Chapter 2 : The explanation

Just go along… the good stuff is coming right after that. ;)

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[Ross' room - He and Charlie are kissing, Charlie's blouse had been taken out]

Knock on the door.

"Ross! Open the door! It's me, Joey." He heard some noises in the room and Ross opened the door, but just enough to let his head out.

"Please let me in. I have something to tell you."

"Ok...", he answered. Would you give me a second?

"Well..." the door closed. "I guess I don't have much choice but to wait a second." Inside, Ross asked Charlie to hide. She wasn't sure why, but looking at his expression left no place for discussion and she scanned the room for a good place to hide. She first went in the bathroom, but came back, thinking Joey might want to use it while she was there. She then hid under the bed.

"Why do I have to hide again?", she asked Ross.

"You know Joey... he has strong moral values when it comes to friendship and I really don't feel like spending the rest of my trip to Barbados in a box.

"What?"

"I can't explain right now... Later, I promise." He opened the door. "Hey Joe! Come in!" He noticed that his friend looked very serious. "That can't be good coming from Joey", he thought. "So? What did you want to talk about?"

"It's about Rachel." He sits on the bed. He hears a little sound coming from it but doesn't mention it.

Ross looked concerned. "Is she ok? Did she catch something?"

"Oh, no! She's doing fine!" Joey wasn't sure how to start that conversation. He when right to the point : "I still have feelings for her..."

"Okay", said Ross.

"And this time, she's at the same place as me."

"Oh... You sure? How do you know?"

"She told me"

"Of course..."

"Listen, I'm not asking for your permission or anything. You and her have been over for a while now and you're both grown ups, but I still wanted to know how you felt about it, because your friendship is very important to me."

"I guess I'm kinda shocked... I never really imagined her with somebody else... so it's strange to picture her with you, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean... But you're okay with it, right?"

"I think so… Give me some time to adjust. Just... just don't hurt her, ok? She's had her share of deceptions."

"I won't, you can count on me."

"I know that."

"Thanks buddy." Joey got up and took Ross in a big hug. Even though he wasn't asking for Ross' benediction, he was still relieved that he wouldn't have to endure Ross' jealousy this time. Not that he was afraid of loosing Rachel, but because he wouldn't have to feel guilty. It would also be easier on Emma once they all go back to their regular lives too.

Ross was just about to close the door when Joey said : "By the way, I know about you and Charlie." He grinned and spoke a lot louder for his next line, looking at the bed : "Hey Charlie! Have fun!" He looked at Ross and winked. "Later man." Ross shook his head… He felt foolish for hiding Charlie now. He was only grateful to Joey that he didn't make such a big deal out of this odd situation.

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[Rachel's room]

She was waiting for him. She was impatient to see him, but also very anxious. Has he changed his mind again? What did Ross say? Rachel knew how strongly Joey felt about his friends. Family and friends were the 2 most important things for him and she was worried that he felt bad for what was happening... and what might be happening in the next minutes... or hours. She grinned at this thought. Hours... of making love to Joey. Ever since she moved in with him, she started understanding him better. She soon started to appreciate him for everything that he was, loving the good and the bad as a whole. She never suspected their relationship to take this turn and was the first surprised when she started to have feelings for him a few weeks before. Now, she couldn't understand how she could have lived so close to him all these years and never seen what he had to offer her. He was everything she wanted right now and she was convinced that it would last a life time. Yes. It wasn't just a meaningless fling.