It's been a crazy day on top of a crazy week, so I appreciate your patience. To anyone in the Boston area, I pray that you and yours are safe.
Well, it's Penny's turn to journey into dreamland, and this where things start to come together for Shenny. As promised, things are heating up. Because of this, I've upgraded the story to an M rating. I hope you continue to enjoy the story, it's my first long story, so please continue with your reviews and comments! Thanks!
Oh, and thanks to the Swedish reader who corrected my translations in the last chapter. Tack sa mycket!
"Hold the door!" Penny shouted breathlessly, running towards the elevator with economy-sized jug of fabric softener in hand. It was laundry night, and if she had any hope of partying with the girls after work the next night, her underwear needed to be spring fresh. And even with the time she'd lose riding down the glacier-paced lift, it was so worth it just to catch her breath.
Sheldon leaned his shoulders out of the door. "I can't hold the door for you, I have my laundry basket situated in the space beside me, and it would create an imbalance in the capacity of the car, and…"
"Oh, let me in, Sheldon," Penny grumbled, pushing the door open and kicking his basket to the rear. "I'm not going to cause the elevator to crash, if that's what you mean. That isn't what you mean, is it? 'Cause I've been hitting the bike and counting my carbs…"
"That isn't what I meant," Sheldon lectured, folding his hands in front of him and maintaining space between them. "I was trying to politely and discretely request that you not ride in the lift with me, because I prefer to have a radius of two feet when riding in an enclosed space."
She turned and gave him a sinister smile. "Oh, then pardon me while I transect your radius," she teased, drawing closer to the lanky scientist. "Betcha didn't see that one coming," she bragged, clucking her tongue.
"What, your lack of proper proxemics or your knowledge of basic geometric principles?" he rolled his eyes wearily. "While I admit I am surprised that you're able to recall your freshman year of high school, your lack of social grace is business as usual."
"It was senior year," she mumbled to herself. Realizing his meaning, Penny matched his eye roll, paired with a groan. "You're STILL hung up on the wrestling match, Sheldon? Look, it was all in good fun. But just to make you happy," she said, raising her right hand. "I promise, I will NEVER touch your body again."
"I intend to hold you to that promise," he said, nonplussed.
For the next few moments, they rode in silence, save for the drone of the slow-moving elevator motor. Penny sighed, then fanned herself absent-mindedly.
"You know, I can't believe they fixed the elevator just yesterday," she said, tugging at the collar of the purple shirt that matched the blueberry pie she'd gorged herself on the previous evening. She looked down, noticing her second button had come undone, and quickly refastened it. "Six years of climbing the stairs and in one day—POOF!" She said, accentuating the last interjection with a puff of discomfort.
"Yes, it's amazing what the maintenance department can accomplish when they put their MIND to it," he said, smiling in his awkwardly mischievous way. A few more seconds passed, then he stiffly tugged at the collar of his Flash T-Shirt and said in an exaggerated tone, "Oh my, is it getting WARM in here?"
"Yeah, I'm actually starting to sweat," Penny said, fumbling at her re-opened button. A trickle of perspiration was working its way down her forehead. "Guess they didn't get around to fixing the air."
"Well, even if they had, I still would have been able to alter the ambient temperature of the car," Sheldon said with an awkward giggle.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Penny responded with agitation.
Sheldon reached out and slammed his hand on the Emergency Stop button, bringing the lift to a grinding halt between the second and third floors. He beamed wickedly as he looked at the increasingly uncomfortable blonde.
"BAZINGA!" he shouted victoriously, turning towards her and tilting out his chin in a defiant gesture. "You've just been zapped, Prairie Dawn!"
"Okay, you're starting to really freak my out," she now turned and matched Sheldon's defensive stance. "What the eff is going on? I'm sweating like a pig, and you've reached a whole new level of crazy. What gives?"
"Have you ever heard of the phenomenon known as telekinesis?" Sheldon asked playfully.
Penny twisted her expressive lips, befuddled. "Isn't that the thing where the guy bends a spoon with his mind?"
Sheldon snickered dismissively. "Oh, such parlor tricks have become so banal. The brain is such a powerful tool, with so much untapped potential. It naturally fell to me to discover the next level in the evolution of its manipulative powers."
Penny started fanning herself again, her underarms now saturated, her skin glowing with perspiration. "You cannot be serious! You've lost your mind!"
"On the contrary, I've found a whole new dimension of my mental capacity," Sheldon said, now taking a more serious tone. "Or haven't you noticed the air temperature steadily increasing since you squeezed yourself into this elevator?"
Penny's hand fumbled her neck as a drop of sweat rolled down her chest. "What the crap? You're not really turning this into a sauna, are you?" Her words came out in thirsty gasps.
"Yes, it's true," Sheldon replied, with a hint of a smile on his lips. "But that's just the beginning. I not only can manipulate the air molecules around us, but also solids. Observe."
He flicked his eyes to the right, and the third button of Penny's blouse popped loose, exposing the top of her bra.
"SHELDON!" she cried out, her voice hoarse. "I swear to God, I'll…" she trailed off, her eyes narrowed and mouth clenched. She was really getting pissed off, but she could not deny the sudden rush of blood to her face.
"Oh, I'm just getting started. You know, as I was lying in my bed last night, unable to sleep because of your egregious invasion of my personal space, I wondered, 'How would Penny feel if I invaded her space…imposed MY self on her person…played around with her sensibilities?"
"Sheldon Cooper, you stop this ri—" Her maternal tone was cut off by something caught in her mouth. She worked her jaws, a look of disgust curling her lips. "Blueberries? Why do I taste blueberries?"
"You see, not only can I manipulate matter with my telekinetic powers," Sheldon continued. "Thanks to the rush of hormones you unleashed in my body last night, I now have the ability to manipulate brain waves. You've let slip the dogs of lust, Missy!"
"WUST?!" Penny cried, a glob of saliva trickling from her mouth. "AAUGH…BOOBEWIES! My mow is fo uh boobewies! I sown wike fweekin KWEPKE!"
"You only THINK your mouth is full of blueberries. There are other things I can put in that cavernous, perpetually-moving orifice of yours!" His eyes narrowed, and he closed his mouth, his cheeks sucking inward.
Penny's eyes swelled to their maximum volume as she swallowed hard. Her mouth began puckering and cheeks undulating. Her eyes fluttered upward, her tongue moving against her cheeks. She mumbled and moaned softly as she took in the taste of his imaginary tongue.
"You see, my beautiful blonde anomaly," Sheldon said, taking a step forward. "Over the past six years there has been a force exerting itself between us. Sometimes repelling, sometimes attracting, but never drawing us completely together, always maintaining a safe distance. I rather liked things that way. But even so, my perception of you has been altered over time in such a way that, now, I feel the forces are pulling us closer than ever." He stopped, looking at her with a face of resolve.
"Mmmh?" Penny mumbled quizzically, slowly backing towards the corner of the car.
"This caused no small amount of stress on my part," he continued, taking another step towards her. "You know my need for personal space and disapproval of any physical contact, even by my closest friends and associates, not to mention my needy significant other." The mention of Amy elicited a slight shake of his head in annoyance, and then he continued. "Imagine my surprise when I realized I could indulge these new feelings of attraction and still maintain protective isolation! Talk about Eureka moment!" He snickered at his wit, then quickly resumed his determined expression.
"Mmm…Um-Hmm," Penny nodded, still moving backward and fumbling awkwardly at her blouse. Her body was surging with new sensations, and her sense of fear was quickly being engulfed by a sense of eager abandon. She smiled to herself, even as her heart was hammering in her chest. Now that she knew what the game was, she could play the student to his teacher…for now.
Ohhh Whack-a-Doodle, she mused as the evil, salacious thoughts multiplied in her desire-engorged mind. Whack a doodle doodle doo…
Her mouth suddenly was loosed, and she moaned as her eyes closed and she slid slowly down the back of the elevator car. He stood over her, arms folded, eyes firmly fixed on the subject of his own growing hunger.
The sound of the remainder of her buttons ricocheting off the sides of the stalled elevator echoed with her breathy voice, sighing his name…
Penny jerked herself awake, kicking the armrest of the couch and banging her hand on the floor. The slight jabs of pain brought her a foggy level of consciousness, her head aching and her mouth sandpaper dry. Even so, she was damp with sweat, and her pulse was racing. A sense of relief began to spread through her as she realized it had only been a dream.
Oh no. Oh dear God, no. Her relief was short-lived as she remembered the images and sensations that were still fresh in her mind like ghost figures on an exposed film. I did not have a sex dream. About Sheldon. In an elevator.
Yes, yes you did, the other side of her consciousness retorted. And it was terrifying. And exciting. And HOT.
She blinked into the dark as she gripped her blanket, suddenly feeling dreadful, vulnerable, and exhilarated, all at the same time.
Please, please make me forget this ever happened, she implored the voice in her heart. I can't look at Sheldon's face, hear his condescending voice, look at his mouth…knowing I went there, even in a dream.
But nothing actually happened. It WAS a dream, after all, the voice replied.
And though she knew it was true, the fact did nothing to lower her pulse rate or make her breathing any easier.