Chapter 11

It was almost 3-hours later than they slowly helped each other back on with their clothes, after swimming for a little while, drying, making love, swimming, drying again and now finally getting dressed. They stopped to kiss several times while dressing and eventually, after getting fully clothed, they sat on a log a couple dozen feet from the shoreline. "Hungry?" Leonard now asked.

Penny smiled and nodded before saying, "I'm starved...you know from the swimming." she giggled.

Leonard chuckled with her, then pulled out two large green vinyl bags from his hiking backpack. "Well here is our lunch. I've had these before and they are not too bad, but I wouldn't want to eat them as a steady diet."

"What are they?" Penny asked after Leonard handed her one of the vinyl bags and she looked at it with curiosity.

"They are MRE's, Meals Ready to Eat, they are what the Army soldiers eat in the field and they are made for long term storage, so Sheldon put them in the survival kit." Leonard explained.

"So, just open them and they are ready to eat?" Penny asked while turning the bag around in her hand, still looking at it.

"Yes, just follow the instructions, also there is a way to heat them inside, too. I'm sorry about the lack of selection, there are over 20 different meals, but Sheldon only packed the ones he likes."

"He didn't pack the ones you like?" Penny asked, a little surprised and sad at Sheldon's inconsideration of her boyfriend, considering she knew Sheldon packed these survival kits for him and Leonard.

"Sheldon always felt he would out survive me so his needs came first, also if he didn't, he didn't care what I ate." Leonard then made a sad chuckle and shrug.

"Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce" Penny read off the vinyl bag, shaking her head. "He still eats like a 4-year old." she said in disgust

Leonard shrugged, "It is really not too bad, especially if you are hungry."

Penny nodded then also shrugged, "Well, I am hungry." she then thought about their little romp again and smiled at Leonard and gave him a wink.

It was an hour later that they were back on the trail, Leonard happy in knowing the way back involved more going down than up, their fun at the lake having tired him out a little. However, following Penny as she was purposely wiggling her ass in front of him on the way down did tend to strengthen him sufficiently that he began to ignore the work involved in hiking back to their campsite.

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They didn't get back to their campsite till 5PM that afternoon, from them originally leaving an 9AM that morning, hiking 2-hours up and then 2-hours down, and making a half hour rest midway during their hike each way, then taking 3-hours at the lake, the day had basically flew by for them. However, they both were tired, when they returned to their campsite, Leonard for having exercised more outside then he had ever done in his life and Penny for not having hiked in a while, so being a little sore too. Penny was also very proud of Leonard, he had gone all the way with her today and she knew it had been hard on him, but still he did it and she knew he was doing it for her because he was not the outdoors type. It was the reason she had flirted and distracted him all the way down, partly to help him along and partly because she enjoyed flirting with him.

She couldn't help but smile at him, he look so tired but very masculine and sexy to her as he sat there in his shorts trying to relax, she also couldn't her eyes off his legs, which she thought were sexy too, since the only time she got to really see them normally was for a short time just before they went to bed. It was right about then Penny began to zone out as she began to fantasize about her boyfriend sitting just a couple yards away on the log near their fire pit. She thought about walking up to him and sitting down next to him then rubbing her hand up and down his leg until she slipped it up the opening in his shorts, her fantasy ending right there when she finally registered that Leonard was saying her name. "Ummm, Yes", being all she was able to get out as her mind came back to reality.

"Penny, are you okay? You were just staring there for a few moments, you're not feeling bad or something, are you?" He asked with real concern.

The worry in his eyes for her, make her just want to hug him and kiss him, but she also needed to answer him and she wasn't going to tell him she was daydreaming about ravishing him, "No, nothing wrong, I was just thinking what a great day this has been, Sweetie."

Leonard chuckled, "Well even though I have just gone through hell, I would be lying if I said that being out in the woods with you all day wasn't fun and that I didn't enjoy it."

Penny smiled, "Be careful what you say Hofstadter, I may use it against you when I decide I want to do this again."

"OH GOD" Leonard moaned, "Me and my big mouth." making Penny now laugh.

It was a minute later, after they both got over their laughter, that Leonard spoke again, "Well I was trying to ask you before, what do you want to do for dinner? I have some more of those Army MRE's that Sheldon packed."

Penny shook her head, "Though they were fine for lunch, I don't want to eat "Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce" again for dinner tonight."

"I did bring a couple other choices..." Leonard began to say before he saw Penny shaking her head again and stopped.

"You know, I noticed a barbeque place about 10-miles from the park entrance when we came up here last night." Penny said to him with a smile, "I bet we could get there is less than a half hour."

Leonard looked down at himself, "Well we better clean up and change if you want to get there before 7 tonight."

"Sweetie, we can just go now, I'm sure they get a lot of campers from the park and they won't be surprised if we show up in our hiking clothes. I think I also remember there being tables outside so we could sit there." She tried to convince him, not so much that she was in a hurry, but more because she didn't want him taking those shorts off and putting long pants on again, she was finding those shorts on him to be very sexy and suddenly it dawned on her exactly what men saw when she wore short skirts. However, it also confused her, she had seen guys in shorts before but never lusted over them in those shorts, except now for Leonard.

Leonard readily agreed, "Okay, Barbeque does sound a lot better than MRE's"

It was about an hour later that the both of them were eating barbeque meats like two starving carnivores, acting like people who hadn't eaten for days, the hiking in all that fresh air making their bodies desire protein to build their aching muscles back up. Penny had been right, there were several campers there from the park, several dressed even more sloppy then them, and even then, Penny still ate outside, both for the fresh air and not to offend anyone with their sweaty body odors. The only objection Penny had to all this was when Leonard sat down at the table, it blocked her view of his bare legs and she had been finding it harder and harder not to stare at them since they returned from their afternoon.

Penny had finished a couple ribs and was now not as focused about eating anymore so she slipped her foot out of her flip-flops, that she put on before they left to eat, and lifted her leg so that her foot went right between her boyfriend's legs. Her foot immediately finding the large leg opening in Leonard's shorts that was just wide enough to slide her foot in alongside his leg as she guided it towards his crotch. It took only a couple of seconds for Penny to realize how lucky she had just got, because it was soon obvious to her that Leonard's boxers had been just as baggy as his shorts and Penny's foot was now inside both of them rubbing along his warm skin. Penny now was really concentrating as she slipped her foot in deeper, first feeling Leonard's pubic hair against her toes before they finally reached their destination, her toes touching Alvin and the chipmunks, making her actually shutter when she got to a place she had never even expected to reach.

Penny now glanced up to Leonard, immediately biting her lip so not to laugh as she stared at her boyfriend's frozen expression, his unmoving hands till having a barbeque rib in them and a shocked stare directed right at her. This had been even more than the response she had been looking for and it only encouraged her to continue her teasing of him, so she moved her toes in a little more into his pants so they were now able to rub a very awake Alvin. She couldn't help the large smile forming on her lips as Leonard's stare became more pained and he croaked out a desperate "Penny", her toes feeling his member quickly growing to use up the space of his baggy shorts.

All this fun Penny was having sexually torturing Leonard had an unforeseen impact on her though, as her toes kept moving along a excited Alvin, she began to get very aroused herself. Now she suddenly didn't want to touch Leonard with her toes anymore, she wanted a more intimate contact with him, and the outdoor table they were sitting at was definitely not the place to do what she now wanted to do with her boyfriend. The look Leonard was giving her wasn't helping at all either, he had this special look he always gave her at times like this, a combination of love and lust, which she found more and more really got her motor running. So now her desires were getting as bad as the poor man she had been torturing just moments before, "Leonard we need to go." she whispered to him in a husky sex charged voice.

It seemed to take forever, to get boxes for their left-over barbeque and to get going back to the campsite in Leonard's SUV and Penny couldn't help but start touching him as soon as they were on the road back to the campsite. It was really lucky for them that there was a seatbelt law because if not Penny would probably have been in Leonard's lap the whole way to the campsite, making the trip extremely unsafe and dangerous for both of them. However, even restrained by a seatbelt Penny was still kissing Leonard's neck and rubbing her hand on his bare upper thigh, making it extremely difficult for Leonard to concentrate on his drive back, it was a wonder they made it at all.

The combination of their campsite being a little secluded and it starting to get dark only encouraged Penny to start shedding her clothes, and disrobing Leonard as soon as they got close to the campsite. Leonard barely got the SUV into park before Penny unlatched her seatbelt, swung herself into Leonard's lap pushing his T-shirt over his head so she could press her already naked chest against his now naked chest. It must have been the country air or Leonard in shorts that was fueling her desire she very briefly thought before she continued her ravishing of her boyfriend with a want and need, she never remembered ever feeling before.

They had only boxer and panties on when they left the SUV for the tent and Penny had those off before they even lied down, her immediately putting Leonard on his back so she could control what was going to happen next. She was already far beyond foreplay and Leonard was below her already naked, Alvin at attention, so Penny knew what she immediately wanted, bringing herself over and down on her Leonard, her need to have him in her almost like her need for air itself. It was again very fortunate their campsite wasn't very close to any others because Penny became very vocal before they were done almost two hours later, neither one of them hardly able to move, Leonard needing his inhaler twice before they collapsed into a deep sleep against each other, that night.

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The pounding of the rain and flopping around of the tent in the wind finally woke Leonard and Penny from their sex driven sleep, them naturally clinging to each other's nude bodies for comfort and protection. The tents bottom was being kept securely against the ground by the stakes Leonard and Penny had driven deep into it but the two vertical poles, that held up the top of the tent, could not hold up to the wind and rain that was now pounding down at them and had quickly failed, leaving the tent above the ground line to flap around in the storm. There was nothing Leonard and Penny could do and holding each other closely they knew the whole situation they were now facing was hopeless.

"The back seats in the SUV fold down, we could bring the mattress and blankets in there and sleep." Leonard now suggested.

"Anything is better than here, if this storm gets any worse, we are going to find ourselves in OZ without a ruby slipper between us." Penny added.

"We are really going to get wet going from what is left of the tent to the SUV." Leonard now added.

Penny ran her hand along Leonard's naked chest and giggled. "I don't think we have to worry about our clothes getting wet and I know I'm drip-dry."

Leonard chuckled at her wit, "You're definitely right, let's just try to keep the bedding dry."

It was about fifteen minutes later a very wet and still naked Leonard and Penny were spreading their mattress and bedding in the back of Leonard's SUV, the back seat now down and the area it created large enough for the two of them. Leonard then pulling two towels the he had stuck in the bedding so they could dry themselves before getting back under the covers. Even with the SUV swaying slightly in the wind, the security it offered did not go unnoticed by Leonard and Penny as they snuggled back together under the covers to go back to sleep.

Penny backed herself against Leonard as he spooned her, the gentle swaying of the SUV and sound of the rain against it, making her feel secure and actually tired again, not how she had felt just 20 minutes before. "Well at least we got a shower."

Leonard chuckled, "Yeah, that is one way to get one, but I think I prefer the old way."

"True dat." Penny responded with a giggle then a big yawn.

"Well at least I got to have sex and sleep in the forest with a gangster babe, so the night is not a total bust." Leonard said with a chuckle.

Penny pushed herself deeper into his arms. "True Dat." then immediately fell asleep.

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The next morning it was the sun coming up just high enough to shine in the SUV windows that woke Leonard and Penny up, them both rolling the opposite way so the sun was not in their faces as they continued to lay there with their eyes closed. Penny was especially tired, the night be fore's escapades having been so intense to have worn her out, plus waking up in the arms of the man you shared that intensity with and knowing how deeply he cared for you make Penny not want to move from her spot. Waking up next to Leonard now seemed so natural to her, it was a feeling that she once was so scared of but now she knew if he wasn't there it wouldn't seem right anymore, so she just continued to lay there, warmed by the body of the man she knew actually loved her and she loved so much

It was another hour before they both were awake enough to greet the world and it was Leonard who said the first words. "You awake?"

"Yeah, what time is it?" Penny responded softly, not moving or opening her eyes.

She felt more than heard Leonard's short chuckle, "I have no idea."

Penny now smiled, "I'm just wondering what part of day it is." she clarified.

"I'm pretty sure it is morning, since I still feel the sun on my back so it is not high up enough to be afternoon." Leonard told her.

"Then there is really no hurry to get up." Penny reasoned as she then scooted herself closer to Leonard, who instinctively pulled her against him. It was another hour before either of them said another word.

It was Penny who spoke the next time, "Leonard did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it must be some animal getting into our stuff. The wind probably blew some things around last night." He told her.

"Crap, they are probably tearing up all my cute stuff, I wish we would have brought some clothes with us last night when we left the tent." Penny now sat up and tried to look out the steamed windows that were covered with condensation from all the moisture in the air and the air temperature going from cold that night to now heating up again.

"Our clothes from last night are still up front, we only had our underpants on when we left for the tent last night." Leonard reminded her.

Penny giggled, "I forgot about that, good for me." She then moved into the front passenger seat to get dressed while throwing Leonard's clothes back to him. It didn't take her long to get her shorts, top and sandals on so she was out the door before Leonard had his shorts pulled up, her very determined rush to make sure no racoon would tear up her other outdoors clothes that she had brought and had paid for with her own money. So, she was outside and all the way to the end of the SUV, heading towards the tent, before she finally saw the animal that was rummaging through their little camp, it was also the same time it saw her.

Penny froze, she had never seen a bear that big outside a zoo and this bear didn't have any bars between him and her to protect her. What made things worse was that it was looking right at her and then things got even worse, it started to slowly walk towards her, terrifying Penny beyond belief. Her mind was racing now trying to remember if she should run, how fast were bears and questioning if maybe she should just stay still, something her body and mind were both against right now. She would always wonder which option she would have selected, because as her mind tried to decide the rear tailgate of the SUV popped open and two arms grabbed her and pulled her in before the same tailgate slammed shut.

Penny looked wide eyed at her boyfriend, his face covered in concern for her, before he just pulled her close to him as she started crying, not remembering a time before when she had been so scared being outside. They held each other tightly for a few seconds before Penny forcibly pushed herself off of Leonard and pointed towards one of the windows. "Leonard he is just outside looking in." she said in a shaky voice.

Leonard looked at where she was pointing then put his hand on her back to rub circles and try to comfort her, "The glass is heavily tinted in the back so all he can maybe see is shadows, so if we don't move he won't really know we are here."

"Really?" Penny asked with a still shaky voice.

Leonard nodded, "That is the way it should work, their minds can't reason like ours so he shouldn't rationalize that you suddenly going missing means you are in the SUV and since he can't really see you, he should go away."

They stayed reasonably motionless until the bear got bored and went back to rummaging through their campsite, then Leonard got carefully into the front seat, started the SUV and drove off, much to Penny's relief. It was about 2-hours later when they returned with two park rangers, one with a tranquilizer gun and the other with a bear rifle, to pick up the remains of their camp so they could go home. So, it was a little later in the afternoon when Leonard and Penny were back on their way to Pasadena, from their adventure that was fun and much more exciting than they had wanted.

The first hour of their trip was quiet, Penny finally seeming to get comfortable in the passenger seat, leaning back in her seat with her bare feet, one on the dash and the other outside the open window as she positioned herself in a way that would allow her to keep her seatbelt on. Leonard thought she looked so cute when she rode like this, it was her being her, the young free-spirited woman that took each day as it came and lived her life like she wanted. The knowing that she wanted him in that life made him smile and still made him amazed that someone like Penny could profess her love for him.

So, it surprised him in his thoughts when she suddenly began to speak. "Thank you, Leonard."

"Thank you for what?" he asked confused by her words out of the blue.

"You saved me." she answered.

Leonard was still confused, "I don't understand, saved you from what."

Penny sighed, "Everything."

Leonard looked at her confused, her suddenly turning so serious surprised him, he expected them to just joke about the bear, not get serious about what had happened. "Penny if this is about the bear, it wasn't a big deal, you could have gotten around the SUV and into the opposite door in plenty of time to get away. I just actually got a little scared and grabbed you."

Penny looked at him and smiled, he was always like that, he depreciated all he did for her, other guys would be bragging if they ever did anything for her, like what had happened this morning. "No. Leonard it is just not the bear. You have always been there for me, even when it hurt you to be there." she said the last part very quietly as she remembered how many times, she probably hurt him.

Leonard sighed, "It's okay, you are my friend." he said softly.

Penny nodded as she looked at him, he was her best friend but he was also so much more and Penny started to get a little scared, this time not about their relationship moving ahead or moving too fast but how she would go on without Leonard if she lost him. Their moving in together had been so much better than she ever imagined and she loved going to sleep with Leonard every night, plus her morning seemed brighter with him around and sitting drinking coffee with him each morning was now the way she loved to start out her day. She knew she didn't want anyone else and that alone made her think about the future with him because if she was honest with herself, she was beginning to believe there was no future she really wanted without him.

"Leonard, I have been and always shall be your friend." Penny said to him while looking at him in the driver's seat.

Leonard looked over at her in surprise, "That is what Spock said to Kirk before he died!"

Penny nodded, "I know, I am just as serious about it too."

Leonard just looked at her and blinked, not knowing how to respond.