Nice to Meet You

Penn put the box down. He grinned, this was quite the workout! Maybe he should move more often. "Bad thought!" he whispered at himself. His face turned dark over memories. There was a not so pleasant reason for moving in the first place. He was so lost in thought, he did not even notice he was no longer alone.

"Hi," a voice said.

Penn turned around and saw a couple. A really weird one. A small guy and a woman as tall as himself stood beyond his apartment door peering inside. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," The woman answered.

Penn could not help himself and think that she was probably even too tall for a model.

"Hi," the guy said a second time.

Penn and the woman both stared at him. He laughed nervously.

"Are you drunk?" The woman hissed. "You just drove our car! Don't tell me you're drunk," She leaned over and sniffed. "You don't smell of alcohol. Don't tell me you consumed drugs! Do I need to inform you how dangerous that is? Give me a minute. I'll show you some charts," She stepped to the door across the hall.

"No, I'm not drunk and/or drugged," The guy hissed now that he had gotten a chance to edge a word in. "And I don't want to see any charts or numbers right now. I was just my normal awkward self. You should be used to it. Could we just sweep it under the carpet for once?"

"Nothing will be swept under the carpet!" The woman squeaked almost panicky, "Do I have to get the roommate agreement?"

"It's just a saying," He groaned, "Shelly, please, let us introduce ourselves and then we can have this discussion in our apartment okay?"

The woman had opened their door but had yet to cross the threshold, "That's acceptable,"

"Awesome," Nameless guy sighed. "That's Shelly and I'm Leonard,"

"Call me Penn," Everyone just called him that since he wanted it that way. And even more important because he was tall and buff enough to get his will.

"Before you ask, yes my name is actually Shelly. No, it is not a diminutive. Yes, I'm serious. I even got a twin sister named Missy," The lanky woman glared at him as if he had personally offended her.

Penn had no idea what to think. Maybe he pitied her boyfriend. He stage whispered, "You've got yourself quite the catch there,"

"Oh, we're not a couple! Not at all," Leonard hurriedly explained, "We're just roommates,"

"Really?" Penn asked baffled.

"Yes, really." Shelly said categorically, "There is, was and there will never be something between us," She turned around with a huff and stalked into their apartment

"So you secretly love her?" Penn whispered.

Leonard turned white as a sheet, "No! No. No, there is nothing. No feelings. Definitely, nothing! We're just friends. No physical component,"

"Then why are you..." Penn hesitated. He had no idea how to finish that sentence politely. "Anyway, have a nice day,"

"See you," Leonard said chipperly.

Turning back to his boxes, Penn thought that was that. He bent down to check out why this particular box was so heavy. He found his dumbbells. He picked them up and mused where to put them.

Once more he did not notice the guy sneaking up on him. "Do you want to eat with us?" Leonard asked. "We have enough take-out for the three of us. We were expecting two friends but they texted us they wouldn't make it today." He held his phone up. "I know moving can be exhausting and you've probably not eaten for quite some time, so if you want some?"

A growl of Penn's stomach made Leonard grin.