Chapter 16
It didn't take long to get there and it wasn't very fancy restaurant but it didn't really need to be, they stopped at a local Olive Garden, just before the lunch specials expired for the day, and put in their orders. The waitress delivered a salad and breadsticks to start them off while their lunches were being made and they each had a glass of wine and an ice water in front of them. The day now seemed so much better for Penny, since her talk with Bernadette, her being now in the happy mood she was before that conversation since she was now with Leonard, so it was easy for her to express the comfort and happiness she now felt. "This is nice."
Leonard smiled at her, "Yeah, it is, isn't it? We should do this more often."
A large smile immediately formed on Penny's face as she reached over to take his hand and give it a squeeze, "I would like that."
Leonard gave her hand a squeeze back, then sort of shook his head, "This is a lot better than having lunch with the guys, that is for sure."
Penny now frowned as she thought back about what Bernadette had said only a short time earlier that day. "Were they giving you a hard time about something?"
"Well not so much Howard and Raj, they were just being...Howard and Raj. It was Sheldon that was being an ass again, much more of an ass than he is normally." Leonard then shook his head, "GOD! I don't know how I put up with him for so long, living with you has really opened my eyes."
Leonard saying that made Penny feel bad and what she said next, she said without thinking, "We should have moved in together years ago."
Leonard just looked at her, a blank almost sad look on his face, and Penny knew immediately what he was thinking about, their breakup after he told her he loved her, it actually made Penny's heart hurt to remember she did that to him. She had loved him then, but she couldn't commit to him, so she broke it off thinking it was better for him, it had been one of the biggest mistakes of her life. However, right now she could see her words had brought back past bad memories and she knew she had to do something to break this awkward situation, so she squeezed his hand again and said in a slow steady voice while looking directly at him, "I love you Leonard."
Leonard blinked a couple of times as a smile reformed on his face, "Thank You."
Penny's eyes went wide, before she began to giggle, "You Ass. But I guess I deserved that." she responded, then nervously giggled a little more.
Leonard slowly shook his head, "No you don't really." he then looked at her seriously. "That time will always be a memory to us but just a memory. What is happening now between us is what really matters, how we feel about each other and what we are doing now about that."
Penny nodded slowly and gave him a shy smile, "I like the way you said that, you are so smart, and you hang around with other geniuses all the time and sometimes I admit I just take that for granted but Sweetie once I got to know you, there was no turning back for me." she let a small giggle escape her lips, "You have ruined me for other men, you know that."
Leonard smiled at her, "You hang around with geniuses all the time, too. Your two best female friends are PhD's, so what does that say about you." he smiled a little bigger at her, "Penny you are a lot smarter than you think, you are a very important member of our group and you understand us, especially when it comes to the important things." Penny now just stared at him, so he continued, "Penny, think about it, Sheldon can't stand to be around people he considers just average, and that is almost everybody, but he considers you his friend, he even goes to you for advice, the great Dr. Sheldon Cooper seeks you out for advice."
Penny just continued to stare at him, he always did this, made her feel better about herself, made her love him more, he was so special to her she didn't think she could go on with her life anymore without him in it. It was that thought that made her do what she did next, she was going to cry and she knew there was only one way to stop that so she got up from sitting across from Leonard and moved over to sit next to him. She then only had to reach up to put her arms around his neck for him to wrap her in his arms and hug her close to him, it felt so good that it stopped the tears from coming and made her relax again from the emotion that was just about to bust out of her. She felt so good being in his arms, his smell, his warm body against hers and way he just knew how to hold her was something she couldn't understand but was extremely thankful for, he was just perfect, no other man could even compete with him, he was just too good.
Penny didn't know how long they hugged, she had closed her eyes and soon was lost in the warm comforting feeling he gave her while he held her, so she was a little surprised when she heard, "Ah, excuse me, your lunch is ready...if you are ready to eat." She then reluctantly separated from him, the content feeling she had still warming her so much that she felt no embarrassment from being interrupted by the waitress.
"No that's fine, we're ready to eat." Leonard answered and Penny just gave a small smile and nodded.
The waitress, who seemed a little embarrassed, just nodded then put the plates of food in front of them, letting out a small sigh before saying, "If you need anything else just let me know." before she quickly turned and left.
Penny leaned on Leonard and put her head on his shoulder, immediately getting rewarded with his arm going around her and pulling her closer, it made a little hum of contentment leave her lips. "I wish we were in bed right now." she softly said.
Leonard gave her a small chuckle, "Then you would go hungry."
Penny let out a small giggle, "Think about it genius, food wouldn't even be on my mind."
Leonard smiled, "How about after we eat, we take a drive down to the beach and take a walk along the surf to get rid of some of that energy."
"Really, you want to walk along the beach with me?" Penny said after lifting her head off his shoulder to look at him in obvious surprise.
Leonard chuckled, "Sure, why not, you always say I need to get out more and we have the afternoon off."
"Oh Leonard." Penny moved her head to kiss him on the lips.
As soon as their lips parted, Leonard chuckled again. "Of course, that is only if you are a good girl and eat your lunch."
Penny smiled at him, "Deal." she then started to eat, but now without staying extremely close to him, their hips touching and their arms rubbing against each other as they ate, neither of them seeming to mind the closeness at all.
They had a pleasant ride to the coast, rush hour had not really started yet, and soon they had the car parked and their shoes, and in Leonard's case, socks, off, as they walked along the surf line at one of the public beaches. It wasn't very crowded, since it was a weekday afternoon, so it made for a very comforting walk, them hand in hand as the water came up on their toes as they walked. Penny had always dated guys taller than her but ever since she had been around Leonard, she had more and more appreciated him being about the same height as her, like right now holding hands with him as they walked seemed just perfect. Their whole present situation made her feel so good and comfortable she just wanted to make sure he was happy so the reason she had come to Cal Tech to see him that day popped back into her mind.
"Leonard why was Sheldon giving you a bad time, today?" She asked him while they walked.
Leonard shrugged, "Does he need a particular reason, you know him, he was just being Sheldon."
"Did it have anything to do with tenure." she cautiously asked
Leonard now looked at her, "Who told you about that?" surprise evident in his question.
"Bernadette, told me that you guys are all up for tenure and that Sheldon was being his usual pain in the ass and putting you and Raj down about it." Penny just blurted out, hoping that just saying it outright, instead of beating around the bush, would be easier.
Leonard gave a little snort and then shook his head, finally just looking forward as they continued walking. "That was part of it, but I can deal with that, it was just the other stuff he said that got to me."
"What was that?" Penny again cautiously asked, she really did want to do something to help him with his problem with Sheldon.
Leonard sighed, "It is really nothing, I guess I'm too sensitive sometimes to the things he says." he then shrugged again.
Penny hated that Sheldon would do this to Leonard, she had gotten very protective of him, especially now that they were roommates and so it really bothered her when he was going through something like he was now. "I'm a good listener, Honey." she said softly to him.
Leonard looked at her and saw only concern on her face, plus she called him honey which he knew meant she was serious, so he shrugged before opening up. "It was just..." he began and then told her everything that happened at lunch, then everything that was said previously about tenure.
It had taken between 10-15 minutes for Leonard to get everything out and Penny found herself getting mad, but she kept quiet until Leonard had said everything he had to say, she knew that getting mad would not be productive to his situation with Sheldon. "Honey, Sheldon is an arrogant, selfish ass, don't take anything he says seriously. I never understood how you could put up with him for so long."
Leonard nodded, she had basically stated what he said before, but after listening to her say it, it made him think. "You know, to be honest and fair it wasn't all bad, there were good times too, he was my friend."
Penny looked at him seriously, "Did the good times at least equal the bad times, all the schedules, the roommate agreements that only benefited him, and the constant putting you down?" she now couldn't help but let some of her anger out.
Leonard shrugged, "I don't know." he then looked seriously at her, "But I guess it is like what we said at the restaurant, it is a memory now and it is not the way I live now." he gave her a small smile.
It was obvious to Penny that his small smile meant he was much happier in their current situation and that was something Penny could fully agree with him, she loved having him as her roommate. She only wished she would have known all this a few years before, she would have had him move in with her back then and they would have never broken up in the first place. Also, she thought, if they had moved in together back then, they would probably be married to each other by now and she was momentarily surprised how that thought didn't seem to bother her as much as it had done before.
"A Penny for your thoughts." Leonard asked with a chuckle.
"Huh?" Penny barely answered being broken from her thoughts of her and Leonard as husband and wife.
"It seemed I lost you there for a moment you were so deep in thought." he again chuckled.
Penny smiled as she looked at him, then leaned over and kissed him, the kiss getting very intense in a very short time, before it finally broke, both of them just looking at each other with dilated eyes and both of them not sure what to say. It was finally Penny who broke the spell, a small seductive smile on her face, "You know there is a hotel just over there, we could get a room."
Leonard looked at her in surprise, then a smile formed on his lips as her words sunk in. "We could eat dinner later at one of the seaside restaurants and take another walk at dusk to watch the sun go down. I can take some time off tomorrow morning from work too, so we don't have to get up too early." him now getting into her suggestion, too.
Penny's smile got larger, "I'd like that. Why don't we go back to the car and go get checked in, I could use a little afternoon nap right now." she then winked at Leonard.
It was only thirty minutes later, that they had checked in at one of the nicer hotels on the coastline, the clerk giving them a knowing look when she saw they had no baggage. They then made a quick stop at the hotel's gift/tourist shop, which was very well stocked, where they picked up some toiletries, a swimsuit each and flipflops for both of them, and Penny found a sundress she thought was cute and bought a sort of vacation shirt for Leonard she thought would look nice on him, before they headed off to their room. It was actually an extremely nice room with large jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, that Penny quickly determined could easily accommodate two people, and a huge California King Size bed, which made both Penny and Leonard smile at each other after they saw it. However, it was the balcony that really drew their attention, since they were on the top most floor of regular rooms, the final two stories reserved for expensive suites and a penthouse floor type accommodation. Penny and Leonard just stood on the deck for several minutes, Penny in Leonard's arms just looking at the ocean, beach and at everything else below them, their view allowing them to see a couple of miles of coast line.
Finally, it was Penny that spoke after they had just stood there together for a while, "That tub looks good, do you want to soap me up?" she then gave him her sexiest look.
Leonard never said a word, he just smiled and turned, holding her hand, then lead her to the bathroom and the jacuzzi tub, Penny practically skipping in happiness behind him.
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Penny couldn't get the smile off her face the next day, even after dropping Leonard off at work in the afternoon. The last 24-hours still firmly etched in her mind, she couldn't even remember having so much romantic fun with a man, ever, as she had with Leonard since they left Cal Tech the day before. It was hard for her not to remember every happy moment she had with him, from the bath and sex they first had after they got in their room, which continued even after they got out of the tub, both of them only in the hotel supplied robes, no sooner laying on the bed then again not being able to keep their hands off each other. Penny giggled as she remembered how tired they were after that as they then cuddled extremely close to each other and then took a nap, waking up a couple hours later to take a swim, which surprisingly Penny didn't have almost any problem convincing Leonard to do. It made her giggle again when she thought that the little yellow bikini, she had bought probably weakened any defenses Leonard had, especially when she told him after they had their swim, he could take it off of her.
Those couple of hours of swimming had been really fun, they first went into the pool then the ocean, again in the pool before finally ending up in the hot tub, them both relaxing in the warm water after running around so much, especially in the ocean surf. True to her word, she let Leonard remove her bikini, before they got in the shower back at the room and this time had shower sex, her thinking she wasn't sure who wanted it more after their swimming excursion, her or him, her finding herself lusting after him the whole time they were out swimming. She then smiled again as she remembered them then getting dressed up, her in the new sundress and him in the shirt she bought him, then went to eat at this wonderful beach side restaurant, on the beach side balcony where they could feel the ocean breeze and watch the waves as they came ashore. It was so romantic, it made Penny feel so cared about, that she couldn't help it later when they left the restaurant and then took a walk along the beach, to watch the sun set, that as soon as it got darker she wanted to do it on the beach with him. Penny was happy she was now driving alone as she knew she was blushing when she thought how badly she had wanted him then, them going behind a little rock outcropping on the beach and her slipping off her panties to make herself available to him. It was really very quick, not because of him, the naughtiness of what they were doing and the chance of getting caught, along with her strong desire for Leonard, made her reach her release only a couple minutes after they started and while Leonard keep going to seek his, she found herself reaching it again when he finally did.
Penny couldn't help but giggle again to herself as she thought how they made their way quickly, well as quickly as they could after their sexual exertion, to the hotel and got in the tub again, which again led to sex, them both seeming to recover at the same time from their beach coupling. Then when they did get out of the tub eventually, quickly taking a couple minutes to wash their underwear in the sink to hang up to dry for the next day, it giving them a short interlude which allowed them to recover sufficiently to want each other sexually again, finally falling in a deep sleep wrapped in each other's arms. It had felt so good to sleep in Leonard's arms, the security of knowing you were loved and wanted, even after the sex, making it feel so much better than she could ever remember with anyone else.
Penny then smiled again to herself as she remembered what happened just a few hours ago, how they had gotten up from their sleep that morning, kissing each other and wanting each other again before they washed up and had breakfast brought to their room. The rest of the morning involved checking out and driving Leonard to work, them kissing each other so much Penny couldn't even begin to guess how many times their lips met, and even though she was a little sore from all they had done over the last 24-hours she knew if Leonard was with her now she would be driving back to their apartment as fast as she could just to get back in bed with him.
In her whole life, Penny had never felt this way about another man, she just couldn't seem to get enough of Leonard, him just looking at her with any sort of desire getting her motor running almost immediately. This, for the first time in her life, made her think she now knew what love really was, it was not what she felt with Kurt or even Mike, it was the way Leonard made her feel and how she didn't want it to end. Those thoughts also made her sigh, as she knew she was now about to start overthinking, a trait that had somehow rubbed off on her from being with Leonard for so long, as she began to think about how things were so good between them and basically had been ever since they moved in together. Them seeing each other every day, over the last months, only brought them closer, completely shattering any fears she had previously that familiarity and seeing each other every day would destroy the intimacy that they already had. She had been thinking more and more about Leonard as her life partner for a while now and though it still scared her to settle down and start a family with anyone, she knew that if she could do it with anyone it could only be Leonard.
It was almost a blessing that the notification of an incoming call came over the SUV's speakers, Penny's good morning mood now tainted with thoughts of having to become more mature and give up her young life and everything that came with it, while trying to keep Leonard with her all the time. The realization that she could not just keep things the way they were, that just like several years ago, when he told her he loved her, she would have to address marriage with him in the future, and unlike before she didn't have the heart to let him go anymore, and unlike before, she was way too much crazy in love with him now. Thankfully the fifth phone ring forced her mind to address the call, which happily was from Amy, and got her away from this train of thought.
"Hey Ames." she picked up, attempting to get that happy mood back from just a few minutes ago.
"Penny, are you busy this afternoon?" came the quick response from her friend.
The immediate question confused her as her mind was still trying to clear its thoughts of Leonard and marriage, "Umm, what time is it?" her mind still trying to catch up and not even realizing there was a clock in the dash of the SUV right in front of her.
There was silence on the Amy's end of the conversation for a couple of moments before she finally responded, "It is just after 1 PM, bestie...Is everything okay?"
Penny lightly shook her head as her mind now caught up, "Everything is fine, I was just having a blonde moment, thinking about a few things when you called."
"Oh...okay." was all Amy could think to say.
"Anyway Ames, what is going on." Penny now responded; her voice now much cheerier.
Amy was still a little confused about what just happened but hearing Penny respond like she normally did made Amy overlook the weird way Penny answered her call at first, "Well, I need someone with fashion sense to help me buy a dress for a semi-formal gathering, and my first thoughts were you."
"I'm flattered." Penny responded, though she knew she was the only person Amy knew that had any fashion sense, her other close friend, Bernadette, still almost always including tights in everything she bought and still buying a lot of her clothes in the teenage girl sections.
"So, since I just completed the testing portion, of the study I'm working on, this morning, I can spare the time this afternoon to take off and do a little shopping, which made me think of you." Amy explained.
Penny quickly tried to determine if Amy just gave her a compliment or an insult with the shopping remark, couldn't decide which it was, so decided to let it go. "I have to pick up Leonard at 5 PM so we would have to go now."
"That is fine, bestie. I can be closed up here in about ten minutes so if you could meet me in the mall at say about 1:45 at the food court, we could shop for a good two hours, which should be enough time." Amy now suggested.
Penny turned her car into the parking lot of their apartment building and quickly mentally confirmed that it would give her just enough time to run to her apartment, change and freshen up, allowing her still time to meet Amy on time. "Okay, Ames, I'll see you there."
Amy smiled, happy now that everything was working on concerning her original quickly put together plan for the afternoon and that she would be enjoying some shopping with her bestie. "Great Penny, see you then, bye."
"See you in a few, bye." Penny responded, before shutting off the SUV and hanging up. She now had to quickly get upstairs and get ready, her previous heavy thoughts about her and Leonard's future now forgotten.
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Penny meet Amy at 1:50 PM, proud of herself that she was only 5-minutes late, which Amy didn't seem to mind as she was sitting and waiting at a table while drinking a fruit smoothie. They only wasted a couple minutes with greetings and a hug, then after Penny bought herself a smoothie too, they quickly headed into the mall to look for a dress shop that sold semi-formal attire. That too only taking a few minutes since it was easy to pass up the stores that sold clothes to teenagers and going only to the stores that sold women's clothes.
"Is there something I can show you?" the salesgirl that had a nametag that said "Gail" asked them as they went into the dress section of the store.
"Yes Gail, my friend here is going to a semi-formal event and is some need of a new dress." Penny quickly said, her sense of fun coming out as she was really curious what the salesgirl would suggest for Amy, not having any idea of Amy's extremely conservative ideas about clothes.
Gail smiled, "If I could take just a couple measurements, I think I can offer you some nice suggestions." she said with a smile as she looked at Amy.
Amy looked at Penny with some concern, getting only a nod and smile from her bestie, before she then turned to Gail. "Okay."
Gail quickly took her measurements of an obviously nervous Amy before she ran off leaving Amy and Penny to sit in a couple of chairs by themselves waiting for her to return. It was during that couple moments of quiet that Penny got curious why Amy was buying a new dress. "Are you going to a social function at work?"
Amy shook her head, then looked at Penny, "I'm actually going to a social function with Sheldon."
Penny's eyes went wide, "Sheldon, like in Sheldon Cooper, Dr. Sheldon Cooper is taking you to a social function!" she asked in surprise.
Amy nodded with a smile, obviously happy with both idea of going to a social function with Sheldon and her bestie's surprise at Sheldon was taking her to one. "It is a nice surprise isn't it, Sheldon invited me to their Physics fundraiser this Friday as his date."
Penny just stared at her, not remembering Leonard saying anything about a fundraiser this Friday and for a moment wondering why not. It then dawned on her that she had gone to one of those when they first were a couple years ago, and since the other girls weren't there she was bored out of her mind as Leonard talked science stuff with the donors. She had told Leonard about how bored she was after they left that social gathering that night and she remembered it ended up with them not in a fight but with them going to their own apartments to sleep that night. She immediately felt bad as she rationalized that Leonard probably remembered that and it was the reason, she had not heard anything about this Friday night.
"Penny are you okay." Amy said breaking Penny out of her thoughts.
"Umm...yeah, sorry Ames, another blonde moment." Penny quickly answered as she made her thoughts come back to the present.
It was then the salesgirl returned with some nice dresses that Penny knew Amy would never wear, but saved her from explaining what she was thinking about to Amy. "Those look nice." she quickly said.
Amy turned to Penny with sad puppy dog eyes, obviously not happy with anything the salesgirl had brought before she whispered to her friend, very quietly, "Help."
Penny immediately took pity on her friend, the fun of watching what Amy's reaction to what the salesgirl would bring to her now over and Penny not wanting to see her friend suffer anymore in trying on dresses she would never wear. So, Penny just smiled to the salesgirl, "Let us think about those and look around at what else you have, if you don't mind."
The salesgirl's smile immediately faded and she then just nodded, before hanging the clothes on a nearby rack in case they wanted to try them on, "Okay, well I'm hear if need me." she said in a very dejected tone.
Penny kept smiling, "We will when we get closer to something we like. Thank you." she then watched as Gail just nodded and then walked away, before turning back to Amy. "Do you want to look at some other dresses now?" she then quickly asked her friend.
Amy now smiled, "Yes, thanks Penny."
"No problem, I think we should start over there." Penny then pointed to an area where she saw some more conservative styles, which quickly got a nod and smile from Amy.
It was just over two hours later that Amy and Penny exited the Mall each with a dress bag in their arms, both happy that they had gotten what they wanted after almost two hours of serious dress shopping. It was Amy who spoke first when they had to separate to go their separate ways to their cars. "Thanks for helping me today Penny, you are truly a fashionista."
"Thanks Ames, I hope you like what you got." Penny knowing that what Amy just said was meant as a compliment.
"Oh Penny, I love it and I think Sheldon will too. Also, it is going to be fun with you being there too." Amy answered.
Penny nodded and smiled, "I know it will be nice to have you there, too." Penny had talked to Amy about the fundraiser while Amy tried on the first set of dresses and had made up her mind she was going with Leonard, too. It was not just that she felt bad about her complaining to Leonard before and that resulting in him not even telling her about this event, but because after talking to Amy she had a good idea why Sheldon was going and why he was taking Amy with him. Although, she knew from talking with Leonard that fundraisers were mandatory for every scientist who worked off grants at Cal Tech, Sheldon had been pretty much except from them after basically embarrassing President Siebert at the last one he was forced to go to, which made Sheldon perfectly happy. So, it made Penny immediate suspicious when Amy told her Sheldon wanted to attend the one on Friday and wanted her along with him. It really didn't take Penny long to figure why as she asked more subtle questions of Amy, bringing more money in to the university meant that someone could be seen as a more valuable employee, one that they would not want to lose, and that would be a good reason to offer that person tenure. Sheldon wasn't very good with people but Amy was and she was also good for getting grants for her department, so Sheldon was using her to help him get grants and improve his chances at getting tenure.
"Well if I don't see you sooner, I'll see you on Friday. Bye." Amy said with a smile as she turned to walk off.
"Yes, you will. Bye." Penny responded while thinking two can play at Sheldon's game, if he was going to use Amy to help him get grants, she was going to help Leonard get grants too. She had been very careful in selecting a dress for Friday's event, making sure she didn't get anything like what she would wear to bars with the girls to get free drinks, no the dress she got was a real cocktail dress, that was still a little bit sexy but did not overly expose her anywhere and looked proper for a professor's wife. The word "Wife" did cause her to shutter but she was so mad at Sheldon trying to pull this stunt Friday to upstage Leonard that she just let it go. She was going to use every charm she had in her to schmooze the donors to give money to Leonard, she still was the personality in her and Leonard's relationship and she knew she could carry conversations for him when he got to shy or tongue-tied. She was going to be there for him and help him get tenure, and she was going to punish Sheldon for ever telling Leonard that he was only good for being just a servant to the great Dr. Sheldon Cooper, she would make him eat those words before she was done.