A/N: I know, I know; long time no see. I was just really busy with work, especially these past two months, and didn't have a lot of time to write. Anyway, on with the story. Enjoy and if you like it, feel free to leave a review, or even a PM.
Disclaimer: my name is not Chuck Lorre, nor is it Bill Prady. 'nuff said...
Dinner and a movie. Nothing more, and certainly nothing to worry about. Still, Penny paced nervously around her living room, much to the annoyance of her son and Amber, the girl she had asked to babysit Andy. Both had asked her politely to just sit down and relax several times, but she never sat any longer than about a minute, before the nerves got the better of her once again and she resumed pacing until one of them would once again ask her to please sit down.
"Mom, you're getting all worked up for nothing. I'm guessing Dr. Hofstadter is even more nervous than you are."
She looked at her son and sighed. Andy was probably right; Leonard wasn't very sure of himself and still couldn't quite believe she even wanted to pursue a relationship with him. Undoubtedly he was a wreck right now. She moved back to the comfortable sofa and sat down. "You're probably right. But I haven't dated in a long time either."
Andy nodded. "I know and I do understand, even if I don't have any experience in dating whatsoever."
Penny smiled nervously. "Am I doing the right thing? Maybe going out isn't such a good idea. What if it doesn't work out?"
"What if it does," Andy countered, then sighed. "Mom, remember when I explained Shrödingers experiment to you?"
Penny furrowed her brow slightly. "That was the one with the cat, right?"
Andy nodded. "Yes."
Penny nodded, feeling proud she'd actually remembered which experiment it was. "The cat can be considered both dead and alive, until you open the box to see which it is."
Andy nodded once again. "Exactly. The same principle can be applied to your date with Dr. Hofstadter, and even a potential relationship."
Penny understood what her son was trying to tell her. "I will only know if this date's a good thing by actually going through with it." She pulled her son in for a hug. "You are so smart." After a few seconds she ended the hug and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you, sweetie."
"You two have the weirdest conversations sometimes."
Penny grinned. "I guess we do. And again, thank you for agreeing to babysit at such short notice."
The eighteen year old smiled. "No problem. I didn't have any plans tonight besides studying. I can do that here, with the added benefit of this smart little man here to help me when I get stuck. After all, I'd like to at least get my high school diploma at the same time, even if I'm seven years older."
"Ugh, I'm going to be the only high school graduate with both his mother and his babysitter there!"
Penny couldn't contain her laughter, but found herself in good company as Amber joined in. Right at that point the doorbell rang. "That must be him," Penny said, noticing it was just a few minutes before the agreed upon time. She grabbed the little make-up mirror she'd put in her purse, making sure her make-up was still the way it was supposed to be. Satisfied that it was, she returned the item and stood up.
"Home before midnight."
Penny stopped and turned toward Andy, noticing his wide grin. "If I get home that late, you better be in bed and asleep," she said with a smile. "See you tomorrow, sweetie."
Leonard glanced to his right again before shifting his attention back to the road. He'd been nervous on the way over to her house, uncertain about his idea for asking her out on an actual date, just the two of them. Nobody to back him up or help him out should he start to make a mess of the entire thing. When she opened the door, his nerves had only increased. Even though he had already concluded she was the most beautiful creature in the entire universe, this was the first time he'd seen her like this. 'Dressed to kill' was the term that had come to mind as his eyes drank in her appearance. And he was her target. His eyes went to his right upper leg when Penny placed her hand there, squeezing gently.
"Just relax, sweetie. Think of this whole date thing as Shrödinger's cat."
His eyes darted toward her face to be rewarded with an encouraging smile. He focused once again on the road. Her remark actually seemed to help as he felt the tension more or less disappearing. Once again he had been overthinking this date and its possibly outcome. It really lead nowhere, and she was right about comparing this to the famous quantum physics hypothesis. "I guess you're right. It's useless to keep going over hypothetical situations and outcomes."
"Exactly. I was doing the same thing while getting ready and then waiting for you. I was driving Andy and Amber crazy! And then Andy told me I could just consider this a different take on Shrödinger's experiment."
Hearing that she'd been as nervous and uncertain as he'd been helped him calm down even more. He glanced at her when she suddenly started to giggle.
"I briefly wondered if we could apply the experiment to kissing, but then I realized we've already proven that that particular cat is very much alive."
Leonard chuckled. "Yeah, it definitely is." He'd been replaying that kiss in his head for the better part of the afternoon. After he had officially asked her out on a date, they had talked for probably about half an hour, before deciding they shouldn't hang out all day, right before their first date. So he'd driven her home and had then returned to his apartment. With nothing important to do, his mind had automatically gone over the past twenty four hours, the kiss making the most appearances. He glanced at Penny and noticed she was smiling at him.
"Thinking about the kiss again?"
Leonard knew he was blushing, as the kiss had indeed popped up in his mind at the simple mention of it.
"It's okay, sweetie. I've been replaying it in my head a lot this afternoon." She smiled brightly at him. "We have to do it again, soon."
Penny bit her lip as they walked toward Leonard's car to drive toward the movie theater. Dinner had been great, mostly because Leonard and her had been talking a lot, and she wanted more of that. Well, maybe not talking, per se, but just the two of them. Going to a movie theater didn't seem like a good idea to continue the date with. "Sweetie, I don't feel like going to the movies." She glanced at him and noticed he looked disappointed but resigned. Was he really so insecure that he thought she was breaking up with him? "I just wanna go somewhere where it's just the two of us," she clarified, pleased to see his demeanor change immediately.
Leonard unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for her. "Oh, okay. What do you suggest?"
"Well, the only place we'd have any privacy is your place." After we've locked the door as soon as we're inside. "I'm sure you have something on DVD we could watch, and we can still talk." And cuddle, maybe even make out. No, strike that; definitely make out. Penny got in the car and found it cute that he made sure nothing was sticking out, before gently closing the door for her.
"You seriously want to go to my place," Leonard asked once he was in the driver's seat.
Penny smiled at him then leaned over the center console to kiss him on the lips. "Leonard, when a girl asks you to take her to your place, don't question it."
Leonard smiled back. "Right."
Penny moved back into a sitting position and did up her seat belt, still smiling. Clearly Leonard was still doubting himself, something that she knew would pass as they were going to spend more time together. He was the total opposite from the guys she'd dated years ago, who'd always seemed overly confident; she found Leonard's shyness adorable. Not that she didn't want Leonard at some point to take control over a date, act more confident, but for now, she enjoyed the fact he let her decide on the course of action. Will make it a lot easier to get in bed with him. The stray thought made her blush, but luckily Leonard wouldn't be able to see it. They were not going to have sex tonight, Penny reaffirmed to herself. But she had to admit that she didn't want to wait very long to take that step.
Penny placed her hand on his upper leg as they drove off, deliberately not looking in his direction as she started rubbing lightly. She was careful not to move her hand too much, and staying well away from his crotch, not wanting to distract him so much that he'd might cause a traffic accident. She knew they weren't too far from his apartment, probably only five minutes, and she intended to keep her hand on his upper leg until he'd parked the car. The drive was spent talking about the quality of the food at the restaurant he'd picked; he admitted he'd never actually gone to that place, and both agreed they wouldn't go back there again. The food wasn't bad, but both agreed it just didn't live up to the expectation one would get when seeing the place and how much they charged.
All the while she kept rubbing his upper leg with her hand, and she could see his physical reaction when she happened to glance in that particular direction. She was actually glad Leonard pulled into the small parking lot, knowing that once they were inside his apartment, they could just cuddle up and make out, her initial intention of talking and watching a movie already discarded.
When they walked toward the building's entrance, Penny grabbed his hand with both of hers, just wanting the physical contact as they made their way to his apartment. She maintained the close contact as they walked up the stairs, only releasing him to allow him to use his hand to retrieve the apartment keys from his pocket.
Penny felt excitement at the prospect of being in Leonard's apartment, with just the two of them, cuddled up on the couch. She was pretty sure they wouldn't see very much of whatever movie would be playing, Penny's mind completely focused on better activities to get to know each other better. She turned toward him as he closed the door, grabbing both of his hands, smiling at him. Leaning toward him, she planted a soft kiss on his lips.
Leonard felt nervous, the prospect of being with Penny in the apartment, just the two of them, not something he had expected or even considered beforehand. He had no idea how to proceed once the blonde would return from the bathroom. What movie should they watch? Did he even have movies a woman like Penny would like? He had fully expected to watch some romantic comedy at the movie theater and he knew for a fact there wasn't anything like that in the combined collection of DVDs Sheldon and he owned. No, most of them, if not all, fell squarely in the Sci-Fi or superhero category. God, this evening was going to be a disaster!
Even the drive over had been torture, physical torture. Penny's hand rubbing his leg had turned him on, and he really hoped Penny hadn't noticed that. Well, probably not, or she'd asked him to take her home instead. She most likely had no idea what the physical contact had done to him, or certainly not intended it like that.
"You okay, sweetie?"
Leonard turned toward the hallway as Penny moved into the livingroom area. "Uh, yeah. Just... thinking." He pointed to the collection. "Those are all the movies Sheldon and I own. I'm not sure what you'd like, so..."
Penny smiled and walked over to him. Once again Leonard found his hands grasped by hers, but this time she moved closer, guiding his hands around her waist before releasing them so her hands could go around his neck. "Leonard, I really don't care what movies you have."
Leonard was confused, his brain not ready to accept the signals he was being given. "What do you mean? Do you want to go home?" The question had barely left his mouth when Penny's lips covered his. It took him a few seconds to realize Penny was actually trying to coax his lips open to allow her tongue inside his mouth. His brain, finally catching up to what Penny meant, immediately shut down again as the kiss deepened.
"I don't want to go home yet," Penny assured him as the kiss ended. "I just seriously doubt we'll be seeing much of the movie."
Penny was still smiling as Leonard went into the bathroom. It was refreshing to go out with a guy who genuinely did not expect anything, even if the woman he'd been out with decided to spend the rest of the evening at his place. Or had rubbed his upper leg all the way over. She quickly retrieved her phone and went to her contacts. "Hey, Amber, it's Penny." She waited as Amber asked if everything was alright. "Oh, yeah, definitely. Hey, would you mind having to spend the night in the guestroom?" She smiled at Amber's teasing that everything seemed more than alright. Luckily, the teenager had no problem staying over and Penny changed the subject and asked how things were going, mostly because she'd heard the toilet flush. She hadn't quite made up her mind yet about staying over, but she was leaning toward that decision. And now at least she knew she didn't have to go home, making it a lot easier once she did decide.
Penny nodded and smiled brightly. "Great, glad things are going well and that you two are enjoying your evening. And, Amber, thank you again for doing this." She listened as the girl told her again she didn't mind, and Penny said goodbye to both her son and Amber.
"Checking if everything was alright at home?"
Penny smiled up at Leonard as he walked towards the couch. "Yeah, though I'm not really that worried. Both Andy and Amber are smart, and both excel at martial arts. Believe me, if anyone tries something, they're going to regret it, especially with Amber. That girl is freakishly strong. But if they have the option, I know they would get out of the house and go to one of the neighbors, instead of trying to defend themselves."
Leonard smiled back, but seemed a little unsure. "So, uhm, no movie?"
Penny shrugged. "I doubt we'll see much of it. How about we just turn on the TV so we have something to watch in between our make-out sessions." Her response only seemed to make him even more nervous. "Sweetie, just come sit here," she said, patting the seat beside her. She was pleased when he did what she asked. "Honey, I love you, and I'm pretty sure you feel the same way about me."
"I do," Leonard replied. "It's just..." He sighed. "I'm not used to a relationship starting so effortlessly."
"I wouldn't say effortlessly," Penny said, not able to let the opportunity to tease him go. "I'm putting a lot of effort in." That elicited a smile from him. "Leonard, I already told you this morning I'm attracted to you. But to me there's more than just the physical attraction. I feel this connection between us that goes way beyond that."
Leonard turned toward her. "I do too. It just confuses me because it's usually not reciprocated until after I basically wear the woman I was interested in down. That probably also explains why it never lasted very long."
"Well, lucky for me none of them realised what they had," Penny said truthfully. She scooted closer to him and pressed her lips against his, once again taking the lead on deepening the kiss.
Leonard was sure he had died and gone to heaven. The evening had been spent watching some TV in between frequent and long make out sessions, with Penny straddling his legs during most of them. He was sure she'd felt his physical response on more than one occasion, but never mentioned it.
During the times they weren't making out, she always placed her head on his shoulder and either held his hand or rubbed his leg as they watched whatever was on TV. It was obvious Penny was a passionate woman and not afraid to show her passion and affection in a physical manner.
Happy as he'd been, he'd been dreading the moment he'd have to take her home. Not that he had expected her to spend the night or for anything to happen - he hadn't even expected the multitude of make out sessions - but he hadn't been looking forward to being separated from her. He'd been very surprised when she asked if she could stay with him tonight, assuring him her babysitter had already agreed to stay in her guestroom.
He had immediately offered to sleep on the couch, offering her his bed, but she had insisted they could share his bed. He'd immediately promised her nothing would happen, completely taken off guard when she said she wasn't promising the same. He'd shown how much of a genius he was by questioning if such activities weren't usually postponed until the third date. She'd teased him about it being a rule, not a law, but she was willing to consider both their trip to the mall and dinner last night at her place as dates.
Well, at the time Leonard had thought she had been teasing about the possibility of sex, but now, as Penny proceeded to take off her dress, revealing nothing but smooth skin and a thong, he was starting to think she hadn't been teasing at all. He became more sure of it as she removed her thong as well. The whole situation was unprecedented; not once had a woman initiated anything, most certainly not sex. But here was this blonde woman - beautiful, smart and nice - seemingly getting ready to get in bed with him with the intend of sex. There was no other explanation, not when she pulled a packet of condoms out of her handbag.
"I guess you still didn't quite believe me, huh?"
Leonard just shook his head, his eyes taking in her naked form. "No, I really didn't."
Penny climbed on the bed, facing him. "Listen, Leonard. I really like you. A lot. I'm not saying I know this… you know, us… is going to work. I just know that every minute I've spend with you has been amazing. Regardless of this working out or not, I just feel right about taking this step tonight."
"I do have feelings for you," Leonard said. "I just want to reiterate that I don't expect anything to happen tonight. Of course," he continued with a grin, "I'm not going to say no."
Penny pressed herself against him, her hands once again resting behind his neck, as she kissed him deeply. "Sweetie," she said when the kiss ended, "you have too much clothes on."
