Chapter 18
Two months has passed since the couple adopted their dog Buster. Penny was thankful that Leonard agreed on keeping the dog since it gave her someone to play with when Leonard went to work. Penny would always take the dog for a morning walk along the beach and teach him simple tricks like fetch and sit. She was glad that Buster was smart and easy to teach especially in doing it's bodily functions outside of the house. It took her only a week to train him to go to the back of the house to do his business there. Leonard dug up some loose soil in the back of the house for Penny to cover Buster's poop so the smell won't spread and attract flies.
Although he was busy with work, Leonard made it a point to take Penny out to dinner once in a while or go around the island on a motorcycle. Penny was glad that Leonard would always make an effort for them to have some quality time together with most of the time taking Buster with them.
One early morning, Penny was startled when she heard the dog barking furiously. She immediately got up and put on her robe to check up on the dog.
"Buster what is it? It's too early and you're busting my ears!" She said as she rubbed her eyes but the dog kept barking on the fence. Penny focused her eyes and was immediately struck with fear when she saw a snake coiled and sizing up the dog. She immediately screamed for Leonard.
"LEONARD!...LEONARD!...Come quickly!" she yelled. Leonard was startled and fell off the bed. He quickly put on his glasses and ran to Penny.
"What is it!?" he asked.
Penny nervously pointed at the snake. "Leonard look!….it's a snake…..Leonard I'm scared!" she said as she went behind him.
Leonard immediately took a long wooden rod from the back of the door to scare it away. "Honey go under the sink and fetch me my machete…..go now!" he told Penny. Penny quickly went under the sink and found the bladed implement handing it to Leonard.
"Honey please be careful!" Penny said nervously.
Leonard grabbed the machete on one hand and the wooden rod on another. He quickly pinned the snake's head down on the ground with the wooden rod and with one quick stroke, chopped the snake's head off. The snake's body twisted and wriggled for a while until it stopped moving. Penny sighed with relief when the snake stopped moving. Leonard then dug a small hole to bury the snake's head since it still has venom in it's fangs. Their neighbor Sammy looked over the fence to find out about the commotion.
"Hi Sammy!…..do you know how to cook a snake?" Leonard asked as he pointed to the dead snake on the ground.
"Wow Leonard….you're lucky you didn't got bitten." Sammy said.
"Yeah…..so do you want it or not?" he asked Sammy.
"Yeah sure I'll take it!." he said as he went over the fence and took the snake's body. "If you want I'll bring you some after cooking it?" Sammy said.
Leonard looked at Penny. "Do you want to try snake?" he asked.
"Is it safe?" Penny asked.
"Of course! It tastes just like chicken!" Sammy laughed.
"Okay Sammy. Maybe we can eat it later tonight while having some beer?" Leonard said.
"Sounds good Leonard." he nodded as he turned towards his house. "Thanks Leonard." Sammy said as he walked away.
Penny scooped up the dog and cuddled it in her arms. "You are so amazing sweetie!….so brave!" she said as the dog licked her face.
"I think you're forgetting who killed the snake!?" Leonard said. Penny put the dog down and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the lips.
"You're my hero!" she said.
"Ugh….your lips taste like dog saliva." he said.
Penny smiled at him. "Honey this snake thing really got me excited." she whispered to him. "Do you wanna?" she winked at him.
"What about breakfast?" he asked.
"We'll have 'breakfast in bed'….come on!" she said as she pulled him back into the bedroom.
They laid on the bed after fooling around for an hour when Leonard's phone beeped.
"What is it honey?" Penny asked.
"The hotel. They need me to fix the lights in two rooms." he said as he sat up on the bed.
"But I haven't made breakfast yet." she said.
"Don't worry, I'll just have a sandwich and be on my way. This shouldn't take long." he said as he went straight to the bathroom to get a quick shower. He returned to get dressed while Penny made him a sandwich in the kitchen. Leonard grabbed his bag of tools and took the sandwich as he left the house.
"Alright I'm out honey." he said as he went out the door.
Penny ran after him. "Leonard wait!" she yelled. Leonard stopped and turned around. "Why don't we eat out for lunch?" she said.
"Okay. Sounds good!" he said as he kissed her on the lips and walked away.
Leonard was done after a few hours and saw that it was almost one in the afternoon. He was on his way out of the hotel when the receptionist Galy called him.
"Hi Galy! What's up?" he asked.
"Hi Leonard! There's a new guest here and her laptop kinda stopped working and she asked if we know anyone who can help her out so I told her I'll ask if you would be willing to help…..might even earn you a few extra bucks!" Galy said.
"Uh yeah sure Galy. Where is this guest of yours?" he asked.
"Okay great! She's in the lobby now. Let's go and I'll introduce you to her." Galy said as they walked towards the hotel lobby. "Uh excuse me Ms. Alex….this is Leonard….he's our maintenance guy. He might be able to fix your laptop." Galy said. "and this is Alex's friend Megan." Galy pointed at the other girl sitting with Alex. Megan waved hello.
Alex stood up. "Hi Leonard! Can you please take a look at my computer? I think it got damaged when my bag fell from the baggage cart in the airport." Alex said shaking his hand.
"Sure. Let me take a look." Leonard said as they sat down and Alex showed him her laptop.
"Listen Leonard….I gotta go back to the reception desk….thanks a lot!" Galy said.
"Okay Galy." Leonard said as he opened the computer. "Uh….did the Hulk borrow your laptop?" he asked as he started to unscrew the screen.
"Uh excuse me?" Alex asked.
"Well you know?….Hulk Smash!….since your laptop looks like someone smashed it…" he looked at her.
Alex smiled at him. "You're funny Leonard." she said looking at him. Leonard noticed that Alex has green eyes, the same as Penny. He also noticed that Alex was quite pretty and has long brown hair.
Leonard carefully inspected the laptop. "Well the good thing is the ribbon cable's not damaged so I might be able to attach the screen back….hopefully that's the only damage." he said as he began tinkering with the computer. He saw a sticker on the back of the laptop and decided to ask her about it.
"So you're from Stanford University huh?" he asked.
"That's where I graduated from but now I'm working at CalTech." she said looking at him.
Leonard was surprised. "Really? I worked at CalTech before….you know as a maintenance crew…" he almost slipped.
"Really? What a coincidence!" she smiled at him.
"Yeah. Which department are you working at?" he asked.
"I'm working at the Physics Department." Alex said.
"Ah….Dr. Gablehauser's department." he said.
"You know Dr. Gablehauser?" Alex asked.
"Well yeah….I mean everybody knows him…" Leonard said.
"Right….but I'm not exactly working for him….I'm actually Dr. Sheldon Cooper's assistant." she said.
"Sheldon Cooper?….tall, awkward and looks like a giant preying mantis!" Leonard said. Alex laughed out loud.
"You know Sheldon Cooper?" she asked.
"I once changed a light bulb in his office and after that, he called the cleaning lady to 'sanitize' his office from any dust and molds that may have come from the ceiling." Leonard said. Alex laughed even harder.
"Oh my god!….that sounds just exactly like him!...I can't believe I'd run into someone who knew my supervisor." Alex said smiling at him.
"Well….Sheldon Cooper is a rare species. Maybe that's the reason the university keeps him." he smiled at her as he finished putting the laptop back together. "Here give it a try." he said asking Alex to turn on the computer. Alex pushed the power button and was glad Leonard was able to fix it. She put her hand on his arm and thanked him.
"Thank you Leonard...you're a life saver!" Alex said.
Galy went to Leonard and whispered to him. "Leonard I think you're in trouble." she said as she pointed at the hotel entrance.
"Why?" he asked and then saw Penny with Buster on a leash,looking angrily at him. Alex saw Penny and asked Leonard.
"Leonard is everything alright?" she asked.
He looked at Alex. "I gotta go." he said as he gathered his tools.
"Who is that?" she asked.
Leonard sighed. "That...is my girlfriend." he said. "Anyway...I'll see you around." he said as he stood up.
"But I have to pay you first." Alex said.
"Don't worry about it…." he said as he walked hurriedly towards the entrance. Penny wasn't there anymore.
Galy walked beside him. "Are you okay Leonard?" she asked.
"I don't know…..I have to go after her." he said as he walked away exiting the hotel.
He reached home and found Penny by the kitchen holding the machete from earlier.
"Okay honey, please put that down before you hurt yourself." Leonard calmly said.
"Oh someone's definitely gonna get hurt!" Penny glared at him.
"Penny that's not funny…..the receptionist of the hotel asked me if I could help her out with her laptop….that's all I did." he said.
"Ah….so that is your thing huh?….you go around helping pretty girls with their computer and the next thing you know you're taking her around the island, snorkeling!" she yelled at him.
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little bit?" he asked her.
"Do you think so? Then why is it you were laughing and smiling at each other huh!?" she tightened her grip of the machete.
"We were just talking….I'm not flirting with her….I promise." he said.
"Well she's definitely flirting with you and you seem to like it very much!" she yelled again.
"She's not flirting with me. We're just talking." he said.
"Then tell me, what were you talking about?" Penny asked him.
"Well, it turns out she's from CalTech and working as Sheldon's assistant." Leonard said.
"Now we're getting somewhere" she said loudly "...you were talking because she's a scientist like you." Penny said.
"I didn't tell her anything. I lied and told her I was a maintenance crew at CalTech….that's all, I promise." he pleaded her.
"I don't believe you. It looks like you enjoy talking to her." she pouted.
Leonard went near her. "Penny I'm not gonna cheat on you….I'm not that kind of guy." he continued and put his hand on the bladed implement. "Now why don't you let go of this before you hurt someone." he said freeing the machete from her hand. Penny punched him on the arm. "Ow!...that hurt!" he said.
"Good!….because you're not getting any this week!" she punched him again.
Leonard sighed. "I said I'm sorry….please forgive me." he said. She punched his arm again. "I won't cheat on you." he said as he slowly put his arm around her waist. Penny resisted but Leonard tightened his embrace and kissed her cheek. "You're the only girl for me." he said.
"You're not out of the woods yet mister!" she said pouting at him. Leonard sighed and released his hug.
"So are we still eating out for lunch?" he asked.
"You eat outside! Me and Buster will eat the leftovers from breakfast." she said as she turned around to the kitchen. Leonard didn't protest and turned around to leave the house. He thought it would be better to give Penny some space for her to cool down a bit.
He went to a nearby diner and ordered a hamburger and some fries. He bought a separate order of crispy fries for Penny when he gets home. He thought a little 'bribe' wouldn't hurt. He finished eating, paid for his food and went straight home. He saw Penny on the couch watching TV, cuddling the dog on her lap. He went over and gave her the crispy fries. Penny glared at him and took the food box and began eating, feeding some to the dog. He then went to the bathroom to wash up and came back into the living room, sitting beside Penny as she finished eating. Buster wagged his tail at him as he put his arm over her shoulder and kissed her cheek.
"I'm sorry honey." he said.
"I hate you." Penny said looking at him.
"I'm sorry if you got jealous. You know that I wouldn't do that to you….I promise!" he said.
Penny didn't say anything and just leaned her head on his shoulder.
"You know what?" he asked her.
"What?" she asked.
"This was our first fight." he asked her.
"Yeah….I don't like it." Penny said.
"I don't like it too." he said.
"Leonard, aren't you gonna get bored with me?" she asked.
"What!?….why am I gonna get bored with you?" he said.
"Because….we have little in common….maybe someday, another girl will come along who's more like you and you'll leave me for her…." she said.
Leonard sat up straight and looked at her. "Honey, I've been in a relationship with someone like me and believe me it doesn't work." he said.
"Tell me." she said.
"Really? Do you want to know about my ex-girlfriends?" he looked at her.
"Yes." she kissed his cheek.
"Well….Leslie was a physicist like me….she also wore glasses and is about as tall as me. We were happy for a time until we had a bump on the road." he said.
"What is that?" she asked.
"A difference in opinion….we had an argument about quantum physics, one thing led to another until it blew out of proportion and next thing you know….we were broken up." he said.
"You had a difference in opinion about physics and broke up because of that?" Penny asked.
"Well….she kind of overreacted and decided to break up with me." he continued. "Sheldon was kinda involved in that too." he said.
"What did he do?" she asked.
"He kinda fanned the flames of the argument, giving valid points to my argument until Leslie gave up and broke it off with me." he added. "It's probably for the best because Leslie can't really hold on to a man. It's always those feminist ideals of her that scares the guys away." he said.
"What about your last girlfriend?" Penny asked.
"Priya. She was Raj's sister." Leonard said.
"You dated your friend's sister? He must have hated you for that." she said.
"At first, but it normalized after a while. She's independent and didn't approved of my nerdy hobbies. She always tried to steer me away from that. It was gradual at first until she tried to change my appearance….you know clothes and stuff….until one day I realized I wasn't happy anymore. But my biggest mistake was I said the 'L' word too early. After that she tried to control me in everything." he continued. "I tried confronting her but she always brushed me off until we had a big fight….it was downhill after that." he said.
"You told her you love her?" Penny asked.
Leonard nodded. "Yeah….she kinda used that as leverage to control me." he said.
Penny hugged Leonard to console him. "Poor baby….come here." She kissed him on the cheek. They were quiet for a while until Penny looked at him. "What about me?" she asked.
"I don't understand." he said.
"Well….do you love me?" Penny asked.
Leonard looked at her and saw the seriousness of her face. "Of course I do….I wouldn't have asked you to move in with me if I didn't." he said.
"You do?" Penny smiled at him.
"Yes Penny. What about you?" he asked her. Penny nodded. "Come here." he said as he hugged her tight. "Ley's go out to dinner tonight." he asked her.
"No….let's just stay here." she said. "Sammy's gonna bring that snake dish tonight right?" she asked.
"Oh yeah….I almost forgot about that….how many beers do we have left in the fridge?" he asked.
"Two….don't worry we'll buy some later." she continued. "What do you wanna do now?" she asked.
Leonard smiled at her. "Well since we already made up and love each other….we can…..you know?" he winked at her.
"No!" she yelled at him startling the dog. "I told you….you won't get any for a week!" she said.
"You're joking right?" he asked.
"I'm not joking Leonard….and don't you dare use those biceps and shoulder of yours 'cause it's not gonna work!" she glared at him.
Leonard flexed his arms for her to touch. "You mean this?" he said.
Penny folded her arms. "It's not gonna work." she said.
Leonard then grabbed Buster and put him down on the floor. He then scooped her and quickly stood up. Penny was surprised but held on to his shoulders. "How about now?" he said.
"Leonard put me down!" she smiled and laughed as Leonard carried her into the bedroom. "Leonard I'm serious!" she said but can't stop giggling. He put her on the bed as he moved on top of her and started kissing her. Penny tried to resist but found herself returning his affections. It didn't help her that Leonard held her down while slowly undressing her.
Penny rested on his chest after an hour of making love. They were both out of breath as they hugged each other.
"I thought I wouldn't get any for a week?" he asked her smiling.
Penny slapped his chest. "You're a jackass!...you took advantage of me." she said.
"Hey I don't remember you struggling to get away from me." he teased her.
"That's because you pinned me down." Penny said.
"Are you angry?" he asked.
Penny sighed. "No." she said looking up to him. "I'm happy." she smiled at him.
"Me too honey." he said kissing her lips. "I'll have to go out later and buy us some beer." he said.
"I'll come with you." she said.
"Okay….we'll buy other things for the kitchen too." he said as he stroked her hair.
"Let's bring Buster with us….I'm sure he'll like that." she smiled at him. Leonard nodded.
"That dog is really smart huh? I thought you would have a hard time training him around the house but it only took a week to do it." he said.
"Maybe because I'm a great trainer." she said.
"Yeah that too." he said. They continued making small talk until they drifted off to sleep.
They woke up from their nap after about an hour and a half. Leonard looked at his watch and saw it was already five in the afternoon. They got dressed and went straight to the store to buy some groceries taking Buster with them on a leash. They passed by a fast food restaurant and decided to eat before heading back home.
Later that night, They were sitting at the front of the house facing the beach drinking beer and eating the snake dish that Sammy cooked. Sammy was laughing loudly as Penny told him about the incident that happened earlier.
"Leonard you better start behaving from now on or you'll end up like this snake we're eating" Sammy laughed.
"You see that Leonard?...Sammy here knows what I'm talking about!" Penny clinked her beer with Sammy.
"Hey that's not funny. That machete is sharp….you could get hurt with that." Leonard said.
"Leonard, I grew up in a farm so I know how to handle that little pocket knife of yours!" she teased him.
"See that Leonard? You should stop doing favors for beautiful girls….Penny is pretty great." Sammy said.
"Awww thank you Sammy...you're so sweet." Penny said.
"I told you I wasn't flirting with her….I was just being nice to them." Leonard said.
"When I saw them, she was laughing at his jokes. They're not even that funny." Penny glared at him.
"Come on….I said I'm sorry alright?" Leonard said.
They continued drinking and laughing at each other's stories until a young boy approached them.
"Excuse me sir but this nice lady from the hotel is looking for you." said the young boy to Leonard. Leonard turned and saw Alex with her friend Megan. Leonard was surprised and immediately became nervous.
"Alex? What are you doing here?" Leonard asked. He saw Penny giving him the look. Sammy sat quietly and looked at Alex and Megan.
"Well uh...I asked the hotel reception where you lived and they asked this kid to take me here. I just wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding earlier at the hotel." Alex said.
Leonard sighed. "By the way, this is my girlfriend Penny and Sammy here is my neighbor….Penny, Sammy...this is Alex and her friend Megan." Leonard said. The two girls said hello to them. Sammy raised his beer to them.
"Here we go." Sammy said.
"Hi Alex….Hi Megan." Penny said while giving Leonard the look.
"Hi Penny….listen I just want to apologize for earlier. I thought I may have gotten Leonard into trouble that's why I came here to apologize."
Leonard looked at Penny. Penny sighed. "It's alright Alex." Penny said giving her a weak smile.
"Thank you and just to let you know...I have a boyfriend back home." Alex said.
"Then why is he not here with you?" Penny asked.
"Oh he's on assignment overseas for a few months." Alex said.
"Well I'm glad that we cleared that up!" Leonard smiled at Penny.
"Fine." Penny said to Leonard then turned to Alex. "It's okay Alex. Don't worry about it." she said.
"Oh before I forget, this is yours." Alex said handing an envelope to Leonard.
"What's this?" Leonard looking at the envelope.
"It's for fixing my computer earlier." Alex said.
Leonard gave her back the envelope. "You don't have to do that Alex. All I did was re-attach the screen….it's not that difficult really." he said.
"Leonard please...I would feel much better if you take it." Alex said offering him the envelope.
"Alex you need it more than I do. It's fine really." Leonard said.
Alex smiled. "Okay if you say so….anyway I guess we better get going….thank you again." Alex said as they turned around to go back. Leonard looked at Penny. Penny sighed and called them back.
"Hey do you guys want a beer?" Penny asked them.
They faced them. "Uh no thanks….we don't want to impose." Alex smiled at her.
"Come on it's fine...we have plenty of beer." Penny said.
"No really….we have to get going….but thanks anyways." Alex said as they started to walk away. Alex suddenly turned back. "Uh do you guys know any local guides around here….we're a little worried we might get ripped off or something." Alex said.
"Sammy is a guide...maybe he can show you guys around the island….right Sammy?" Leonard said.
"Yeah no problem...do you guys want to go snorkeling or mountain climbing?" Sammy asked.
"Well we were hoping you could recommend something." Megan said.
Sammy stood and walked up to them. "Okay...here is my number and you can let me know tomorrow." he said as Alex typed his contact information on her phone.
"Great. Thanks again guys….we'll get going now….bye." Alex said.
"Bye guys." Leonard waved at them. "Happy now?" he asked Penny.
Penny sighed. "Fine. But you're not out of the woods yet." she said. Sammy laughed.
"You've got to be kidding me!?" Leonard said. Penny just glared at him.
"Well I think I should go now...I've had too many beers already." Sammy said as he stood up. "Thanks for the beer guys….hang in there Leonard." Sammy said as he gave him a fist bump.
Penny went inside the house as Leonard started to clean up their stuff. He was almost done cleaning up when he saw Penny coming from the bathroom already dressed in her nightshirt. He locked the doors and went to the bathroom to wash up and change to his boxer shorts and t-shirt for sleeping. He went to the bedroom and saw Penny already lying on the bed facing away from him. He laid beside her, slipping under the covers and putting his arm over her. Penny slightly resisted but Leonard insisted until she let him snuggle to her side. She then turned to face him.
"I'm sorry honey." Leonard whispered to her.
Penny moved and buried her face onto his neck. "Hmmm." she said. Leonard tightened his arm around her.
"Please forgive me...I promise I won't flirt with other girls anymore." he said.
She looked at him and punched his arm. "Promise me." she said.
He smiled at her. "I promise….now come here." he said as he pulled her for a tight hug. "I would never hurt you." he said.
"I love you Leonard." Penny said.
He smiled. "I love you too Penny." he continued. "You know we already had two today?" he winked at her.
Penny rolled her eyes. "Oh my god!….do you ever think of anything else other than sex!?" she glared at him.
Leonard chuckled. "No." he said kissing her lips.
"What else?" she asked.
"This." he kissed her longer.
She looked him in the eye. "You said we already had two today?" she asked.
"Uh yeah?" he said wondering what she meant.
"Well...you may have had two today…..but I already had twenty!" she winked at him.
Leonard's eyes widened. "Really?" he was surprised.
"Uh huh….do you think you can give me thirty?" she teased him.
Leonard gave her a smug smile. "Yes ma'am." he said as he kissed her passionately while slowly undressing her. Penny fought back and hurriedly yanked his clothes off. They continued to laugh and giggle while making love.