(fictional story about fictional characters)
*
It turned out that Penny did not have to make a decision about quitting her job at RubDown because of Howard. His next two visits, she was able to pawn him off on newer "massage therapists," and then the business was served a subpoena by the IRS and forced to close it's doors because of non-payment of withholding taxes. Now, once again, she was forced to beg for extra shifts at the Cheesecake Factory to make ends meet. There seemed to be two constants in her life: problems with her finances; and the greeting she received whenever she visited her neighbors in 4A.
She knocked on the door, entered and was immediately scolded by the "head nerd," Sheldon Cooper: "it's customary to wait for permission to enter...."
"Just stop," his roommate, Leonard Hofstater chastised him, "we've been through this before...Penny has a standing invitation from me...Hi Penny."
"Hi Leonard," she smiled broadly, always happy to see the sweet neighbor who had become her confidante and ally against his impolite roommate.
"What's up Penny," Leonard inquired as he reached into the cupboard for a plate and scooped some of the chow mien from his Styrofoam container before handing it to his pretty neighbor.
"Thanks sweetie," she grinned, grabbing the accompanying bottle of water and settling into the chair next to his. "Nothing really, just wanted to touch base with my favorite neighbors," she informed him.
"What a coincidence that you decided to keep us abreast of your exciting life precisely at dinner time," Sheldon sarcastically remarked.
"Well...one of my favorite neighbors," she leaned over and whispered to Leonard.
Chewing his cashew chicken, Sheldon interjected, "which one would that be."
"Damn that Vulcan hearing," Leonard chuckled.
"Leonard," Sheldon continued, "this is diced and not shredded."
"Now you know my burden," Leonard bowed his head toward Penny.
"Hellooo pretty lady," Howard Wolowitz purred at Penny from his seat on the sofa.
"Not with a thousand condoms, Howard," Penny acknowledged him, her stomach feeling queasy because she knew he had seen her topless and was now undressing her in his mind.
"Ah, so there is a number," Howard smirked.
The last of the "nerd four," as Penny referred to them, Raj Koothrapali leaned over and whispered into Howard's ear. "Raj says Hi," Howard relayed.
"Hey Raj," Penny smiled, "nice talking to you." It was a strange quirk of the scientist from India that he was so shy around attractive women that he could only talk to them when inebriated. They were an odd bunch of friends, led by the extremely obnoxious and self-absorbed Sheldon; but Penny had come to enjoy their company...even Howard sometimes.
After dinner, the four scientists from CalTech settled in for some video games and as Penny headed for the door, Leonard slipped a scrap of paper into her hand saying, "he changed it again."
Glancing at it, she read, "pennysafreeloader," and knew it was their wi-fi password. Leonard freely let her share it, but Sheldon always resisted; just wanting to make it difficult for her. "You are such a sweetie," she told him as she quickly leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. The last thing she saw as she closed the door was Leonard grinning from ear to ear, and she thought to herself that he truly was the sweetest man she had ever met. He always gave her a warm feeling inside, even when her life was not at it's pinnacle.
Returning to her apartment, Penny decided to call her acquaintance Adrian, who had referred her to several jobs in the past (as well as employed her as a nude model on occasion), to see if he knew of any available job opportunities. "Oh Hi Penny," he greeted her when he answered, "I'm really sorry but I don't have any current requests to fill; you know I would call you. Have you given any consideration to the web-camera idea...there really is good money to be made."
"Remember," she replied, "I told you I share wi-fi with a couple of computer nerds, and one of their friends would surely hack my laptop...if he hasn't done so already." She was thinking of Howard, of course, and the thought made her shiver.
"Listen Penny," Adrian assured her, "you are one of my favorite models and I would like to help you. I have all sorts of laptops that I don't use anymore; I always get the newest models; and I would be happy to lend you one and install a firewall that I guarantee he could not hack. I'll help you set up your site...you can be one of the girls on my site, and I'll only charge you a connection fee...you can keep all your subscription fees. What do you say?"
The next afternoon Penny drove to Adrian's studio and he set her up to be a web-cam girl. He already had an established site and merely added her to his roster of girls. Adrian gave her a laptop already encrypted with his password so all she had to do was log-on to the internet and she was in business. He assured her that not even a super-nerd could hack his account. Penny spent the rest of the day readying her bedroom for her first web-cast. She hung a pink sheet on the wall behind her bed for a backdrop (and also to block the sight of her personal items, so that no one would get too familiar with her or recognize the setting as her apartment). Penny had made sure her intimate parts were completely bald when she showered that morning and smoothed baby oil into her mound before donning her sexiest purple thong and teddy. To bolster her spirit of exhibitionism, Penny gladly downed three shots of tequila in quick succession.
Adrian had suggested that she just sit naturally on her bed in skimpy attire and chat with the web cam built into his laptop while awaiting for calls. She had expanded on his suggestions by planning to rub baby oil onto her long, shapely legs and maybe her breasts while waiting for customers. The idea was for viewers of her web-cast to subscribe to her personally and then pay for the time, while making suggestions. Private showing were also available for a premium price, and Penny could set her prices for various suggestions. As long as the viewer registered a credit card, she was assured of a nice profit and she could refuse any suggestion if they were not willing to meet her asking price.
Not that she was conceited or narcissistic, but Penny assumed that she wouldn't have to wait long until someone made contact with her, so she placed her laptop on the bottom corner of her bed and made herself comfortable. Stretching her wonderfully long legs in front of her, she began to rub lotion up and down them, from her ankles to her crotch, flashing her transparent purple panties. If someone had been browsing Adrian's web site, it would have been hard to ignore this blonde beauty. Her perfectly round 36 C breasts were plainly visible through the fabric of her teddy, with the shadow of her areola peeking through.