Chapter 3 - Some place to go
A couple of hours later, Leonard woke to look at the clock. It was almost 8 PM, he had actually gotten two hours sleep and his headache was gone. He now felt better but he knew that could rapidly change if he had to talk to Sheldon again tonight. He had reached his maximum Sheldon limit for the day; he just wanted to see Penny and have a nice night. So, Leonard lay in bed, trying to figure out a way to get out of the apartment without running into Sheldon, nevertheless he was not having any success, until by luck, he heard Sheldon go into the bathroom. He knew he had little time so he immediately grabbed his jacket and shoes and tiptoed out of his room in his sock covered feet, he had done this before with some success and he hoped tonight was one of those days. He tried to be as quiet as possible, listening until he heard the toilet flush, then using that cover noise to trick Sheldon's extraordinary hearing he swiftly moved through the living room, grabbing his keys as he opened the apartment door, for his escape from his apartment.
Leonard sighed in relief as he got out of the apartment, quietly closing the door behind him, then quickly and still quietly moving towards Penny's apartment still trying to be as quiet as possible. This was one of the reasons, he loved being with Penny, she gave him a place to go to get away from Sheldon, and he loved her for it. He softly closed the door behind him as he entered and then looked around at her apartment, deciding since he was there, he would fix things up for her when she returned, because he knew she would be tired and her feet would be sore, when she got home. Also, it would give him something to do for the next couple of hours, as he hid from Sheldon.
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Penny drug herself home from work, it had been another hard-busy day for her, which was normal for Saturdays, but today it had been a little bit worse. Today, she had a horrible time trying to keep her mind on work, and it seemed that whenever she wasn't specifically talking to someone she was daydreaming about Leonard. It wasn't unusual for her to think about Leonard while at work, heck she had even thought about him at work when they were not a couple, but today was different. She had been unable to get him out of her mind and she blamed it on last night, he was so sweet and caring it made her feel like she was even more in love with him, those thoughts staying with her the whole day. Actually, they confused her, she couldn't get over the feeling of being more in love with him, 'love was love' she thought, she was never more in love with Kurt or even Mike, but Leonard she had this feeling. Of course, that made her miss him and that made her want him and that made her think even more about him.
Her obsession about Leonard had gotten so bad that a couple of waitresses had asked her if she was okay and she had to write orders down in extreme detail otherwise she would forget them as soon as she left a table. It was driving her nuts but she couldn't help herself, she just kept picturing different things her and Leonard could be doing if she wasn't working at the Cheesecake Factory that day. Her daydreams going from just staying in bed all day, sleeping, making love, eating and watching TV while cuddled together, to going outside on a walk, visiting a fair and having a picnic, which also led to them making love in the forest. Actually, all her daydreams had them making love sometime and somewhere, making Penny's distraction even worse. Even now as she walked into the apartment building and looked up at the stairs, she couldn't get Leonard out of her mind, the urge to kiss and hug him driving her sore legs up each stair to him.
It was with a little trepidation that Penny put her key into the lock of her apartment door, a fear that when she walked in her apartment it would be dark and alone, Leonard not there. It made her realize that sometime over the last few months she had begun to feel her home seemed much warmer and full of life when Leonard was underfoot, even when she was aggravated with him, she still wanted him there. She also knew if she opened the door and he wasn't inside she would look for him, after the day she had today she had to have him, there was no way she now could be alone tonight without him.
Penny opened up the door and walked in, a small smile immediately forming on her lips, seeing her apartment lights on and then seeing him at her kitchen counter smiling at her. They just looked at each other for a long moment and it was only after she tore her eyes away that she saw that he had been busy, making things nice for her when she returned from work. He had takeout food on her coffee table and a foot bath sitting on the floor in front of the couch, it made her smile get bigger as she took it all in, again her thoughts of how he was so good to her, dominating her mind.
"Hey You" she said as she closed the door behind her then walked directly up to him, to kiss him while hugging him tight, his body being against hers satisfying a need that had been growing the whole day.
Leonard felt her pull her body to his and hands on him, her arms now wrapped around his neck making him feel that she must really be worn out. So, it was almost automatic for him to start rubbing her back, getting a soft moan from her as she pressed herself closer to him. "I've got some takeout on the table if you are hungry."
Penny nuzzled her head into his neck, "Are you going to eat with me." she whispered
"Yes, unless you don't want the company." he responded hoping she did want him to stay.
Penny couldn't help herself; she kissed his neck softly then whispered, "I want you to stay the night, too."
It was several more minutes before they let go of each other, spending the next hour just eating, drinking, while Penny soaked her feet and talked to her wonderful boyfriend. Penny felt in heaven, it was so relaxing, again just what she had been wanting all day, contentment filling her whole being, just like the night before. Again, as she talked to him, it made her think, her thoughts filled with love for the man sitting next to her and her smile got bigger while her feelings for him swelled in her heart. "What?" he finally said to her as she had been gazing at him not saying a word.
"Nothing. Well not nothing. I'm a little crushing on you right now for the last night and tonight." Penny admitted.
She didn't know that part of Leonard's considerate little effort, he had made for her, was because he had to escape Sheldon, who had been relentless on what kind of SUV Leonard should buy. So, it was a little surprise when she saw him look guilty as he looked back at her. "I wish I could honestly say everything was for you, but that wouldn't exactly be true. I escaped to here to get away from Sheldon and while here, I thought you would be tired, so then I did this."
Penny just wanted to hug him again he was adorable in his confession, so she did, and whispered in his ear. "Sweetie, you can come to me anytime you want, I want you to always have a place to go." she followed her words with a kiss to his cheek then held him even tighter.
They spent the next half hour just holding and gently kissing each other, the feeling of Leonard against her all that was needed by Penny to feel good and happy. They also decided to get ready for bed earlier than usual that night, because Penny was very tired from work and Leonard was more than wore out from Sheldon and his shopping. Penny actually looking forward to laying down with Leonard, her back against his chest and his arms wrapped around her, again the feeling of happiness and contentment filling her soul. However, sleep wasn't immediate for her as her mind now thought about him, him being there with her and how he made her happy being in her life.
Everything had really changed since they both admitted their love for each other, but however fast that change had come she had to admit that she could actually see that those changes for her had changed for the better and she was happy. It wasn't just happy either, it was a happiness that seemed to resonate from her soul and just the thought of Leonard would make her smile for hours, when he was not around, that day at work sure proved that. He was quickly becoming everything she needed in life and him not being a part of her life anymore just didn't seem like an option, the thought of being with him forever now not as scary as before and actually bringing a smile to her face. She was just so happy and as she got more comfortable in her favorite sleeping position, the contentment she now felt relaxed her even more, putting her asleep before she even knew it.
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Morning came and the sun light in Penny's bedroom woke Leonard up. He normally always woke up before Penny and today was no exception. He looked at the clock and saw it was 9 AM and knew Penny would not want to get up this early so he tried to sleep a little longer. At times like this he usually just rested and enjoyed just holding her, listening to her and burying his face in her hair. So, Leonard laid there for an hour and a half before he decided they needed to get up for the day to go car shopping.
Leonard gently squeezed her, kissed her, then softly said in her ear, "Penny it's time to get up. We have a busy day ahead of us."
Penny partially woke up to those softly spoken words and her mind started to acknowledge that it was morning. However, she was also warm and comfortable, so she laid there, not completely awake, trying to figure out what she had to get up for and what she had to do today. Her mind did remember it was not a work day, and she was not awake enough to remember anything else therefore she just decided she was not ready to get out of bed, and so the game began.
Penny and Leonard actually had been sleeping together more and more since they said "I Love You" but rarely did they have mornings together where one was not going to work or had some appointment to make. Penny also usually didn't have to be at work at the Cheesecake Factory till the lunch shift and many times worked till closing so she was not a morning person and didn't usually get up before 10AM. She even warned Sheldon never to come over unexpected till after 11AM, so that she was awake and had her coffee. On those rare mornings when Leonard and Penny only had to wake for themselves or to do things, like the plans they had for today, it was usually Leonard that had to get them up. It was also on days like this, that Penny knew she had a little time, she would be stubborn about getting up and liked to tease Leonard. So, since this morning they had a few minutes and Penny was feeling especially lazy so she started the first step in their game.
Penny pushed in closer to Leonard because not only did it let him know she didn't want to get up but Leonard had a natural reaction to cuddle her tighter when she did that. She knew, wrapped tight in his arms, she had made it more difficult for Leonard make her get up. This game immediately took her over and actually made her more awake, as she pushed even harder against him giggling like a school girl as poor Leonard tried to respond.
Leonard couldn't help but chuckle when he realized what she was doing and since she had started it and they had a few minutes, he started to play along. He could always get her up quickly by tickling her sides but he used that as only an extreme last resort because she always complained he was cheating due to her vulnerability. In exchange, she agreed to not cheat by using sex, something she was very good at and would always win. She had once played and kept him in bed for three hours, her personal best, but she had stripped them both that time and kept rubbing her body on his, coming close to violating the sex rule, and he had to resort to tickling to get her out of bed or they would have ended up being there all day. Today, she seemed to be a little frisky, so Leonard went to his first move to counter her cuddling close to him.
Leonard moved his lips to her neck and started to kiss and nibble her neck, this was one of his best moves on her and could end the game quickly when he knew they didn't have much time. Depending on her mood and how giggly she was, he would get her out of bed this way when she squirmed to get away. The worst thing he could do was do anything at all erotic to her because she would bury herself closer to him and start to get even more out of control. Today she was all giggles and only lasted about a minute before she pulled away from him, so he took his advantage and jumped out of bed and pulled the covers with him and off her, going immediately for the win. Once removed from her warm nest and her covers to hide in taken, she gave up in defeat and moved to edge of bed to get her robe, while sitting on the edge, pouting at him.
"That wasn't fair", she said in a little girl's voice as she looked up at him with her bottom lip sticking out in a sad little pout.
He smiled "Did I tell you look beautiful today and that I Love You".
She put her hands to her hair and messed it up and looked at him with a smile on her face "You men will say anything to get a girl out of bed. I Love You, too, honey." She then gave him a wicked smile. "By the way you're going to pay later for throwing me out of the bed by cheating", she said with a hint of a threat. "Now get out of here while I get ready, you've lost your right to shower with me."
Leonard gave her a sad pout, which made her giggle, then went to Penny's small kitchen to get the coffee brewing. Last night he had gotten some good coffee and fruit filled croissants for their breakfast this morning, before they left. So, he had the coffee fixed and the food on the kitchen bar when she finished her quick shower and came out of the bedroom.
"Wow, coffee and croissants, what did I do to deserve all this attention this morning and last night?" she said as she grabbed her cup of coffee. Starting to sip the steaming brew, while looking at him, made all the warm comfortable feelings from the night before return and it had nothing to do with the coffee.
Leonard just smiled, "Think about it, Penny, I spent almost the whole day with Sheldon, before I was able to escape to here, this is just your award for giving me asylum and being so you." he gave her a little wink.
"Well, I am adorable." she said with a laugh and then gave him a kiss. What they were doing was so domestic and Penny couldn't help how good it felt.
The next few minutes they just sat a drank their coffee and ate, while they talked about their plans for the day. Leonard had to take a quick shower and put on fresh clothes, so he was thinking about that when he realized he had to go back across the hall, and that meant seeing Sheldon. Happy Leonard of a few moments before, was now worried Leonard full of dread.
Everything had been so perfect that Penny noticed his mood change immediately, "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked him.
"Oh, nothing." Leonard replied, but Penny could tell it was something and she couldn't bear right now him being unhappy.
"Leonard. Tell me what's wrong." Penny told him sternly, but with no anger in her voice, she loved him, she was not mad at him.
"I need a shower and to put some clean clothes on, so I have to go across the hall, and Sheldon is there." Leonard confessed
Penny was confused, he always did that, why is it different now? "What is happening between you and Sheldon?" she asked in concern.
"Ever since my car was stolen, Sheldon has been getting even more insufferable than he usually is. Yesterday, he wanted me to take him car shopping, so I thought, I would do a little looking then and more with you today. But Penny, he drove me crazy yesterday, I really wanted to take him out of the city and leave him in the woods, or something worse. If I didn't have you here to go to, I would have probably run away from home. It's stupid I know." Leonard told her; despair evident in his voice.
'Poor sweet Leonard', Penny thought, "Honey, I don't know how you do it, he would have driven me up the wall a lot sooner than now. I like all your friends, but it amazes me how you been able to put up as a roommate to Sheldon for so long." she told him compassionately. Then she had a thought, "Sweetie, take your shower here and tell me what clothes you want and I'll get them for you."
"You don't have to do that. I can get them." Leonard said, now embarrassed.
"Sweetie, last night and this morning have been perfect, and I want the rest of the day to be the same, so I don't want you stressed. You are my boyfriend and now it is time for me to do something for you. Besides, if he says just one cross word to me, I will go all junior rodeo on his ass." Penny said smiling and giving Leonard a wink.
"Oh no, not Junior Rodeo." Leonard said, which made them both chuckle. "Thank you, Penny, you're great, and by-the-way, you are always doing some things for me." he told her, while giving her a wink.
Penny chuckled, again, "Well if you are good physicist, tonight I will do something real special for you." she said as she gave him the most seductive smile she could.
Leonard smiled back at her, then they discussed what he needed from his room in the way of clothes. Penny taking note of everything he said, then getting her spare key to his apartment and heading out the door to 4A and her boyfriend's wacky roommate.