Part IV

Amy put the car in park as the pulled in a parking spot on Los Robles Avenue. Sheldon looked to his left. Their date had officially come to an end.

For the remainder of the movie, their hands had remained clasped together on the armrest between them. Sheldon had tried to focus on the movie, mainly because Amy liked to talk about them after they ended, but he had found it hard to.

He had kissed her. Quite thoroughly, he might add. Without the need to; Kripke wasn't there in the theatre, so there was absolutely no reason for him to have done it. Other than the obvious one; he had wanted to.

Of course there were the hypotheses that he needed to test. But if he was honest with himself, he might as well add a new one to the list:

7. He would be willing to do anything to come up with a reason to kiss Amy, besides admitting the glaringly obvious desire to.

He spoke in his most indifferent voice next, trying to sound aloof, before he knew what he was really asking her.

"Would you like to come in for a nightcap?"

Amy's eyes widened. Her hands trembled on the steering wheel. She must have realised the implications. She had asked him the same thing once, right before she had kissed him that very first time on her couch.

"Do you have Yoo Hoo?" she asked, obviously referring to the way she had lured him in that time. Her voice wavered a little.

Sheldon blinked. He didn't have any Yoo Hoo.

"No," he said, feeling defeated. "But I could make you a cup of tea."

Amy bit her lip in that adorable way she had done in the cinema. It almost looked as if she was trying to hide her smile.

"Alright."

She unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out of the car. Sheldon couldn't get out yet. He exhaled slowly. He felt incredibly nervous all of a sudden. It was preposterous. He and Amy spend a lot of time together. They saw each other almost every day, and on the days they didn't see each other in real life, they would see each other over Skype.

She had been in his apartment countless times. She had a designated spot on the couch right next to his. It shouldn't have been that big of deal that they would share a beverage together after date night.

And yet, inviting her up now felt different, almost monumental.

He unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. Amy shot him a nervous smile. He opened the door for her, and she ducked her head in appreciation. They walked up the flights of stairs side by side in silence. The air around them was filled with a sudden tension.

Sheldon felt anxious.

Why had he asked her to come in for a drink? What were his intentions, exactly?

He only realised that he hadn't wanted the date to be over yet. Their Relationship Agreement didn't specify how long the date should last. Usually they would go out to dinner. The movies were something they usually did with the others as well. They hardly ever went just the two of them.

But they usually didn't kiss during the movies either.

They didn't kiss at all.

Stupid Kripke.

If it weren't for Kripke and his assumptions and his better work, he wouldn't be in this predicament at all. And what a predicament. He didn't want this, this nervousness around Amy – a person he normally felt really comfortable around. He also didn't want this coiling in his gut, and this inexplicable desire to feel her lips against his again. He didn't want to think of more hypotheses to test – whether or not Amy wanted this advancement in their relationship, or whether she wondered why he was kissing her all of a sudden.

He hadn't asked for any of this.

Or maybe he had.

He could have told Kripke the truth. However bad it would have made him look. How was he supposed to know that Amy would come around his office to mess things up?

They had reached the fourth floor landing now. It was just as well. Because Sheldon realised that ever since Amy started her work at Caltech, she would come by his office at least twice a week.

Had he subconsciously tried to create a situation in which he would have to be closer to her?

It seemed highly probable.

He opened the door of her, feeling relieved that it was locked. Leonard would be at Penny's. Penny had reacted thrilled when he had come to the realisation that he wasn't ruling out ever becoming physical with Amy. It was all advancing much faster than he had thought. If Penny were here now – and saw them come in this late after a date, he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"What kind of tea would you like?" Sheldon asked, moving towards the kitchen to boil water.

Amy had taken her designated seat on the couch. Her coat and her bag were on his desk chair.

"Surprise me," she said softly.

Sheldon halted. He looked up at her. She was smiling at him. Nervously, but smiling nonetheless.

She wasn't referring to the tea.

Sheldon swallowed nervously. "Alright," he murmured, grabbing a random tea bag – Lemon Zinger – and dunking it in her yellow mug. His hands shook when he opened his own bag of tea – chamomile, for obvious reasons.

He walked over to the couch with both their mugs. He avoided her eyes. She was looking at him expectantly.

Was this what it was going to be like now? Every time they were together, she would be looking at him with hopeful eyes and kissable lips. What had he gotten himself into?

He sat down in his spot, handing her the yellow mug.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" he asked, trying to fill the awkward silence between them.

"Very much," Amy said, her eyes sparkling, "I had a really enjoyable evening."

Sheldon nodded and took a careful sip of his tea. It was still too hot. Amy had put her mug down on the coffee table in front of her. He put his mug next to hers.

"Good," he said quietly as he sat back. He had had an enjoyable evening too. He hadn't seen the entire movie, but he had enjoyed it as well. The music, the scenery. Paris had looked like a fairy tale. Of course Amy would have enjoyed it too.

"What about it did you enjoy most?"

"Ehm..." she stammered. "The - the kiss was nice."

Sheldon looked at her. He had been referring to the movie. Hadn't he? But Amy was blushing and it made Sheldon think that maybe she wasn't referring to a scene in the movie at all.

Their eyes met in a kind of stare-off.

"It was," Sheldon mumbled softly. His eyes were moving over her face. He was wondering what she was thinking. Was she waiting for him to make a move? His mind was going a mile a minute.

He was almost out of hypotheses to test.

1. Amy tried to give him the chance to come clean himself – she appeared doing that right now

2. Amy had been disgusted by his blatant lies and decided to re-boot their relationship - disproved

3. Amy understood that his rivalry with Kripke was so serious that all was fair - confirmed

4. Amy had liked the way he had acted and was afraid confronting him would push him away – somewhat confirmed

5. All of the above - disproved

6. Amy would only kiss him if Kripke were present - disproved

7. He would be willing to do anything to come up with a reason to kiss Amy, besides admitting the glaringly obvious desire to – it looked like he was testing this himself right now as well.

Amy was giving him a chance to come clean. Again. She was calling him out now. She had stated it outright; they had kissed. She had called it nice. That was positive, right? At least now he didn't need to worry about his skills in this matter.

She hadn't asked why he had kissed her. While he could claim the first two times were under the guise of getting Kripke of his back (that would be an awkward conversation) there was no denying he had kissed her in the theatre because he had simply wanted to.

And, if he were honest with himself; he had wanted to kiss her the other two times as well. The whole ordeal with Kripke was just a really convenient excuse for him to act upon this attraction that he had been suppressing so long.

Amy looked nervous.

Sheldon looked away. It was time to come clean. He grabbed his mug from the coffee table and took a hesitant sip.

"I should tell you something," he muttered before he lost the nerve. He had to disprove his latest hypothesis. Amy deserved to know the truth. She had been patient with him for years.

Amy took a stuttering breath.

"What is it?"

Sheldon took another sip of his tea. He was desperately thinking of a way to come clean without looking like a pervert, a liar or a lying pervert.

He couldn't think of anything.

She would most definitely end things with him if she found out what kind of assumptions Kripke had made in regards to their relationship – and he had done absolutely nothing to deny them, but only encouraged his delusions.

Amy may have liked the kisses and the closeness between them… but there was no way she would appreciate the whole story behind it. Sheldon took another sip of his tea. He was a fool. He could have had her years ago, or even now. But he had screwed up. Royally.

Putting his mug back on the table, he turned to her. This was it. Time to confess.

Or maybe he could just kiss her one more time? Since it wouldn't happen again after this. It wasn't a classy move at all, but she wasn't going to like him after he confessed anyway. He could be selfish – he hardly ever was, after all – and get one last kiss from her.

"Sheldon?" Amy asked.

He reached out his hand to cradle her face. Amy inhaled softly. He looked in her eyes. He was going to miss this; her green eyes, beckoning him, tempting him. Closing the distance between them, he softly kissed her lips.

Amy made that whimpering sound again. And the tingles moved from their joined lips all through his body. Sheldon relaxed his jaw, moving his lips over hers more urgently. Their mouths opened and her tongue brushed against his, slowly and sensual.

Without breaking the contact between their lips, Amy moved closer to him. She pushed against his shoulders and practically crawled in his lap. Sheldon was breathing deeply through his nose, trying to keep up with Amy's assault on his mouth. Their bathing suit areas were mushed together again, just like that time in office. The similarity wasn't lost on Sheldon.

His blood was rushing through his veins, every move of Amy's lips against his caused a thrill to go through him. Her hair was so soft between his fingers, it felt like silk against the palm of his hand. His other hand was gripping Amy's behind and he pulled back from her face in shock when he realised just how he was groping her.

"Amy," he breathed.

"Hm?" she hummed, kissing his mouth again. Sheldon responded automatically.

Good Lord, he had no control over his body anymore.

"Amy," he repeated, pulling back again. "I have to tell you – you have to know, I –"

He had trouble forming coherent sentences with Amy softly grinding against him, the pupils of her green eyes blown wide, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Yes?" she mumbled, her mouth moving against his again.

He was going to miss this. Her supple lips and the sweet scent of her skin so close to him.

"Amy, please," he said, pulling back fully now and looking at her imploringly. "I lied."

She raised her eyebrows at him. Sheldon blushed under her gaze.

"I lied to Kripke," he spoke quietly and quickly, that way it would be over as fast as possible.

"He-he assumed my work was suffering because I was distracted," he mumbled. "Distracted by you, and the laid I was getting. I didn't correct him."

Amy's eyes were big.

"In fact, I only confirmed his assumptions," he looked away from her big eyes, full of shame. "That's why I had you sitting in my lap when he came by, and the kisses and the comments and - -"

"Sheldon," Amy interrupted him.

"And I promised you I would explain later, but you never asked and I didn't explain," he continued. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to continue and confess for real now.

"I never asked because you didn't need to explain," Amy whispered.

Sheldon looked up at her, his eyes large and questioning. "What?"

Amy squirmed in his lap, looking away from his eyes.

"I already knew why you'd done it," she muttered. "I called Penny after that first afternoon, and she told me about what happened between you and Kripke."

Amy had known this whole time and she hadn't said anything.

Sheldon stared at her. Of course Penny would have blabbed. He should have known. In fact; wasn't that the reason he had confided in her in the first place? So she would tell Amy, and he didn't have to?

"And I-I didn't say anything, because I was selfish," Amy whispered, "I liked it, the physical attention. You know I've been wanting that for years. I wasn't going to ruin the chance of you kissing me again by telling you I knew exactly what you were trying to do."

Sheldon couldn't believe his ears. She wanted him to kiss her.

"Right," he said.

"But then – in the theatre, you kissed me and Kripke wasn't there," Amy concluded. "I hoped maybe you kissed me this time because you liked it."

She was looking at him insecurely. Sheldon felt a rush of warmth through him. She wasn't going to end it then. He was almost sure.

"I kissed you because I wanted to," he confessed quietly.

Amy trembled in his lap. She smiled at him hesitantly. "Did you?" she asked.

Sheldon nodded.

"Yes," he confirmed. Amy smiled radiantly and leaned towards him, as if to kiss him again. Sheldon pushed her back, he was so confused. Overwhelmed. By his thoughts, by his feelings and the desire to have her lips on his again.

"Amy," he said. "What does this mean? For us? There is nothing in the Relationship Agreement about kissing, I don't know what you'll expect from me or what this all means for us as a couple."

She shrugged.

"I don't know either," she said simply. "But let's focus on what we do know, shall we? You kissed me because you wanted to. And I want to kiss you now, because I am overjoyed that you wanted to kiss me."

Sheldon nodded in agreement.

"So, I propose we just stop thinking about what we're doing and just do what we've both been thinking about instead," she finished, sounding slightly breathless.

Sheldon couldn't argue with her flawless logic. He was thinking too much.

So this time, when Amy leaned in again, he didn't push her back. Their lips met, and the electric currents pulsed through him again.

Sheldon closed of his mind, and just focussed on kissing her instead. Her sweet tasting lips, her tongue stroking the underside of his, the tingles it caused in his bathing suit area as she moved against him, her tiny exhales when he grasped her behind again.

He groaned in satisfaction against her opened mouth and vowed to himself to stop hypothesising.

Because why would he spend his time thinking of hypotheses to confirm or disprove, when that time was so much better spend kissing his girlfriend instead?

THE END

A/N Took me a while to finish this. Thank you for sticking with me. If you enjoyed early-Shamy with clueless Sheldon and hungry-for-physical-affection Amy, or just the story as a whole; please let me know in a review.

Thank you in advance.