Sheldon was right, it did take him a long long time get to sleep. First he tried Kolinahr which to an extent helped. It was the knowledge that Amy was just the other side of the wall that caused him the most problems. His eidetic memory recalled the thin material of her night clothes, his fingers could almost feel the puckering of her nipples under his touch; and he could still smell her shampoo as she buried her face in his neck.
If it had been Leonard next door he would have gone and taken a cold shower but he felt this would not be appropriate with the cause of he arousal actually in the same building. Listening intently he at first could hear Amy tossing and turning and considered making them both some hot milk but decided against it. Finally shear exhaustion won and even his alarm going off at 6am did not wake him.
In fact it was Amy sitting on the side of his bed shaking his shoulder that woke him at 10 am.
"Danger! Danger!" he shouted shooting up.
"Whoa! Sheldon its only me. Calm down!" Amy laughed.
"Amy what are you doing in here? You cant be in here!" Sheldon hugged his blankets close.
"I only came to tell you good morning and to say I was going. I am off shopping with the girls and will meet you at the theatre at 5 o'clock!"
Lying back on his pillows Sheldon began to feel his heart settle. "I am sorry Amy. I was obviously deeply asleep. You made me jump! I hope you have a productive day and I shall see you later."
Waving Amy stood and left. She had been a little startled by Sheldon's violent reaction to her appearance in his room but guessed he had probably had the same trouble sleeping as she had last night so leaving him to rest may be the best thing.
73~73
Spending the day with the girls involved lots of giggling and chatting. Lucy, who was very shy and reserved, gradually began to join in the laughter. Amy realised Penny had told Bernadette and Lucy about setting Sheldon and her up the night before.
"Just be warned Penny Sheldon was less than impressed! I can see you earning another strike!"
"Ohhh! Scary Sheldon" Penny giggled. "did you have fun though?" Penny winked.
Amy blushed. She really had had fun but she also was not prepared to share those intimate details with the others, even her bestie.
"Look she's blushing!" Bernadette giggled. "Go ShAmy!"
The girls spent lots! They had found out the hotel that Caltech was putting them up in had a pool and sauna, so they each bought some new swimwear and booked beauty treatments for the following week. Having done a quick online search they saw the weather forecast was not great and COLD! So knit wear was purchased. Penny took it upon herself to supervise Amy's buying. She made sure the layers were kept to a minimum and the colours she chose brought out her beautiful eyes.
Penny even persuaded Amy to purchase new underwear and night clothes.
"Penny this is silly! Sheldon and I will not be engaging in coitus! Yes we will be sharing a room but I can assure you that is it!"
"Amy last night you did not share a room, but I am guessing by the scarlet colour of your cheeks earlier Sheldon gave you more than a peck on the cheek!"
Amy blushed again.
"So you don't need to go all the way; but 2nd base has plenty of scope and if tempted he may fancy pointing a toe towards 3rd!"
Shaking her head Amy decided to compromise. She rejected the outrageous items Penny held up, but found a new nightdress that would fall to her knees and, being made of cotton, was not like the see through items Penny seemed to be favouring! The underwear she chose was lacy and in pale pastel colours but still practical at the same time. Feeling satisfied Amy completed her purchases and went to sit with Lucy as they waited for penny and Bernadette to finish
"So did you agree to share a room with Raj "Amy asked bluntly.
"Err.. no.. it feels too soon"
Amy nodded in understanding. "Raj is a lovely guy he will wait for you, he really deserves a nice lady like you to share his life with."
Lucy blushed and looked down. "How long have you and Sheldon been together?"
Amy snorted "oh years! But I will be honest with you, it is only in the last few months our relationship has become physical. Both of us wish to take things slowly and like you, I feel uncomfortable if pressured"
Lucy relaxed a little more knowing Amy was not judging her. They say chatting happily when Penny came over.
"OK lets go. My credit card is at filled to the max and Sheldon will go spare if we are late. Also I need to check with the tech guys so they know what to do."
73~73
The lights on him made Sheldon feel uncomfortable to begin with. However looking out to the audience he realised it also meant he could see no further than the first row! No wonder Penny had suggested bringing their friends. Seeing them all sat there however, Sheldon felt the knots in his stomach grow. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, if he could do it for Gablehauser he could do it for Amy and Leonard.
An hour later Sheldon refocused on the front row. There they were open mouthed like a row of goldfish. All except Penny who was grinning from ear to ear.
"You did it Shelly!" she whooped jumping up, but before she could reach him Amy had run up the stairs at the side of the stage and launched herself at Sheldon.
He realised she was crying.
"Amy what is wrong? why are you crying?"
"Oh Sheldon. That was amazing! You looked soooo in command. And,..."
Amy blushed. "Sorry, but you looked so sexy" she whispered.
By now Leonard, Howard and Raj were climbing the stairs.
"Well Sheldon I can honestly say that was not as entertaining as the night you dropped your pants! but you did good dude." Raj grinned.
Penny had left the stage and was chatting to the tech crew. They handed her their notes which she would give to the tech crew at Harvard. They were all set. Penny knew Sheldon would want to go over lecture 3 but the small rehearsal space would be more than adequate for that.
Returning to the other she said "Lets go celebrate!"
"Penny, although I truly appreciate all of you being here and especially all you have done for me, I have promised Amy I would cook her a meal tonight, so I must decline. May I suggest after lecture 3 in Harvard I take us all out to dinner when I can put this whole saga behind me."
Not wanting to miss a chance to celebrate, the others all decided to go to a bar where they could eat and drink and dance too. Waving them goodbye, Amy and Sheldon made their way out of the theatre and back to Los Robles Avenue.
73~73
Once alone Sheldon felt a bit self conscious. The past few nights with Amy had been both rushed and very intense.
He had actually told her he loved her.
While he was shocked he had uttered the words, he knew he meant them sincerely. Yesterday had been a strange evening. One shared with friends mainly but the little alone time they had had quickly spiralled into a physical encounter where the words of the previous night had not been mentioned; yet their physical relationship had again moved forward what felt like a huge step.
Sheldon was now not sure what Amy expected of him. He had spent so long today focusing on the rehearsal that what happened after had not concerned him. Now he wished he had thought about what he should say.
Amy could feel Sheldon was tense. In the car ride he was quiet. She had thought he would have been very excited having just successfully performed his second lecture, but it appeared not.
"What are you going to be cooking me tonight?" Amy asked, deciding this was a fairly safe topic..
"Well to be honest I spent so long preparing for tonight I have not been able to dedicate much time to out meal. I hope you are OK with steak and salad? I thought they would be easy to prepare once we got in. I still have my laundry to sort so I needed something that I could do around that.
Frowning Amy nodded. "Sheldon is everything OK? You seem tense. I thought you would be very happy tonight considering how successful your rehearsal went."
Sheldon glanced at Amy. "I am just a little worried about how tonight will go. Last night was... well lets say I wasn't wrong when I said I had trouble sleeping. I just … oh Amy I don't know what I feel really"
"It is OK Sheldon. I must admit I feel the last few days have been odd. We have exchanged words and actions that have been sudden and intense and yet have not had time to process or reflect. I meant every word I said to you the other evening though, you must know that. My feelings for you go far far beyond friendship now, but having said that I still feel the need to take things slow."
"Amy that is how I feel too! I did not mean to blurt out my thoughts as I did in the car that evening., it is not how you deserved to hear them. I also feel last night I once again had the double standard in my touching of you; yet stopping when you reciprocated. Sometimes these feelings are scary"
Amy grinned. "I know, yet when I look at Penny she seems to make it look so easy"
Having arrived at Sheldon's building they climbed the stairs together. Sheldon placed his bag containing his notes on his desk and moved to the kitchen.
"Can I get you a drink?"
"Tea would be lovely." Amy smiled.
"We have wine. I bought some to go with our meal."
"No tea is fine. Why don't I make that while you gather your laundry, we can eat then I will help you down stairs."
Nodding Sheldon went to his room and gathered the things he would need.
Returning he found Amy sat on a stool drinking her tea. "Do you have much left to do before next week?" she enquired as she watched Sheldon move around the kitchen.
"No, just the 3rd lecture to go over and that's it. I must admit tonight helped immensely. And knowing you will all be there has also helped. Did you get all you needed shopping with Penny today?"
"Yes and more than I needed too! Penny decided a whole new wardrobe was in order. I did manage to convince her that that was not entirely necessary though! Lucy is lovely, it was the first time I really chatted to her and I think her and Raj are well suited. Did Raj tell you that they required separate rooms?"
"Yes, he emailed me a couple of days ago. I have informed Gablehauser's secretary and the hotel too. The hotel said they may have to move us around a little but it shouldn't be a problem. We just may be on different floors."
Seeing the steaks were nearly ready and the salad finished, Amy moved to get out some cutlery and set two place settings. She filled their glasses with water and sat down again.
"This looks lovely Sheldon!"
"I had wanted to cook one of Meemaw's recipes. Time today got away with me. Next time though I will ensure we plan it so I don't have laundry and lectures to worry about."
They ate in companionable silence, once finished Amy helped clean and tidy away and then followed Sheldon down to the basement. By the time they had finished and Sheldon had put his clean clothes away they were both yawning.
"I think I will go" Amy said. "I slept badly last night and I know you did too"
Nodding Sheldon agreed. He walked with her to the door and pulled her into his arms. Kissing her gently he pulled back.
"Thank you for being there for me tonight Amy. I am really glad you will be at Harvard with me too!"
"Sheldon I am honoured you have asked me and I am really looking forward to it. Go get some sleep and I will talk to you tomorrow."
Amy leant up and pressed her lips to Sheldon's. They stood together, hands round each others waists. There was none of the hesitancy of their early kisses, just a gentle loving good night kiss. Amy was smiling as she pulled back.
Waving her fingers at Sheldon she opened the door and left.
73~73
Sheldon was exhausted. He changed into his Saturday pyjamas and climbed into bed, his head had barely hit the pillow and he was asleep. He didn't hear the text come through on his phone.
"I forgot to say before I left. I love you Sheldon x"
The next morning Sheldon grinned when he saw it. Replying quickly with
"I love you too Amy Farrah fowler!"
Sundays Sheldon normally went to paint balling with the others. He wasn't even sure Leonard was home though so he showered and dressed and made some breakfast. He then sent penny a text.
"Penny I just wanted to say again thank you . I would not be able to go to Harvard next week without everything you have done for me you are a good friend. S"
As she did not reply Sheldon figured she was still asleep, it was before 11 after all. Deciding to make the most of the peace and quiet Sheldon once more gathered his lecture notes and scanned them. He then began making notes in the margins of the things he had learned form last nights rehearsal. An hour later and still no sign of either his room-mate or friends he sat in his spot and watched TV. He balanced his laptop on his knees and emailed Amy
To: Amy Farrah Fowler
From: Sheldon Cooper.
I am sorry I did not reply to your text last night Amy, but I fell asleep almost before my head hit the pillow. I hope you got my reply this morning.
As we leave for Harvard next Friday evening, I wondered if you wanted to come for a meal here before we leave? Our flights are not until late and we wont arrive until the early hours, so I thought a good meal before we leave might be wise.
I have a little shopping to do before we go as Leonard informs me it is not suitable for me to wear my Flash or Batman t shirts for the lecture! Perhaps we could meet on Tuesday at The Cheesecake Factory and you could help me choose some suitable shirts. I would normally ask Penny but the last time we went shopping it took hours and she made me try on everything in the shop!
I hope you have caught up on your sleep and are refreshed.
Sheldon
x
73~73
To: Sheldon Cooper
From: Amy Farrah Fowler
Sheldon I did get your text and it was a lovely way to wake up!
I would be happy to accompany you shopping, although I should warn you I do not have Pennys style. Also your suggestion to have a good meal before we go sounds a sensible one.
I have appointments Wednesday and Thursday next week after work so I shall be busy, but I will definitely see you Tuesday.
Thank you for last night. It was nice to just share a meal and talk, I feel we have been unable to do that lately.
I look forward to seeing you Tuesday.
Amy
x
73~73