I.

This is the night before:

The vibrations ran through her body and filled her eardrums. It was loud, and the indistinct chatter and the heavy breathing of those around her only made it louder. She could feel the bass of the music, and the incessant pounding in her head every time a song reached its climax. The terribly hued lights bounced off the wall, dancing eccentrically across the sticky floor. Her body moved with conviction and her hair whipped wildly around her, gone were the thoughts that plagued her mind every night. Tonight, she lived.

Her friends moved wildly beside her, letting the music take over their movements. The beat wrapped itself around them and guided them through the dancefloor. They were celebrating tonight; Bernadette and Howard had just gotten engaged. A joyous occasion; the commitment of all commitments. She was happy for her friend, truly.

(I wonder how long they'll even last–)

She had to shake her head of her thoughts; she was happy for her friend, truly.

Besides, she was married herself, two years.

When Leonard, her boyfriend of four years, proposed to her she was ecstatic. Why wouldn't she be? This was what every little girl wanted, right? This was the future she craved, a successful career, a loving marriage, and eventually a beautiful family. (Right?) So far, the move to California has been paying off. This was everything she had been fighting for; the endless ridicule she got from her family and friends back in Nebraska. ("Oh Penny, you know your father and I love you dearly but please be realistic. The chances of you succeeding in Hollywood are very, very slim. Stay home.") Stay home her ass. She was aware of the statistics, but she refused to be just another one of them.

It was hard, very hard. She'd be lying if she said she had no doubts or second thoughts, the minute she landed in California it was a sea of artificial blonde hair. She was a dime a dozen. Audition after audition, callback after callback, she felt defeated. All she had was Bernadette and Amy, reassuring her it was ok and her time would come. It didn't matter though, she was tired. Leonard was on the same page as her parents, he even went as far as to call them behind her back and explain his worries.

("I'm worried about Penny, Wyatt and Susan. While I'm glad she has dreams and ambition, and I've always been attracted to her imagination…we are getting older. I want to start a family and have kids; I can't do that when Penny is running around town acting as if she's twenty-two again. I'm making more than enough money to support the both of us and our future children, all she has to do is stay home.")

She was livid. How dare he. It was that conversation that motivated her to go harder. She fired her old agent and splurged on a new one, one that knew what they were doing. The payoff started slow, a commercial here, a commercial there. It was a few months in when she got a callback to be a recurring character on a sitcom, and with the new determination in her stomach, she got the part.

Leonard never stopped making her feel bad about it. Yes, the show required her to spend more time away from him, they did have a deadline to meet after all. But it didn't give him the right to guilt trip her the way he did. What was meant to be something joyous and excitable for her, ended up being something that tore their relationship apart. It wasn't fair.

Leonard was a scientist; he was working hard at discovering things most people couldn't wrap their heads around. That's why he was paid extremely well. Still, he was always good at coming home at a certain time, every day. However, after she started her role on her sitcom his days started getting longer and he would start showing up after dinner. Penny was no fool, she's been around infidelity, she's been around lying cheating men. In Nebraska it was practically the norm.

She expected it to hurt. She expected to cry. Instead, she ignored it. If she ignored it, it wasn't happening. She knew he felt so good about getting away with his betrayal. He thought she had no idea; she was too busy to realize. And honestly, she couldn't find it in her to correct him, she found herself not really caring that he was cheating on her. She grew to realize the love in their relationship died a while ago; but the façade couldn't last because she had accidentally bumped into proof of his infidelity in front of him. She couldn't pretend anymore. He apologized profusely, promised to end it, and suggested they go to therapy. She agreed. If only to pacify him. A divorce would look terrible for her reputation right now.

"I'm going to get a drink; you guys want anything?" She called out over the music towards her friends.

The two girls shook their heads no, too captivated by the music to slow down for a drink break. She smiled at them and made her way through the throng of club goers.

She needed to breathe and get off the dance floor, all of a sudden, she felt overwhelmed; her leather pants were too tight, her black lacy bralette was too revealing. Her mind was congested and she couldn't stop her thoughts from running rampant in her head. The time she essentially wasted with Leonard, the vows she wasted on him; it was all too much for her. One minute she was shoving through a crowd, and the next she felt herself tripping over her feet and falling forward. She always believed bottom would be the day she face-planted a sticky club floor, though, she never believed that day would come on a night she was sober. However, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on who you ask, instead of facing ultimate embarrassment, she was greeted by a solid chest and broad shoulders. She felt her breath hitch as she looked up at her accidental hero, there was an electricity behind his blue eyes that made her want to ball up and hide. The intensity of his stare in the dark room made the hairs on the back of her neck stand.

"You alright?"

His voice was as intense as his stare (and was that a southern accent?), it was like honey to her ears. She nodded, attempting to right herself and straighten her clothes out. "Yes, thank you so much." She laughed awkwardly. "I wouldn't prefer the alternative you saved me from peril," she pointed to the ground.

It took a moment for her to realize, but she saw his lip twitch and a small grin play on his face. She could barely make his features out but damn she knew he was handsome. Tall, lean, and he stood with an air of confidence that made her inside burn. It was like he was a beacon and she couldn't help but be attracted to him. She almost felt guilty.

"Well, how about a dance to call it even?"

She forgot what brought her towards the bar altogether as she put her hand in his and let him lead her to the dancefloor. Her legs were on autopilot and her brain could only process one thought (Thank goodness we aren't near Bernie and Amy!). She let him put his hands on her waist and bring her in close, the air between them thick with tension as their bodies moved together.

Long gone were the thoughts that poisoned her brain, she lost herself in this perfect stranger. The way his hands glided down her sides and onto her waist, gripping it; his thumbs gently caressing her soft skin. She felt delicate in his embrace, and it was a feeling that she never knew she was yearning for. He bent his head, his forehead pressing up against hers, and his arm across her back pulling her flush against him. She was aware they were grinding; their breath was mixed and all she could hear was their labored breathing. Seldom does she ever feel this electric; she was addicted to the feeling.

He turned her around, her ass fitting snuggly against his pelvis, and she could feel her effect on him through his jeans and it sent chills down her spine. His hands pressed firmly into her hips as she guided them into a sensual swaying motion. Her head lolled back, and she felt his lips press against the skin of her neck. She knew she needed to end this; she knew this was wrong; but she also knew she was never going to feel like this again. After tonight ended and the sun came up, she was going to therapy and continuing her mundane life with her cheating husband.

She decided to lose herself in the music and rolled her head to the side even further, letting him have further access to her neck. He wasted no time in kissing on her pulse and nibbling on her jugular.

She didn't know how many songs they danced through, but she was rudely pulled out of her thoughts when she felt someone gripping her arm and pulling her away. She opened her eyes and saw her friends speaking, but she couldn't hear them. She could only imagine what they were thinking, had they seen this random man kissing on her neck? Did they see her grinding against him? She looked back at the man and heard him ask. "What's your name?"

But she was being pulled away before she could answer. (Maybe it's for the best.) She thought to herself as she lost him in the crowd.

This is the morning after:

"It's our first appointment and we're already going to be late, Penny."

Leonard was grumbling under his breath as he moved around their house. He was gathering his keys, and making snide comments under his breath as he did so. Penny sighed; her brain still foggy from last night. She got home rather late, and she and Leonard got into a fight because of it.

"We're about to go to marriage counselling and this is the tone you want to set for it, really Leonard?" He rolled his eyes and then exhaled. "You're right, let's go."

The ride there was awkward and stuffy. They had gotten good at pretending around each other; she was good at pretending she still loved him, and she was willing to forgive him for his betrayal. And he was good at pretending he was going to stop betraying her. They moved in a way they understood, their marriage was a façade. That's not to say she didn't want her marriage to work out, if it was possible, she would love to get back what they lost. She did care for Leonard deeply; she did marry him after all.

Penny was confused, she imagined a smaller building, slightly outdated, and for some reason she imagined a scent that was unpleasant. But this was far from what she imagined; they stood in a tall modern building, everyone was dressed professionally and moved with a fluidness that told her they all knew where they belonged and what they needed to do. Most had an earpiece in as well. She watched as her husband approached a lady behind a large desk and spoke.

"Two o'clock, the Hofstadter's."

The lady clicked away on a computer before nodding her head and pointing towards a hallway that led to two large frosted doors. There were achievements all over the walls and trophies and books she never heard of adorned a bookshelf in the corner. In the middle of the room was a comfortable sized black sofa, and in front of it a chair. She supposed that's where they were to sit.

"Come Penny, let's sit down and wait for him."

Him? She was meant to take marriage advice from a man? She rolled her eyes, if she was having doubts earlier, she's definitely having them now. That's probably why Leonard insisted on coming here, get another male's opinion and he'd probably just agree with everything Leonard said. She ignored her husband's voice and looked out at the view. Large floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city, she could only imagine what this office looked like at night, it was gorgeous.

She was taken out of her reverie when she heard the office doors opening and a male voice speak.

"Excuse my lateness, there was a business matter that demanded my attention."

Leonard smiled, "It's no problem at all, my wife and I only just arrived."

Penny turned, ready to introduce herself to the man, but felt her introduction get stuck in her throat as she looked up at a pair of intense blue eyes. She couldn't believe it, she had to be imagining things. But she knew she wasn't, not with the way he was staring at her too. She felt the ghost of his touch on her body, she felt her heart racing in her chest. She wanted him to touch her skin again, set it ablaze, but she had to force herself to stand by her husband.

"This is my wife, Penny Hofstadter."

Penny outreached her hand, ready to shake his.

"Nice to meet you, Penny. I'm Dr. Sheldon Cooper."