A/N: Once again, a big thank you to all those who have read and reviewed.

This is chapter 8. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from The Big Bang Theory. I don't own any of the characters.

CHAPTER 8

Breathing hard in the wake of their love making, Leonard and Penny lay side by side in Penny's bed, her head resting on his upper arm and their hands intertwined.

"Wow, you really are a genius," Penny sighed deeply satisfied.

"Not, really. I googled how to do that," Leonard replied.

Penny grinned. "It doesn't matter how you got at this information, the main point is that it worked. And how!"

Leonard smiled and kissed her cheek. For the next few minutes they just lay in a tender embrace with half closed eyes. Savoring the comfortable silence, Penny had rested her head on Leonard's chest and drew patterns on his stomach with her finger.

It was Leonard who broke the silence. "Do you want me to stay overnight?" he asked.

Penny looked up to him and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. "I insist."

"Okay, I'm just whipping round to my place and get a few things for the night."

"And when you're back we take a shower together, " Penny suggested. "What do you think of that?"

"Sounds good," Leonard replied with a smirk on his face.

He climbed out of bed, grabbed his clothes that were scattered around the apartment and quickly put on his underwear, pants and t-shirt. Walking over to apartment 4A, he opened the door as silent as possible. Entering the apartment, he saw Sheldon coming from the hallway leading to the bathroom and the two bedrooms.

"Oh, hi Sheldon. Still up?"

"I'm coming from the bathroom. I couldn't sleep, thanks to you and your...whatever Penny is to you. My request to keep it down was totally disregarded," Sheldon complained. "Your carnal noises could be heard all over the city."

"Really?" Leonard asked, feeling embarrassed.

"I exaggerated." Sheldon said. "But I could hear you and it was loud enough to deprive me of my sleep. And depriving people of their sleep is not a thing you should take lightly. Especially when it concerns people like me, who need their sleep to be well rested, so the next day they can properly accomplish their important work for science in particular and for mankind in general."

Leonard frowned. "Umm...yeah, whatever." He walked past Sheldon into the bathroom and grabbed his washing utensils. Then he went into his room and took some fresh clothes out of his closet. At a smart pace he walked over to Penny's place, ignoring Sheldon on his way to the door, who wanted to say something when Leonard passed him.

He entered apartment 4B and looked around. Hearing the water of the shower running in the bathroom, he went to the bedroom, took off his clothes and slowly opened the door to the bathroom. "I'm back."

Penny, who was already in the bathtub, pushed the shower curtain aside. "Come in. The water is wonderful."

Climbing into the bathtub, Penny held out shower gel to Leonard. "Would you please soap my back?"

"With pleasure," he answered.

Soaping each other under the warm water of the shower was such a fun, it took them quite a long time to get out of the bathtub again. Toweling each other down afterwards was equally fun, so it was almost midnight, when Leonard and Penny lay in bed huddled up to one another.

The next three days were spent in furnishing Penny's place. While Leonard was at work, Penny did most of the furnishing herself, but as soon as Leonard was home he lend her a helping hand. At times Howard and Raj helped too, the only one who didn't help was Sheldon. By the end of Penny's first week in Pasadena her apartment was fully furnished according to her taste.

Together with Leonard she also bought a car. Looking around at used car dealers, newspaper ads and the internet, the only affordable car for Penny was an old red 1980s Volkswagen Cabriolet. Fortunately the vehicle was in an acceptable condition. She needed a car, as soon as her next point on the agenda would be crowned with success. Finding a job.

One thing was clear for Penny. Waiting tables again was out of the question. By herself and together with Leonard she began to study job vacancies in newspapers and browsed through employment websites on the internet. In the following days she applied for several jobs that interested her, like coworker in a nail salon, store clerk in a fashion shop or staff member in a subsidiary of a car rental company, but to no avail.

One week and a half had passed, since Penny lived in Pasadena. She had to find a job, or her dream to live a financially independent life would be over before it even started. Sitting on her turquoise couch she stared at a job offer on her computer, that seemed to mock her.

The Cheesecake Factory is looking for you. Join our team. Apply now!

She didn't know what to do, but she absolutely needed a job. Reluctantly she picked up her phone and called the number in the job offer. A few minutes later she ended the call. "Of course, one call at a restaurant to become a waitress again, and I have an invitation for a job interview." While dropping back into the backrest of her couch, someone knocked on her door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Leonard."

Penny immediately sat up. "Come in, the door is open."

"Hi Penny."

"Hi Leonard," she smiled. "It's so good to see you." She beckoned him over to the couch. "Come here, sweetie. Have a seat."

Leonard walked over to the couch and sat down next to Penny, who engulfed him in a hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"What's eating you?" Leonard asked. "You look a bit exhausted."

"Well, it looks like I will return to the exciting world of waiting tables again," she answered.

"Oh, I see," Leonard replied. "I know, this is certainly not what you have imagined, but for the time being it will help you to pay the rent and bills. And maybe you want to go shopping. That's easier with money," he grinned.

"Smarty-pants," Penny chuckled. "But you're right. Rent and bills won't pay itself. And yeah, I would like to go shopping now and then." Her mood visibly brightened up. "Maybe there's some money left for acting lessons, and you know that I want to go back to school some day to get a degree."

Leonard nodded and smiled at her.

Penny smiled back and gave him another kiss on his cheek. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"No, thanks." Leonard cleared his throat. "Umm, well. Actually I came over because I would like to ask you something."

"Sure. Go ahead!"

"Umm...I think a lot of feelings are floating around between us since the day we met. I mean, it's quite obvious that a lot of feelings are floating around and we showed a lot of affection for one another." Leonard paused for a few seconds, while Penny expectantly looked at him. "Umm...you know, since we met there was a lot of kissing and cuddling. We had intimate encounters..."

Penny had to chuckle. "Intimate encounters? You mean sex!"

"Well, umm...yes." Leonard blushed heavily. "So, I would like to ask you...umm...Would you go out with me? I mean, officially." He smiled his shy smile, which Penny knew so well from the first days on their road trip. It quickly turned into his special smile which captured Penny's heart for the first time in the Chicago Art Institute.

She suddenly felt a rush of really deep affection for Leonard. And the butterflies were back. Somehow they were there the whole time when she was with Leonard, but now they came back with a vengeance. Millions and millions of them. "Leonard, sweetie," she smiled brightly. "I think we are already in some sort of relationship, don't you think? But to answer your question. Yes, I would love to go out with you...officially."

Leonard beamed like a christmas tree. "Wow! That makes me really happy!"

Penny was moved by his reaction. "I'm happy too." With a bright smile she leaned forward and put her arms around Leonard.

"May I invite you to a dinner tonight?" Leonard asked.

"Our first official date, huh? Yes, I'd love to! That sounds great," Penny answered cheerfully.

"Ok, I'll go over to my place and make a reservation. I'll pick you up at seven thirty, okay?"

Penny nodded. "Okay."

Leonard got up and walked to the door and was about to open it, when he paused to think.

"What are you thinking about?" Penny asked.

"Well, somehow we put the cart before the horse. You know, we already had sex before our first official date."

"Well, if you think about it, you already invited me for dinner twice. In Cleveland and New York. I must say these dinners absolutely felt like dates. Do you know the three date rule? We just made it a two date rule."

Both laughed heartily and with a wave Leonard left Penny's apartment to go to his place.

Adorning himself for their first official date, Leonard opted for gray cloth pants, a matching vest, a black and dark blue shirt and an elegant jacket. At first he also wanted to add a tie to his outfit, but eventually decided against it.

At half past seven Leonard walked over to Penny's apartment and knocked at her door. When Penny opened a few moments later Leonard's jaw literally dropped to ground. She wore a sleeveless purple silk sundress with floral patterns, whose hem ended above the knees. Her hair was open, falling down on her shoulders and the subtly put on makeup highlighted her gorgeous green eyes. It was truly a joy to behold.

"Wow, Penny. You look absolutely fantastic."

She beamed. "Thanks, honey. You look great too. So fashionable. Come on in."

"Thank you." Leonard entered the apartment. "I made an eight o'clock reservation. There's a nice italian restaurant a few blocks from here. I hope you like italian food."

"I love italian food," Penny said enthusiastically.

"I am very pleased to hear that," Leonard smiled. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, please." Penny grabbed a dark purple cardigan, that lay on her couch and put it on. Then she took her purse and together they left her apartment.

Fifteen minutes later Leonard had parked his car in front of the restaurant that served as the place of their first official date. With a smile he indicated to Penny to remain seated and got out of the car first. He walked around the vehicle and opened the passenger door. Holding out his hand, like the true gentleman he was, Leonard helped Penny out of the car. After closing and locking the doors, he offered her his arm. Penny was delighted. Tucking her arm into Leonard's they walked into the restaurant.

In the foyer of the restaurant they were greeted by the maître d' who asked for their names. Moments later Leonard and Penny were led to a free table for two in a snug corner. The light in this part of the restaurant was dimmed and on their table two candles were burning.

Leonard helped Penny to take off her cardigan, which she placed over the backrest of her chair. Then he pulled her chair backwards a little bit, so she could have a seat.

Penny adored his courtesy. "Leonard, you're such a gentleman."

"Always at your service!" he smiled and seated himself.

Penny savored the atmosphere in the restaurant. "This is so romantic."

It didn't take long and a waiter appeared at their table. "Buonasera!" he greeted them in italian. "My name is Luigi. I will be your waiter for the evening. I'd like to present you our menus." He handed out the menus. First to Penny, then to Leonard. "Would you like something to drink?"

"A water for me, please," Penny said. Leonard ordered the same.

"Very well." With a nod Luigi turned on his heel and went to the kitchen area.

"This is really a beautiful place. Have you been here before?" Penny asked.

"No, but I knew this restaurant from an article about the best restaurants in Pasadena I read on the internet a few months ago. And now I have the opportunity to eat here with a gorgeous girl."

"Aww, Leonard," she blushed. "That's so sweet."

Leonard and Penny started to look through the menus. A minute later Luigi brought them two glasses of water and asked if they wanted an appetizer. They answered in the affirmative and both ordered an antipasto platter with olives, peperoncini, mushrooms, anchovies and artichoke hearts. It was served a few minutes later and it was delicious.

When Luigi saw that Leonard and Penny had finished their appetizer, he returned and asked if they had chosen an entree. Both nodded and placed their orders. Leonard ordered pasta with prosciutto and lettuce, but without parmesan due to his lactose intolerance, and Penny ordered 'Spaghetti a la Puttanesca', a pasta meal with cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers and anchovies. While noting the orders on his pad Luigi also asked if they wanted wine with the meal. Affirming they asked him which wine he could recommend for their meal. He named the matching wines, which Leonard and Penny ordered as well.

While they waited for their entrees, they talked about a lot of stuff. Leonard told Penny stories about his life together with Sheldon and about some events at his work place at Caltech, while she told him funny stories of her time in high school and on her parent's farm. At one point Penny had to laugh so hard about one of Leonard's stories that the other people in the restaurant turned their heads and looked in their direction, which was quite embarrassing for her.

Thirty minutes later Luigi returned with the entree. He placed the plates with the infatuating smelling food on their table and poured them their wines. Then he wished Leonard and Penny a good appetite in italian. "Buon appetito!" With these words Luigi left their table.

"Enjoy your meal!" Leonard smiled.

"The same to you," Penny replied who couldn't wait to taste the meal, whose luscious scent let her mouth watering. She coiled up a few of her spaghetti on her fork and ate it. "Wow, that tastes amazing."

"Can I try?" Leonard asked.

"Of course," she nodded and swirled another forkful of spaghetti around her fork with bits of olives and cherry tomatoes and held it out to him.

He took her fork and ate the spaghetti. "Wow, indeed. That's really good," he said enthusing, giving back the fork. "Do you wanna try my pasta?"

Penny nodded. "Yes, please."

Leonard picked a good deal of pasta with lettuce from his plate, omitting the prosciutto since she told him a while back she were a vegetarian, and held out his fork.

Instead of taking the fork, Penny bent forward and ate the pasta directly from there. "Mmm, that tastes amazing too."

"It does." Leonard plunged his fork into his pasta and ate it with relish, making moaning sounds, which made Penny chuckle.

Penny relished her spaghetti as well, also making moaning sounds once in a while to express how good her meal tasted.

"This wine is perfect for this meal," Penny said after taking her first sip of wine.

"Absolutely!" Leonard agreed and lifted his glass, so he could click glasses with her.

They continued to eat, looking at each other the whole time, both with a smile on their faces. Thirty minutes later they had finished their entree. Now it was time for the dessert. Leonard ordered a dairy-free tiramisu and Penny a flourless chocolate cake with bourbon vanilla ice cream, which was served a few minutes later.

Savoring the delicious desserts in contented silence, they exchanged affectionate glances with both smiling shyly every so often.

Animated by the romantic atmosphere in the restaurant, the more or less secluded area where their table stood and of course by Leonard's sheer presence, Penny became a little frisky and removed one of her shoes and began to play footsie with Leonard under the table.

"Stop teasing me." Leonard grinned.

"I don't know what you mean," Penny said innocently, continuing to rub her foot on Leonard's lower leg. Then she took another spoon of her ice cream, with the result that a little bit of it remained on her upper lip. Of course Penny noticed that and she began slowly wiping it away with her tongue in an extremely seductive manner, all the while looking Leonard straight in the eyes.

Leonard had to gulp heavily. "You are torturing me. Do you know that? And the worst. You seem to like it," he chuckled.

Penny smirked. "I do. What do you wanna do about it?", she asked, breaking off a little piece of her cake and led it to her mouth. After placing the cake into her mouth she licked every of her fingers in a very sensual way.

"You're getting me down," Leonard smiled. "And you'll see what I'm gonna do about it, as soon as we're home. But..." He paused for a few seconds to emphasize the following words. "...when you stop to tease and torture me, a very special dessert could be yours," Leonard said and winked.

Penny bit her lip. "Uuh! A very special dessert you say? That sounds really interesting."

"Yeah, but you get it only...ooooh" Leonard winced. Penny had just rubbed her foot on a highly sensitive region of his inner thigh.

"Stop it! Right now!" Leonard demanded in a fake annoyed tone.

"What are you talking about?" Penny said in an innocent tone. "I haven't done anything."

"Yeah, right. Hereby your special dessert is off the table," he laughed.

"Oh no," she pouted playfully, which made Leonard laugh. "Okay, I stop torturing and teasing you. I'll be good. Now I will get my special dessert later, right?"

He cupped his chin in his hand. "Hmm, maybe. We'll see," he grinned.

Both laughed and continued to eat their desserts, again exchanging affectionate glances. It was almost half past ten, when Leonard looked at his watch and said they should head back home. He called for the check, which Luigi placed on their table a few minutes later. After writing a generous tip for the waiter, Leonard paid the check with his credit card.

Leonard helped Penny to slip in her cardigan and they walked out of the restaurant.

Standing in front of Leonard's car, Penny had an idea. "We could go for a little walk. What do you think?"

"Sure, why not," he answered with a smile. Holding hands they started to walk away from the car.

After a few minutes walking in contented silence, Penny started to talk. "This is such a wonderful evening. I'm so glad you asked me out."

"Me, too," Leonard replied and smiled at her.

Penny smiled back, feeling the butterflies in her stomach again. After another few minutes in silence, Penny looked up to the sky. "Aww, look at the moon. It's so beautiful."

"It is, indeed." Leonard agreed. "Speaking of the moon. Did you know, that in 1969, the astronauts on Apollo 11 positioned reflectors on the surface of the moon?

Penny shook her head. "No, I didn't know that."

"Well," Leonard continued. "Sheldon, Howard, Raj and I are planning to shoot a laser off one of them in a few weeks from the roof of our apartment building and let the light bounce back into a photomultiplier. Maybe you want to join us then?"

"Of course!" Penny replied. "That sounds very cool."

Leonard beamed. "Great!"

They continued their walk hand in hand till they arrived the Pasadena City Hall. Sitting down on a bench in front of the mighty building, Leonard looked at Penny, who returned his look with a smile. "Umm...can I pose a question to you?" he asked.

Penny nodded. "Sure!"

"Umm, now that we are officially go out together. Umm, how would you describe our relationship? How would you define us?" Leonard asked.

Smiling, Penny took both of Leonard's hands into hers and looked into his eyes. "I think I know what you're getting at." Pausing for a few seconds, she suddenly felt shy and nervous. "Well, umm...I would say you're my boyfriend, which means I'm your girlfriend."

In this moment she could see Leonard's eyes becoming moist, which immediately transferred on her own eyes. "I hope that's the answer you were hoping for," she said shyly with a slightly shaking voice.

"That's definitely the answer I was hoping for," Leonard smiled and blinked his tears away. He bent foward and gave his girlfriend a tender kiss on her lips.

Penny felt the butterflies as strong as never before. Here she sat in California, with this great guy, who was now officially her boyfriend, and nearly two months earlier she thought her life couldn't become more miserable after what had happened with Kurt. But then she met Leonard, who was in her hometown by pure chance and brought her out of her misery. She could hardly believe her luck. With a stern face she looked at Leonard. "Oh, and just so you know. Now that we're boyfriend and girlfriend, we are exclusive."

Leonard nodded. "Agreed!"

"Good," she smiled and gave him a kiss. "And now I'd like to get my special dessert from my boyfriend."

Leonard got up from the bench they were sitting on and took Penny by the hand. "Let's go then."

They walked back to the car and drove home. It became a long night.

To be continued...