"I called my mother over lunch to inform her that I fulfilled my dating obligation last night, but she didn't believe me," Amy told Sheldon as they climbed the three flights of stairs to 4A.

"Why not? I thought we covered all the first date customs. I presented you with flowers and candy, we had a nice dinner, went to a movie, held hands, kissed. Did you give her the details?"

"I did. That was the problem. She said I've never gone into detail about any other date before and that I sounded too animated. She accused me of making you up."

Sheldon paused on the third floor landing. "Hmmm... What if we could prove to her that I'm real? We could go on another date and document our night with some pictures for proof."

"That's actually not a bad idea, Sheldon. Do you have a selfie stick?"

"No, but I believe Penny does. I can ask to borrow it. She owes me for all the food she's eaten for free over the years."

When Sheldon opened the door to the apartment, he ushered Amy inside and tossed his keys into the bowl. They placed the Chinese food on the coffee table then took their seats on the couch.

"Where's Raj?" Sheldon asked, noting only the two couples were present.

"He's not coming," Howard replied.

"But he has to come. We brought him chow mein," Sheldon groused.

Penny picked up Raj's meal and carried it to the kitchen. "It's okay, Sheldon. We'll just put it in the fridge. I can eat it for lunch tomorrow."

"But we need a fourth. How can we play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with only three turtles?" Sheldon sputtered.

"Sheldon, we'll just play another game. Don't you want to know why he isn't coming?" Howard asked.

Sheldon huffed. "Why would I care?"

Howard gave Sheldon and Amy a sly look. "Oh, I think you would be very interested in knowing the reason."

"Fine," Sheldon relented. "Howard, why isn't Raj coming tonight?"

Howard stood up and slowly laid eyes on each member of their group one at a time.

"Come on, Howard. Just spit it out already," Leonard pleaded.

Howard cleared his throat. "Raj is upset."

Sheldon snorted. "That's nothing new. He's been sulking ever since his breakup."

"You didn't let me finish. He was out with Stuart at the movies last night, and they saw you and Amy there."

Sheldon's brow furrowed. "Why would that upset him? I told everyone the two of us had plans. It's not like all of us went and excluded him."

"He saw the two of you holding hands, but that's not all."

Everyone leaned forward in their seats as Howard paused for dramatic effect.

"He saw you kissing!"

Penny's fork clattered to the floor. "What?!" Leonard, Penny, and Bernadette exclaimed in unison as Sheldon and Amy looked at each other, mouths agape.

Bernadette turned to her husband. "Howie, why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I wanted to see everyone's reactions all at once. It was so worth it!"

Sheldon turned to Amy. "He must have followed us here. How did we not see him?"

"That sound we heard... I thought it was a wounded animal. Was that Rajesh?"

"Oh, dear Lord! I thought I detected the hint of an Indian accent."

Amy shivered. "Why would he do that? I thought it was creepy when he wanted to spend Valentine's Day with me without knowing anything about me, but this is disturbing."

Sheldon wrapped his arm around her shoulders protectively.

"Wait, so you didn't kiss at the theater?" Howard asked.

Sheldon and Amy shook their heads 'no'.

"And where was Stuart through all this? Was he spying on us, too?" Sheldon asked.

"Beats me. Raj was too busy ranting about how even Sheldon Cooper has a girlfriend and he doesn't."

Leonard intercepted before Sheldon could even begin the whole 'Amy's a girl who's my friend' spiel. "Amy, I hope this doesn't scare you off from coming over here. Howard and I will have a talk with him."

"Raj hasn't snuck around before, at least that we know of, but he did have a thing for me a few years ago when Leonard was dating his sister," Penny supplied.

"Yeah. Raj also had inappropriate thoughts about me right before Howie and I got engaged. He cried when Howie proposed. At first I thought he was crying tears of joy that his best friend was getting married. I found out later that he was heartbroken over the 'loss' of me."

Penny patted Amy's hand. "I'm sure his obsession with you will pass once he finds a new girlfriend."

Amy was skeptical. "I sure hope so."

After the food was eaten and everyone pitched in to help clean up, Sheldon set up the NES, while the girls proceeded across hall. Penny offered them sparkling cider in wine glasses for a fetus-friendly evening.

Amy sat in Penny's armchair while her companions took the couch.

Penny faced the brunette neurobiologist. "Spill! We want details."

"About last night?" Amy asked. "Sheldon and I went to dinner. I had the ravioli; he had..."

Penny shook her head in the negative. "Not those details. We want to hear about the kiss. Who initiated it? How long did it last? Where did he place his hands? Did you like it?"

Amy's eyes widened. She took a sip of cider while she decided how much information she wished to divulge. "He initiated it. I don't know how long it lasted. His hands were on my hips. I thought it was pleasant."

Bernadette narrowed her eyes. "Pleasant? That's it? He didn't rock your world?"

Amy blushed. "Okay, it was more than pleasant."

The two blondes shared a look then squealed and stomped their feet in fangirl style.

After the girls calmed down, Penny smiled at her new friend. "Look at you working it under all those layers of wool and polyester."

Amy hid behind her wine glass.

Bernadette spoke up. "I'm sorry if we're making you uncomfortable. We just can't believe the Sheldon who kissed you is the same Sheldon who has never shown the slightest interest in any woman."

"Sheldon's not interested in me that way. We're just friends."

"Yeah, friends with benefits," Penny smirked.

"No, it's not like that. There's a reason for the kiss." She told them about her pact with her mother and how Sheldon agreed to help her.

"He told me he hoped he was following all the dating protocols. You know what a stickler to rules he is. He held my hand and kissed me because he felt he had to."

Penny disagreed. "I see the way he looks at you. It's the same look Leonard gave me when we first met. Plus he walks you to your car and doesn't flinch when you touch him. That's not something he's ever done for anyone. Sheldon is smitten with you, believe me."

"You really think so?" Amy asked, sounding unconvinced.

Penny nodded. "I do. The question is, how do you feel about him?"

"I like him a lot. I enjoy spending time with him. He's lanky, he's brilliant, he has the most beautiful eyes..." Amy covered her mouth with her hands as realization set in.

"I think someone's falling for a certain theoretical physicist," Bernadette said in a singsong voice.

The girls jumped at the sound of a triple knock followed by Sheldon shouting, , "Amy, Penny, Bernadette" three times in succession.

Penny opened the door. Sheldon pushed past her and ambled over to Amy.

Penny gave him a dirty look. "Hello to you too, Sheldon. We were having girl talk."

Sheldon ignored her and spoke to Amy. "We tried playing the game, but seeing just three turtles was disconcerting. Amy, will you be our fourth? I'll even let you be Raphael."

Amy hesitated.

"Please, Amy!"

"I don't have much experience with video games."

"That's okay. I'll help you get started."

Amy turned to her female companions as she followed Sheldon to the door. "Raincheck?"

Amy took her seat next to Sheldon. He proceeded to give her a summary of the game then scooted closer to her to explain each button's function.

"You'll want to press 'A' to jump, 'B' allows you to use your weapon, 'C' toggles between your given weapon and one you pick up. The 'D' button, the one that looks like a cross, is your directional button. Press right to go right, left to go left, etc."

"Sounds easy enough," she said.

Sheldon reset the game. The guys maneuvered their characters with ease. Amy attempted to jump Raphael to a platform to catch up with the group but repeatedly missed her mark. Sheldon set his controller on his lap and wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on hers. He exerted just enough pressure on the finger holding the 'A' button to jump her turtle to the platform.

"The longer you hold down the button, the higher he'll jump," he explained.

By the end of the evening, Amy's skill level had increased. She battled the creatures with the guys and cheered along with them when they succeeded.

After Howard and Bernadette left, Sheldon walked Amy to her car. "I'm sorry about Raj. I don't know what's gotten into him. And I'm sorry you had to endure the girls' baby talk before I came to rescue you."

"They weren't talking about the baby. They were interrogating me about our date. Did the guys question you too?"

"They did. They wanted a play-by-play of our kiss."

"What did you tell them?"

"The truth. They asked who initiated it, if I knew what I was doing, and if you liked it. I wasn't sure how to answer that last one. From what I could tell, you did."

"I did," she confirmed, softly. "I told the girls it was pleasant, but that word just doesn't do it justice. I can't even describe what I was feeling. All I know is that everything else just seemed to melt away."

"We'll have another date night next Thursday. Maybe you'll be able to describe it better the second time around."

She stood on her tiptoes and pecked his cheek. "Goodnight, Sheldon. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight, Amy."

A/N: I'd like to thank each and every one of you once again for the likes, follows, and reviews. I'll be out of town for a week and will not have access to a computer, so there will be no new updates during that time.

The next chapter will feature another date!