Part Two- Summer Lovin'

Chapter Eight: After the Fire

The next morning was a little better even if she could still smell the aftermath of the shambles of her life. She walked out of Leonard's bedroom—her bedroom—bleary eyed and in need of caffeine. Her nose led her to shuffle through the hall and into the kitchen to get to the source of fresh coffee. A warm mug of liquid focus was shoved into her hands and it was exactly the way she liked it. It was only when she got a few sips down that she was able to form her first coherent thought of the day.

"Good morning, Sheldon."

"Good afternoon, Penny."

"Afternoon? How long did I sleep for?"

"If your snoring was any indication, I would say that you were asleep just after midnight and slept the night through for twelve and a half hours."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I thought you could use the rest after your ordeal last night and I needed the peace and quiet while I got our temporary living situation organized." Worry shot through Penny.

"What do you mean?"

"I took the liberty of calling our landlord who informed me that there is an appointment set with the Pasadena Fire Marshal's Office so we can find out how the fire started. The fire marshal should be here at three to inspect your apartment. I also called the Cheesecake Factory and let them know your situation and convinced them to allow you a short leave of absence while you get yourself sorted. I also contacted President Seibert to let him know that I would be taking some time off. He alerted me to the fact that he was in need of a new part time assistant. I can put in a good word if you are interested."

"Wow, you've been busy." Penny turned to pour herself some cereal. "I think I'll go into my apartment and find whatever clothes aren't too badly damaged."

"I have thought of that." Sheldon moved to the back of the couch and produced two laundry baskets full of Penny's clothes. "I took also took the liberty of laundering the articles that seemed the most salvageable. It should keep the basics covered until you are able to procure more clothing." Penny slowly walked toward Sheldon hardly believing how generous he was being but still very deeply touched at his kind gestures.

"Thank you, Sheldon," she said, humbled.

She reached out to take the basket in his hands and tried not to notice the slight tingle when his fingers brushed hers.

THERE WAS A CRACK IN LEONARD'S CEILING that held her fascination during her bouts of sleeplessness. Penny would lay there and take in the shape of each sharp edge as it etched its path in the plaster above the bed all to avoid thinking of how things have changed just a couple of weeks.

By an odd twist of fate, the fire marshal confirmed the fire started because of some faulty wiring in the kitchen. Sheldon, in his infinite wisdom decided that he would use this information to get the landlord to bend to his every whim. Penny wasn't in the room when it happened but it seemed that she was going to get all new stuff and live rent free for the first two months after the construction to her apartment was finished.

As grateful as she was for the way Sheldon maneuvered events to make her as comfortable as possible, living in close quarters with the physicist presented a few challenges.

There was the age old battle of the sexes over who will put the toilet seat down. Those arguments seemed to tip in her favor until Sheldon pointed out that it was just as easy for her to take the a few milliseconds to check the seat was down to avoid any unnecessary 'dunkage' as it was for him to put the seat back down in the same amount of time. There was also the unfortunate incident of the random spot check Sheldon performed in his role as apartment leader. Suffice it to say that there was a long drawn out debate on the merits of using the hamper over dropping used cloths on the floor that Penny quickly agreed to use when she accidentally tripped over her shorts when she lunged at Sheldon so that she could strangle him. The heated argument over the proper procedure of washing the dishes was quickly averted when Penny figured out that Sheldon could be conned into always washing the dishes by praising his 'superior' intellect.

Through it all, Sheldon—Penny noticed—was a bit protective over her and took pains to keep a close eye on her. He always made sure her basic needs were covered with seemingly innocuous gestures like making sure she had her favorite tea on hand or leaving her dinner in the microwave ready to heat by the time she got home from a late shift.

Penny was grateful that Sheldon asked her to stay with him while she got her living situations sorted out the night of the fire.

That first night she drifted to a fitful sleep only to experience a night full of disturbing dreams. She couldn't recall most of them except for the one.

She sat on a blanket in a park and she looked over her shoulder to see a dark lean figure moving toward her. The impressions from her dream told her that he was a good looking man. They spoke about a lot of things that she couldn't remember no matter how hard she focused. She kept trying to look into his eyes but there was always an obstruction—the sun in her eyes or the wind whipping her hair in her eyes—still she could not see them. But there was definitely something about him that was very alluring. He leaned in slowly to kiss her and when his lips were about to make their final descent, he vanished leaving her to blink away the sleep wildly in the dim glow of the street lamp outside. She thought of the super romantic dream of making out in a park with handsome stranger. How she knew he was handsome with half closed eyes was beyond her.

Though it was true Sheldon wasn't the easiest person to live with, she found that the most uncomfortable part of being Sheldon's roommate is having to put up with his grumpy ass after Lalita left for India. She slept over two nights before she left, and she would be ashamed to admit to any one that in her horny state, she masturbated to the sounds of Sheldon having sex.

She had just awakened from another dream with her mystery man. She lay there for a while staring at the crack in the ceiling yet again patiently waiting for sleep to claim her. Her eyes were slowly drifting closes until the silence was broken by a groan so low, Penny wasn't even sure she heard it. She tilted her head and just when she thought her imagination was teasing her, she heard another groan. It was just a little louder than before followed by a feminine chuckle.

Sheldon has a girl in his bed.

Penny didn't know if she should be embarrassed or mildly annoyed. After all, she was trying to fall asleep.

Another feminine laugh punctuated a muted masculine groan.

Curious. I'm definitely curious.

The headboard bumped on the other side of the wall and a long stretch of silence followed. Penny stopped pretending that the shenanigans occurring in Sheldon's room didn't interest her.

She tipped her face toward the wall straining to hear anything she could. All was quiet for long minutes until she heard a long feminine moan break the silence. She wondered what his hands were doing. She didn't realize her eyes drifted shut as her hand caressed the skin of her stomach. Her mind's eye pulled up the ephemeral vision of the shadowy stranger's hands ghosting along her bared skin. Goosebumps broke out on her skin and his groan filled her ears. The bedsprings creaked clearly enough through the wall and she imagined the shadowy fingers reach between her legs making her breath catch. His lips were pressed against her throat and he had another hand plucking at a sensitive tip. She was very close but she needed to look into his eyes. Her body promptly broke apart when his shadowed lids opened to reveal stormy blue eyes.

Her last thought before finally drifting off to sleep was that this would definitely be an interesting summer.