny had stopped pretending to even take their order and grabbed a chair to sit down next to Amy. "I still have my binder of stuff. We can start there. I should be getting off work around the same time you are all going home. Why don't you come over and we can start going over some of it."
"Thanks, Penny," Amy said, relieved. She didn't really believe that she was going to have to do this all without help, but her was glad that Penny was so enthusiastic about it.
Everyone had a good time at dinner. Bernadette and Raj both offered to help in anyway they could to get Sheldon and Amy married on September 23rd. Then they all left for home. Amy followed Leonard and Penny into their apartment when they all got home.
Sheldon came along. He really didn't care about color choices or flowers, but he felt like he spent so much time away from Amy lately. He thought it would be nice to spend the evening with Leonard and Penny too. They were finally getting away from the constant affection of the newlywed phase and he could stand to be around them again.
Amy was a little intimidated by Penny's wedding binder. She had seen it when she was helping with planning the wedding, but it seemed even bigger now.
"Okay, you guys need to figure out a few things as soon as possible. You need to decide where you are going to have the wedding and the reception and then you need to decide on some invitations. People are going to need to know when and where to go and plan accordingly," Penny said matter of factly. She was very no nonsense when it came to this wedding stuff.
"I've already spoken to my mother. She is going to arrange the wedding take place in a local church. Maybe we can ask Stuart if we can have the reception in the comic book store," Sheldon said. Everyone just looked at him.
"Okay, church wedding and not the comic book store," Penny said as she pulled out a bunch of brochures for venues for receptions. She pointed to three of them as she handed them over. "These were the ones that we liked the best that were within our budget. Amy, you went with me to these two, but if you want to check out the other one I can go with you this weekend."
There was so much information being thrown at Amy that she was starting to panic again. She tried to remember what the venues looked like from her visit months previously. Amy didn't want to have her reception at the same place as Penny and Leonard because she wanted it to be inside.
"Is this one indoors? I would rather have the reception indoors," Amy said.
"The comic book store is indoors," Sheldon said.
"No, sweetie. Just no," Penny said. Then she turned back to Amy and said, "I think this one has parts that are indoors and outdoors. I'll take you to go see it this weekend. I think you'll really like it."
Sheldon pulled his phone out of his pocket and started playing around with it. He didn't have much to say about the planning anyway. The girls talked about caterers and florists and color palettes. It was nearly an hour later before they consulted him again.
"Sheldon, you said your mother is taking care of the church around here? Do you know where it is?" Penny asked.
"Yes, it's not far from here. It is the church she picked out for me to go to once a year, and she goes there when she visits me," he told her. "Can we go home now?" The last part was directed at Amy.
"You could have gone home any time you wanted, Sheldon. You're the one who wanted to get married so soon, and that takes planning," Amy said.
"Please?" Sheldon asked.
"Fine. We've taken up enough of Penny and Leonard's time this evening as it is. Thank you both for your help. I'll do some research on all of this information and let you know. It means so much that you are willing to help me with all of this," Amy said. Then she took Sheldon's hand and went across the hall.
"Thank you," Sheldon said as soon as the door was closed. His gaze grew ferocious, and Amy wondered what had come over him. He pushed her up against the door and pressed his lips against hers. His hands ran up and down her sides until he was annoyed with her layers again. He found the buttons on her sweater and resisted the urge to just rip them off. She took off her sweater and felt his hands find her breasts over her shirt without his mouth ever leaving hers. She couldn't help but lean into him.
Amy slid her hands under Sheldon's shirts and ran her nails across his back. He made a noise in her mouth, so she didn't stop. Sheldon pulled back, but he pulled her with him. His goal was to get her on the couch. He sat her down into his spot and pushed her against the armrest. He only pulled away from her long enough to pull off his own shirts. Once they were gone, Amy started stroking the hair on his chest. She loved the access because normally, the only time she got to touch him without a shirt was when she was putting ointment on his congested chest.
Sheldon was trying to keep control, so he didn't try to remove Amy's shirt. Instead, he just unbuttoned the top buttons and kissed and licked her neck and collarbone. He was fascinated by the way the skin dipped right above the bone and spent a little too long there while his hands seem to reach for every part he could touch.
Amy ran her hands through Sheldon's hair and it was standing straight up. Amy wanted to kiss Sheldon, but he was so focused on her neck that she couldn't reach him. She pushed him back and before he could even register that she had pushed him away she had her own mouth pressed against his again. She loved the taste of his tongue as she massaged it with her own.
Sheldon pulled back when Amy moaned into his mouth. He had run his thumb over her nipple, and even through the layers it sent a jolt through her.
"Why did you stop?" Amy asked. She put her forehead on Sheldon's chest as they panted and tried to catch their breath.
"I didn't want to. I want to take you back to our room and strip you and do all of those things that I'm waiting until after the wedding to do," Sheldon told her. He still had his arms around her, but they weren't moving anymore.
"I want that too," Amy said quietly.
"I know, but please let me wait," Sheldon said.
"I know it's important to you. We'll find a way to find a balance until the wedding. Then we'll lock ourselves away until we can't even think of having sex because we've indulged too much," Amy said.
Sheldon shifted Amy out of his spot so he could sit down, but he kept his arm around her. "I have trouble believing that is possible. You would not believe the amount of time I've thought about it. The urge never lessens or goes away even with self abuse. I imagine that it will just get worse with the act."
"You think about it? With me?" Amy asked. She was curious what he thought about.
"For longer than I care to admit. It started as dreams, but it's progressed into my waking life as well," Sheldon admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I felt like I was alone in wanting it for so long," Amy asked. She wasn't accusing him of anything, but she wanted to know why he had hidden that from her for so long.
"First of all, we weren't ready. I started having those kinds of dreams before you even lived here. Secondly, I knew that if you knew how badly I wanted you, but hadn't proposed yet, you would try to convince me to have premarital sex. I would have caved in a minute. At least now, we have an date and we know how far away it is," Sheldon told her.
"Yes. That knowledge will have to get us through," Amy said as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Sheldon had a point. The more intimate they became, the harder it was to control herself. "Maybe I should go move into Howard and Bernadette's guest room until September. I'm going to have a hard time sleeping with you without touching you."
"Please don't do that," Sheldon said.
"I won't. I would be there for about twenty minutes before I would be back in my car to come home to you. I have no interest in sleeping or living or eating or working or anything without you, Sheldon," Amy said as she put her head on his shoulder.