Potter's Travels (Big Bang Theory 2) (Patreon)

Next to them, there was a black-haired man. As he walked, he was looking at the kitchen, so the first thing she caught was his shoulders, stretching his simple t-shirt decently. His arms were also muscular. Not the kind that the actors she met at the auditions had, showing that they spent most of their time at the gym.

His arms and shoulders looked different. More functional than merely decorative. Then, he looked at her, and she was momentarily captivated by his emerald gaze. He didn’t look like an academic, particularly the kind that dealt with the kind of problems that needed Sheldon’s help.

Penny stiffened slightly, expecting him to walk toward her and start flirting. She needed to manage that carefully. While she wanted to punish Leonard, it was a careful balance to walk, particularly with the way she was dressed.

“Hi, I’m Harry,” he said.

“Penny. Leonard’s girlfriend,” Penny said, admitting it easily. She still expected him to hit on her. There had to be a reason Leonard had been panicking about his mere presence that much.

“A pleasure,” he said with a gentle smile, and Penny found out that her heartbeat was picking up slightly. But, to her surprise, he didn’t say anything else as he turned his back, and walked to the kitchen counter.

Penny found her smile slipping away. Any other time, a handsome guy who didn’t objectify her mindlessly would have been welcome, but not today. Not when she was trying to punish Leonard. Especially when she had gone through all that trouble putting on a show. She knew that she was extremely beautiful, and the story of what happened with Alex showed that Harry was not gay.

So, the fact that he didn’t even bother to catch a glimpse of her cleavage annoyed her. One time she needed someone she didn’t care about attracted to her, and it failed. She looked at Leonard, his relieved expression carrying an undertone of smugness.

Like she wasn’t good enough.

Leonard flinched when he caught her gaze. This time, she wasn’t faking her anger. However, she had to admit, that watching Leonard’s mile slide from his face had been a nice compensation, but it wasn’t enough.

She checked Harry’s gaze from a mirror even as she bend forward, hoping that he was more of an ass man. He still didn’t peek at her.

Damn it! She needed him to be a horny bastard. It wasn’t fair. She decided to be a bit more aggressive. It wasn’t as good as taking the passive role while he hit on her constantly, but it would still drive Leonard crazy.

 “So, Harry, what brings you here?” Penny asked even as she walked toward him.

“He’s here because of some kind of new algorithm for —“ Leonard started, clearly ready to interrupt. It showed that Penny’s tactic was working, but it still annoyed her. She wanted him to get jealous, but he was being too needy.

Luckily, before she could answer, Sheldon interrupted. “Leonard, come here. We need to finish it soon. We still have shows to finish! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can send our guest away!”

Harry didn’t even react to Sheldon’s overt rudeness even when Leonard stammered an apology, but Penny recognized his expression. He clearly realized that the faster they finished, the sooner he would go away.

Still, that realization didn’t stop her panic as she walked to the counter with a deliberate sway. “So, Harry. What brings you here from all the way from the other side of the pond?” Penny said with a tone she used whenever she was fishing for tips.

“Nothing too exciting, unfortunately. I’m an … archaeologist,” he said.

“Really? An archaeologist?” she asked, surprised. It was the first time she had seen Sheldon treating someone who wasn’t a scientist kindly. “And, you need Sheldon’s help?”

“I need the grant, so I’m solving his useless equation,” Sheldon replied without even stopping. “We either do that, or the school cuts our grant.”

Penny smiled. That explained why Sheldon was being that enthusiastic. His research was on the line. It also explained why Leonard allowed Harry here despite his desperation to keep her away from him. He was clearly badgered by Sheldon.

For a moment, she wondered how theoretical physics related to historical artifacts, but she decided against asking. She had a feeling that she wouldn’t understand the answer, so there was no point wasting time. “So, an archaeologist,” she said. “I’m sure you have some interesting stories.”

“Not that interesting,” he answered with a shrug, then pointed at the towel. “I don’t want to keep you from your schedule.”

“It’s no problem,” she said as she looked at Leonard. “I was going to go to a spa, but that was when Leonard was supposed to be working at the lab. Since he’s here, I have a few hours to kill,” she said, then fluttered her eyes and leaned forward, which gave him an even better view of her cleavage. “Please?”

As she said that, she noticed his gaze dipping down to her chest. The first hint of success.

Good.

“Well, if you have the time,” he said. “I’m sure you’ll find the story of how I discovered a hidden room with three mummies interesting.”

She nodded, expecting a boring story, but halfway in, she didn’t have to fake her laughter. The part about him losing his phone because one of the walls had collapsed was amusing and exciting in equal measure.

He still didn’t look at his cleavage, which annoyed her. Yes, Leonard was getting more and more antsy, which confirmed that her little plan was working. It was excellent … or, at least, it was supposed to be.

The fact that he wasn’t reacting to her, when, apparently he was fucking that whore Alex minutes after meeting annoyed her. She couldn’t help it feel inferior. She bit her lips as she leaned against the kitchen counter, shifting her body so that Leonard was only seeing her back, with the counter on the way.

“How interesting,” she commented even as she grabbed the bottom of her shirt, and gave a subtle tug. It was enough to enhance her cleavage even more. Noticing his gaze dipping down had been amazing.

At least, until one of her buttons failed under the pull, and flew forward. For a second, she froze, flustered. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to say something, but her cheeks reddened as she was lost in embarrassment.

However, even as she dealt with her shame, she was shocked by his hand, which moved fast enough to catch her flying button. He smirked smugly. “Do you mind passing it,” she said as she opened her hand.

He passed, but his smirk made it feel like she was losing. It was unacceptable. Flirting and turning men into putty in her hands was her greatest ability. She wasn’t ready to accept defeat.

“Let’s see if I can fix it,” she muttered as she acted like she was trying to fix her top, only to rip another button. This time, it was not an accident. Penny felt her cheeks heat. “How clumsy of me,” she said, a playful smirk on her lips.

However, she was glad that her back was turned at Leonard, so he couldn’t see her cleavage. It was more than she was ready to show to him. While the aim was to drive him mad, Penny also wanted to teach Harry a lesson as well.

Leonard would have called it a side quest.

“Yes, very clumsy,” he said even as he smirked, but she felt smug when she noticed his gaze slipping down to her cleavage longer than the previous time. “Now, where were we?”

While his gaze had slipped lower, it didn’t take long before he recovered, and continued with his interesting story. He exuded self-assurance and confidence. The contrast with her boyfriend was stark. Of course, she loved Leonard, and she wasn’t attracted to people that was too confident, but she had to admit, her body was reacting a bit.

She shuffled a bit, wondering whether she should stop it before things got more complicated than she was ready to deal with. Yet, his casual attitude was enough for her to stick around. She wasn’t ready to admit her loss either.

A dilemma.

However, before she could come to a decision, Sheldon spoke once more. “No, Leonard. You have to go and bring the data. Or we can’t finish it on time.”

“But —“ he started.

“No buts. We need it,” Sheldon replied.

“Alright,” Leonard replied in defeat. Penny sighed. Leonard’s inability to control Sheldon was another unappealing quality of his. She loved him, but sometimes, he made it really difficult. “Honey. Maybe you want to accompany me?”

“No, I still need to take a shower,” she replied, blushing slightly. Leonard growled in frustration, but it was an impotent rage. Penny wanted to look, but the state of her shirt prevented her from doing so. Instead, she just turned her head slightly, keeping the current state of her dress.

“Fine,” he growled as he walked to the door, and pulled it hard enough to close it. She felt bad, but she was quick to dismiss it as well. Ultimately, Sheldon was still here, which meant he didn’t have a valid reason to feel that cross.

It was mean on her part, but he should have thought it before he tried to manipulate her.

“So,” Penny smiled as alluringly as she could manage as she looked at Harry, wanting to keep the conversation going until Leonard returned. He should be back in less than an hour. “Where were we?”