Penny was bored. Bored, bored, bored. She sat in "her spot" in 4A, thumbing through a magazine as her friends she affectionately called the 'nerd herd' cataloged and categorized their comic books. She didn't really know why she was there; it was hot, she didn't want to stay in her apartment alone, and she was feeling terminally bored.

She idly flipped another page, pretending to look down at the glossy page as she studied her friends from under her lashes. Raj sat with his back to her, pretending that she wasn't present as he read one of his Batman comic books. The small sips of the beer that he'd been nursing for the last hour kept him able to speak in front of her; she guessed (rightly, had she asked) that even the knowledge that she was in the room was enough to activate the selective mutism that affected him. She found herself wishing that he could overcome his handicap—they would be besties for certain, she was sure of it. Same tastes in music, books, movies, but thank God there wasn't a spark. She had found that out, unfortunately. Waking up in bed with someone was usually a surefire way of discovering that fact.

Howard, thank God, was taken. That had been some inspired matchmaking on her part. It seemed that Bernadette was as freaky as the little engineer was, after hearing about some of their exploits one night when Bernadette was three sheets to the wind. He looked over the top of the sexually explicit manga he was reading and caught her eye, giving her a wink as he wiggled his finger at the large-breasted cartoon festooning the back cover. Penny wrinkled her nose and let her eyes drift over to his right where Leonard sat.

Leonard. She had really tried there. Best she could, at least. He wasn't the kind of guy that she usually went for and it showed. Whiny, insecure, submissive—he was the epitome of the anti-boyfriend, if there was such a word. She would have to ask Sheldon sometime whether it was or not. He would know.

Still, Leonard treated her decently. Well, okay. They never went many places together, which never bothered her much until she saw him out with Stephanie, then Priya. He took them to fancy restaurants and clubs; if she hadn't run into them more than once, she would have never known. It made her wonder-what was wrong with her? Was he embarrassed to be seen with her? She always felt like a trophy girlfriend when she was with him. It wasn't a new sensation for her, but it bothered her that he felt that way about her.

Water under the bridge, she thought. Never to be repeated. Never. She had to be firm with herself on that nugget of truth. Her relationship with Leonard was a ship that sailed, sunk, and that was the end of it.

She shifted her eyes to her left and looked out of the corner of her eye toward Sheldon. Dr. Crazypants himself. He was thumbing through a flash comic with pristine white gloves in place, turning each page as carefully as if it was made of tissue. The muscles in his forearm flexed and she found herself captivated by the sight of the tendons bunching and relaxing as the action in the comic reached its climax. He barely breathed as his eyes flew across the page, nostrils flaring with each breath.

She dropped her eyes to his hands. Even though he had gloves on, she could almost imagine his long fingers in the white fabric. When she was in high school, someone told her that you could just about judge the size of a man's penis by the size of his hands and feet. Since then, she had discovered that it wasn't necessarily true; however, it crossed her mind more than once when she watched Sheldon doing something with his hands.

It must have been the heat, or the fact that she hadn't had sex in a few months, or her boredom talking, but she started wondering what those incredible fingers on those talented hands could do to her.

He chose that moment to slip the comic back into the protective sleeve, and then pulled the gloves of one finger at a time, his eyes still trained on the cover of the book and never noticing her as she watched him openly, her tongue moistening her lips as he pulled off first one glove, then the other. His lithe fingers shuffled through the box on the coffee table for a moment as he replaced the book, and then pulled out the next one in the series.

He was just as serious as he pulled each glove back on, wriggling his fingers into the soft cotton first then pulling them snug against his fingertips, one by one. He ran the fingers of the other hand down each one from tip to base, and then grabbed the cuff of the glove to tighten it against his hand. To finish his preparations, he interlaced his fingers and pushed them against one another, then pushed his hands in front of him, bowing his digits to stretch them out fully and prevent hand cramps prior to grasping the comic sleeve reverently, drawing the book away from the cardboard backing inside and into his lap.

Penny found she was breathing quite shallow and leaning ever so slightly toward the physicist as he made to open his book. She felt a throb deep in her gut and let out a tiny gasp. He must have heard her because he chose to turn toward her, concern furrowing his brow.

"Penny, are you feeling well? You seem short of breath—do you need to utilize an inhaler? I'm sure that Leonard has an unopened one in the bathroom."

She started, then jumped up off the couch. "I'm—I'm fine. I need to, uh, use the restroom."

Four pairs of eyes watched her as she rounded the coffee table and made her way down the hall. Howard fell over as he continued to watch until the door closed solidly behind her. "What the frak was that all about?" he asked, but nobody was paying him any attention so he received no answer.

Penny leaned against the bathroom door for a moment, and then crossed to look at herself in the mirror, her toes behind Sheldon's tapeline on the floor. She looked okay—well, no, she didn't. Her pupils were blown, leaving a thin green ring around the black centers, and her chest was flushed as she tried to slow her breathing down.

Holy shit, she was attracted to Sheldon!

She wasn't about to make the same mistake with him as she had Raj. It had nearly imploded their friendships—hers, Leonard's, Raj's—and that wasn't something she was proud of in the least. Not to mention, she didn't think that she could stand Leonard's whining again. Why him and not me? Really, was that something that he really, really wanted to know? She doubted it.

Well, since she was in here, she might as well pee.

She pulled her shorts down and sat, waiting for relief that just wasn't happening. She was too turned on to void her bladder, just from watching Sheldon's hands caressing that fricking book. Might as well give up for now, she thought.

Her breath caught in her throat when she reached for the toilet paper and her arm brushed across her own nipple. Fuck, turned on didn't even cover it. She had needs, damn it, and….

She knew that it was a bad idea when she did it, but she did it anyway. She brushed her hand deliberately over her breast, lingering on the erect nub that strained the fabric of her shirt. An electric shock ran through her body, from her nipple to her pulsating clit. She could feel her body's lubrication as she toyed with her breasts, still sitting on the toilet.

No, she couldn't do that there. That was just gross. She stood, leaving her shorts on the floor in front of the stool and leaned against the sink, facing the door.

She reached down with her right hand and touched herself. Oh my God, she was so wet—it had flowed out onto the inside of her thighs.

She leaned, she toyed, and she fantasized.

"You know, Sheldon, sometimes a girl wants a little attention. Like you give your comic books, you know? All the care and consideration you take to keep them perfect." Her voice grew louder in frustration as he seemingly ignored her. He continued to sort and identify comic books, each series into their individual boxes, ignoring her need.

When the last comic book was put away, he stripped off the gloves again, much as he had done when she was sitting at his side. His eyes were bluer than she had ever seen them before as he got up out of his spot and stalked over to her.

He leaned closer to her, forcing her back against the kitchen island. His long arms propped him up, keeping him from touching her body with his as he trapped her there, holding her in place with no more than his gaze. "What kind of attention do you need, Penny?"

In her fantasy, she was completely naked. In addition, embarrassed. Her overactive hormones had worked double-time today and if she moved off the kitchen stool there would be a huge wet spot where she'd been sitting. "Um, Sheldon, that's not what I meant," she stammered.

He looked at her smugly, making her hackles rise. "It seems that you have been unclear in your assertions, then. You say that you need attention; however, when offered such attention, you decline to make your needs known. Am I to read your mind telepathically to ascertain your needs?"

"Thought that was hokum, Moonpie."

"It is. However, if I read your body's signals correctly, then I must deduce that you are sexually aroused, if only from the outward symptoms. Are you experiencing any localized throbbing or edema?"

"Maybe you should touch me and find out, Sheldon."

He reached out his large hand and cupped her right breast, his thumb tracing around the areola without coming close to her nipple. "I believe that this is somewhat edematous. It appears larger than it did the night I assisted you from your shower mishap."

"Uh, I…" Penny could barely speak; her total focus was riveted on the sensation that he was eliciting with the brush of his fingertips.

He ghosted his fingertips down her side. "I do not perceive any swelling here." One hand cupped her buttock, drawing her partially off the chair and tilting her pelvis forward. "Nor here," he added.

"Sheldon, I…"

"You seem to be having difficulty speaking, Penny. Is there something wrong?"

"No, no. I'm just…"

"Speechless? Yes, I would imagine. You have never seen me as a sexual human being; therefore, you cannot imagine me as one now. I assure you, Penny, I have the same desires and needs as any man. I choose to suppress them for the benefit of humankind. They are secondary to the person I choose to be."

He plucked at her erect nipple, rolling it between his fingertips. "I am the master of my own body, Penny. Soon, I will become the master of yours as well."

Her hand dropped down and her fingers sluiced through her own juices, spreading them over her labia to ease the friction. She closed her eyes and imagined his hands, his fingers touching her and easing the ache inside her as he pushed first one, and then two fingers inside her. The fleshy part of her thumb brushed against her clitoris and she let out a breathy moan before biting her lip to silence herself.

The sink's edge was biting into her rear so she turned around and leaned on the sink with one arm, her hand caressing her nipples in turn as she plunged her fingers into her vagina. She grimaced at the over loud noises she was making between her breathing, her moans, and the squishing sounds that were coming from below. Maybe it was just the bathroom acoustics, or maybe she really was being that loud. At this point, she really didn't care.

She was so close already; it had only been a few minutes, she thought, but she realized that her motor had been idling on low all day, ever since she plopped down next to Sheldon on the couch. She felt the carefree abandon of her youth in that moment; once she had fingerfucked herself in the girls lavatory at school when a boy had looked at her a certain way. She had nearly bit her lip in two when she came, but that was part of the fun of it all. Well, that and Christy, the whore of Omaha, had dared her.

She dropped her head and rested it on her forearm, her breasts swaying as she frigged herself even harder. So close…

Suddenly, a familiar triple knock sounded on the door. "Penny. Penny. Penny, are you all right? I was walking by and I thought that I heard you make a sound. Do you need assistance?"

Trust Sheldon to knock at the wrong time. On the other hand, maybe the right one. Her orgasm was a lightning bolt that jolted her out of her flip-flops, frying her synapses with its intensity when she heard his voice repeating her name.

"Oh my God, Sheldon," she moaned.

She heard him jostling the doorknob, attempting to open the door. His voice was near panic when he called her name. "Penny, it seems the door has been locked. Are you in pain? Do you require an ambulance?"

She was about to answer him when a second orgasm rocked her body. "Sheldon!" she yelled before biting her lip, hoping to silence any further outbursts.

"I will come right in, Penny, just as soon as I obtain a screwdriver to manipulate the lock."

She panted against her arm for a moment, then slowed her breathing down purposely, long enough to speak. "No, I don't need help, Sheldon. I'm shocked that you're standing outside the bathroom door when there's a lady inside. Go!"

"Penny, are you certain you do not require my assistance? Your continued exclamations of my name are quite alarming."

"Shock, Sheldon. Nothing but shock. Now go away!"

She heard him leave, his footsteps going toward his room. He must be packing up his books for the night, she thought. Then dinner, then laundry….

As she withdrew her hand from deep inside herself, she brushed against her overly sensitive clitoris and came again, shocking her. She wondered if Sheldon could hear her from the bedroom next door; somehow, she hoped that he could. Her elbow hit the wall next to her and she moaned again, the tingling running up her arm and into her shoulder.

She straightened her clothes, flushed the toilet, checked her appearance in the mirror as she washed her hands thoroughly, and then went back into the living room.

Four pairs of eyes stared her down. "What?" she said, crossing in front of Sheldon to sit back down on the couch.

Raj leaned over to whisper to Howard. Howard looked at him with surprise, and then shrugged. "Yes, girls do it too, Raj. I never expected…"

"Do what?" Penny growled, her eyes narrowed.

"Make boom-boom," Raj said without thinking. He clapped his hands over his mouth in shock and just stared at Penny, his eyes wide with horrified surprise.

"Gross, Raj. Just gross." Penny crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her lap.

She didn't feel him move, but there he was at her shoulder. His breath tickled her ear as he leaned in to whisper to her. "I should tell you that your shorts are on inside-out. Just in case you wanted to correct it."

Her face flamed with embarrassment as she realized he was right. She leaped off the couch and hurried to the door. "I just realized I have things to do, guys. See you later!"

As she turned, her eyes landed on Sheldon. He was staring at her with a smug, self-satisfied look on his face. She wasn't sure if he knew what she was doing in there, but he sure looked like the cat that ate the canary.

Suddenly she was looking forward to laundry night.