Thanks to everyone who is reading this story. Such great ideas in the comments. Really, guys look at the reviews and see some awesome hypotheticals about what might happen with Sheldon and Moxie.

On with the show!

Chapter 8 Sheldon:

Sleep evaded Sheldon as he tossed around his bed like a fish gasping for breath. He tried desperately to get comfortable. He had to come up with something to tell Moxie to prove that he had done his homework. Make up a sex scene. Crafting a believable lie was bad enough, but coming up with sexually believable lies, that was off the rails. Speaking of rails…Maybe if he thought of trains? Sheldon fell asleep dreaming of trains and a shadowy figure of a brunette woman in a mint-green flowing dress, her face unclear as she softly pressed her lips to his.

The next morning eventually dawned and as he readied himself for the day, thoughts of last night's homework assignment kept him distracted. During the car ride over to Cal Tech, he revisited his dream about trains and the mystery woman. At one point, he almost asked Leonard about some sexual activities he could tell Ms. Moxie, but then had second thoughts. She wanted realistic details of sexual prowess, and he didn't think Leonard would be a good source.

Sheldon spent the work day thinking how he would have his way with Ms. Moxie that any potential new friends would believe. He remembered all Zack's exploits, but none of them seemed worthy of her. Also, she had mentioned 45 minutes for sexual release on a previous message. How had she put it, "Just a quick 45-minute session a week and you're done."

At least that was something that was quantitative. Sheldon could start with that. He started thinking about kissing. He had watched Star Trek enough times and had seen Captain Kirk's encounters with numerous alien females - funny how they were always humanoid – and at one point even Uhura. He knew theoretically what to do, but how would it feel to kiss her? Could he describe it with enough detail without a frame of reference? What would her mouth taste like? How would her lips feel softly caressing his?

Sheldon willed his fantastic memory to go to the dream and recall the details. The image started chaise, nothing more than a peck, but as soon as he imagined her lips, he was drawn closer to her, holding her hips he pulled her toward him, embracing her, engulfing her, but he had got no further and the deadline was looming.

A short knock on his office door pulled Sheldon from his thoughts.

"Hey buddy. How ya doing? About ready to go home."

"Fine Leonard. I am in the middle of that um... new project, can you give me more a little time?"

"Sure, buddy, no problem. Just shout when you are ready." Leonard ducked out of the office like scared rabbit.

He tried to refocus but without success. This was the first time in his life that Sheldon Cooper had failed to complete his homework. However, Ms. Moxie said she would come up with something. If she gave her answer first, he could work with what he knew would be a brilliant scene. He could just add details. It wasn't cheating if they had to turn in the assignment together.

That evening Sheldon's mind wasn't on their food or Leonard's current phase of over- attentiveness. His thoughts were still on the imagined kiss. No kiss could ever be that good. One touch of her lips and he was speechless? Impossible. He had to tone it down and make the details believable or the lie would collapse like a Black Hole.

As the dinner conversation with the group was tapering off, Sheldon decided, as he often did since becoming friends with Moxie, to retire to the bedroom for privacy. He walked quickly to his room, locked the door behind him, kicked off his shoes, and put on his pajamas. He looked at his watch; 8:42 PM. He had less than twenty minutes to cram for the assignment. He lay on his back on the bed and looked around his room for inspiration. Superheroes and Science: If that wasn't sexy, Sheldon didn't know what was.

Turning on this stomach, he kicked his legs up behind him. Maybe Cat Woman wearing a lab coat? Or a woman in classic Star Trek's uniform willing to play doctor. Worth a shot. Before he could think of anything more, at exactly 9:00 PM he heard the sound of an incoming instant message on Google.

"Hey Stud. Ready to ride?"

Sheldon leaped off the bed to check that the room was locked again. He needed privacy for this conversation. Not that he was embarrassed. This was a ruse, nothing more; a made-up dalliance to quell his testosterone-laden cohort's curiosity. Nothing more. He had no interest in the subject matter. Back on the bed, he licked his lips as he wrote back,

"I might have a few ideas."

He hoped Ms. Moxie would give him something to work with but she dove right in.

"Great. How are you going to ravage me?"

He licked his lips again, drew in a short breath and typed back,

"What exactly would I say to get you to allow this ravaging, specifically?"

"Try this passage that I recently read in a romance novel that was free on my Kindle: 'Woman, get on the exam table and let me have my way with you'. However, change 'exam table' to 'bed', and you're golden."

Sheldon felt a thrill surge through him, he had the same feeling when he got the right answer to trivia or he told someone off who cut in line. He liked the idea of being commanding, but really, surely that was too easy.

"Really? It's that easy to get a woman into bed?"

"Now that I think about it, you're right. You'd have to work a little harder than that. If it were me, you'd have to butter me up with science talk."

"Now we're talking. That's in my wheelhouse."

Sheldon smiled and relaxed on the bed again.

"However, none of the friends you mentioned will want to hear any science talk. So try this...After a romantic dinner and one too many glasses of champagne, we went back to my apartment. The trick is in the details. You work on that, and I'll get back to my book."

Sheldon curled up the side of his mouth in a devious grin.

"Yes! Details! Every good lie depends on details. I need lots of them."

This lady knew how to lie. Too bad Leonard never took the lesson to heart, or they wouldn't have had to watch Penny's horrendous play.

Sheldon wrote back,

"Ok, let's get down to it and outline our heated night of passion. Where is your apartment?"

"Given that you told me you live near the comic book store in Pasadena, I will tell you west of you, but that is not important."

Sheldon ratted off a series of questions before she could reply to one:

"What is the house number? How did we get there? Did you drive? If so, what kind of car? Have you had it serviced recently? What color is it?"

"Sheldon, they don't need to know all that."

"Way to go with the details, Moxie! We are trying to paint a picture here."

"Look, they don't care where you and I coiled together in love's sweet embrace, just that we did and it is the specifics of that ACT what the guys want, not house numbers or car models, get it?"

"Yes. I think so. But I have a problem."

"Is it that that you never had sex and have no idea where to begin?"

"No worse... I don't drink! How could I have had champagne? Besides, the bubbles make my nose feel funny."

"Remember, this isn't real! Besides, getting a little tipsy would be a more believable reason for you giving up your long aversion to sex. Pick a different booze, but keep it credible."

"But I would never have coitus if I drank even though I do have history of taking off my pants."

"Let's shelf that story for now. Just give THIS pantless story a chance."

"Won't they think we should be in love, or some silly social construct?"

"Sheldon, none of this real. You don't have to be in love for sex."

"I could have a brain parasite."

"You don't have a brain parasite, you don't have to be in love; this is fantasy Sheldon, right? Again, I will clarify...You just need believable minutiae that your horny friends would be interested in just so you will be included in this group's male bonding exercise. Nothing more."

"I know. The trick to any deceitful enterprise hinges on details. Fine. I will go with your story. Tell me, what did we do next?"

"You tell me, it's your story. Where should we begin?"

So much for getting out of the homework, he grumbled. At least he had something. He typed back,

"I think I would have had to kiss you. Wouldn't I?"

"I think so. For how long?"

"How long do you want me to kiss you?"

If she said 45 minutes, he would be ready.

"36 seconds, no breaks. Then rip my clothes off."

"Really? That long with no breaks? You wouldn't be able to breathe."

"I will suffer through. The point is we are crafting a fantasy, not reality. You can make the liaison however you want and depending on your delivery, they will believe it."

"I will have to give this a lot of thought."

"Wait a minute, mister...I thought you had. Did you not do your homework, Sheldon?"

Caught red handed. He pushed out his bottom lip in a pout and hit the keys back,

"I tried! This isn't easy for me."

"I know. I will help if I can. I am doing research as we speak. Why don't you get back to me when you have something and I will try and help spice up the particulars?"

"Thank you Moxie."

"Anytime."

Sheldon looked over to his bookshelf which housed his prized comic collection. As he glanced over the DC section, a smile bloomed on his face and he turned back to the screen and typed:

"Okay, I got something."

"Already? It's only been 3 minutes."

"I have an active imagination."

"I guess so. So what do you have?"

Sheldon's smug smile covered his face.

"How do you feel about wearing costumes?"

Ms. Moxie replied within a minute, but Sheldon could tell she was unpleased by the three dots that preceded her comment.

"...Really? Okay... Let's say it's our first time having sex and you want me to dress up in a costume to fulfill some juvenile fantasy?"

"Hey, don't criticize me. You were the one who said our dalliance would have to be something "my horny cohorts would be interested in."

"Fine... No romance it is. What silly get-up do I have to put on?"

"Have you ever heard of Cat Woman?"

"I am sorry, but there is no way I am going to put on a Cat Woman costume for our first time having sex."

"Let me paraphrase you again, "they don't care what you and I wear, just that we are coiled together in love's sweet embrace and it is the specifics of that ACT is what the guys want."

"Damn your memory."

"Cut and Paste helps."

"Fine. I'll be Cat Woman. Meow."

"Great! Now to decide which one?"

Sheldon wondered what Ms. Moxie would look like in a Cat Woman mask. She would be stunning with her eyes peering through two slivers of a black mask as for her hair... He lost the image since he had no information about her at all. Sheldon would never be able to get the right mask if he didn't know her face.

"I need to know what you look like."

Now they were finally getting somewhere. Having an eidetic memory helps when one wants to recall a heated made up dalliance, but one needs an image as well. He can remember everything she has typed, but to see her face that would make the whole kissing image spring to life. If she would give him some hint as to what she looked like, this whole business could be over in the 45 minute time frame.

"Why do you need to know what I look like? Make something up."

"I need believable details. A visual aid, so to speak."

"Haven't you thought about what I might look like?"

Sheldon had wondered what she looked like, but only in passing. There was a woman he saw once who was staring at him at a conference at Cal Tech. She had long brown hair and a strong chin and nose. Her eyes pierced him and he felt drawn to her from across the room. That 15-second glance from a perfect stranger might be a good model but he'd need to keep his options open and Moxie's picture would help.

"Intelligent, bright, brimming with knowledge."

"That's my brain, what about the rest of me? What do you imagine when you talk to me?"

Sheldon paused for a moment and rolled onto his back. He put his forearm on his head and thought about the image in his mind of Ms. Moxie. She had to have long hair, and if had to pick a color, he'd say brunette. Sheldon adored long hair and the way it might perambulate on her shoulders like streams of chocolate. He wanted her to smell nice; like fruit or that fragrant clean smell of fresh laundry. She must have piercing eyes like the ones that drive into your soul with a glance. And since no one was around, large buttocks. He did after all have a sense of the biological imperative to be attracted to large wide hips also he hoped to talk her into the original Cat Woman costume, rather than the one Michelle Pfeiffer wore. He was never a fan of torn clothing.

Just as he was about to sit up and type in her description, her signature e-mail alert sounded.

His heart pounded as he realized she had sent an attachment. Maybe she sent him a picture. Finally, he could have an image to put to that kiss. He smiled at the thought, but as he opened the attachment, he immediately frowned.

There was a picture of a woman, blond, toned, tanned and with far too much makeup and highlights to be considered a natural beauty. Her hair was feathered back with so much shellac of hair spray that Sheldon was sure it would cut him if he touched it. The woman looked like any other woman you would see on the streets of Los Angeles looking for their big break in show business, or worse, the closest beach. Both prospects reminded him of the girls in Texas: Big Hair and bigger egos. A terrible thought occurred to him: What if this was Ms. Moxie? His shoulders drooped in displeasure. He scolded himself, her appearance shouldn't matter to a man like Sheldon Cooper. He was beyond such trivialities such as judging a person based on clothes or their mien, but he couldn't stem this disappointment.

"Is that you?"

"Do you want it to be?"

Sheldon's daddy told him never to comment on a woman's appearance unless you're out of the line of fire and Sheldon didn't have his shields up.

"If I answer yes, and it's not you, then I will insult you. If I answer no, and it is you, then I insult you. This is what General Ackbar calls, "A Trap!"

"You really don't know who that is?"

"It's not General Ackbar."

"Who is that?"

"You really don't know who General Ackbar is?"

"You really don't know who Farrah Fawcett is?"

Ms. Moxie typed back a link to IMDB for Farrah Fawcett just as Sheldon sent a link to General Ackbar from Star Wars proclaiming, "It's a trap."

Ms. Moxie wrote back,

"A popular actress from the seventies and not a fish, like that space show you watch."

"Why did you send that picture?"

"I had to think of a commonly attractive woman that most men would find appealing. Popular culture is filled with them."
"I don't want what's popular, I want you. I don't want some beautiful woman; I want you."
"I think my socks have been knocked off."

Sheldon smiled until she wrote back,

"Sarcasm."

It was nice that she always told him when she had made a sarcastic comment, but this time it didn't make sense. Why would she say that? She knew that Sheldon wasn't a common man. He had a refined taste, and would only want to be with a person that was his equal. She must have been mistaken.

"What do you mean?"

"Sheldon, you don't want me. You need a fantasy. A perfect woman who can excite your friends."

"But that's you."

"No. It's not. Not even in a Cat Woman get up. I just stimulate your mind. That is not enough for your friends. You need a beautiful woman for this script, and I don't fit the part. You said so yourself. "I don't want some beautiful woman, I want you." Ergo, you think I am not beautiful."

Nonsense. Sheldon Cooper wasn't going to let her get away that so easily. If he couldn't have her for this deceitful enterprise, then no one at all.

He wrote back,

"If beauty was measured by the mind, then you are the most beautiful person I have the pleasure of meeting. I can't ever imagine that I would ever be able to physical with a person, but if I did, it would have to be someone who stimulates my mind as well as my heart. The only choice possible, the only person who has come close to this scenario, is you. You're my .0000001%"

It took over two minutes for her to respond. But finally she wrote him back,

"Thank you for that, Sheldon."

Sheldon wondered if what he said was too personal. Intimacy was never a possibility for him. With her, he never had to worry about touching, holding hands, kissing or any other exchange of bodily fluids. He had never entertained any notion that he needed intimacy in any fashion. However, if he ever did give in some biological urge, some prefrontal cortex derived fantasy of gratification, he couldn't imagine it with anyone but her.

To do so, he would have to admit he was weak. He never wanted to appear weak to her. She was probably unnerved by his admission, but her insistence on casting the role for his fantasy woman as anyone other than her irritated him.

Still, he was curious about the possibility and more importantly, her reaction to the idea of coitus. An experiment crossed his mind.

He wrote nervously,

"Would you ever be interested in engaging in coitus just once in our relationship?"

He sent the message and held his breath for her response, but all he received was her indication that she was typing a comment.

"..." .

Had he overstepped the mark? He didn't wait. He immediately typed back:

"Bazinga."

"Ha ha. Be serious. I know you would never be interested in that. So let's move on."

He breathed out a sigh and rested his back against the headboard.

"Now, we have determined the who, and where. You at your apartment. Tell me the how so I can get this over with tonight. I want to wake up early tomorrow and watch Star Wars. I recommend you do the same."

"I'm not the one who wasted time, but let's see if I can get this over with while I still have some patience."

Ms. Moxie sent him a long e-mail:

"We go my apartment, after an evening of stimulating conversation where you educate me on all things concerning comic books and Cat Woman. You walk me to my door as any gentleman would. I expect a short kiss me goodnight, but I know you want more. I ask about..."

"Catwoman, then called "the Cat", first appeared in Batman #1 (Spring 1940) ...fill in trivial nonsense as needed... typed in a different font so Sheldon knew she cut and paste it off the internet,

Captivated by my brilliance, you decided to kiss me good night. It's a quick kiss at first, but soon, you curl your arms around my waist and pull me close to you. We pull apart, for a moment to catch our breath, but with a look, you decided what you wanted. You push me against the door, mold your hands around my face and neck before you kiss me again but this time, you pull my body toward yours. I can feel your urgency, your desire. Every muscle is tense, your mind blank for the first time in years, focused on one action, one feeling and you succumb to it. Your hands slip down from neck, along my arms, to my waist then latch onto my hips. The only thing you hear is a subtle soft moan off my lips as I surrender to you. Before you pull away, your lips press against mine once more, to capture the feeling, and memorize it."

After a nearly a minute, Sheldon typed back all he could think to say:

"That was nice."

"I should hope so."

Moxie wrote back and then a second e-mail:

"Sorry, no cat woman costume comments during coitus. I will leave that detail to you. Also, I am not watching Star Wars tomorrow. Good night, Sheldon."

Sheldon typed back,

"Good night."

He slid down his bed onto his back and touched his smiling lips before drifting off to sleep.

#

Moxie:

She held the phone in her hand, ready to dial the number from the business card and reread the name: Dr. Bernadette Maryann Rostenkowski-Wolowitz. What a mouthful! She had tried to dial the number all day but couldn't find her courage. She had made excuses all weekend. She had cleaned her kitchen and the cabinets. She reorganized the spice rack by the Latin names and bleached the sink. In the end her kitchen looked better than a showroom.

On Monday she had avoided the call during the day by working on a new dissection and after work, she told herself that calling anyone during dinner would be too disruptive, and too intrusive during the evening, besides being busy with Sheldon's call. Today had been dedicated to thinking up some scenario for Sheldon that evening, and reading a romance novel to help Sheldon's research. She was running out of excuses. She erased the number and returned to her romance novel instead. She promised herself she would call Bernadette tomorrow.

Tonight she had her call with Sheldon to worry about. She hadn't read many romance novels recently unless one counted Wuthering Heights. The kindle app on her i-pad advertised one named "The Dirty Doctor's Prescription." The advert said, "A heated love story powered by raging biological urge pulsing through their veins that could only lead to an unbreakable bond."

It took over four chapters before she realized the story was not about any lysosomes organelles or even doctors, but rather a sordid tale of lust and heated passion set in a Dentist office. She decided she was too far into the story to let it go now, she finished the tale at 9:00 PM exactly, and typed

"Hey Stud. Ready to ride?"

Her conversation with Sheldon could at times be frustrating, but tonight he seemed particularly in rare form. His attention to detail could be endearing but not for this silly enterprise. She wanted this over so she could get to the sequel of the romance novel, "The Doctor is In." She knew he hadn't put a second of thought into his made-up sex scene. Well she wasn't about to do his homework for him.

"...Why don't you get back to me when you have something and I will try and help spice up the particulars."

She thought she had the rest of the night for her romance novel and she was just about to settle in her bed, when Sheldon typed back.

"Okay I got something."

"Already? It's only been 3 minutes."

When he said some comic character she should have known his mind would go to comic books and silly fantasies.

"Fine...I will be Cat Woman. Meow."

She had to look up this puerile Cat Woman in order to get any type of information. The women listed looked nothing like her, but she did have brown hair and a rather large back side. For a moment she thought it might be fun to get one of these Cat Woman masks and send Sheldon a picture of her just for a lark. She decided it was a silly idea and instead looked for the one woman her father always said he would have left her mother for: Farrah Fawcett.

When she read Sheldon's stinging, "I don't want some beautiful woman, I want you."Who could she punch? However, he made up for it when he said, "... it would have to be someone who stimulates my mind as well as my heart."

When he wrote, "You're my .0000001%" She nearly dropped her laptop. She felt a flush form on her cheeks and her heart jump 27 beats per min, instantly.

She typed out the following, "I feel the same way about you." She erased it all and only replied, "Thank you for that, Sheldon."

However, he wasn't done teasing her that evening.

When he wrote, "Would you ever be interested in engaging in coitus just once in our relationship."

After she had started to breathe again, she wondered. Could she have a physical relationship with someone? The idea was abhorrent in the past. A distraction from the important part of her life: Work, science and expanding her mind. But she wondered if being intimate with someone might be the evolution of a relationship. She loved the idea of an experiment. Maybe once, she could try coitus. Only with the right person. She had to write something back to Sheldon so she started to type: "I have never considered physical contact with anyone, but now that I have such a connection with you, I wonder if it's a part of my life I should explore. Thank you for opening me up to that possibility. I would consider meeting..."

Before she could finish, he wrote back. Bazinga. She hated when he used that homespun phrase.

She had just about had enough of the whole issue since he couldn't be bothered to take it seriously. The entire evening seemed like a waste of time, a distraction from their usual riveting conversation and she regretted suggesting it in the first place. So to end the tiresome discussion, she had conjured up the dream she had had.

As soon as she had finished their messaging she turned over to sleep. The night before she had dreamt of a man, tall, with beckoning thin lips and almond shaped eyes, the rest of his face in shadow, indistinct. He had held her as she had described, and she had closed her eyes as his kiss set her body a fire. Just as she was about to open her eyes and see his face properly, her alarm woke her up.

She hit the pillow a few times before pulling it next to her. Her fingers danced on the cotton as if it was her mystery man's chest and she touched her own shoulders, as if he touched her. She hugged the pillow like a lover, and drifted off to sleep.

Things are heating up between our virtual lovers here. Should I change the rating? Me thinks yes. Let me know what you think so far! (Begging shameless for reviews)