Tutoring with Sheldon had been going very well in Penny's eyes, and today was the time she got to test what she had learnt. She and Leonard were going for a meal in a posh restaurant, and already Sheldon was preparing her via skype.
"… And remember, reciprocals are easy. You can find the reciprocal of a fraction by turning it upside down – or if it is a single number you simply put it on the denominator of a fraction and add a one on the top."
She could tell he had a notepad by his side, and by the sounds coming from the opposite connection she knew he was frantically scribbling an example to hold up.
"That's great Sheldon, but at what point am I going to need this information tonight?"
He sat further away from the screen and held the paper up. "Well how am I supposed to know? I may be Pasadena's most wanted by the gals but I am still new to this relationship paraphernalia."
Penny scoffed at his comment. "Oh please, who ever said you were Pasadena's most wanted with women?"
With his head held high, Sheldon boasted back his reply. "Amy did, of course!"
She finally understood, and refrained from even going into the Amy situation. "Well, you two stay cute. Anyways, so you just gave me a load of crap to go on tonight?"
Sheldon violently shook his head. "Math. You really need to practice your pronunciation – I can't hear you properly through my computer."
There was a knock on Penny's door, and she heard a quiet voice. "Penny? Are you ready yet? We really need to go."
She glanced at the door and smiled. She just wanted everything to be perfect. Directing her gaze back at the laptop, she answered Sheldon. "That's Leonard at my door – gotta go!"
"Well of course it's Leonard; who else would it be? I have just watched him walk through my door and say to me 'I'm going on my date with Penny now.' If you know it, then I definitely know it."
Penny exhaled. "Yeah, yeah. Talk to you later, Sheldon." And she flipped the lid of her laptop down, cutting off their Skype chat. Skipping as quickly as she could with heels on, she opened the door and pulled Leonard in for a slow, tender kiss. When they broke apart, Leonard was the first to talk.
"Hey."
"Hello sweetie."
"You ready to go? I reserved the table for seven, and if we don't go now we might be late."
Penny put her arms gently around his neck. "Yeah, just hold on a sec."
Leonard was confused. "But we really need to… oh…"
He couldn't complain as she had already pulled in back in for another kiss. He rested his hands on her hips and they were no longer worrying about the time. They both felt like they belonged in each other's arms.
"… I could cancel if you want…"
They stopped and Penny held Leonard's hand. "No. I want this to be a proper date. And I don't want your roommate bothering us."
Leonard thought back to the last time they decided to stay in. Sheldon had interrupted their movie to ask for another piece of 'Penny's Pie'. He still didn't know what that was.
"Ok, I agree. Let's go."
When they arrived at the restaurant, Penny felt nervous. How the heck was she going to include some dumb facts about reciprocals into a dinner date?
"Sit down honey. What's up? You look scared – almost like you're taking a test!"
Penny's eyes widened as she was confused as to how he guessed.
"What? Don't be so silly!"
Just as she said this, her phone vibrated on her lap. Opening the text, it read:
"A number multiplied by its reciprocal gives you 1. – Dr Sheldon Cooper"
Oh boy, she thought. This was going to be a long night.
Throughout the date, Penny did her best to keep up with the conversation. But when she was trying keep up with Leonard, she kept getting messages from Sheldon. Leonard was getting worried with her attempts to cut their conversations short – was she getting bored or something?
"Erm, Penny?"
When she looked up again, she was flustered.
"What?"
"The bill's here. I'll get it."
"We could split it if you want. How much?"
"A hundred and twenty dollars."
"Ouch."
"Well, it beats the one we went to the other month. A glass of water there was 15 dollars!"
Ooh, she thought. Is he talking about numbers? Now could be her chance.
"Actually, if you try looking at it another way it doesn't seem that bad. For example, the reciprocal of 15 is 1/15 – that makes it sound like a fraction of the cost!"
Leonard's mouth dropped. Why was she spilling out information like this?
"Are you alright?"
She laughed, and gave his thigh a light slap underneath the table.
"Of course! Never better. Why do you ask?"
"Well… it's just that you're talking about math."
"Is that so bad?"
"Voluntarily?"
Her cover had been blown. She gave a hearty sigh, and took his hands in hers.
"I only wanted to impress you – keep up with you, even. You're so smart and while you're forced to be with someone like me you lack the excitement of an intelligent conversation. I was doing it to make you happy."
He paused for a moment, and then laughed. His smile was enough to light up the restaurant.
"Who are you; my mother?"
"I don't understand."
"You! You're trying to tell me how I feel. And by the way; you have pretty poor judgement. First of all, I am not being forced to be in a relationship with you. I care about you so much. Secondly, compared to the people I work with, you are one of the most enjoyable people to talk to."
"I feel exactly the same way. But Leonard… don't you want to have smart talks with me like you do with Sheldon?"
"Are you kidding? That man drives me crazy! Are you seriously getting lessons from Sheldon?"
"Don't you want me to?"
"If it's what you want, then go ahead. But don't put yourself through hell for my benefit!"
They laughed in unison, and Leonard leaned over the table to kiss her. Penny felt better than she had all night, and said one last thing to put what she had learnt to test.
"You know, Leonard? We are reciprocals of each other. When multiplied together, we are one."
"Alright, honey. You can learn this stuff, but you really need to cut the cheese!"
"Sorry sweetie – I guess I'm becoming more of a nerd by the day!"
"No you're not… Nerds don't tell bad jokes!"