Chapter 14
The gang was in 4A as Howard and Raj were unpacking the takeout food for their dinner.
"What time did Leonard say he will arrive?" Amy asked as she put the bottled beverages on the coffee table.
"He just texted me five minutes ago. He said he'll be here around seven-thirty." said Howard.
"How do you think the conference went?" Amy asked.
"We heard from one of the attendees that it went quite well." Howard said.
"Leonard should be more specific on what time he'll arrive…I'm getting hungry." Sheldon said.
"Relax Sheldon…he'll be here soon." Amy said. After a few minutes, the apartment door opened and Leonard came in with Penny holding his hand.
"Hey guys!" said Leonard as Penny held on to his arm. "Look who I found!?" he announced smiling at them. The gang stared at them for about a minute, never taking their eyes off the couple.
"Pennnnnyyyy!" Bernadette screamed as she ran towards Penny to hug her. The guys stood up, happy and confused at the same time, not knowing how to react. "Penny we missed you so much!" said Bernadette as Penny hugged her friend tight. Amy stayed in her seat, crying at the sight of her best friend. Bernadette released her hug as Penny walked over to Amy to give her a hug. Amy slowly wrapped her arms around Penny, eventually tightening them while leaning her face on her shoulder, still crying. "It's alright Amy, I'm here now." Penny said trying to console her best friend.
"I missed you so much!" Amy said, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I know. I missed you too!" said Penny, wiping a tear from her cheek. Bernadette joined in to hug the two girls.
"We were not complete without you!" said Bernadette who was crying as well.
The gang slowly settled down as they take their seats around the coffee table.
"Leonard would you care to explain what is Penny doing here?" Sheldon said.
"Oh? I was planning on looking Penny up while I was at the conference in Nebraska but she beat me to it." he said as he sat on the couch.
"Penny?" Bernadette asked.
"Oh right…I was on a night shift at the bar where I was working when I heard these group of college students talking about the conference….and when I heard them mention Leonard's name, I decided to check it out to see him." Penny said as they begin to eat. "I went to the university to see his lecture and waited for him in the hall...long story short….here I am!" she said smiling at them.
"Oh my god, finally! You two are back together! After all these years!" Bernadette said giggling with Amy.
"I know…when I arrived at the university, I was so nervous thinking that maybe Alex and Leonard were still together…but it turned out that Leonard thought of the same thing about me." Penny said.
"Yeah, I thought Penny would already have a boyfriend, or married." he said smiling at Penny.
"Oh my god this is so romantic! It's like something out of a movie!" Amy said as she cannot hide her excitement.
"So I assume Penny would be living with you across the hall?" Sheldon asked.
Leonard nodded. "Yeah." he said.
"Are you gonna go back to your old job at the Cheesecake Factory?" asked Howard.
"I'm not sure. I'm still trying to figure out what to do next. I don't want to stay at home all day while Leonard's at work." said Penny.
"Don't worry honey, I'm sure you'll figure something out." Leonard said to Penny.
"If you want you can apply as a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep in my company." Bernadette said.
"I don't know Bernie. I mean, I don't have any experience in sales." said Penny.
"Why not? My company's marketing department have been hiring sales people to get the sales up." said Bernadette.
"I don't know." Penny said.
"Just give it a try Penny…they're gonna train you anyways." Bernadette said.
"She's right bestie…at least you won't have to go back to being a waitress and besides, your salary would be much better there." Amy said.
"Give it a try honey…what have you got to lose right?" said Leonard.
"You think I can do it?" she asked her boyfriend.
"Of course…it's like being a waitress but instead of selling food, you're selling medicines." said Leonard.
"He's right Penny. Don't worry I'll talk to the guy that will interview you, put in a good word or two." Bernadette said.
"Thanks Bernie. I really appreciate it." said Penny.
They continued to eat dinner as they exchanged stories that happened for the past two years with Penny telling them all about her struggles in Nebraska as she tried to get her life back on track.
After dinner, the girls decided to have 'girls night' over at 4B.
"Honey...is it alright if me and the girls have girls night across the hall?" Penny asked Leonard.
"Of course honey." he said kissing her. "I guess me and the guys will just stay here...maybe play a video game...or watch a movie." he said.
"Thank you honey." said Penny kissing him back.
"Do you guys want some wine?" Penny asked as they enter apartment 4B.
"Yeah." Bernadette asked as they sat on the couch while Penny pours their wine in the glasses.
"I still can't believe that you're back with us Penny. You have no idea how difficult it was for me and Bernie without you here." Amy said sipping her wine.
"She's right Penny. When you left, we felt incomplete." said Bernadette.
"Me too…when I arrived in Nebraska, I was completely lost. I didn't know what to do with my life." said Penny. "I think I must have spent almost two months in our house, just moping around and doing nothing. Then my parents told me that I needed to move on, not for anyone, but for myself. It took a lot for me to get out there and pick myself up." said Penny as she drank her wine.
"Did you meet anyone while you're in Nebraska?" asked Bernadette.
"No. Ever since I left California, I never had a boyfriend. I mean, I went out on a few dates with a couple of guys but after the first dates, I decided to break it off. I just couldn't get Leonard off my mind." said Penny.
"You never dated for two years?" asked Amy.
"Yeah." Penny said.
"Wow! You really loved Leonard that much huh?" said Bernadette.
"Uh huh…that's why I was so nervous when I heard those college students mention his name….I thought I was gonna throw up." said Penny. "I was worried that him and Alex would still be together...or married and that I was just waiting in vain for him." said Penny.
"Well, they broke up months ago so you have nothing to worry about." said Bernadette.
"Uh wait, why were you waiting for him Penny?" asked Amy.
"What do you mean?" she said.
"Well when you left California, Leonard and Alex were still in a relationship. You moved back to Nebraska and not sure if you and Leonard are gonna see each other again…it just seems highly impractical for you to wait for him without knowing if Leonard might be available again isn't it?" said Amy.
"She's right Penny…why were you waiting for Leonard anyway?" asked Bernadette.
Penny realized that there is no way out of this and decided to confess. She took a deep breath. "Okay…I'm gonna tell you something and I want the two of you to promise me that you will not tell this to anyone else." said Penny.
Bernadette and Amy looked at each other, confused. "What is it Penny?" Amy said.
"I want you to promise first." said Penny.
Amy and Bernadette nodded in agreement. "Okay we promise." they said.
"Okay. When Leonard heard that I was going back to Nebraska, he went over here to talk to me and tried to convince me to stay." she said and continued. "I told him how sorry I was for breaking up and hurting him. He told me he already forgave me and that I didn't have to worry. We hugged. I told him that I love him but I didn't want to go between him and Alex…then then next thing we knew, we were kissing." she said.
"What!?" Amy and Bernadette exclaimed.
Penny sighed. "I know." she said.
Bernadette looked her in the eye. "Oh my god Penny…you slept with him!?" she asked.
Penny nodded making Amy and Bernadette scream and giggle. "Ahhh!" They couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"What can I say. He tried to break free but I told him that I needed to feel it again. I told him nobody needs to know." she added. "He was so angry at himself for cheating on Alex. I told him I loved him and he told me he still felt the same that's why I told him that I would wait for him in case his relationship with Alex doesn't work out." she said.
"Oh my god I can't believe this!" said Bernadette drinking her wine, trying to calm herself down.
"Remember your promise." said Penny.
"We understand Penny." said Amy. "No one will know." she added.
"Thank you." said Penny.
They continued to catch up on things especially Howard and Bernadette's engagement as well as Amy and Sheldon living together until it was time to go home. "Thanks guys…drive safe alright!" said Penny as she and Leonard waved them goodbye.
Later that night, Penny was snuggled up to Leonard on their bed ready to sleep.
"Honey, do you remember our last time here?" she asked.
"Yeah, you threw yourself at me because you can't live without me." he said smiling at her.
Penny lightly slapped his chest. "That's not what happened." she said looking squarely at him.
"Really? Because if my memory serves me right, you said you were sorry for breaking up with me, then you said you loved me and the next thing you know, your lips were locked on my lips." he added. "You basically took advantage of my weakness!" he said smiling at her.
Penny glared at him. "Is it really a good idea for you to rub it in my face?" she asked.
Leonard kissed her lips. "Honey, I'm just teasing you." he said laughing.
Penny slapped his chest. "Jackass!" she said.
Leonard hugged her tight. "Come here." he said.
Penny tightened her hug. "Honey." she said.
"Hmm?" he muttered.
"What do you think Alex would say if she sees us together again?" she asked.
"I don't think it matters anymore." he said.
"Why is that?" she asked.
"Well, Alex already left CalTech." he said.
"Really?" said Penny.
"Yeah. It was so weird after we broke up...passing each other in the hallway...in the cafeteria. But when she got an offer to work in FermiLab, she immediately took it." he said.
"Oh? Okay." Penny said.
"Don't worry about it...and besides, nobody knew about us sleeping together and you weren't here when we broke up so nobody would blame you for what happened." he said. They stayed silent for a while as Leonard started to doze off. Penny looked at him.
"Honey." she said.
"Hmm?" he muttered.
"I was thinking about that stuff that my mom said." she said.
"About us getting married?" he asked.
"Uh huh." she said.
Leonard looked at her. "Do you see us getting married?" he asked.
Penny nodded. "I guess, but I want to get my life straightened first...I don't want to just stay here all day waiting for you to come home in the afternoon." she said.
"Okay. Are you gonna try that job that Bernadette told you about?" he asked.
"Yeah. It wouldn't be fair if I just rely on you for everything." said Penny.
"I understand. Don't worry about it too much." he said.
Penny moved up and kissed him. "I love you." she said.
"I love you too. So is that it? Are we engaged?" he asked looking at her.
"I guess." she said smiling at him.
"No Penny….I wanna do it right...I want to propose to you properly. You know, with me holding a big-ass sword, dripping with blood as a decapitated dragon's head lies in front of me while the whole town sing songs about my heroism." he said proudly.
Penny laughed. "That is the silliest thing I have ever heard. Where are you gonna get a dragon?" she teased him.
"Well, I play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons." he said laughing. "How about this, instead of saying we're engaged, let's just say we're committed. How's that?" he said.
Penny nodded. "I love that." she said as she slid her hand to feel him.
"What are you doing?" he said smiling at her.
"Well, since we're already talking about being engaged and getting married…why don't we uh…get an advance on our honeymoon huh?" she said teasing him.
"Hmm, I like it." he said as he moved on top and started to kiss her. He broke off and stared at her. "Penny."
"What?" she asked.
"Can you do something for me?" he asked.
Penny looked at him, puzzled. "Tell me. What is it?" she said.
"Don't cut your hair alright?" he said.
"What!? Why would I cut my hair?" she said eyeing him.
"No reason…I just like it the way it is." he said.
Penny smiled. "Okay honey, I won't cut my hair. Now come here!" she said pulling him close and kissing him while they started to feel each other, slowly taking off their clothes.