Potter's Travels (Big Bang Theory 3) (Patreon)

“ … and then I had to jump away, thinking that I was running away from a lion, but it turned out it was only a Zebra foal,” Harry said, finishing his story about an archeological dig in the middle of Africa.

“It must have been fun,” Penny said, but even as she laughed, she couldn’t help but feel wistful. He was not older than her, barely in his twenties, but he had traveled so much, while the greatest distance she moved was from Nebraska to California. A great achievement compared to many of her high school friends, but he had been in more countries than she had been in different towns.

And, that includes the ones she stopped while driving on the highway.

She couldn’t help but feel that way. A big part of why she wanted to be an actress was the desire for adventure. She didn’t want to be stuck in a small town … but in a way, she was feeling just as stuck.

“Well. It was certainly fun. How about if I —“

“Enough!” Sheldon shouted. “I can’t concentrate because of your chatter. Shut up, Evans, or you can’t get your formula tonight!”

Penny couldn’t help but feel frustrated as their fu

“Sorry, Sheldon,” Harry said. “I’m shutting up now.” Then, he turned to her. “Sorry, but I really need that formula tonight. I have an early flight tomorrow. And, I kept you from your shower enough.”

Just like that, her annoyance was back. A part of it was that she didn’t torture Leonard enough, but that was no longer the sole objective. She had been genuinely entertained by his stories, and the fact that he was willing to stop talking to her just to keep Sheldon happy was frustrating. She wasn’t getting used to rejected.

Especially when she had her cleavage on full display.

Luckily, she had a solution to both of those problems. “Actually, my apartment is just across. We can talk there,” she offered. She could see that he was about to refuse, so she grabbed her towel and started walking.

She didn’t know if his kindness worked, or the excessive sway of her hips, but his footsteps followed. “Well, it’s better than annoying Sheldon,” Harry said.

“Thank you!” Sheldon said as he focused on his work again.

Penny managed to look back while she opened the door, only to notice his eyes were glued on her ass. It was enough for her to smile smugly, even though her stomach flipped a little as she noticed how beautiful was his eyes as they shone, so intense yet friendly.

Maybe it wasn’t that good of an idea to invite him to her apartment. Still, it was too late. And, Leonard would be back in less than half an hour.

No harm, she decided.

“So, where was I,” he asked as he stepped into her apartment.

“You were about to tell me another story about your adventures,” she said.

“Right. How about how I got mistaken for a grave robber when I was exploring Chile? Or how I discovered a new historical town in Lebanon?”

“Why not both?” Penny said as she sat on the couch, and positioned herself so that he had to sit next to her rather than the armchair. She still needed to drive Leonard crazy when he returned, and she couldn’t do so unless she was sharing a seat with him.

He grinned at her before starting his first story, and Penny felt her breath hitch just a little. Luckily, she had seen him watching her ass, so he was even more affected. All she needed was to maintain the balance, and she could torture both men that annoyed her tonight.

Two for the price of one.

She had a good library of flirting. The occasional playful touches to his arm, sliding close enough that her knee was rubbing against his leg, lush laughter. She even tugged her shirt down a couple of times when she stood up to bring drinks, enhancing her cleavage even more.

Particularly when she leaned forward.

All of her actions worked well, and soon, his gaze was lingering on her chest longer and longer. Ordinarily, it would have annoyed her, but not after she had worked so hard to achieve that. This time, it felt like victory.

However, her intention to torture him with a show didn’t mean his stories were any less interesting. He managed to earn as many real laughs as the fake ones, and he genuinely seemed to care about her answers. It was a good change, as whenever she made a comment with the guys, they often dismissed it out of hand.

Leonard wasn’t like that, which was one of the reasons she was dating him for a long time, but even with him, she couldn’t help but feel a patronizing edge.

Harry seemed really genuine.

“By the way, do you want me to fix your hot water? I’m not bad around plumbing.”

“No. You’re a guest, and I can’t ask you that,” she said, but he already stood up. She wanted to stop him, as her shower was not broken.

“Nonsense, that’s the least I could do,” he said. “Do you have a toolbox?”

“Actually, it’s not needed,” she said as she followed him to her bedroom. She might have been annoyed at his presumption, but currently, she was too busy not wanting to get caught in a lie. “I’m sure it fixed itself. It does so?”

“If you think so,” he said, but they were already in her bathroom.

“Yes. Look —“ Penny said as she reached the tap in her shower, only for it to break under her touch. Suddenly, she was drenched in cold water. “Oh, no,” she gasped as she put her hand on, trying to stop it.

“I got it, go and bring the toolbox,” he said even as he pushed her to the side, and pressed a towel on the tap.

A good idea, Penny decided. At least, she didn’t need to deal with it alone. She couldn’t afford to pay a plumber, and she certainly couldn’t afford to pay for any water damage. She ran as far as she could in her small apartment, and came back with the toolbox.

“Good, now, take my place, and keep your hand on the towel,” he said. She took that place, while he opened the toolbox, checking the content.

“It’s good that you’re here to help —“ she started, only to freeze when she caught herself in the mirror. In her panic, she had forgotten how she would look drenched. The cleavage had turned even more excessive as the wet shirt got heavier and pulled down, but the real problem was the way it stuck to her body.

She felt like she was in a wet shirt contest. As he raised his head, she prepared herself to refuse a very obvious, and inevitable flirting … only for him to ignore the view even as he stood next to her, and started working on the broken tap.

Penny froze. In a way, it was good that he was kind enough to not even look at her considering the circumstances, but she couldn’t help but feel frustrated. He was supposed to hit on her, and she was supposed to be the one to reject it.

She was not a genius, but she was smart enough to know that what she was about to do was a bad idea. Yet, she still did it. She shifted her arms so that they were pressing against the underside of her breasts as she kept the towel on the broken tap, turning the show she was giving from unintentionally sexy to deliberately erotic.

When one of her nipples finally got free, she wondered whether she was going too far, but when he raised his head, he froze. His beautiful emerald eyes widened just enough. She couldn’t help but feel accomplished, and kept it there.

“So, Harry,” she said a few seconds later. “Anything interesting.”

“I … well … y- no,” he said, stammering. For a moment, his shock felt a little rehearsed, but she was quick to abandon that thought. She was confident enough in her body that no one could resist it like that. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say no to a towel,” she said, acting unaware of her show. “I’m freezing.”

She smiled wide even as he took a towel from the rack and stood behind her, but that smile slipped a bit when he pressed the towel against her back rather than just passing it to her. It was more intimate than what she had in mind.

But, there was nothing wrong with a little flirting, she supposed. And, all night, she had been torturing him, a little reward was nothing bad. Especially since it could encourage him to flirt with her a little more obviously when Leonard returned.

“Do you mind drying my neck, it feels cold,” she said instead even as she flicked her ponytail to the side.

“Of course,” he answered as he stood behind her back. He stood a little closer than she expected, his crotch rubbed against her ass momentarily. She would have responded angrily, but she had been distracted by an important fact.

He wasn’t erect.

It wasn’t supposed to be a problem, but it was. How dare he not react to her even when she looked that good. That would not do, she decided as she pushed her ass back, and started rubbing.

A little more than she had planned, but his rapidly growing erection was enough for her to ignore the flicker of guilt she felt. It was not any worse than the way she danced with guys in the club. Nothing wrong.

Of course, except for the fact that she had a boyfriend …

Just harmless flirting, she decided.