:The Kiss:

He watched her open her locker from the corner of his eye. She was a freshman. Her family had lived across the street from his. ever since they had moved in five months ago. He posted the grade sheet on the bulletin board and turned to watch her walk away. He sighed and headed back to the computer lab. He found teaching a mindless chore, but it was helping to pay the bills while he finished his second doctorate. Plus, it gave him an adequate amount of free time for his studies.

Of course ever since she had moved across the street, he had found it hard to concentrate solely on his work. Why was she so distracting? He had met plenty of beautiful women, thanks to his outgoing sister's herd of friends. College had been filled with women who met any and all ideas of beauty or sex appeal. None of them had interested him. Not once had any of them drawn more than a cursory glance from him. He couldn't deny that whatever it was about Penelope Queen that attracted his attention, it was very potent. And he wished himself rid of it. His students began to file in, so he determinedly put her from his mind and focused on his class.

He paid little attention to his mom and Missy arguing about whether she could go to the beach. He finished clearing the table and pulled the trash bag from the can. He headed out the back door and around the side of the house, not wanting to be drawn into the argument. As far as he was concerned, Missy was 17. She was too old to treat like a child. At the end of the drive he threw the bag into the bin and closed the lid. He was about to head back in out of the humid night air when movement across the street caught his attention.

Curiosity made he walk slowly across the street, staring at the slim leg hanging down from the elm. When he reached the tree he looked up to see soft hazel eyes staring back at him.

"Hello," Penny said. "I'm Penny."

"Hello, I am Sheldon," he replied. "Are you stuck?"

She smiled sadly. "More than you know."

He frowned slightly. "I do not understand. Can I be of assistance?" he asked, hoping she couldn't hear his thudding heartbeat.

She swung her other leg over the side and looked down at him. "Want to climb up? Plenty of room."

He shuddered slightly. "It is not safe. That tree limb would likely break if both of us sat on it." His face turned red immediately. "Not that I think you are heavy!" he rushed to assure her.

Penny giggled softly. She gripped the limb with her hands and dropped her back over the other side, hanging upside down. Sheldon found himself at eye level with the gorgeous blonde, albeit in an unusual way.

Penny smiled widely. "You're really cute, you know."

He blushed even harder. "No, I did not know." His mind was moving sluggishly, unable to form the words he wanted to say. Romantic soliloquies raced around his brain, but none could find it's way to his tongue. Lord, Missy was right! He really was a spastic nerd! "You still have not explained how you are stuck," he reminded her gently.

Penny sighed and slipped her arms around his neck, drawing him close. He gulped as she tilted her head and kissed him. His hands moved of their own accord and tangled in her hair. Her tongue traced the seam of his lips and they automatically opened. His fingers tightened convulsively as they tongues brushed against each other's with increasing pressure.

Suddenly she swung back up into the tree and he watched her shimmy down to the ground. The second her feet touched the sidewalk, she grabbed his hands and pulled him into the shadow of the branches. Her back was against the elm and he was pressed tight against her.

Sheldon gripped her hips and bent his head to kiss her again. After several minutes Penny pulled away a bit. "I've wanted to do that since I first saw you," she admitted with a smile.

"You have?" he asked with amazement. "I have been spellbound by you."

A tear slipped from beneath her lashes and she hiccupped. "My parents are divorcing. Dad and I are heading back to Omaha tomorrow," she whispered.

Sheldon's lungs seized up. He was getting his wish. She would no longer be around to distract him. It now seemed like the worst possible thing. He hugged her close and kissed her again. How could he let her go?

"New neighbor?" Leonard asked in awe. After a moment he looked at his roommate, having expected some sort of response from his usually verbose friend. Sheldon was staring at the sexy blonde with wide, stunned eyes. Leonard was shocked, to say the least. He had known Sheldon for 4 years. He had never once seen his friend give any woman an second glance, or even a heated first glance!

The blonde turned with a vague smile and froze. Leonard smiled flirtatiously and opened his mouth. Before he could say hello, he was knocked to the side. He watched as Sheldon and the woman came together in a deep passionate kiss.

After a full minute he glanced at his watch and began to awkwardly backup toward the door of 4A. "I'll, ..um, …I'll just leave you two …to get acquainted …I mean, better acquainted."

They came up for air when it became difficult to breath. They stared at each other for several heartbeats. Penny smiled tenderly. "Hello, Sheldon."

He grinned softly. "Hello, Penny."

"I thought you would have forgotten about me by now," she said as her arms slipped around his waist.

"I have an eidetic memory," he said, pulling her as close as possible. "But even without that, I could never forget you." He blushed sweetly. "You were my first kiss."

She laid her head on his chest as he rubbed her back. "You were mine, too."

He drew in the scent of her green apple shampoo. "Penny, now what?"

She shrugged. "How about some dinner? I was going to make spaghetti. Would you like some? We could maybe get to know each other better."

He leaned back and looked down at her. "You want to know me?"

Penny nodded. "Very much so. I've never stopped wanting that."

Sheldon bent and kissed her again, briefly. "Do you have any hot dogs?"

Penny nodded with confusion. "I think so. Why?"

He closed the door behind them. "As my mom would say, you're in for a real eye-talian treat!"

Howard and Raj walked slowly into 4A and looked at Leonard sitting in Sheldon's spot. Howard looked back at the door and cleared his throat. "um, we think we just saw…" he trailed off, not sure he could put it in words.

Leonard nodded. "You did. That's our new neighbor. I didn't catch her name. It was kind of hard to hear it with Sheldon's tongue down her throat."

"EEEEWWWW!" Howard exclaimed loudly.

Raj grinned good-naturedly. "Who knew Sheldon had a deal?"

The group eventually got used to Sheldon having a deal. They got used to the way Sheldon and Penny could never pass an elm tree without stopping to kiss. They got used to the way Penny could work around Sheldon's rules without getting a strike. What they never got used to were the occasional horrendously loud fights, and the equally loud make-up sex.