Chapter 6 - Penny's Time?

It had been two days, two long lonely days for Penny, when everyone agreed to meet for lunch, again at the bar/restaurant the girls first met Leonard. Penny was excited all morning about seeing him again, but she wasn't ready for the feelings that flooded her body when she finally laid eyes on him, she felt her heart would explode from her chest it was beating so fast. It even got worse, when everyone sat down and she was easily able to sit right next to him with Bernadette on his other side.

"Soooo…how are you guys doing? We haven't seen you in a little while Leonard. Everything going well there in paradise?" Amy teased, her eyebrows moving up and down to emphasize a sexual innuendo.

Bernadette swatted Amy, which made Amy and Bernadette giggle and Katie frown, Bernadette responding, "That is none of your business girl." Penny forced a small smile on her face, as her eyes went to Leonard, noticing a forced smile on his face too. She had seen his real smile before, she was an actress, she knew a true smile when she saw it and Leonard's smile stopped before it reached his eyes, it was definitely forced.

Martha came by to get their drink orders and after she wrote them down she stopped and looked at them all. "I hope you are all doing alright, those kind of things never really happen here."

Leonard looked up at her, "You heard?"

Martha nodded "Gossip travels fast around here. The owner is a good man, he is heartbroken you girls almost got hurt."

Penny nodded, "We're okay, just an accident. Leonard kept us all safe. Thank you for your concern."

Martha nodded, "Leonard is a good man, no?" She then smiled directly at Penny and walked away.

Bernadette smiled, grabbing Leonard's arm and giving him a little shake, "Leonard is a good man, YES!" Amy and Katie smiling with her and patting Leonard's hand on the table.

Penny forced the little smile on her face again, she was trying to understand what exactly happened that moment. Martha had been looking directly into Penny's eyes when she said that Leonard was a good man and when she said no, it felt like it was a question directed at her. Was she trying to tell her something about Leonard, if she was, what was it, what did she mean? Penny's fake smile stayed plastered on her face as her friends talked, she was trying to understand everything that was going on around her. She had never been so confused in her life, one of her best friends was dating a guy she wanted so badly it hurt, and she knew she would steal him away any chance she could get, what was wrong with her. Nothing she told herself, she had a connection with him, Bernadette didn't, and she was pretty sure he saw it too, they were suppose to be together, she just knew it.

Martha had brought out their food and everyone had started to eat when she spoke again to them. "Leonard you should take them to see the fish, they would like that."

Leonard looked up at her and shook his head, "No that is not completely safe either."

Martha chuckled, "They cannot fall from the sky if they are in the water, how is that not safe."

"What fish?" Katie quickly asked, interested.

Martha immediately started talking again, before Leonard had a chance to say anything. "There is a small sheltered bay not too far from here with a coral formation and some of the most beautiful fish you have ever seen. They live around the coral and they have all the colors to blend in with the coral."

"Oh that sounds great, do they have a glass boat or something to see them?" Amy asked, obviously interested.

"That does sound nice." Bernadette added.

"What is dangerous about that?" Katie asked.

Leonard now jumped in before Martha could influence them anymore. "There is a boat, it is a diving boat, you have to scuba dive down to see them. Have any of you scuba dived before? That is why it is dangerous."

"No." Bernadette responded.

"That kills that. I am not going underwater." Amy added.

Katie just blurted out. "Penny knows how to scuba dive." Which made Amy and Bernadette look at her and then at Penny, neither of them knowing that about Penny, before.

Leonard joined the girls and stared at Penny in disbelief. "You know how to scuba dive?"

Katie answered for Penny, "Yeah she does, she had a boyfriend, in high school, who loved to do that, so he taught her and she went down with him a couple times in the lake at home one summer."

"You know how to scuba dive?" Leonard asked again, it was actually a statement.

Penny gave him a real smile, "Yeah a little. But we never went too deep, maybe 50 feet, so I'm not that good."

"You scuba dive, Honey?" Bernadette asked him while touching his arm.

Leonard looked at her, "Yeah, I had to take course for this job. The sensors are in about 40-50 feet of water, so if one breaks, I have to replace it. We have a contract with the dive boat owner, if I need to replace one he takes me out and dives with me as my partner."

"You're sort of a tropical macho man and stud aren't you Dr Hofstadter." Katie teased.

"He sure is." Bernadette giggled.

"Nooo." Leonard lowered his eyes at his hands and blushed.

Katie looked at Bernadette, she was looking at Leonard with a twinkle in her eyes, she really liked him a lot. Then Katie looked at Penny and she silently gasped, Penny had the same loving look as she stared at Leonard, the same look from weeks before when she first saw him. 'Crap' Katie thought, she thought Penny was over that when Bernadette and Leonard seemed to have hooked up the last couple of days, but she could see that wasn't the case, it was obvious there was something still there. "Well those fish are probably too deep for Penny anyway, so I guess that trip is out." Katie was surprised when Penny looked at her, a glare in her eyes.

"No the fish are not deep at all, are they Leonard?" Martha looked at Leonard to agree.

Leonard sighed, "They are only in about 40 feet of water, and they give a day long course to teach new people how to scuba dive, since they aren't that deep."

"Also, people dive with partner, to keep things safe, don't they Leonard?" Martha added.

"Yes Martha, they do." Leonard said with exasperation.

"Well I'm not going under the water, not this girl." Amy stated flatly.

"I don't think I want to do it either, I don't swim that well and it would scare me to be under the water." Bernadette added.

"I would like to do it." Penny said quietly, which made everyone look at her. "It sounds like fun." She added cautiously. Penny would do anything to be with Leonard for a little time alone.

Katie didn't know what to do, she was a good swimmer, but the way Penny looked at her before, she didn't think Penny wanted anyone to join her and Leonard. Katie was really worried again, for the second time she was seeing triangle was forming between her friends and Leonard. "Um…I don't know if I really want to go either. I'm not really into fish."

Suddenly Leonard realized that he and Penny were the only ones left to do this and his guilt over Bernadette came over him again. He took Bernadette's hand, "You sure Bernie, it is really not too hard and I think you would have fun."

Bernadette smiled at him, "No Honey, I'm not that comfortable around the ocean, I can swim but not that good and having all that scuba stuff on me would scare me."

"I would be there." Leonard responded.

Bernadette gave him a quick kiss, he was so sweet. "No, I trust you, but I don't think I can do it. Take Penny, she is the adventurer of the group, the tomboy." Bernadette did have a little trepidation of letting Penny and Leonard go together, but her and Leonard had now been together for a couple of weeks now and besides what could they do under the water.

Martha smiled as she walked away from the table, the four pretty girls and Leonard. She liked Leonard and seeing him surrounded by beautiful woman who liked him made her heart feel good. However, she thought she saw something special between him and the girl Penny, the way they looked at each other was very special. Martha couldn't understand why Leonard was with the other blonde, when maybe his true love was sitting next to him. Well at least they were planning to be together tomorrow to see the fish and being underwater with someone special seeing something beautiful was very romantic, Martha thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxTROPICAL PARADISExxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The boat ride out to the reef took a little over an half hour, however it seemed a lot shorter and Penny and Leonard talked the whole time together. This was the first time Penny had been alone with him and she found it so easy to talk to him, she also found everything he said extremely interesting. She was a little disappointed when they finally arrived and went through their pre-dive briefing, but that only lasted a minute as she concentrated on the instructions and safety briefing for diving today.

There were three pairs of them, all of them being one man and one woman, couples every one of them. There was a couple from New York, on their honeymoon, and another couple from Ohio, who had been married for 6 years. Penny blushed when they asked her and Leonard how long they had been married and didn't know how to feel when Leonard told them they were friends. The way he said friends started her heart beating fast again, it sounded like he meant it as more than friends, but she didn't know if she heard that with her ears or her heart.

The dive itself was magical, Leonard stayed close to her the whole time, he was protecting her, and she felt so secure beside him, even though she had not dived for years. When they reached the reef it was absolutely beautiful, the fish were the most colorful she had ever seen outside a book and they would come right up to you, they knew they wouldn't be hurt and weren't afraid. They had all been given an underwater digital camera and some fish food, so while Penny fed the fish, surrounding her, Leonard took pictures, then she did the same with him. Penny was having so much fun, not only because of this underwater adventure but because she was with Leonard, he was just wonderful the whole time. It was near the end that another couple swam up to them and wanted them to take a picture of them together, so Leonard did, then Penny indicated for them to take a picture of her and Leonard. They both held each other close and the couple took the picture, and after they handed the camera back and swam off, Penny found she was still holding Leonard's hand while he looked down at their joined hands. Something inside Penny took over as he looked back up to her, their eyes locking together again, like they had a couple times before and she just let her heart take over. She pulled herself closer to him by his hand, took her regulator out of her mouth and moved her lips toward his, hoping he would do the same.

It took a second for Leonard realize what she was doing, but he was unable to resist, her took his regulator out too and tilted his head to clear her mask and let their lips meet. Even though it was a clumsy kiss, two people wearing diving masks under 40 feet of water, it was an amazing kiss, Leonard had ever experienced and he held it with her until the need for air overwhelmed the pleasure of her lips on his. They both put their regulators back in and stared at each other, Leonard feeling incredibly happy and yet extremely guilty.

Penny felt the tingles from her lips to the tip of her toes and wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, it was the most amazing kiss she had ever experienced with a man. She was just trying to figure how to kiss him again, when the underwater horn sounded that was their notice to return to the boat their adventure was now over. The trance now broken between them Leonard slowly lead her up to the boat, again Penny feeling that she had been cheated with her time with him, wanting nothing better than to spend the rest of the day with him.

Leonard and Penny were the last ones to the boat, and Leonard helped her off with her tank and weight belt before she climbed the ladder to the boat. Penny was still emotionally high from the kiss, so Leonard's touch when he helped take of her gear, sent shivers through her body. Leonard handed her equipment up to the guy on the boat, and Penny then started to help him off with his tank even though he tried to gently tell her he was okay. She couldn't help her touches of him lingering too long while she helped him, she was intoxicated by him and she would do anything to maintain the closeness they currently shared. However when Leonard handed his equipment up, it came time for Penny to climb the ladder into the boat and leave him.

Leonard swallowed hard as Penny climbed the ladder in front of him. They were wearing short wet suits, but they didn't really cover up Penny's behind which, while she was ascending the ladder, was now in his view. It was perfect, just like her, and now the guilt really hit him hard, he was extremely attracted to her, that kiss made that so obvious to him, but he was with Bernadette and that wasn't right, no matter how he tried to twist it. He didn't even realize she was back in the boat until the crewman yelled to him, to ask him if he was coming into the boat or needed help. What made things worse is when he stepped onto the deck, Penny smiled at him and took his hand for him to help her off with her wet suit and help dry her. The next few minutes were absolute torture for him as he dried her back and body with a towel, her smiling at him the whole time.

However when it came time for her to help him, he stopped her. "Penny…I can't."

Penny felt like she had been slapped, she hoped she was wrong at understanding what he meant. "Leonard….I….I don't understand."

"Penny that kiss….what was that kiss about?"

Penny swallowed, this was not going like she hoped, everything was going wrong, she was making him uncomfortable and she felt like a fool. She had to salvage anything of the budding friendship they had, the thought of driving him completely away was something she didn't want to bare. "It was a Thank You for this trip, I really enjoyed myself Leonard, this was amazing and so beautiful. I guess I got carried away in my enthusiasm, I'm sorry. It was nothing more than that."

Leonard nodded feeling like a complete fool, he knew he read too much into it, he was so pathetic and now he probably made her feel that he was weird. Why would a girl like her be even slightly interested in him, he still couldn't even understand why any of those four girls were friends with him, much less someone as pretty as Bernadette hanging around with him. "I'm sorry…..I…I'm sorry. It was beautiful wasn't it, I'm glad you enjoyed it." Leonard then stepped away from her to take off his wet suit and dry himself.

The rest of the trip back from the reef, Penny and Leonard didn't sit too close to each other and didn't talk, both lost in their own thoughts. The girls were at the dock to pick them up so Leonard got in the back seat with Bernadette and Penny got into the passenger seat for the trip back home. Bernadette was relieved, although both Penny and Leonard both described how beautiful it was, they both seemed to be distant from each other, like they really didn't have a good time together, which was fine with Bernadette.

Bernadette spent the night with Leonard and the next day, Amy, Katie and Penny saw nothing of Leonard and little of Bernadette again, Amy making jokes about Bernadette nesting with Leonard. Penny was trying to not obsess on what happened the day before, trying not to think about Leonard, but it was harder than she thought and she couldn't help the desire to see him again, even though he was with Bernadette. She was trying to convince herself she could be his friend, just his friend, because as long as he was with Bernadette, that, she knew was all she could be.

Leonard moped the whole next day, he was nice to Bernadette but she could tell he was just going through the motions while something was bothering him. After lunch she tried to get him to open up on what was wrong, but he just made some excuse to go check his equipment again and left down the beach to be gone the whole afternoon. Bernadette was frustrated and worried as she made a quick stop at the girls beach house to get some clothes while he was gone. That evening her and Leonard hardly talked at all and both just sitting and watching TV the whole night until bedtime.

The next day Bernadette had decided she had to do something, it had been two days since the scuba trip and Leonard wasn't acting much better, her worry now exceeding her frustration with him. She really liked Leonard and she wanted to get his mind off his problem and back on them, because ever since the parasail trip, Bernadette thought she was loosing him. That morning, Leonard was in the kitchen of his beach house making some tropical drinks for him and Bernadette using fruit, ice and the blender. Bernadette had gone out to the porch already to get some sun, saying her tan wasn't good enough to show everyone when she got home, which made Leonard softly chuckle with her little joke. He had just finished the two tropical smoothies and was carefully carrying them to the porch, when, as he walked outside he almost dropped the drinks at the sight before him.

Bernadette wanted to lay out a little and get some sun, but she really wanted for Leonard to get his mind back to her and she wanted to be intimate with him that day, her period now over. Bernadette was wearing a small bikini, one that was very flattering and showed most of her best assets, her breasts, because now she wanted Leonard to really notice her. She had carefully worn a robe to cover herself until she got outside where he couldn't see her, then she quickly put her beach towel on the lounge chair, dropped the robe and laid on her belly to start her tan. She felt almost naked, the bottoms were quite small and the top crack in her ass showed as she laid down, the only thing covering her backside a patch of material, she was embarrassed, but the sight of Leonard's face made it all worth it. "Honey can you put suntan lotion on me so I don't burn." she said as sweetly as she could.

"Umm….Yeah….I guess that I can do that." Leonard put the two smoothies on the small table next to the lounge and took the suntan lotion off the table, while he pulled a chair next to her. He had to force his hand not to shake as he started to rub the suntan lotion on her back, trying hard not to look at her perfectly round sexy bottom that was sticking out the side and partially exposed by the suit bottoms. He first did her back, arms and neck then moved to her feet and legs, getting more and more nervous as he moved to her thighs approaching her ass.

Bernadette never got turned on by a guy touching her ass, but Leonard moving up her legs was making her so turned on she couldn't wait till he started rubbing around her ass. She bit her lip not to moan while he did the top of her thighs and then when he touched the sides of her bottom, she shivered, he was slowly turning her extremely on.

Upon feeling her shiver, Leonard pulled his hand away, "I'm sorry." he thought he went over some line by touching her there.

Bernadette tried to control her voice. "That's okay, I just felt a little draft…Please continue."

Leonard looked at her confused, "You sure?…..Do you want me to put suntan lotion on your…bottom?"

'Hell Yes' Bernadette thought, "I don't want to get sun burnt on my…..bottom. It will probably hurt if I sit, if I did. You don't want that, do you? I know I don't."

Leonard swallowed and nodded, "Okay." He had never rubbed anything on a woman, especially a beautiful woman, it was both exciting and scary.

Bernadette closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing and actions, Leonard's hand rubbing lotion on the exposed parts of her cheeks of her ass, was amazing and was exciting her in a very carnal way. When he finally stopped she almost moaned in frustration, but then she decided she wasn't done with him or this experience. She had laid on her stomach, because she knew if she laid on her back, her breasts would practically fall out of the bathing suit, but now that is just what she wanted. "Honey since you have lotion on your hand and right here, could you do my front too?"

Leonard was just getting his senses back from rubbing Bernadette ass cheeks, they were so soft round and sexy, Bernadette's distraction was actually working because Leonard had never been in this situation before and was overwhelmed. He didn't want to stop and he wasn't even thinking when he said 'Okay' to her request.

Bernadette smiled then rolled over, her breasts immediately coming partly out from behind the material that made up the top. She almost giggled when she saw Leonard's eyes go wide and she then thought she wanted to move this whole experience up a notch. "Damm, I should have expected that, well this top is useless. Let me move it out of your way." Bernadette quickly pulled the bow in the back discarding the top to the table in one quick move, then laying back for Leonard to put lotion on her.

Leonard sat there stunned, he never imagined himself in this situation with her, maybe rubbing her breasts around her top, but to see them in the open in the bright daylight was something different. Bernadette was quite shapely and her breasts were amazing, plus the way she was looking at him right now was making his heart beat faster. "Umm…Okay." was all he could get out of his mouth. He started putting lotion on her feet tops then moved up her legs trying to built courage before he reached her breasts, however he forgot about the small patch of cloth that covered her womanhood until he reached it. He just stopped and stared for a minute at that patch, unable to get any closer to it. Something like this never happened to him before, rubbing lotion on a beautiful practically nude girl was a dream, not real things that happened to guys like him. He quickly moved to her arms and neck, trying to recover from his excitement and calm down, but he soon came to point where he had to put lotion on her breasts and he got nervous again, stopping to look at her.

Bernadette saw the look in his eyes, he was nervous and she thought it was adorable, he was just as nervous as her, which made her feel better about what she was doing. "Leonard it is okay, they really need to be covered so they won't get burnt. Can you do that for me." she pleaded. His gentle touch as he stared to rub suntan lotion on her breasts, sent electricity through her, and she knew she wouldn't last long in this little situation if he continued his massage, but she really didn't want him to stop. It was worse because he was covering her breasts and not touching her nipples, which were rock hard by now, so the pleasure kept growing in her core as he gently massaged the lotion in. She was too turned on by the time he rubbed the lotion on her nipples, his fingers rubbing against them as he rubbed the lotion in, and she couldn't control it anymore as she writhe under his touch and moaned loudly.

Leonard was actually surprised at her squirming under his touch and then her moan made him realize she was getting turned on, which aroused him and made him wonder. However he had no doubt when she opened her closed eyes to see them almost black in dilation as she reached up to bring his face to hers. Leonard's mouth met hers as her tongue immediately sought his in a searing kiss that surprised and excited him. It was right then Penny came into his mind and the kiss with Bernadette making him remember Penny's kiss from two days ago, it made him pull back to look at Bernadette in surprise.

Bernadette looked at him and the look in his eyes made her suddenly feel self conscious and naked, bringing despair and tears to her eyes. He didn't move for almost a minute and she fell apart, starting to sob, feeling foolish and exposed, she felt so rejected. She was about to get up and run to the house, when he became animated again scooping her up in his arms then pulling the beach blanket over her to cover her as he gently cradled her in his lap, her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Bernadette put her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder, feeling him adjust the big beach blanket so that it practically covered her whole body completely, seeming to understand her self consciousness at being almost naked. They stayed like that for a while, Bernadette hanging on to him tightly, even though his actions caused this, she needed the comfort of him almost as much as she needed the air to breathe. Finally the tears ended and she just laid there in his arms nuzzled close to him, the feeling of him relaxing her. "Why Leonard?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry."

"Please tell me what's wrong?"

"I can't, I'm sorry."

Bernadette wanted to hate him but she couldn't, she wanted to go back to the girls beach house, but she couldn't leave his arms as he held her. So she just stayed in his lap, her head on his shoulder, as he gently rubbed her back to try and comforted her, she just couldn't leave, she couldn't give this up and she just hoped things would get better. The emotional release and being so comfortable in his arms eventually got to her and closing her eyes for a second resulted in her quickly falling asleep in his arms.

Leonard felt terrible, he never wanted to hurt her and while she had cried he had tears in his eyes too. Bernadette was like a petite angel in his arms, she deserved to be cherished, not hurt like he just did, the thought of it made him feel horrible. It was with a little relief when he felt her breathing steady, as he realized she was asleep, and he adjusted himself in his chair, because he had no intention of letting her go while she slept. Leonard gently kissed her head then lightly rubbed his cheek against her hair, "I'm sorry my little angel, I'm so sorry." his eyes still wet from his hopelessness.