Chapter 63 – Missy's Charm
Ethan led Missy up the stairs toward the apartment, their footsteps echoing through the narrow stairwell.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke.
"Missy, when we get inside you'll meet Sheldon's friends. They're all researchers at Columbia University, just like him."
"Mhm," Missy replied casually, glancing around with curiosity.
"They're… very accomplished physicists," Ethan said carefully, choosing his words. "But sometimes—especially when they meet a charming woman like you—their social skills might… uh… malfunction a little. They might say or do something awkward."
Missy stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to face him. Her expression carried that unmistakable Texas-girl mix of confidence and teasing.
"Ethan, are you worried I can't handle a few nerdy scientists?"
She patted his arm.
"Relax, sweetheart. I grew up with Sheldon. What kind of social awkwardness do you think I haven't seen?"
Ethan looked at her confident expression and laughed helplessly.
"Alright. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Just giving you a heads-up."
"Message received." Missy winked and continued walking up the stairs.
---
As soon as Ethan and Missy stepped into the apartment, three pairs of eyes immediately locked onto Missy.
After Missy hugged Sheldon—
Sheldon proceeded with his usual formal introductions.
"This is Leonard, Raj, and Howard."
Missy flashed them a bright smile.
"Nice to meet you all!"
The three men answered almost simultaneously, each with varying levels of nervousness.
"Nice to meet you too."
Leonard spoke first.
"So… how do you two know each other?"
Missy grinned mischievously and wrapped an arm around Sheldon.
"His head spent nine months between my legs."
The living room instantly fell silent.
The only sound was Raj gasping.
Leonard and Howard stared wide-eyed, their gazes bouncing frantically between Sheldon and Missy.
Sheldon broke the silence with his usual deadpan tone.
"She is my twin sister—Missy. She believes she is funny."
He turned to her.
"Personally, I have never observed evidence of this."
"That's because you're incapable of measuring humor, Shelly," Missy fired back immediately.
Sheldon paused, deep in thought.
"How does one measure humor…? A humor meter?"
Howard finally seized his chance. He slicked back his hair and cut in with what he believed was his most seductive French accent.
"Je te trouve très amusante. Which, of course, in French means… 'I find you very amusing.'"
Missy smiled politely.
"I'll try to remember that."
She looked at them one by one.
"Leonard, Howard, and…" her gaze landed on Raj, "…sorry, what was your name again?"
The moment he was singled out, Raj froze.
His face flushed bright red. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
In the crushing silence, he suddenly turned around, walked quickly into the kitchen without saying a word, opened the refrigerator, grabbed a beer, and began chugging it.
Trying to ease the awkwardness, Leonard continued the conversation.
"So, Missy, you came to New York just to attend your friend's wedding?"
Missy sat down on the couch.
"I'm also here to get Shelly to sign some documents for our father's property."
Sheldon immediately pointed out,
"You could have mailed those documents."
He paused, then adopted a knowing expression.
"Mother sent you to spy on me, didn't she?"
Missy's smile didn't change.
"I suppose that's why people call you a genius."
"They call me a genius because I am a genius," Sheldon replied matter-of-factly, fully accepting the compliment.
Then he added casually,
"Tell Mom I currently weigh 165 pounds and my gastrointestinal motility is normal."
He waved dismissively.
"Enjoy the wedding with Ethan."
Leonard couldn't stand it anymore.
"Come on, Sheldon. She's family. At least try to host her properly."
Missy quickly stepped in to rescue her brother.
"Shelly doesn't like people hovering around him. Even when he was a kid," she said with a grin, "he used to send his imaginary friends home at night."
Sheldon corrected seriously,
"They were not friends. They were imaginary colleagues."
---
The three guys gathered around Missy, listening to her childhood stories while Sheldon focused entirely on his laptop, working on something.
Ethan watched silently as the three men tried to impress Missy.
Sometimes, he thought, men were truly hopeless.
Just then, the door opened.
Penny walked in holding a pair of men's shorts.
"Leonard, you left these in the dryer downstairs."
Leonard instantly panicked.
"Those aren't mine!"
Penny raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? Because there's a name tag inside with your name on it."
Leonard started stumbling over his words.
"Yes—no—I mean—I use those to polish my harpoon equipment for fishing! I fish with harpoons! When I'm not hunting with a sling, I go harpoon fishing!"
He was trying desperately to sound rugged in front of Missy, but only made things worse.
Quickly trying to change the subject, his voice jumped an octave.
"Penny! This is Sheldon's twin sister, Missy!"
"Missy, this is our neighbor Penny!"
Missy waved cheerfully.
"Hi!"
Penny looked Missy up and down with a smile.
"Wow, so you're Missy! When Ethan told us you were coming to New York we were wondering what you looked like. You and Sheldon look nothing alike."
From the side, Howard exclaimed loudly,
"Hallelujah!"
After Penny arrived, Leonard quietly retreated to the kitchen instead of hovering around Missy.
Only Howard and Raj kept awkwardly trying to chat with her.
Watching them, Penny leaned toward Leonard and whispered,
"Sheldon's sister is pretty, huh?"
Leonard immediately defended himself.
"I wasn't staring at her!"
"I didn't say you were staring," Penny replied calmly. "I just said she's pretty."
Leonard stammered.
"Maybe… if you like someone that tall… and… perfect…"
His voice got quieter and quieter as he realized he'd said the wrong thing.
Penny rolled her eyes and turned to Sheldon.
"Sheldon, why are you ignoring your sister?"
Without looking up from his laptop, Sheldon replied,
"I'm not ignoring my sister. I'm ignoring all of you."
Penny sighed and walked over to Ethan, lowering her voice.
"Isn't she kind of your flirtation partner? Why don't you rescue her?"
Ethan spread his hands helplessly.
He didn't know how to answer that.
He and Missy had never defined their relationship. They both understood each other well enough not to interfere with each other's lives.
So the only option was to let things unfold naturally.
Penny looked at Sheldon and Ethan—both seemingly unmoved—and decided to rescue Missy herself.
She raised her voice.
"Missy! I'm going to get my nails done. Want to come?"
Missy looked instantly relieved and jumped up.
"That sounds amazing! I'm in! Thank you!"
"No problem," Penny said cheerfully.
She linked arms with Missy and waved to the room full of men.
"Bye, boys!"
The two women left the apartment, leaving behind a room full of awkward silence.
Ethan looked at the closed door and the suddenly peaceful living room, letting out a long breath.
---
As planned earlier, Ethan gave his bedroom to Missy and slept on the couch.
He tossed and turned for quite a while before finally drifting off.
He didn't know how long he had been asleep when he woke to a soft, warm sensation.
Opening his eyes, he didn't see the ceiling.
Instead—
A face hovered less than five centimeters from his own.
Missy was kneeling beside the couch, her hair loose, her eyes slightly sleepy but very much awake.
If he wasn't mistaken…
She had just been kissing him.
Still half-asleep, Ethan murmured,
"Missy…? What are you doing?"
His voice was thick with sleep, his brain still struggling to process the situation.
Missy didn't answer.
She simply looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes, the corner of her lips curling into a faint, mysterious smile.
Then she leaned down again.
When they parted, Ethan breathed slightly faster. The confusion in his eyes had been replaced by surprise—and a slowly rising heat.
Taking advantage of his stunned moment, Missy grabbed the hand resting behind her back and gently pulled.
"Come back to the room with me," she whispered softly.
Her voice was calm, firm, and impossible to refuse.
Ethan sat up and glanced toward Sheldon's bedroom door.
"Alright," he said quietly. "But we have to keep it down. Don't wake Sheldon."
Missy smirked.
"Please. You're the noisy one."