Motion - chapter 3
Title: Motion - chapter 3
Fandom: Big Bang Theory
Pairing: Sheldon/Penny
Author: Lizwontcry
Spoilers: Current season.
Rating/Warnings: Teen, some language and such but nothing too mature...yet.
Disclaimer: I got nothin'.
Summary: Leonard asks Penny to take care of Sheldon for the summer while he's gone, and after spending so much time together, Sheldon and Penny's friendship is tested, questioned, and strengthened. But something surprising is happening and they can't ignore it forever.
Penny stared straight ahead, chewing on a fingernail on one hand and the other hand on the steering wheel. She was glad Sheldon was consumed with the questions he was asking her instead of having a panic attack about her hand positioning.
"Okay, name the list of steps used to find a solution to a given problem."
"Um...oh, my god, I know this..."
"Penny, we went over this exactly 38 times last night. If you don't know the answer, I'm afraid there's no hope for you."
Penny exhaled. All she wanted to do was turn on the radio and tune out the loud, obnoxious, tall nerd who sat in her passenger seat, but she really did need to know the words she was about to say out loud at her audition.
"Algorithm," Penny said finally. "It's algorithm."
"Very nice. Now, who was the producer of the original Industrial Robot, and when and where did it occur?"
"Come on, you could have at least given me a harder question. Kawasaki, 1969, Japan."
Sheldon looked sufficiently impressed. "Well, I think that's it for now. From what I've seen this morning, you have adequately memorized all the words for your audition."
"Don't look so surprised. I am an actress, you know. I have to memorize things for a living."
"Like the dessert menu at the Cheesecake Factory?"
Fortunately they were at a red light, so Penny could safely look over and give him a withering glare.
At first, Sheldon didn't seem particularly anxious to help Penny for her audition. He remembered trying to teach her physics-they both remembered that cold, dark day. But after she casually threatened him with making him take the bus for the next three months, he had a quick change of heart. After all, he still couldn't find his bus pants.
The two of them had spent the last two days with Penny's script, going over every single word and definition and pronunciation, making sure she knew not just what she was saying but why she was saying it and how she was saying it. Penny needed this part. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that unless she got this role or another similar one very, very soon, she was going to have to face the decision of going back to Nebraska. She had done her best in California and now maybe it was time to revisit her roots. Maybe she could convince Leonard to come with her. Or maybe they could do a long distance thing. Although she expected to miss him like crazy while he was gone, Penny found that keeping herself busy and spending lots of time with Sheldon was helping the time pass quickly. So maybe a long distance relationship wouldn't be so...bad. It was just something she'd been pondering for a few weeks.
When they made it to the university, she couldn't help herself-Penny reached over and messed with Sheldon's hair before he got out of the car.
"Well, that was highly unnecessary, Penny," Sheldon said as he desperately tried to put his hair back in position.
"Sorry, sweetie, I'm just so grateful for your help that I had to show you somehow," she said, grinning.
"Well, a 'thank you' would suffice." Truthfully he didn't look that annoyed.
For the second time that week, before Penny pulled away, Sheldon leaned into the car and said, "Penny, thank you for the ride, and I know you'll do well at your audition. You know the material almost as well as I do at this point."
Penny smiled. "Thank you, Sheldon. Have a great day at work."
Not that either of them knew it at the time, but they both parted ways with a strange smile on their faces.
*****Sheldon's smile didn't last very long, however, because standing in his way was none other than Barry Kripke, and he was grinning from ear to ear.
Sheldon sighed. "What is it, Barry? I'm already running late and so are you."
"Relax, Cooper, nobody cares if you're three minutes late for the first time in your life. I'd rather talk about the smoking hot blonde who just dropped you off. Uh, wow?"
Sheldon was rather confused for a moment, and then it occurred to him that Barry was talking about Penny.
"Yes, Penny. I believe you've met her before. She was giving me a ride to work."
Barry whistled lewdly. "Leonard's girlfriend is taking you to work? What does he think about that?"
Sheldon looked confused again. "Why should Leonard care about Penny driving me to school? Is there some kind of social paradigm I should be aware of that makes it taboo for another man's girlfriend to drive me to work?"
"When the girl is that hot, yes, it's taboo," Barry said, chuckling. "I wish she'd drive me to work, if you know what I mean."
"But Barry, you have a perfectly acceptable vehicle in which to drive yourself to work," Sheldon said, about ready to give up on this pointless conversation completely.
"I'm just proud of you, Cooper. You went from tapping that Amy chick to getting it on with Penny. You're a dog! Don't worry, I won't tell Leonard that you're doing his girl while he's gone."
Sheldon was finally catching on to where this conversation was leading, and he wasn't happy about it. In fact, he was just plain pissed. He didn't like the way Barry was talking about Penny. For one of the first times in his life, he understood why men got in fist fights over women. Penny didn't deserve to be treated like a sex object, even though it was clear that many men through the years had done just that. Of course Sheldon thought Penny was attractive; he made that clear soon after they met when they played Halo together for the first time. But he never thought that was all she had to offer. Yes, she was loud and she was always mooching their milk and Wi-Fi and she was pretty much the complete opposite of everything Sheldon stood for, but he never thought those were negative things, necessarily. Just different.
"Barry, I am still 'tapping' Amy Farrah Fowler with an alarming frequency. Just because a woman drives me to work doesn't mean I'm involved in a sexual relationship with her. While I do appreciate Penny's beauty, I would never take advantage of it. And frankly, the fact that you speak of her with such derogatory terms makes me quite angry. If we were in fact friends before, I think I can safely say that the friendship is over."
Before Kripke could fire back, Sheldon moved past him and walked quickly to his office. Of course he was lying about Amy, but it was just easier. More disconcerting than the lie was how Barry's words about Penny made Sheldon feel. He felt weirdly protective, and...mad. These were not feelings Sheldon particularly knew what to do with, and it threw him off for almost the entire day.
At lunch with Howard and Raj, Sheldon was almost finished eating his apple when he got a text.
Pretty sure I aced the audition...thank u for all your help, couldn't have done it w/o u!
Sheldon couldn't help it-for the millionth time that day, he smiled. He fired back, Congratulations, I knew you could do it. You are an excellent robot.
"What's that about? Did Amy send you a naked pic of herself or something?" Howard asked, trying to get a look at Sheldon's phone.
"Yes. Something like that." Sheldon didn't know why he was lying; he didn't know why he didn't just tell Howard the text was from Penny. Maybe he just wanted to keep it to himself. All Sheldon knew was that things were changing, and he wasn't sure how or why or if he even wanted them to.
*****There were good auditions and bad auditions, and at this point in her career (if she could even call it that), Penny could tell the difference. This was a good audition. William praised her over and over again, the rest of the crew seemed impressed, and she felt amazing. Starlight City wasn't exactly her dream role (Julia Roberts never played a robot in a sci-fi sitcom, did she?), but it was going to open up a lot of doors for her, hopefully soon. Maybe she wouldn't have to work at the Cheesecake Factory forever, or go home to Nebraska, tail between her legs.
Thank goodness for Sheldon and his persistence in teaching her all the robot and other scientific terminology she needed to know. It occurred to her that if she got the part, she'd have to rely on him more and more, at least until Leonard came home. First of all, Penny hoped Sheldon had the patience to keep teaching her, and second, she was kind of excited about all the new things she'd learn from him. Ever since she started taking classes at the community college, Penny discovered she loved learning the things she never picked up on before. And Sheldon was her favorite teacher.
"We'll call you," William said before Penny left the audition. "But I think I can safely say that you got it. Whether the networks will pick it up after the pilot, that's another situation entirely. So don't quit your day job or anything. Yet."
"Oh, wow, thank you so much!" Penny exclaimed, happy and excited and nervous all at once. "Thank you, you won't regret it."
"Of course I won't. You aced all the terminology; we haven't had a single person who managed to get all the words and terms right. You're going to be a great addition to the cast, Penny. Smile! This is going to be good." William gave her a big grin, patted her on the shoulder, and then he was gone.
Penny looked through her purse for her keys and went outside into the bright, hot, sunny day. She felt like skipping, she was so happy. While she knew she still had to get through the taping of the pilot, and that the pilot still had to be picked up, and that she still had to tough it out at the Factory for a while, she knew good things were on the way. And at that moment, she didn't miss or even think about Leonard at all. Maybe that was a problem. Maybe the fact that she was thinking about Sheldon and how much she loved it when he helped her was an even bigger problem. But as she had gotten so used to doing, Penny pushed those thoughts right out of her head and got her cell phone out. It was celebration time.
*****"And a toast to Penny, who will soon be kicking ass as the hottest robot ever," Amy said, raising her glass. Bernadette and Penny toasted her back, and gulped down their alcoholic beverages. Well, Penny gulped, Bernadette politely sipped.
"Thanks, lady friend. I can't believe it. I'm so excited! Soon enough, I'll never have to serve a cheeseburger to a douchebag who calls me 'Barbie Von ButtCheeks' ever again. Not that he ever called me that twice-the tea I spilled on him 'accidentally' seems to have gotten the message across."
Penny, Bernadette and Amy were at a fantastically crappy dive bar for a girls' night, which they hadn't had together for way too long. All three of them were always either working or with their significant others and it was hard to get in some good girls time. But after her audition, Penny was feeling so good that she needed to hang out with her girlfriends, and immediately. Fortunately Amy was just at home giving herself a bikini wax (she had to maintain it somehow) and Bernadette was dying for a break from doing Howard's laundry. Now they were on the express train to getting drunk and having a deliciously amazing night. Howard was on call to be their designated driver for the evening.
After a spirited discussion of both what happened on Dexter the night before and then the new developments in the world of neurobiology and brain chemistry (Penny used this time as an opportunity to eat a lot of peanuts and catch up on Words with Friends on her cell phone), the topic turned to their men, as it always tended to do.
"Howie is so cute lately," Bernadette said. "He's working extra-long hours at the lab so we can take a cruise to Alaska next year. Of course, his mother is coming with us but hopefully we can at least get a separate room."
Penny thought that sounded mildly horrifying but didn't share that thought with Bernadette. "That's funny, Leonard is kind of on a cruise right now. I mean, I guess it's not a cruise and it's for work and everything, but still..."
"Do you miss him?" Bernadette asked.
"Not really…is that weird? He's just been gone for like a week. I haven't had time to miss him."
"Oh, I miss Howie after a really long day at work. I don't know what I'd do if he was gone for a week, much less all summer. After he came back from space, I didn't want to let him go!"
Penny felt bad. How come she didn't miss Leonard like that? She loved him, she really did. And after a long time of not allowing herself to ponder it, sometimes she could even think of their future together without completely freaking out. So why didn't she miss him? Penny decided to change the subject. To anything but Leonard.
"Hmm. Well...Amy, how are you and Sheldon doing lately?" It wasn't an unusual question; Penny and Amy talked about her relationship with Sheldon all the time. But tonight this question seemed to be more important. And she didn't know why.
"Well, I'm a bit troubled, actually. We haven't been spending a lot of time together. Of course, I'm quite busy at work and so is he, but I've got to get my sugar or mama's not happy, you know what I mean?"
Penny frowned. "No, not really. What is the 'sugar', in this case? Did Sheldon finally reach puberty?"
Amy chuckled. "No, of course not. I meant it figuratively. But seeing as how lately he has not been condemning the act of coitus and has actually admitted that physical intimacy in the future is not something he's completely opposed to, I believe it is only a matter of months or possibly a year until we engage in such acts. I'd say by February 14th, 2014, I will have an interesting tale or two to tell."
"Wow, Amy, you are really patient! How do you put up with him when there are so many other men out there would love to be in a physical relationship with you?" Bernadette asked. Penny was wondering the same thing, but she wouldn't have said it so eloquently or tactfully.
"Are you kidding? I've put in so much time and effort with Sheldon. I wouldn't want some other girl to come along and pop the lid off after I ran him under the hot water for so long, you know what I mean?"
Penny actually did know what her strange friend meant. "We get it, Amy. And you know what, I have to compliment your weird boyfriend. He really helped me with the robot terminology I had to know for the audition. He's becoming more patient in his older years. I think I have you to thank for that."
Amy smiled. "That's my boyfriend. He is such a giver." But then she frowned a bit. "I guess that's why we haven't spent much time together lately-he's been helping you with your work."
"Oh, well, of course you're free to come over and help me, too. It's just that he's across the hall and I can walk in and bother him any time," Penny rushed to explain. Why did she suddenly feel like she had to justify her actions to Amy? Was she...feeling guilty or something?
"Oh, yes, of course. And I would have done so if Sheldon had invited me or told me what you two were doing. I'm a good teacher. I'm sure he lost his patience a few times. I wouldn't have done that with you, Penny." And she winked for some reason.
"That's good to know. I'll tell Sheldon you're willing to help, too," Penny said, and took a big, long drink. The topic again turned to TV and pop culture and the cute waiter, and Penny almost forgot how she didn't miss her boyfriend at all, and how badly she wanted to go home and talk to her loud, obnoxious, tall nerd of a neighbor across the hall.
Fandom: Big Bang Theory
Pairing: Sheldon/Penny
Author: Lizwontcry
Spoilers: Current season.
Rating/Warnings: Teen, some language and such but nothing too mature...yet.
Disclaimer: I got nothin'.
Summary: Leonard asks Penny to take care of Sheldon for the summer while he's gone, and after spending so much time together, Sheldon and Penny's friendship is tested, questioned, and strengthened. But something surprising is happening and they can't ignore it forever.
Penny stared straight ahead, chewing on a fingernail on one hand and the other hand on the steering wheel. She was glad Sheldon was consumed with the questions he was asking her instead of having a panic attack about her hand positioning.
"Okay, name the list of steps used to find a solution to a given problem."
"Um...oh, my god, I know this..."
"Penny, we went over this exactly 38 times last night. If you don't know the answer, I'm afraid there's no hope for you."
Penny exhaled. All she wanted to do was turn on the radio and tune out the loud, obnoxious, tall nerd who sat in her passenger seat, but she really did need to know the words she was about to say out loud at her audition.
"Algorithm," Penny said finally. "It's algorithm."
"Very nice. Now, who was the producer of the original Industrial Robot, and when and where did it occur?"
"Come on, you could have at least given me a harder question. Kawasaki, 1969, Japan."
Sheldon looked sufficiently impressed. "Well, I think that's it for now. From what I've seen this morning, you have adequately memorized all the words for your audition."
"Don't look so surprised. I am an actress, you know. I have to memorize things for a living."
"Like the dessert menu at the Cheesecake Factory?"
Fortunately they were at a red light, so Penny could safely look over and give him a withering glare.
At first, Sheldon didn't seem particularly anxious to help Penny for her audition. He remembered trying to teach her physics-they both remembered that cold, dark day. But after she casually threatened him with making him take the bus for the next three months, he had a quick change of heart. After all, he still couldn't find his bus pants.
The two of them had spent the last two days with Penny's script, going over every single word and definition and pronunciation, making sure she knew not just what she was saying but why she was saying it and how she was saying it. Penny needed this part. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that unless she got this role or another similar one very, very soon, she was going to have to face the decision of going back to Nebraska. She had done her best in California and now maybe it was time to revisit her roots. Maybe she could convince Leonard to come with her. Or maybe they could do a long distance thing. Although she expected to miss him like crazy while he was gone, Penny found that keeping herself busy and spending lots of time with Sheldon was helping the time pass quickly. So maybe a long distance relationship wouldn't be so...bad. It was just something she'd been pondering for a few weeks.
When they made it to the university, she couldn't help herself-Penny reached over and messed with Sheldon's hair before he got out of the car.
"Well, that was highly unnecessary, Penny," Sheldon said as he desperately tried to put his hair back in position.
"Sorry, sweetie, I'm just so grateful for your help that I had to show you somehow," she said, grinning.
"Well, a 'thank you' would suffice." Truthfully he didn't look that annoyed.
For the second time that week, before Penny pulled away, Sheldon leaned into the car and said, "Penny, thank you for the ride, and I know you'll do well at your audition. You know the material almost as well as I do at this point."
Penny smiled. "Thank you, Sheldon. Have a great day at work."
Not that either of them knew it at the time, but they both parted ways with a strange smile on their faces.
*****Sheldon's smile didn't last very long, however, because standing in his way was none other than Barry Kripke, and he was grinning from ear to ear.
Sheldon sighed. "What is it, Barry? I'm already running late and so are you."
"Relax, Cooper, nobody cares if you're three minutes late for the first time in your life. I'd rather talk about the smoking hot blonde who just dropped you off. Uh, wow?"
Sheldon was rather confused for a moment, and then it occurred to him that Barry was talking about Penny.
"Yes, Penny. I believe you've met her before. She was giving me a ride to work."
Barry whistled lewdly. "Leonard's girlfriend is taking you to work? What does he think about that?"
Sheldon looked confused again. "Why should Leonard care about Penny driving me to school? Is there some kind of social paradigm I should be aware of that makes it taboo for another man's girlfriend to drive me to work?"
"When the girl is that hot, yes, it's taboo," Barry said, chuckling. "I wish she'd drive me to work, if you know what I mean."
"But Barry, you have a perfectly acceptable vehicle in which to drive yourself to work," Sheldon said, about ready to give up on this pointless conversation completely.
"I'm just proud of you, Cooper. You went from tapping that Amy chick to getting it on with Penny. You're a dog! Don't worry, I won't tell Leonard that you're doing his girl while he's gone."
Sheldon was finally catching on to where this conversation was leading, and he wasn't happy about it. In fact, he was just plain pissed. He didn't like the way Barry was talking about Penny. For one of the first times in his life, he understood why men got in fist fights over women. Penny didn't deserve to be treated like a sex object, even though it was clear that many men through the years had done just that. Of course Sheldon thought Penny was attractive; he made that clear soon after they met when they played Halo together for the first time. But he never thought that was all she had to offer. Yes, she was loud and she was always mooching their milk and Wi-Fi and she was pretty much the complete opposite of everything Sheldon stood for, but he never thought those were negative things, necessarily. Just different.
"Barry, I am still 'tapping' Amy Farrah Fowler with an alarming frequency. Just because a woman drives me to work doesn't mean I'm involved in a sexual relationship with her. While I do appreciate Penny's beauty, I would never take advantage of it. And frankly, the fact that you speak of her with such derogatory terms makes me quite angry. If we were in fact friends before, I think I can safely say that the friendship is over."
Before Kripke could fire back, Sheldon moved past him and walked quickly to his office. Of course he was lying about Amy, but it was just easier. More disconcerting than the lie was how Barry's words about Penny made Sheldon feel. He felt weirdly protective, and...mad. These were not feelings Sheldon particularly knew what to do with, and it threw him off for almost the entire day.
At lunch with Howard and Raj, Sheldon was almost finished eating his apple when he got a text.
Pretty sure I aced the audition...thank u for all your help, couldn't have done it w/o u!
Sheldon couldn't help it-for the millionth time that day, he smiled. He fired back, Congratulations, I knew you could do it. You are an excellent robot.
"What's that about? Did Amy send you a naked pic of herself or something?" Howard asked, trying to get a look at Sheldon's phone.
"Yes. Something like that." Sheldon didn't know why he was lying; he didn't know why he didn't just tell Howard the text was from Penny. Maybe he just wanted to keep it to himself. All Sheldon knew was that things were changing, and he wasn't sure how or why or if he even wanted them to.
*****There were good auditions and bad auditions, and at this point in her career (if she could even call it that), Penny could tell the difference. This was a good audition. William praised her over and over again, the rest of the crew seemed impressed, and she felt amazing. Starlight City wasn't exactly her dream role (Julia Roberts never played a robot in a sci-fi sitcom, did she?), but it was going to open up a lot of doors for her, hopefully soon. Maybe she wouldn't have to work at the Cheesecake Factory forever, or go home to Nebraska, tail between her legs.
Thank goodness for Sheldon and his persistence in teaching her all the robot and other scientific terminology she needed to know. It occurred to her that if she got the part, she'd have to rely on him more and more, at least until Leonard came home. First of all, Penny hoped Sheldon had the patience to keep teaching her, and second, she was kind of excited about all the new things she'd learn from him. Ever since she started taking classes at the community college, Penny discovered she loved learning the things she never picked up on before. And Sheldon was her favorite teacher.
"We'll call you," William said before Penny left the audition. "But I think I can safely say that you got it. Whether the networks will pick it up after the pilot, that's another situation entirely. So don't quit your day job or anything. Yet."
"Oh, wow, thank you so much!" Penny exclaimed, happy and excited and nervous all at once. "Thank you, you won't regret it."
"Of course I won't. You aced all the terminology; we haven't had a single person who managed to get all the words and terms right. You're going to be a great addition to the cast, Penny. Smile! This is going to be good." William gave her a big grin, patted her on the shoulder, and then he was gone.
Penny looked through her purse for her keys and went outside into the bright, hot, sunny day. She felt like skipping, she was so happy. While she knew she still had to get through the taping of the pilot, and that the pilot still had to be picked up, and that she still had to tough it out at the Factory for a while, she knew good things were on the way. And at that moment, she didn't miss or even think about Leonard at all. Maybe that was a problem. Maybe the fact that she was thinking about Sheldon and how much she loved it when he helped her was an even bigger problem. But as she had gotten so used to doing, Penny pushed those thoughts right out of her head and got her cell phone out. It was celebration time.
*****"And a toast to Penny, who will soon be kicking ass as the hottest robot ever," Amy said, raising her glass. Bernadette and Penny toasted her back, and gulped down their alcoholic beverages. Well, Penny gulped, Bernadette politely sipped.
"Thanks, lady friend. I can't believe it. I'm so excited! Soon enough, I'll never have to serve a cheeseburger to a douchebag who calls me 'Barbie Von ButtCheeks' ever again. Not that he ever called me that twice-the tea I spilled on him 'accidentally' seems to have gotten the message across."
Penny, Bernadette and Amy were at a fantastically crappy dive bar for a girls' night, which they hadn't had together for way too long. All three of them were always either working or with their significant others and it was hard to get in some good girls time. But after her audition, Penny was feeling so good that she needed to hang out with her girlfriends, and immediately. Fortunately Amy was just at home giving herself a bikini wax (she had to maintain it somehow) and Bernadette was dying for a break from doing Howard's laundry. Now they were on the express train to getting drunk and having a deliciously amazing night. Howard was on call to be their designated driver for the evening.
After a spirited discussion of both what happened on Dexter the night before and then the new developments in the world of neurobiology and brain chemistry (Penny used this time as an opportunity to eat a lot of peanuts and catch up on Words with Friends on her cell phone), the topic turned to their men, as it always tended to do.
"Howie is so cute lately," Bernadette said. "He's working extra-long hours at the lab so we can take a cruise to Alaska next year. Of course, his mother is coming with us but hopefully we can at least get a separate room."
Penny thought that sounded mildly horrifying but didn't share that thought with Bernadette. "That's funny, Leonard is kind of on a cruise right now. I mean, I guess it's not a cruise and it's for work and everything, but still..."
"Do you miss him?" Bernadette asked.
"Not really…is that weird? He's just been gone for like a week. I haven't had time to miss him."
"Oh, I miss Howie after a really long day at work. I don't know what I'd do if he was gone for a week, much less all summer. After he came back from space, I didn't want to let him go!"
Penny felt bad. How come she didn't miss Leonard like that? She loved him, she really did. And after a long time of not allowing herself to ponder it, sometimes she could even think of their future together without completely freaking out. So why didn't she miss him? Penny decided to change the subject. To anything but Leonard.
"Hmm. Well...Amy, how are you and Sheldon doing lately?" It wasn't an unusual question; Penny and Amy talked about her relationship with Sheldon all the time. But tonight this question seemed to be more important. And she didn't know why.
"Well, I'm a bit troubled, actually. We haven't been spending a lot of time together. Of course, I'm quite busy at work and so is he, but I've got to get my sugar or mama's not happy, you know what I mean?"
Penny frowned. "No, not really. What is the 'sugar', in this case? Did Sheldon finally reach puberty?"
Amy chuckled. "No, of course not. I meant it figuratively. But seeing as how lately he has not been condemning the act of coitus and has actually admitted that physical intimacy in the future is not something he's completely opposed to, I believe it is only a matter of months or possibly a year until we engage in such acts. I'd say by February 14th, 2014, I will have an interesting tale or two to tell."
"Wow, Amy, you are really patient! How do you put up with him when there are so many other men out there would love to be in a physical relationship with you?" Bernadette asked. Penny was wondering the same thing, but she wouldn't have said it so eloquently or tactfully.
"Are you kidding? I've put in so much time and effort with Sheldon. I wouldn't want some other girl to come along and pop the lid off after I ran him under the hot water for so long, you know what I mean?"
Penny actually did know what her strange friend meant. "We get it, Amy. And you know what, I have to compliment your weird boyfriend. He really helped me with the robot terminology I had to know for the audition. He's becoming more patient in his older years. I think I have you to thank for that."
Amy smiled. "That's my boyfriend. He is such a giver." But then she frowned a bit. "I guess that's why we haven't spent much time together lately-he's been helping you with your work."
"Oh, well, of course you're free to come over and help me, too. It's just that he's across the hall and I can walk in and bother him any time," Penny rushed to explain. Why did she suddenly feel like she had to justify her actions to Amy? Was she...feeling guilty or something?
"Oh, yes, of course. And I would have done so if Sheldon had invited me or told me what you two were doing. I'm a good teacher. I'm sure he lost his patience a few times. I wouldn't have done that with you, Penny." And she winked for some reason.
"That's good to know. I'll tell Sheldon you're willing to help, too," Penny said, and took a big, long drink. The topic again turned to TV and pop culture and the cute waiter, and Penny almost forgot how she didn't miss her boyfriend at all, and how badly she wanted to go home and talk to her loud, obnoxious, tall nerd of a neighbor across the hall.