5 Shopping With Sheldon (part 2)

Sheldon POV

We just made it to the Cheesecake Factory when my phone rang. Looking at the caller ID I see Leonard's name pop up and sigh I was having such a good day so far. I answer the pone with a sharp "Hello" Leonard laughs nervously and says, "Hey buddy, wanna catch me up? How's shopping with Ali?" 

I know what he is trying to do, contrary to what he and the guys think I am not clueless when it comes to interactions between men and women. I even know how to interact with other people for that matter. I usually just don't care enough to make an effort to 'be nice' as my Mom would say. Noticing Ali's concerned look I sign and respond and say, "There is not much to catch up on. We have just finished with the Container Store and have stopped for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Shopping so far has been productive and we will complete our shopping after we finish with lunch."

Ali motions for us to get out of the car so she can lock it so that we can head inside to eat. Leonard's voice sounds a pitch higher when he says, "Lunch sounds nice. Does Ali mind if we join you guys?" Raising an eyebrow I say "We?" Leonard laughs at me like I was asking the obvious when he says, "Yeah Sheldon we, as in Howard, Raj, and I." I sigh and turn to Ali and ask, "Do you mind if Leonard, Howard and Raj join us for lunch?" Ali looks at me thoughtfully for a moment but then says, "I don't really mind but I'm not waiting for them to order. We have a lot still to do today and I would like to waste as little time as possible." I completely agree with her thoughts so I relay the message to Leonard and he chuckles nervously and says, "Got it don't keep her waiting. We are heading over and will be there in five minutes save us a seat." Without so much as a goodbye he hangs up. 

Ali and I head inside, I spot Penny in the back off to the side she sees us and smiles while walking over to the hostess points at Ali and says, "I got this., she is my sister and he is my new neighbor." Ali laughs and hugs Penny and says, "We need a big table apparently all of the guys are joining us for lunch. Uninvited I might add." She says that last bit partly under her breath and almost so low you wouldn't be able to hear it, unless you are me that is. We followed Penny to a table in the center of the room that could seat six comfortably.

Ali sat on the end and then looked apprehensive but asked, "Sheldon would you please sit next to me? I really don't like the idea of Howard or Leonard drooling on me while I eat and would like a little distance from them if possible." I do get her need for space from the two hobbit like troll's. Leonard is my roommate and friend but I don't get his incessant need for validation through the opinions of the opposite sex. While Howard is Howard so there is nothing more to say about him, he doesn't even have a doctorate. with all that in mind I nod to Ali and sit to her right to keep the others out of her space. 

Ali POV

"The menu is so large here." I said to myself more than anything but Sheldon responded with "It does look to be quite the selection." laughing I nodded and said "Why don't we stick to the basics then? How about we get burgers and call it a day." Sheldon thought for a few seconds while looking over the menu but then said "That sounds like a good plan it is hard to mess up a burger. Which one will you get?" I look back at the menu for a second I then say, "They have a BBQ bacon cheese burger that looks good so I think I will get that. What about you?

Sheldon looks over the burger options but then says, "I think your choice is the most optimal, so I suppose I will have the same as you." I smile at him it's a small thing us eating the same thing but it kind of makes me happy to find that I have one more thing in common with Sheldon he so far seems to be a decent guy. It was with this thought in mind that I see Penny walk over with my iced tea and Sheldon's lemonade. Setting down our drinks Penny smiles and says, "So what'll it be."

Sheldon looks up at her and says, "We will have two BBQ bacon burgers with the toppings and sauce on the side, the burger must be well done, with fries. Oh and Penny make sure that the chefs use gloves while they handle our food. I don't like people touching my food with their bare hands."

Penny clenches her jaw then looks at me and says, "You put him up to this didn't you? Why can't you ever just be normal at a restaurant?" I look at her pointedly and she huffs while throwing her hands up while saying, "Fine have it your way one complicated burger order coming up you big baby." I laugh awkwardly and turn to Sheldon embarrassed by my sister's outburst and say, "I'm sorry she blew up at you. She thinks I am picky with food from restaurant's which can be true I guess, but I like what I like and I'm not ashamed. I am a little surprised that you are the same as me when it comes to eating out." 

Sheldon pulled himself together after Penny's outburst and said, "I would like to cook at home more but with Leonard, Howard and Raj's dietary restrictions it was becoming more and more difficult so I opted for the 'easy' route. I am ashamed by it but what can you do, so I took to making sure the cleanliness standards were met wherever we eat and set up a rotation for our daily meals to avoid any issues our frequent eating out might cause health wise." 

This made sense to me because who wanted to be a short order cook for your 'friends' not me that for sure so I look at him and say, "I get it I would probably do the same in your shoes. Would you like to cook with me once in a while? It might be fun, that is if you want to." I was blushing at this point I can't believe I just said that. I took a quick peak at Sheldon to see him smiling at me a full blown smile and I relaxed. He nodded and said, "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I would enjoy a home cooked meal every so often. I used to cook with my Memaw when I was younger. I can ask her so send us some of her recipes. Oh...This should be great fun." The way Sheldon lights up when he talked about his Memaw was so sweet.

The guys showed up at the end of our talk about cooking and sat down at our table. Leonard across from me with Howard and Raj next to him thank god none of them tried to make Sheldon move so they could sit next to me. Penny saw them sit down and asked for their orders and they quickly decided Leonard got a burger no cheese while Raj and Howard both got a salad. With their orders out of the way their attention was on me again and I was becoming uncomfortable with their weird ideas of flirting. Out of the three the only one I could stomach was Raj and I have a feeling that's mostly because he can't talk. 

Leonard's eyes followed Penny as she left with a dopey kind of glossed over look until she rounded the corner and then he was eyeing me with that same look and said, "So Ali, how has your day with Dr. Crazy?"

Being taken aback by his attack on Sheldon I was at a loss for words that's when Sheldon said, "I'm not crazy Leonard, my mother had me tested and you know that. If you paid attention more you might remember me telling you this."

Raj and Howard snickered at this but then Howard said, "So Mademoiselle would you like to come over to mine later and see me do some magic tricks? I can make my pants disappear." 

The tremor of revolt that shot through me at his words and the following wink at me had me almost run from the table. If I hadn't seen the same look on Sheldon's face that I'm sure I had on my own I might have done just that. I reached over and took Sheldon's hand on impulse and almost let go when he flinched, he was clearly uncomfortable with the contact but eased when he saw the look in my eyes asking for help. I could tell he could see I was also clearly upset with the presence of our new lunch guests. He gripped my hand back and straightened up while saying, "You know that is never going to happen Howard you aren't good enough for her, after all you only have a masters degree." 

Howard looked embarrassed and mad but said nothing and stopped bothering me at least he took the hint. Leonard was another matter all together, he kept trying to push me uncomfortably and only stopped when Penny showed up with our food. When she was around he would look at her with the same dopey grin and try to flirt, poorly I might add and when she left he was back to me. He screamed desperation and I don't deal well with desperate men. 

We finished our meal in companionable silence with Sheldon giving small facts about one thing or another that I truly enjoyed while the others just rolled their eyes. Sheldon offered to pay for my lunch and after a small back and forth I let him. He left Penny a decent tip, he said it was due to her cautious care of our food but I had a feeling he did it out of kindness. He was upset when he heard of why she had moved in with me but wouldn't tell me why it bothered him so much. Maybe he will tell me some day until then I will just appreciate his kindness. 

Leonard tried to join us at Ikea but was shot down by Sheldon and went home with his tail tucked between his legs, like a kicked puppy. Some might find that sad, like Penny for example but I myself found it very funny to see him turn tail and run at the words of another man. At his departure I turned to Sheldon and said "Shall we get going?" 

Sheldon smiled at me and said, "Yes lets go, we still have a lot of things from your list to purchase."