Sheldon walked back into his apartment and was not the least big surprised when Penny came in without knocking thirty seconds later. "I take it the date went well. Was that your first kiss, Sheldon?"
"Of course not," Sheldon said.
"I'm not counting your grandmother," Penny said.
"Neither am I. I'm over thirty. Do you think I've never kissed a woman before?" Sheldon said. Then he thought about how Amy had admitted it was her first kiss. "I forbid you to talk to Amy about it unless she brings it up. I will not let you harass my, I mean, Amy," Sheldon told her. It was the second time that night that he had almost called her his girlfriend.
"I won't harass your girlfriend," Penny said.
"Thank you," Sheldon said. He didn't comment on the word girlfriend. Somewhere in his mind, he started thinking of Amy that way. He hadn't been this fond of anyone in a very long time. He hadn't even kissed a woman in over five years. It had been even longer since he had gone further than that, but he certainly wanted to with Amy, but he knew they would have to go slow because it was clear she was inexperienced.
Not that he was so experienced. There were a few times that he'd had sex when he was younger, but he had found it largely overrated. It had been fun enough, but not worth the effort by any stretch of the imagination. He didn't understand why all of his friends seemed to spend so much time trying to have sex. Then he had a moment where he pictured Amy scratching his back with her legs wrapped around his hips while she screamed his name, and it seemed like it might be worth giving it another shot.
"Too soon," he told himself as he shook his head to clear away the picture. He went into his room and tried to ignore the images that his mind kept trying to conjure.
Amy went into her apartment and got ready for bed. It was late, but she didn't feel like she could fall asleep. Her phone dinged and she hoped it was Sheldon. It was Penny.
Sorry about walking in on you guys. I hope you are still coming to girls' night tomorrow. - P
Amy couldn't be mad at Penny about seeing their kiss. It had gotten her another one after all.
No problem, and yes, I'll see you tomorrow. - A
Amy lie in bed for nearly an hour playing and replaying the kisses with Sheldon. She could still feel the imprint of his lips on her own. She found her fingers pressing against her lips as if she could bring him to her again. Eventually, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Amy's Saturday was pretty boring until she was supposed to meet up with Penny and Bernadette at Penny's apartment. As she learned the night before, it was the apartment just across from Sheldon and Leonard's. She parked and went upstairs. Amy thought that if she kept dating Sheldon and being friends with Penny she was going get a lot of exercise walking up these stairs all the time.
Amy knocked on Penny's door, and Penny answered in a towel. "Sorry. I'm still getting ready, but you can come in if you'd like. Or you can go see your boyfriend. I'm pretty sure he is home," Penny said.
"I'm sure he would be annoyed if I just dropped in," Amy said as she walked into Penny's apartment. It was bright and cheery if not a little messy.
"Make yourself at home. I'll just be a few more minutes," Penny said.
Amy wasn't sure what to do, but she saw a big pile of dishes in Penny's sink. It might have been weird, but she decided to start washing some of Penny's dishes. She was about halfway through them when Penny returned.
"You are just like Sheldon. He cleans every time I leave him alone for a minute in here too," Penny told her.
"Sorry," Amy said.
"No worries. Now I've got clean wine glasses again," Penny said with a smile. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah," Amy said and they went downstairs together. Penny got a cab and they went to get Bernadette together. Then the three of them went to a bar that Penny knew.
It was louder than Amy was used to, but she tried to have fun. She let Penny order a drink for her because she didn't know what she wanted.
"I don't drink often. I only have a glass of wine every so often with my father. My mother still doesn't know about it," Amy said. Then she took a sip of the very pink drink that Penny had ordered her. "This is very good."
"Yeah. Just be careful because it's a lot stronger than it seems," Penny warned her.
Amy listened while Penny and Bernadette talked about their men. For a moment she felt bad because she didn't have a boyfriend to talk about, and then she remembered Sheldon. He wasn't her boyfriend exactly, but they had kissed. Twice. That was new and exciting.
"How are things going with Sheldon?" Bernadette asked. She hadn't witnessed the kiss or been forbidden about talking to Amy about it the way Penny had.
"Good, I think. We're going out again on Tuesday. I've never been on this many dates with one person before," Amy admitted.
"Never? Not even when you were in high school or whatever?" Bernadette asked.
"No. Sheldon is the first person I've been interested in enough to go out with this long who is also interested enough in me. We even kissed," Amy said proudly. Then she realized that she should have been a little embarrassed, but the alcohol must have been hindering her inhibitions a little. That's why she said, "I never kissed anyone before Sheldon."
"No one?" Penny asked. It was fair game to ask now. Sheldon said they could only talk about it if Amy brought it up. Though, she realized he must have known it was her first kiss, and that's why he didn't want Amy to be uncomfortable about it.
"No. I had mostly given up on it. I was actually leaving a coffee shop after getting stood up for the third time in a row when I met Sheldon. I walked right into him, and instead of telling me off, he offered to buy me a cup of coffee. He knew I am a scientist and that I'm pretty smart and it didn't scare him. Almost everyone is scared of that," Amy said. "I'm still not really sure what he likes about me, but he does," Amy said almost too quiet for the other girls to hear in the loud bar.
"He likes you because you're smart. He likes you because you aren't like other girls. He told me that you are a 'breath of fresh air,'" Penny said.
"Really?" Amy asked. She was definitely starting to feel the effects of her drink, but she didn't care. She ordered a second. Aside from her father, no one had ever called her special. She guessed that Sheldon hadn't called her special exactly, but he liked her because she was different, rather than in spite of it.
Subjects started changing faster than Amy could keep up with. She knew she shouldn't have ordered that second drink, but somehow she ended up with a third before they left. She could walk, but she tripped twice before Penny put her arm through Amy's to help make sure she made it the cab. They dropped Bernadette off before going back to 2311 Los Robles.
"I fear I didn't think this through. My car is here and so am I, but I don't believe I can drive home," Amy said with her voice slightly slurring.
"Come on. You can sleep here," Penny said.
"Thank you, Penny. You're my best friend," Amy said.
"I am?" Penny asked.
"You're the first girl who was ever nice to me without asking me to do your homework right after. You don't have any homework for me to do, do you?"
"No. I'd just get Leonard to do it anyway. He loves me," Penny said.
They were just about to the fourth floor when Amy tripped on the step. She fell with a small scream, and Leonard and Sheldon came running out.
"Ow," Amy said as she rubbed her knee. "Hi, Sheldon."
"Penny, how much did you let her drink?" Sheldon asked.
"I don't know. We're going to my apartment because she can't drive home," Penny said. Then she looked like she might be sick, so she walked into her apartment and left the door open.
"No. You're not going to stay with her," Sheldon said. "She can't even look after herself."
"I can't drive home, Sheldon," Amy said as she tried to stand up. "Ow," she said again as she kept rubbing her knee.
"You're staying with me tonight. I don't trust Penny to take adequate care of you," Sheldon said. He put his arm around Amy's waist and supported her has she walked up the last couple stairs. As he said, he led her into his apartment.
He put her on the couch and she pulled him down with her. "I want to kiss you again, Sheldon," Amy said. She leaned over to him and kissed him, and he kissed her back. She put her hand on his chest and it helped snap Sheldon back to reality.
"No. Not when you are drunk," Sheldon said.
"But I have the courage now," Amy said.
"You'll find the courage again, but we aren't doing this right now. If you need to be drunk to kiss me, then you aren't ready for it. Now, stay here. I'm going to go get you a pillow and a blanket," Sheldon said.
Sheldon returned with a blanket and a pillow. He handed them to Amy while he went to get some aspirin and water. When he handed her those, she took them. "Please give me one more kiss," Amy said. Sheldon leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you," Amy said.
"Good night," Sheldon said. He watched as Amy punched the pillow and lay down on the couch. She didn't remove her shoes or her sweater or her glasses. Sheldon sighed and went back into his room. He came back with a pair of his own pajama pants and a t-shirt that was starting to fray.
"The pants are going to be too long, but you should probably change into these. There is no way that you'll be comfortable like that," Sheldon told her.
Amy took the clothes and Sheldon pointed out the bathroom. She came back a few minutes later wearing the clothes he brought her. She was so much smaller than he was that she had to hold up the pajama pants.
"Maybe I should have just worn the shirt," Amy said before yawning.
Sheldon helped her tie the drawstring on the pants and he caught sight of a sliver of her stomach. Then he took her glasses and put them on the table next to the couch. He decided to go back to his room before he took her up on her offer to make out.
Sheldon couldn't help but check on Amy a couple of times during the night. She was breathing comfortably each time he checked, so he let her sleep. The second time he came out, she had kicked off the blanket and the shirt had ridden up. He could once again see that sliver of stomach that had taunted him before. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it up over her again before going back to bed.
Amy was still asleep when Sheldon got up for the day. He showered and got dressed before going out to the kitchen for breakfast. He usually had eggs and bacon on Sundays, so he set about making himself some breakfast. He tried to be quiet, but the smells roused Amy anyway.
"Ugh. Where am I?" Amy asked after a moment.
"You are in my apartment. You went out drinking with Penny last night, and I thought it would be better if you stayed here instead of with her because she was quite drunk too. I wanted to make sure you would be taken care of properly," Sheldon said. He brought her a fresh glass of water and a glass of orange juice.
The night before was coming back to Amy. She sipped the water. "Oh my God, I tried to get you to kiss me."
"You did, but don't worry. We didn't do anything. That was a mistake I learned a long time ago," Sheldon said.
"What do you mean?" Amy asked. She actually didn't feel that bad. The glass of water and the aspirin Sheldon made her take before she went to sleep had helped.
"I've barely had a drop of alcohol since my 22nd birthday when I woke up in the bed of a woman who could have been old enough to be my mother. I'll have an occasional glass of champagne at New Years or something, but I almost never drink now. It's not any fun being taken advantage of when you are drunk," Sheldon said.
"That happened to you? Was it your first time?" Amy asked. She had only suspected that he had more experience than she did, but she was very curious now that it had been confirmed.
"No. My first time was awkward, but it was better than that. Actually, my 22nd birthday was my last time. It marked a lot of changes in my life, and I've been a lot better for it," Sheldon said as he put food for them on two plates.
Amy wrapped her arms around him when he got close. "I'm so sorry that happened to you," she told him. Sheldon awkwardly held the food on the plates. He wanted to hug her back, but he was unable to until he could set down the food. Amy released him and he put down the food, and just as Amy was about to sit back down, he returned the hug.
"Thank you," he said quietly. Her reaction had been so different than anyone else who knew about that night. He rarely talked about it, so most people didn't know about that night. Out of his current circle of friends, only Leonard knew. Sheldon wondered why he had opened up with Amy about it, but he was glad he did.
"Thank you for taking such good care of me," Amy said.
"Penny would have done a fine enough job. She has enough experience. I just didn't want to leave you alone when you were clearly intoxicated," Sheldon said. He handed her the food so she could eat before it got cold.
Amy wasn't very hungry, but she still ate about half of Sheldon's offered breakfast. Then she asked, "Is this date number three?"
"I think it's number five. I count the coffee shop and last night as dates of their own," Sheldon said.
"You do?"
"Yes. Mostly because it makes it more acceptable for me to ask what I'm about to ask. Amy, will you be my girlfriend?"
"I... Um... Yes," Amy said nervously.
"Good," Sheldon said with a nod.