Ack! I'm so sorry I took so long with this update! I just couldn't get started. But, here it is. I hope it hasn't lost any 'popularity'. *giggles* yeah. Right…Chelly! I named a character after you :)

Okie…the good stuff happens in this chappie…I hope :S

~*~

"It's been awhile since you took me out to someplace this nice." Laurie observed, as she sipped her sparkling cider.

"Well, I thought we deserved it. After all, we haven't been out for about a week. Plus, I got twice as many tips at my restaurant, so…"

"A treat for me."

"That's right sweetie." His face expressed happiness, but it was only a mask. His eyes seemed to be out of focus, and turned towards outside at most times.

"Col?" Laurie questioned, shaking him out of his daze, "You're still giving me a ride up to Dan's beach house on Saturday morning right?"

Ohhh lordy. I forgot about that… "You bet."

"What time are we going to leave?" Laurie looked at him intently, a gaze that was only broken by the waiter bringing their food.

"Oh gosh. How long does it take to get up there?"

"About 2 hours?"

"How about around 10am? That'll get us there in time for some lunch."

"Sounds good sweetie." A smile lit up her acutely proportioned face. "Ooo, I'm soooo excited!"

Colby blinked and turned towards her, "Why?"

"We get a whole weekend together, and it's going to be the best party ever!!"

A smile slowly spread across Colby's face as he watched his girlfriend's strawberry blonde hair bounce from her enthusiasm. "Yeah, it is."

Laurie watched Colby as his eyes turned from attentive to far off once again. "Col, you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah…"

Laurie gasped as she came to a conclusion, "Are you afraid this is going to cost too much?"

Staring into her eyes, Colby's voice was calm, "No sweetie. If that were the case, then why would I bring you here?"

"Right…" It was Laurie's turn to gaze off, "Then what's wrong?!"

"Nothing babe. Don't worry about it. Think about this weekend."

"Okay!"

~*~

"He wouldn't tell you?" Chelsea asked, as she closed her locker.

"Nope. Chels, I don't know what's wrong with him!!"

"Maybe he was just tired." The girls started walking towards the cafeteria.

"Maybe…but couldn't he have just told me that? I mean, it's not like it's a big deal. Maybe I'm just imagining it…?"

"Possible…Oohh, you're going to kill me for saying this, but what if he's cheating on you?!"

"Chelsea, if you weren't my best friend, I may have just kicked your ass."

"I know, I'm sorry…but that's the only thing I can think of!"

The two girls rounded a corner and entered the buzzing cafeteria. "What class is he in right now?"

"Cooking. I wish we at least had lunch together."

"Yeah. Speaking of cooking, have you seen their teacher? I mean, I'm a girl, but whoa!" Laurie couldn't help but laugh.

"Hm, no, actually, I haven't!"

"Well, let's go visit at the end of the period."

"Sounds good to me." Laurie smiled, but inside her head, the gears were turning.

~*~

"Alright. Finish these preparations so that we can get started right away for tomorrow class."

"What if we don't want to?" Asked Lewis.

"Then you don't come to class."

"Sweet!"

Monica rolled her eyes. Then, she remembered another announcement that she had to make.

"As some of you here may know, the staff is having a pot luck dinner next month, and I'm going to need some people to help me make some of the appetizers, as well as set up on the day of. Anyone here interested? I need about 3 people, and there are already 2 seniors willing to help out…so I only need one more." Monica paused and scanned the room. "No one? What if I said there were bonus points in hand for this…?"

Those words were magic. As soon as she said that, about 4 people in the class raised their hands, including Lewis.

"I think the people who need the bonus marks should get them." He reasoned.

"I think the people who are qualified should do this job." A chorus of 'ooo's and 'oooh's circled the room. "Colby it is."

Colby smiled inwardly as his classmate slapped him on the back.

"Have fun!" Danny said, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah yeah…"

"Qualified my ass…" Quipped Julie, the world class suck up.

"I'm surprised you didn't raise your hand the first time Ju," Colby teased.

"Same said for you. You're so freakin' smitten for that woman."

"Says who?!"

"Says your eyes. Oop! I better be quiet. Looks like your tamer's here." Julie sneered, and left the class, making sure to bump into Laurie and Chelsea on the way out.

"What did she say?" Laurie asked.

"Something about not making a kitten…um…time for class!"

"You're right…he is acting weird." Chelsea whispered before she split from the two.

"Oh good, so I'm not just imagining it." Laurie sighed as Colby slipped his hand into hers. "What's this about pot luck?"

"Oh, Ms. Geller just wants some student helpers for the staff pot luck dinner in about a month."

"I see…I thought you didn't like extra-curricular activities?"

"Well, I like to cook…so, it's not a big deal." An awkward laugh escaped his lips.

"Hm…yeah…"

~*~

"Good clean-up class! You may leave now. But if anyone asks, you were in History class." Monica joked, as she let her last period out early. "Woo! It's toniiiiight!" Rachel's head appeared at the door.

"What's tonight?"

"My date."

"Your date?! You never told me you had a date!"

"I just did." Monica stuck her tongue out, then realized she was actually wasn't thirteen. "I'm sorry, I'm surprisingly hyper."

"First date, or third?"

"First."

"Whoa. I don't want to be around when it's the third."

"Shut up." Monica sighed, content, as she cleaned up her papers around her desk.

"What time?"

"Three hours from now."

"Where's he taking you?"

"Who said it was a he?!" Monica burst out laughing at the expression on her friend's face. "I'm KIDDING! I don't know. He wouldn't tell me."

"Does 'he' have a name?"

"Uh, no. He's also faceless, with only hands and feet."

"Okieee Mon. You sure you haven't been smoking up with your students?"

Monica rolled her eyes at Rachel. "Whatever…" She stacked her binders together, and placed them carefully into her bag. "His name is Chandler Bing. And, he's a single father...Mm!" Monica exclaimed, "he's extremely cute."

"Lowering your standards there are you?"

"Oh shut it. You'll understand when you see him."

"And that will be…?"

"Um, whenever I feel is suitable."

"Mm, by the way, did you find anyone to help out with the pot luck?

"Yes. And actually, one of them is Chandler's son."

"Oh, how nice…" A silence fell over the two women as Monica continued to fix up her desk and Rachel picked at her manicure. "Well, I better get going. I really don't want to be around when you implode."

"Ha ha. I guess you don't want the details later then…"

"I never said that." Rachel's voice turned from sing-song to serious.

A smile lit up Monica's face once more. "Darn. So close. I'll talk to you later hon."

"You better." With a wink, Rachel turned and left.

"EEE!" Monica jumped like Tigger from place to place. "Good time, here I come!"

~*~

buzzz

"Hello?"

"Hi Monica, it's me, Chandler."

"Oh hi! Let me buzz you in." buzzz

"Thank you."

"Okay. Here goes. Your first date in years. Make it good Monica." She smoothed out her 'first date' baby blue and beige striped skirt. Putting on her beige corduroy jacket, she flipped her freshly curled wavy hair back, and adjusted her baby blue tank top. She strapped on her off white, high heeled sandals and pulled her skirt down to her hips so that the hem hit just above her knees. Placing a necklace around her neck, she made sure the tear-drop pendant was in the perfect place. Last, she put on her silver watch, and adorned her hands with two sapphire rings, given to her by her mother, and grandmother.

Chandler made his way up in the elevator with a pink carnation in hand. It was his trick to keep the women for at least 3 dates. Date #1: Carnation. Date #2: Tulips. Date #3: Roses. He had navy blue slacks, just ironed, on, with a spiffy new black belt ,which matched his shoes. A crisp, light blue dress shirt covered his top, accented with a navy blue coat. He was once told that blue really brought out his eyes, and never did he falter from it.

A deep breath was inhaled on both sides of the door. Chandler raised his right hand, and knocked three times on the door. Monica let out a silent scream, and sauntered over to the door.

Brilliant smiles lit their faces as they saw each other.

"Wow! You look so beautiful." Chandler's excitement showed through in his voice.

"You don't look so bad yourself…hey! We match!" Monica observed, indicating to both their tops. "That's crazy."

Chandler let out a laugh, "It sure is. Are you ready?"

"You bet I am!" Monica grabbed her hand bag from the kitchen table.

"Oh! I almost forgot about this," Chandler said, handing her the carnation.

"Awww, thank you! It's so pretty."

"Hm, I'm tempted to use a line here, but I don't think I should."

"Oh!" Monica laughed, "The one about having the flower remind you of me or something?"

"Yeah that one. I guess you've heard them all."

"Mm, well, not all." She joked, putting the carnation in some water. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

The couple made their way downstairs, where Chandler had a taxi waiting.

"You were probably expecting a limo or something, weren't you?"

"Gosh, no! Actually, I've never been in a limousine, so, it doesn't really matter."

"Oh…" Chandler opened the door for Monica and helped her in. As Chandler got in, the taxi driver left the curb, without a destination having been uttered from Chandler's lips.

"Um, Chandler? Where are we going?"

"I'm keeping it a surprise until we get there. Oh, but we're not eating quite yet."

"Okay…"

Chandler couldn't help but gaze at this incredibly beautiful woman sitting next to him. Monica's attention shifted from the moving buildings, to Chandler. She caught his eye, and they smiled at each other.

Monica gasped as they pulled up to a bowling alley. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?!" Chandler asked, concerned.

"You picked the one game I suck at."

Chandler laughed, "Oooh, I sense a competative woman."

"You bet." Monica took a deep breath. "Alright Chandler. Let's go."

~*~

"You so could not have beaten me."

"How do you know?! If you didn't smack me as I was going to take the shot, I could have gotten a strike." Monica took the last bite of her dessert.

"Well, one strike will not get you 38 points."

"Um, you never know." Monica decided to let the topic drop as she sipped at her wine. "Either way, I had a good time tonight. Win or lose."

"So did I." Chandler signaled for the bill. "I wasn't sure if you would like this restaurant or not, you know, you are a chef."

"True…" Monica giggled, "I used to work at a restaurant."

"Really? Why did you stop?" He reached his hands across the table and took hers into them.

"I didn't really like it that much. Also, I didn't really get along with my colleagues. My friend Rachel managed to make it into the teaching business, and just told me how rewarding it was. So, I decided to pursue that." Monica shivered inwardly as he ran his thumbs along the back of her hands

"Oh, well, it sounds a lot more interesting than sitting in front of a computer."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a data processor. In short, I type numbers into a computer and hope that the charts at meetings point up."

Monica laughed once more. The bill came, and Chandler put it on his credit card. Once everything was processed, Chandler asked, "Want to get going?"

"Sure."

~*~

Their hands never left each other's on the cab ride back. Nor did they part on the way up to Monica's apartment. Neither of them wanted the date to end.

"I've had a great time Chandler. Thank you so much."

"Aw no. Thank you. This has been great." Here it comes. The awkward part of the date. To kiss, or not to kiss?

Monica's heart beat a little faster as Chandler's hand moved up her arm. Is he going to kiss me? Please kiss me!

"Um, may I kiss you?" Chandler asked, and immediately regretted those words as Monica laughed. "Oh gosh, I totally ruined my chance now didn't I?!"

"No way. Only a gentleman would ask…" Monica paused, as to seem not too anxious. "Yes, you may."

Chandler leaned towards her slowly as his hand made its way to her back. Their fingers were still locked together as their lips came in contact. Chandler's lips brushed lightly against Monica's before she too moved towards him. It didn't take long before their bodies were completely pressed together and their lips parted, longing for more. The kiss was sweet, and tender, yet purposeful; a promise of more to come.

A.N. Woot! Please please please review! I would really appreciate it, and maybe, just maybe, the next chapter will be up in less than three weeks ;)