The Amphetamine Phenylethylamine Effect
– Stage 6 –
"Hormones"
Sheldon was certain.
It had taken him three days to work out that he hadn't really wanted to leave Penny's apartment after their kiss, two more days to work out that he had in fact wanted to stay and kiss her again, and one more day to work out that she was less receptive of him because of his cowardly escape.
But that night, Saturday night, was laundry night, and he knew Penny would be in the laundry room when he went down at 8:15. She was always there when he was it seemed.
Carrying his basket down, he smelt her before he saw her.
Sweet warmth washed over Sheldon as he slipped inside the laundry room and carefully shut the door behind him.
Penny was bent over a washer, pulling out wet articles of clothing, and Sheldon had to ignore the rush of heat that ran through him as she bent over particularly far.
She didn't look up. He coughed pointedly.
Penny gasped, straightening up and spinning around. "Sheldon!"
He inclined his head. "I scared you."
"Of course you did," Penny hissed sharply, before taking a deep breath and slumping back against the washer behind her. "What do you want, Sheldon?"
He deposited his basket on the table and took a step towards her, just as something warm and bubbling ran through his system. It felt good – empowering.
"I want to apologise."
"Again?" She stared. "Look, there's no point in you apologising if you're just going to run away again. It doesn't matter. Just leave it alone."
And, with that, she turned away.
Sheldon, however, was being filled with something resembling courage, and he found himself closing in behind her.
"Penny…"
She spun around in surprise, only for Sheldon to lean in and press his mouth to hers.
He had never considered attaching himself to any one person before – the only people he cared for truly being the females in his immediate family – but as he kissed Penny, noting the adrenaline carelessly crashing through his body and the hormones taking effect, he could feel something running between them.
Sheldon had read much on biological reactions, both before and after his strange encounters with Penny, and he knew it was the oxytocin infecting his system. It was a bonding hormone of great magnitude, released in humans during situations with heightened emotion and sensation, and it only made that fuzzy ball of energy in his stomach that much more powerfully compelling.
He liked Penny. More than he cared to admit, too.
At length, Penny pulled away, eyes closed and breathless. "What was that?"
Sheldon stared down at her, confused. "A kiss."
She let out a short, amused breath, before opening her eyes and looking up at him.
"I know that, sweetie. I meant…what are we doing?"
Sheldon looked down at their barely touching bodies, recognising the urge to touch her, to hold her somehow, to kiss her again…and something much more dangerous…was mounting, before realising Penny meant something much less physical and more…general.
"I want to kiss you again," he stated.
Penny's lips twitched at the corners in a smile, before she closed her eyes and pouted her lips slightly in obvious invitation.
As much as he wanted to, he resisted the urge to accept.
His thumb brushed hers, making her take pause and look up at him again.
"I meant…another time, soon, often…"
His usually verbose attitude had fled, leaving him with crumbs of coherent thought and the remnants of the correct words he should have been using. But Penny seemed to understand him perfectly.
She smiled that special smile that made his brain pause – the one that made her eyes light up impossibly.
"You wanna…date?"
He considered, momentarily, whether that suitably encompassed everything he felt and everything he wanted to feel – possibly – in the future. His hormone-riddled body ultimately decided for him.
"Yes."