Chapter 18
Penny's job at the pharmaceutical company progressed slowly during the first couple of weeks as she struggled to keep up with the other sales reps in her team. With the help of Leonard, she was able to learn almost all of her company's products by heart, impressing some of the senior sales reps and supervisors in the company. On her second month with the company, she was able to close a big account to supply a nearby hospital with their pharmaceutical supplies. She was on a coffee break in the pantry when Vivian, one of her co-workers came in looking for her.
"Hey Penny, boss Dan wants to see you in his office." said Vivian.
"Okay. Thanks." Penny drank her coffee and quickly stood up, walking towards his boss' office. She knocked on the door, opening it slightly and popping her head in.
"Hi boss! You wanted to see me?" she said.
"Penny come in and have a seat." said Dan. Penny sat down, facing his boss. "Great job in closing that hospital account." he said.
"Thank you boss. I really thought I wouldn't be able to close that account but thankfully I did." she said smiling.
"I gotta be honest with you Penny. I really thought you'd get nowhere in this job but I'm glad I was wrong." said Dan with Penny not knowing how to react.
Penny gave him a weak smile. "Uh I don't know what to say boss. I mean, I've been busting myself these past couple of months 'cause I wanted to prove myself." she said.
"Well, you're off to a good start and I've been proven wrong before. If you don't believe me, then ask Sylvia. She was just like you when she first started out here. But now she heads up her own sales team. That could be you Penny, if you work real hard." said Dan.
"I'll keep that in mind boss." said Penny.
"Good. Just keep doing what you're doing because I'll be expecting more of it." said Dan.
Penny nodded. "Got it. Thank you boss." she said as she stood up.
"You're welcome Penny." said Dan as Penny left while he went back to typing on his computer. After leaving Dan's office, Penny felt a new sense of direction and purpose. She now realized that her success was not only her own but Leonard's as well. She decided to give him a call to hear his voice and tell him the good news.
P: Hi honey! Are you busy?
L: Hi! Not so much. What's up?
P: Nothing much. I just wanted to hear your voice.
L: Hmm, is it good or bad?
P: What do you mean? (she asked smiling)
L: Well I mean, this is the first time that you said that to me.
P: What's wrong with that?
L: Well, nothing. It's kinda sweet actually!
P: Let's go out tonight. I closed a big sale and I want us to celebrate.
L: Wow! Congratulations honey. That is great news. Okay, let's go.
P: Great. I'll see you later. Love you!
L: Love you too!
Penny hung up her phone and went back to her desk to prepare her sales materials and samples for her rounds tomorrow.
Leonard arrived home at around five-thirty. He went inside the apartment, putting his satchel on his desk when he heard Penny yell from the bathroom.
"Leonard, is that you?" she asked.
"Yeah! Are you in the shower?" he asked as he entered the bedroom, loosening his tie and taking off his coat.
"Uh huh. I'm just freshening up for our date tonight." she said.
Leonard turned the bathroom door knob and peeked inside. "Do you want me to join you?" he said teasing her.
"No! We have plenty of time later." she said. Leonard smiled and decided to undress, hurriedly kicking his shoes off and pulling down his pants. He was naked in no time and quickly jumped inside the shower, startling Penny. "Oh my god! What are you doing!?" she said, covering herself with her arms.
"Taking a shower with you! What else?" he said smiling, grabbing her waist and pulling Penny close. Penny resisted but Leonard held her tight in his arms, kissing her neck and cheeks until she eventually surrendered and returned his kisses with her own.
"That was fun right?" said Leonard as they get dressed in the bedroom.
"No it wasn't. You took advantage of me." said Penny, smiling a little bit.
"Oh yeah? Why don't you tell that to your face?" he said laughing as he put his shirt on.
"You're a jackass you know that!?" said Penny as she started to fix her hair in front of the dresser. Leonard went to Penny and kissed her cheek.
"Come on honey. Tell me you didn't enjoy it?" he said as he put his arm around her.
Penny sighed. "Fine. You win. But you will make it up to me!" Penny said sternly.
Leonard nodded. "You got it." he said raising his hands. It took another fifteen minutes for Penny to prepare and get dressed while Leonard waited for her in the living room, watching some TV.
"Well? How do I look?" she said as she came out of the bedroom.
Leonard was stunned. "Wow! You look amazing honey!" he said kissing her cheek.
"Thank you honey. I'm glad you liked it." she said. "Let's get out of here so we could get a good table." Penny said, pulling his hand out of the apartment.
They arrived at the restaurant and was shown to a table by the window on the upper floor.
"This is so nice." said Penny.
"Well it better be or the ten dollar bill I gave the maitre d' would be for nothing." he said as a waiter poured them some wine. They raised their glasses and took a sip. "So you closed a big account huh?" said Leonard.
Penny smiled. "Ugh, I've been working hard on that account for an entire month. I thought they were gonna give it to the other guy but then they called me the other day and said they would be sending their first purchase orders." said Penny.
"That is so amazing honey. I'm really happy for you." he said as he moved and gave her a kiss on the lips.
"Thank you honey." she said. "My boss called me in today and told me to keep up the good work." she added as their order came and was served to them. They started eating while making small talk and sharing their food with each other.
"Hey, do you have plans this weekend?" asked Leonard.
"Uh no. Why?" she said.
"Well I was thinking maybe we could go to the beach or something." he said.
"Really? You want to go to the beach?" she asked.
"Why not?" said Leonard.
"Well if I remember it right, the last time we went to the beach, you were so scared of stepping on medical waste that I had to carry you across the sand." she said teasing and smiling at him.
"I know. Don't worry, I already have a solution for that." he said.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Beach shoes." Leonard said.
"Oh? Okay." she said. "So I guess we'll be going to the beach this weekend then." Penny said.
"Great. We'll can go there early in the morning, then we'll book a room in a nearby hotel so we could rest in the afternoon. And in the evening, we could take a walk along the beach." he said.
"Hmm, that sounds romantic! Okay, lets do it." she smiled at him. "I'm so excited." she said.
They finished eating and paid for their dinner, leaving a tip for the waiter. They went out of the restaurant and drove straight home to rest for the night.
They were lying on the bed as Penny rested her head on Leonard's shoulder.
"Honey." she said.
"Hmmm." muttered Leonard as he was starting to doze off.
"Why are you so good to me?" she asked.
"Because you're mine." he said absently, keeping his eyes closed.
"I know. But why?" she said looking up to him.
Leonard opened his eyes and looked at her. "What do you mean, why?" he asked.
"Why are you good to me?" she asked smiling at him.
Leonard pulled her close and kissed her lips. "Because I love you. That's why!" he said as Penny slipped her hand, feeling him get excited.
"Hmm, I guess It's my turn to take advantage of you huh?" she said teasing him while moving on top, kissing him passionately. Leonard tightened his arms around her as they made love under the covers.
The following Saturday morning, they woke up earlier than usual for their trip to the beach. Penny packed their stuff the night before in a large tote bag with a few clothes, sunscreen and some other beach stuff they would need. They went out of their building and drove out, passing by a drive thru diner to have a quick breakfast. They arrived at the beach and walked along the sand to find a good spot to put their beach towel and umbrella for their shade. Penny was glad that there were not as much people on the beach that day, giving them a little bit of privacy. She took off her shirt and yoga pants, revealing her new bikini to Leonard. She smiled as she saw Leonard staring and checking her out.
"Well?" she asked.
"You look very nice honey." he said trying to hide his reddened cheeks. Penny then took out the sunscreen from her tote bag and gave it to her boyfriend.
"Put some sunscreen on me honey. Please." she said as she laid down on the beach towel. Leonard shook the sunscreen bottle before putting the lotion on Penny's thighs, back and arms, making sure to apply the sunscreen evenly. "Hmmm, that feels nice." she said feeling her boyfriend's caress as Leonard continued giving her a light massage.
After applying the sunscreen, Penny helped Leonard take his shirt off to put sunscreen on him.
"If you keep doing this, I'm gonna have to take you to the hotel right now." Leonard said while smiling at her.
"You keep your hands to yourself mister and maybe you'll get lucky later!" she said glaring at him.
"Oh I know I will." he said smugly.
"You're a jackass." she said punching him lightly on the chest making Leonard laugh out loud.
"Aww come on Penny, tell you don't want any of this!?" he said pointing at himself.
"Strike two Hofstadter!" she said glaring at him.
"Alright! Alright! I'll stop." he smiled, then moving close and kissing her on the cheek. "I love you so much." he said.
"I'm gonna take a nap and get a tan. You do want you want to do." Penny said as she laid down on the towel, stretching her arms and legs. Leonard did the same, taking off his glasses and putting them on his side. It didn't take long for them to doze off, feeling the cool warmth of the early morning sun.
A few hours later, Penny shook Leonard awake.
"Honey wake up! I want to go in the water!" she said, shaking him by the shoulders.
"Huh?" a half awake Leonard said.
"Get up! I want to take a dip in the water." she said playfully.
"Okay I'm getting up." he said rubbing his eyes, then putting his glasses on. He then followed Penny as she pulled his hand towards the water. They slowly walked on the water, going to the chest deep part. Penny then threw her arms around his shoulders as they swam and played on the water, kissing and hugging while feeling the warm ocean massage their bodies.
"Honey." Penny said while looking at Leonard.
"Hmmm?" said Leonard as he held Penny tight around his arms.
"Let's do this more often." she said smiling at him.
"Yeah sure. We'll do whatever you want." he said.
Penny then kissed his lips, not letting him go. "Thank you honey." she said laughing and giggling.
"I just want you to be happy." he said, grateful for his girlfriend's affection.
"Good." she whispered. "You're getting close to third base!" said Penny, winking at her boyfriend.
They continued to wade on the water, holding onto each other for support. Penny then threw a handful of water onto Leonard's face, catching him by surprise. Leonard decided to retaliate as Penny continued with her attack as they laughed and play with each other. Leonard then dived under the water and swam up to Penny, holding her tight as she tried to break free from him tickling her. Penny couldn't break free and decided to hug him tight to tickle him herself as Leonard buried his face on her neck, making her scream with laughter. It didn't take long for them to be making out, holding tight to each other and breaking free from time to time to take a breather.
"Leonard." Penny said while holding on to him.
"Hmmm?" said Leonard.
"I wish this wouldn't end." she said.
"Me too." he said.
Penny gave him another kiss. "What do you say we go back to our room and do some stuff?" she said winking at him.
"Hmm, I love it. Come on!" he said as they walk towards the shore and pick up their stuff. They walked back to their hotel room with Penny dragging him straight to the bathroom for them to shower together. It didn't take long for them to be making out and getting intimate under the shower. After having fun in the shower and drying off, Penny grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bedroom, pushing him on the bed and straddling him.
"Two in a row?" asked Leonard as Penny pinned him down with her body.
"Why? Do you have something else to do?" she said burying her face against his neck.
Leonard smiled at her. "No!" he said as he returned her affections, feeling Penny's warmth and caresses.
After satisfying their urges, they fell asleep, tangled in their arms under the covers.
That night, they took a stroll along the coast after getting a quick bite. Leonard bought a couple cans of beer as they sit on a quiet spot along the beach to cool down while listening to the sound of the water and feel the cool ocean breeze.
"Honey?" she said while leaning on his shoulder.
"Yeah?" said Leonard.
"You're so great." said Penny as she entwine her fingers with his.
"You're pretty great too honey." he said, kissing her forehead.
"Thank you for not giving up on me." Penny said.
"I told you, we're a team. We're gonna go through this life together, through thick and thin." he said.
Penny kissed him on the lips. "I'm in." she said smiling at Leonard.
After spending almost an hour sitting by the beach, they decided to go back to the hotel with Penny pulling him hurriedly into their bedroom. Leonard gave in and let Penny have her way as a nice cap off to their wonderful weekend together, bringing their relationship to a new level of closeness.
The next day, they started packing their stuff to prepare for their trip home. They got out of their room and went straight to the hotel reception to settle their bill. They put their stuff in the trunk of their car and drove off into the highway to go home taking home a good tan and a lot of good memories with them.
After an hour or driving and weaving through traffic, Leonard parked the car on the side of their apartment building. They got out and took their stuff from the trunk to carry back into their apartment. Leonard opened the door into the building when he saw the gang, walking down the stairs.
"Hey guys! What's up?" asked Leonard as Penny stepped inside the building, looking at them.
"Uh where have you guys been?" asked Amy.
"We came from the beach. We went there yesterday and stayed in a hotel for a night." said Penny smiling at Leonard.
"Well you guys look great." said Bernadette then turning to Howard. "We'll go to the beach next week Howie." she said.
"Uh, okay Bernie. Sure." said Howard.
Amy then turned to Sheldon. "Sheldon let's go with them. It'll be fun." said Amy.
"She's right Sheldon. Might be a good thing to get some sun from time to time. Right honey!?" she said while touching Leonard's chin.
"Yeah Sheldon. It might be a good idea to do something new from time to time." added Leonard.
"Absolutely not!" said Sheldon.
"Why not?" asked Leonard as Penny sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Do you know that there is a high chance for Caucasians to get skin cancer by staying for extended periods under the sun?" Sheldon said.
"We're gonna put on some sunscreen Sheldon." Amy said.
"If you want, you can borrow our big umbrella." Leonard said.
"Well, what do you say Sheldon?" said Amy.
Sheldon sighed. "Fine. But you'll take me to the mall so I can buy some beach shoes. I don't want to step on medical wastes in the sand." Sheldon said as Leonard smiled while the girls rolled their eyes.
"Sure. No problem." said Amy.
"Well, now that everything's settled, we're gonna go upstairs to our apartment now. Bye guys!" said Penny, pulling Leonard up the stairs as the rest of the gang went out the building.