When I woke up the next morning, I found myself alone in bed again. I looked at the clock and saw that it wasn't even 7 o'clock. Since Penny wasn't lying next to me, I couldn't find any peace and decided to get ready. My parents certainly expected me to get them rolls again and very soon as well.

Since my parents hadn't announced any plans for today, I left with a shirt and sweatpants after the shower. I was on my way to the kitchen when Penny came out laughing and I couldn't resist grabbing her and kissing her.

"Good Morning my angel."

"Good morning, my heart. You didn't try hard enough to keep me in bed again today," she murmured against my lips.

"I'm still practicing. I'll become more convincing, I promise," I replied with a smile and began to cover her neck with kisses.

"Sam, I just came from jogging and your parents are in the kitchen," she whispered softly in my ear, which didn't diminish my joy at holding her in my arms again. The longing for her gradually became overwhelming.

"Can't you two keep your hands off each other for once?" My mother's voice made us break apart as she walked past us without paying any attention to us. "By the way, your Dad would be very happy if you made us your delicious scrambled eggs while Penny takes a shower," she called out and I spotted a grin as she turned into the guest room.

"Then I guess I'll hurry to..." I growled displeasedly.

"Me too. See you soon," she replied and I was about to leave when she grabbed me by the shirt again and kissed me in a way that I thought I was going to fall off my feet at any moment, so she sent my pulse soaring, before she left me with one last smile.

I was just putting the eggs on the plates when Penny came back and gave me a kiss on the cheek before sitting down.

"What's happening today, Mom?" I asked her as I put the pan away and sat down.

My Dad was still reading the sports section of the newspaper, while my mother was now putting her section away.

"I don't know what you're planning on doing. We're going to the outdoor pool with the twins today."

"So we're free today?"

"If you want to call it that. Unless you want to go to the outdoor pool with us?"

"I'd love to, Jenni, but I don't have a swimsuit with me and I have to go home to get some clothes anyway."

"Swimsuit? I thought you were more of a bikini type," I replied, grinning to tease her.

"If you want to annoy me, I'll put on my diving suit to swim when we ever are up to that." That silenced me. Even though it suited her perfectly, I would definitely prefer something skimpier.

"I'll drive you right away and help you," I replied instead.

"I just want to get a bag, Sam. I won't break me anything with that."

"Give up, little one. Sam is the perfect gentleman," my father objected and finally put his newspaper down."Except at work!" he added and looked at me meaningfully.

"Which is good," Penny defended me before I could reply. "If Sam took everything from me there, I'd probably feel out of place. I didn't choose the job to have men take everything after me."

"And our Sami needs a woman like you," said Mom, patting Penny's hand across the table. "You'll have a good handle on him."

"Mom, I'm not a child anymore."

"But you still need someone to look after you. Penny, can you spontaneously tell me a situation in which he reacted hastily and thereby put himself in danger?"

"Which of the countless do you want to hear?" she replied with a grin and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"I'm just doing my job!" I growled disgruntledly and continued to eat. "By the way, did that have to happen again last night with the treadmill?" I asked her and saw my parents looking at each other questioningly.

"Oh, Samuel, it wasn't the treadmill this time," my father replied with a grin and my eyes widened.

"Holy sparks. I'm changing," I replied disgusted, as I lost my appetite at the same time and got up.

"Samuel, that's not the fine English way."

"Dad, there are some things you just don't want to hear from your parents!"

"Then you shouldn't have asked," my mother defended her husband, but I took a stubborn stance and went to change.

----------------------------------------------------------

Half an hour later we entered Penny's house.

"Have I ever told you how nice you have it here?"

"Two or three times, I think, and that the silence out here would drive you crazy," she replied with a smile. She was about to go upstairs when I grabbed her hand and pulled her into my arms.

"Do you want to know why?"

"I guess because then you won't know anything about what's going on in Pontypandy when you're free?"

"Almost right. I thought a lot about the fact that it was probably a mistake to buy the house right next to the station, but I couldn't resist. The thought of being able to see you on the days when I'm free was too tempting. That's why your house would have been too far away for me."

"Are you telling me you bought the house because of me?"

"If I had bought a house further away, it would have looked pretty stupid if I walked past the station what felt like a hundred times a day on my days off just to catch a glimpse of you, right?"

"You come by often enough and want to work though."

"Because I much prefer being with you." I kissed her gently and felt her snuggle against me. It wasn't just a harmless kiss, because our emotions quickly overtook us again. I couldn't tell how long we stood there in the hallway kissing each other passionately when Penny began to pull away, but pulled me with her.

"What are you planning to do?" I asked on her lips between two kisses.

"I thought we'd go upstairs. I still have a bag to pack after all," she replied, smiling.

"Are you thinking about packing now?!" I asked confused. Wow, I really needed to work on my persuasive skills.

"Actually, that's the last thing on my mind," she replied, smiling against my lips. "But we shouldn't forget it," she replied, and now a grin appeared on my face as I followed her up.

----------------------------------------------------------

"We should move into your house," I muttered absentmindedly on the way back to Pontypandy three hours later. Even though neither of us were late risers or enthusiastic lazy people, it had been difficult to pull away from each other and say goodbye to the bed. But since we both had to work, we had no choice and while Penny packed her bag, I tidied everything up again.

"Are you thinking about moving in together? On the third day?" I heard the amused tone in her voice, so I only blushed a little.

"I want to be with you. With everything that goes with it. I don't want to miss another minute and I love being able to hold you in my arms every evening." I took her hand again and blew a kiss on it. "But I understand if I move too quickly. I don't want to push you. It was just a thought."

"And why to my place?"

"The peace and quiet is wonderful. You have a wonderful garden; big enough to put up a swing, trampoline and pool at some point. It's far away from Pontypandy and the station."

"And I don't have a white shower curtain," she replied with a grin and I looked at her skeptically, but still smiling, before she gave my hand, which was still holding hers, a little squeeze. "I know where your thoughts are going, Sam and it makes me very happy. I always will be happy, no matter where we live, as long as you are with me. I love you." Now it was she who gave me a kiss on the hand and if I hadn't driven, I would have taken her in my arms again and kissed her. I just couldn't get enough of her.

But I didn't have to wait much longer to be able to do that because we got to my house and I literally jumped out of the car to give her a hug when I finally parked it.

"I love you too. More than you can imagine."

"Oh, I think I was able to get a good picture of that, considering how much trouble you took to show me earlier," she replied with a wink and kissed me with a smile.

"Ditto, my angel. Ditto," I sighed contentedly, just happy that my wishes and dreams were also hers. Now that I was with her and finally had her by my side, not just as a colleague and best friend, everything could only be okay. What could go wrong now?

To be continued...