Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November)

Sheldon was debating on a small turkey or a turkey breast for Thanksgiving when he caught a glimpse of gold hair in his peripheral vision. He turned too late to see who it was. He pushed his cart quickly to the corner and looked around. Three aisles away he caught a glance of a shapely calf going around a corner. He hurried over and saw Penny reaching up for a jar of mushrooms.

This was getting annoying. Penny only came over a couple times a month now, and always when it was the whole group. It had been several months since he last had the opportunity to speak with her alone. No laundry nights, no Halo, not even a single Anything Can Happen Thursday.

"Hello, Penny."

She spun quickly and looked at him. For a second he saw joy light up her eyes, only to be quickly replaced with a cool detachment. Sheldon felt a thrill at her initial reaction, but alarm at the other. Had she thought he was someone else for a moment? Had she been happy to see him, only to push that away? He wished, once again, that he was better at understanding and reading emotions.

"Hi, Sheldon. What are you doing?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "As it is Thanksgiving in 2 days, I am shopping for groceries. Just as you are."

Penny flushed slightly. "Um, yeah. So you are."

Sheldon had never been one for holding his tongue. He said what he wanted, when he wanted. "Penny, why are you avoiding me?"

Her eyes went wide, and the blush bloomed over her cheeks. "Sheldon, I…I don't know.."

He shook his head and moved around his cart. "You never visit any more. You never spend any time with me. You rarely spend time with the group. Why? What have I done to offend you so badly?"

Penny sighed and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Nothing, sweetie. You haven't done anything. I'm just not comfortable coming over."

"But I do not understand," he said. "Why not?"

Penny shrugged. "I don't fit in, Sheldon. I mean, what do I have in common with any of you? Nothing much."

Sheldon felt his stomach tense up. He shook his head. "So? We have never had much in common. We were still friends, though. I miss you, Penny. So do Howard, Raj and Leonard. You are part of my social circle and not having you there is distressing." Sheldon twisted his hands together behind his back. "I don't like you not coming around."

"Amy does."

Sheldon's eyes grew wide. "Penny, do you stay away because of Amy?"

She shrugged and started to turn away. Sheldon reached out and grabbed her arm. He was stunned by the spark that shot up his arm. He looked at Penny and saw she had felt it too. Slowly he released her arm. Sheldon took in the rapid pulse on the side of her neck, the increasing respirations , the enlarging pupils. Quickly he took stock of himself and found he was exhibiting the same reaction. Attraction. They were both experiencing the same symptoms.

He took another half step towards her and her phone went off, startling them both. Penny fumbled in her pocket and pulled it out.

"Hello?" Relief flashed through her eyes a moment later. "Of course. I'm at the market right now, but I can be there in 30 minutes."

Penny hung up and stepped back. "I have to go. They need a replacement at work."

Sheldon watched her hurry away. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or angered by the interruption. Sexual attraction between himself and Penny? This was something he needed to think about.