AN/ Sorry for the long wait. I had like a million one-shots clouding my files so I wanted to knock them all out to focus on this. Then I got covid recently so I wasn't writing. (I'm better now) But updates should be better now.
It's been weeks after Chandler had sent Monica's resume to almost every restaurant in New York and she's been rejected more times than she could count. There have been a few interviews, but they always offered a low wage that would barely cover rent. Today however was different. She just left an interview at a restaurant in such dire need of her help, that they nearly doubled her wage from the diner. It was perfect for her. No more waiting tables, grotesque costumes, or dancing on the counter.
When she got home, she hung up her coat by the door, greeting all of her friends sitting in her apartment. Monica's eyes scanned the living room for her boyfriend, but it seemed as though he was still at work. "You guys, I just got hired as a head chef!"
"That's great!" Phoebe rotated on the couch, resting her arm on the back to face her. "Where is it?"
"It's an Italian restaurant on 5th called Allesandro's. I went in for a sous chef position, but he liked my food so much that he hired me as head chef," she smiled. Monica stood behind her, now talking to the group. "I mean, their food is terrible, but he said I can fix the menu and make it better. This is just the perfect job for me."
"I knew you would get something soon," Ross chimed in from the side chair.
She moved from behind the couch to sitting on the armrest of Ross's seat and checked her watch. It was too late to start cooking dinner now. Joey already looked hungry, she could tell. After years of feeding her friends, she seemed to know the signs of what they needed before they did most of the time. "Anyone want pizza?"
"Oh, I do! I'm starving." Joey leaned his head back, rubbing his stomach.
Monica moved to the kitchen to order the pizza so she wouldn't disturb their TV watching. It was the usual order of three pizzas, enough for all of them and Joey. When she sat back down with everyone, they were talking about Rachel's new job. Her department got eliminated which meant her new job was in personal shopping. It was a huge step-down career-wise so she almost felt guilty about celebrating her new job now.
A knock at the door pulled Monica out of her thoughts and she went to answer it. Stopping by her purse at the table, she grabbed money for the food. Everyone gathered around the table to grab their slices before returning to the living room. Phoebe sat on the floor with Joey to eat at the coffee table while Monica and Rachel sat on the couch and Ross returned to his seat.
Monica liked nights like this. It was just her friends sitting around doing nothing special. There were no events or parties to worry about. This was most of their nights, but she still appreciated having this group of close friends. Since she didn't have nearly any friends growing up, it was nice that they were here, even uninvited. The only thing missing was her best friend. Her boyfriend.
She checked her watch again and turned to the door. It was nearly nine o'clock. He had told her this morning that he would be late, busy catching up on the work he's missed. Chandler has been taking days off work just to be with her. They were in the fun exciting phase of sex and talking. She thought she knew everything about Chandler because they'd been friends for so long, but she learned more about Chandler in the past few weeks than ever before. Even the smallest things like his favorite book (Pacific Edge by Kim Stanley Robinson) to the bigger things like the real story of his childhood.
There was something so fascinating about him that Monica loved. She could listen to him talk about nothing in particular for hours. Monica was starting to miss him, even though they saw each other at lunch that afternoon. As if he was reading her thoughts somehow, Chandler walked into the apartment and put his briefcase down on the counter.
"Hello children," he greeted unenthusiastically. Chandler looked inside the pizza boxes, contemplating grabbing a piece when suddenly his shoulders were grabbed and he stumbled back. Disoriented, he blinked a few times to process what was happening. Monica was standing in front of him with a large grin on her face and he smiled back at her. Chandler held her hips to keep her steady, temporarily forgetting about everyone else. "Hi, what's going on?"
"I got a new job thanks to you! You're looking at the new head chef at Allesandro's," Monica said proudly.
"That's great!" His jaw dropped and he pulled her closer into a hug. After the long day he's had, getting yelled at by his boss for missing work, he needed the good news. "I can't believe this. I mean, I can because you're a great chef, but wow. That's amazing."
Monica giggled at his stammering as she held onto his shirt. She leaned into him a little more as she whispered, "Maybe tonight you can come over and we can celebrate?"
"You know I won't say no to that," he hummed quietly. They got so lost in each other that Chandler almost missed Joey asking him for another slice of pizza. Hiding this was getting harder, but telling everyone sounded like the worst option of the two. He hoped that none of them noticed their proximity or whispering because now was not the time to tell them.
He reluctantly pulled away from her to get his roommate and himself food. The rest of the night they sat with the group, stealing touches and looks while listening to their friends talk about their days. Once everyone went to bed, Chandler snuck back over to celebrate his girlfriend's new job properly.
–
The first few days of Monica's new job were hell. She loved the work and being in a kitchen again was more than she could have ever asked for. It was her co-workers that were the issue. They all hated her because she got a relative fired, something she had no control over. Not to mention she was running the kitchen properly even if it meant harder work. This job was important, she finally got her dream and now she wasn't sure why she wanted this so badly. While everyone was at the coffee house, she took the opportunity to be alone in her apartment. Monica curled up on the couch, looking at her chef's hat that was vandalized by the waiters. When she heard the door close, she looked up to see Chandler, standing there with his hands in his pockets.
Chandler approached her cautiously, kneeling behind the couch in case she wanted space. "Hey, you okay?" He gently stroked her hair, smiling slightly when she leaned into his touch.
"Everyone hates me," she muttered with a slight sniff. Monica handed him her hat, "Look at this."
"Don't pay attention to this babe," He took it from her when he saw the written words, 'quit bitch' on it. Chandler put the hat down behind the couch, out of her sight then walked to the other side to sit by her. "You're making the restaurant better. Trust me, I've sent so many people from work over there and they love your food."
"You have? I didn't know that" she moved closer, staying curled up as he wrapped his arms around her, leaning into him more. "It's just hard, no one seems to take me seriously."
"I know," he mumbled in understanding, not sure of what else to say. They both stayed cuddling with each other, Chandler kissing her forehead in comfort. He just wanted to protect her from anything that would make her upset. "There was a director, Orson Wells, who at the beginning of the movie would hire somebody, just so he could fire them in front of everybody. Then they would all know who's boss. You could do that and maybe they'll see how serious you can be."
A chuckle escaped her. The idea was ridiculous, she had no other option. Yelling didn't seem to work because they just laughed. She could fire someone for real and get it over with, but they would probably end up hating her more. She needed this job, quitting wasn't an option. "I suppose, but who am I supposed to hire for this? Or, what if it doesn't work?"
"You can ask Joey, he's not doing anything right now." Chandler gently ran his fingers through her hair, just watching her fiddle with her shirt. "And if it doesn't work, then I'll go to your restaurant and yell at everyone myself."
The image of Chandler yelling at her staff made Monica laugh again. She lifted her head to look at him properly and gently pushed the hair away from his forehead. "I don't see that going well, but I'll ask Joey. Did you notice that your hair is getting longer?"
"Is this your way of telling me to get a haircut?"
She rested her arm up on the back of the couch when she faced him. Monica ran her fingers through his hair, watching his eyes close. "No, I like it. It's sexy like this," she murmured, gripping the hair on the nape of his neck.
When her grasp on his hair tightened, he practically moaned, laying his head back. Chandler could feel her smug smile on him, "why do you always do that?"
"Do you not like it?" Monica teased. Anytime she would pull his hair, she loved hearing him groan. Even if she asked about this kink, he would deny it, she's tried before. She could tell by the light shade of red growing on his cheeks that he was embarrassed by his unspoken answer
Just as she leaned in to kiss him, Joey burst through the door, immediately going to the fridge. He seemed unaware of his friends jumping away from each other when he greeted them normally. "Hi, guys."
"Hey Joe, can I ask for a favor?" Monica smiled, hoping to convince him into helping her at work.
–
When Phoebe told the group that she was going to carry her brother's baby, Monica turned to Chandler with a smile. It was no secret that Monica wanted babies, he knew that, but it was too soon for them. That didn't mean she couldn't mess with him though. The look in his eyes of complete panic and confusion wasn't lost on the others. "Calm down Chandler, it's Frank's baby, not yours," Phoebe said as she left the apartment to go to the doctor's office.
"This is why he's never getting married, he's too scared of everything," Rachel muttered, sipping her water bottle.
Most of the group laughed while Chandler rolled his eyes at the comment and Monica grabbed his thigh under the table. "I don't think you know me that well," he muttered.
Rachel scoffed in disbelief, "Well, I know more about you than you think."
"I think Chandler and I know both of you better than you know us. I mean like Monica can only eat tic-tacs in even numbers. I don't know what that's about, and you. You can't eat in restaurants by yourself," Joey supplied random facts about the girls to prove his point. "Everyone on the planet knows Chandler is scared of women, that's not impressive."
"Yeah," Chandler backed Joey up until it dawned on him what he said. His eyebrows furrowed at the comment and he attempted to correct it, "Wait, I'm not scared of women."
Monica covered her mouth in her hand to stifle her laughter. In her experience, he wasn't afraid of anything when it came to women, but they couldn't know that. Rachel was still arguing, feeling the need to prove her friendship knowledge to the guys."That doesn't mean anything, I bet if we asked you real questions we would do better than you."
The comment wasn't supposed to mean anything, but Monica's ears perked up at the sound of a challenge. It all escalated quicker than any of them realized and before they knew it, Monica, Chandler, Rachel, and Joey were all sitting on the couch facing Ross. The rules were simple, one right question was one point, and the winner gets a hundred dollars.
For Chandler, the questions about Monica were the easiest because they've stayed up together talking about anything and everything all at once. Even before they started dating, he knew her better than anyone else so his quick responses weren't too suspicious to anyone.
It was the same for her, there wasn't a question about him that Monica didn't know. He's talked to her about everything in his life, including the things he was insecure about. Ross asked the name of Chandler's parents' Vegas show and she remembered the conversation they had a few nights ago. "¡Viva Las Gaygas!" Monica shouted. Her boyfriend rolled his eyes at her and she smirked, knowing that she got it right.
"Unfortunately that is correct," he muttered reluctantly. The game was now at a tie and Ross had prepared a lighting round. The stakes of the bet continued to get higher and higher until Rachel wagered that the guys get rid of their pets. Chandler hated that idea, but before he could say anything Joey wagered the girls' apartment. He glanced at Monica, hoping she wouldn't take it, but her competitive side took over and she shook hands with Joey.
Rachel quickly pulled Monica aside to talk about giving up the apartment while Chandler talked to Joey. "Dude, I don't want to get rid of the birds. This apartment is nice and all, but what if we lose?"
"We won't. You seem to know all the Monica questions so that gives us a better chance." He looked over his shoulder at the girls whispering to each other. "They're totally freaked out, this is gonna be easy."
The lightning round started with the guys answering first, but Chandler was torn. He didn't want to make Monica move out of her apartment, but giving up the birds wasn't an option for him either. Joey quickly answered the first question about Monica's nickname in hockey and Chandler answered Rachel's favorite movie.
When Ross asked about Monica getting a pencil stuck in her body, Chandler looked over at her with raised eyebrows. This wasn't something he knew about her, but he was going to ask about it later. He whispered the first body part he could think of in Ross's ear, although he was way off. For the last question, Joey ended up guessing it correctly and the guys got four points in total. As the girls answered at a rapid-fire speed, Chandler worried that they would have to get rid of his birds.
"What is Chandler Bing's job?" Ross looked at the women for their answer, seeing their blank expressions.
Monica looked at Rachel completely panicked, time was running out as they needed two more questions to beat the guys. In desperation, she looked over at Chandler for help, hoping her boyfriend would take pity on her, but he only stared back at her in disbelief. Monica groaned, unable to think of his job title, trying to remember all of the times he's complained to her about the office. "It's umm, it has something to do with transponding…"
"Oh!" Rachel cheered like she had the answer. "He's a transponce- transponster!"
"That's not even a word!" Monica shouted, becoming frustrated with the looming threat of a loss. "No! I can get this! I can get this," she insisted, refusing to let them win. The timer stopped and Monica felt like the Earth had stopped spinning. She felt sick, almost dropping down to her knees as the guys cheered for their victory.
"I call Monica's room!" Chandler said immediately, raising his hand in the air. He did feel bad about kicking her out, there was no way Joey was going to stay in his girlfriend's room for who knows how long. He argued with his roommate about who got the bigger room as they went across the hall to pack up their stuff.
–
The first night in Chandler's room, now her room, Monica hated it. She's slept in here before, but that was with her boyfriend by her side and his toys scattered on top of his dressers with movie posters on the walls. Now the room was filled with boxes and every trace of Chandler was gone. He offered to let her keep everything in her room so she wouldn't have to move at all, but she didn't think that was fair to everyone else who had to move. Monica looked at her watch in the darkness, trying to read the time. It seemed safe to go across the hall at this late hour without getting caught.
They only snuck into each other's apartments if it was planned, but tonight she wanted to be in her own room, in her boyfriend's arms. When she walked into apartment twenty, the living room looked completely different. It felt weird to see it this way. The Barca loungers in place of the couch, the foosball table instead of her dining room table, and their entertainment unit where her french poster used to be. Monica kept her head low, walking towards her old bedroom door. She knocked softly and waited for an answer, but heard nothing so just walked in. Chandler was asleep. Closing the door quietly behind her, she walked over to the bed and gently shook him.
"Babe, what are you doing here," he muttered as he shifted. Chandler moved his blanket out of the way for her to lay next to him.
"I missed you," she hummed, taking in his familiar scent. Monica climbed into his bed and wrapped her arms around his waist as she laid on his chest like a pillow. "Plus, your room is small and cold without you in it. I think it misses you."
He chuckled lightly, "well I can't let you be cold." Chandler draped the blanket over her and pulled her closer. "Why don't you just stay with me until this ends? No one will know and you'd be more comfortable here."
"I can't do that, you're basically asking me to live with you." She focused on Chandler's t-shirt, picking at it nervously at the fabric. "Don't you think it's a little too soon for that?"
"Well you'll always have an extra apartment to go to," he joked lightly, but Monica only looked at him, waiting for his serious answer. "It's soon, but I just want you to be comfortable. Whenever you need space I can just take the couch it's no big deal. Besides, we're not moving in, it's just staying the night together for a few days. How long do you think this will last?"
The risks of going back and forth between apartments seemed too great to even consider this. However, staying in Chandler's room, in the dirty boys' apartment when she could just be here with him sounded nice. Monica sighed, curling up into his chest, "I guess we can try it. Just promise you won't get sick of me."
"How can I get sick of a woman who sneaks into my room while I'm asleep?" Chandler smirked slightly at his own joke until Monica hit his shoulder. He didn't see that happening, but anything was possible. Even if something went wrong, he liked to believe they could work through it this far into their relationship. "I won't get sick of you I promise," he said just to calm her worries.
–
Their plan of Monica staying with Chandler was going better than they expected. It helped that Monica was always the first out of everyone to wake up already so she was able to sneak back in the mornings easily. The nights however were more tricky because sometimes Joey stayed up late just watching television. One of the biggest problems Monica had with the change is not being the host of her friends anymore. Taking care of everyone was her job and she loved it. Now it felt like she had been replaced and she was losing control.
On her day off, she had decided to redo the guy's apartment into something livable for Rachel and into a place where everyone would want to come over again. It was honestly more work than she was expecting to take on, ripping their carpet up and polishing the wood floors in its place was the biggest project she had. Monica also unpacked all of the boxes, setting up the apartment as neatly as possible. It looked like a completely different place once she was done with it.
Monica unpacked all her things in Chandler's old room and noticed her bed took up ninety percent of the small space. It never occurred to her how much bigger her room was in comparison. The only solution she could come up with was to put the mattress in storage so it was out of the way. Since she was sleeping with Chandler anyway, there was no use in having it take up the room.
When she knew the rest of her friends were out, she went over to apartment twenty and saw her boyfriend watching television. "Babe, come here for a second," Monica went over to him as he spun around in his chair.
"I don't know, Mitch is about to judge the bikini contest," Chandler protested while Monica took his hand. He followed her across the hall anyway, leaving Baywatch to play on his television. When they entered apartment nineteen, his jaw dropped, seeing the changes. "Woah, Monica. How did you do this?" He asked, looking at the floor in the living room. He's barely seen her the past two days and now it makes sense.
"Just a lot of work," she chuckled weakly, wrapping her arms around his waist. Monica's eyes were struggling to stay open as the lack of sleep was catching up to her. "It looks nice, right?"
"It looks very nice," he agreed. Chandler noticed how tired she was. Her weight was heavy against his side the more her body relaxed into him. He walked over to the couch with her trailing next to him. Already half asleep, Monica let him pull her down to the sofa and she laid across the cushions, resting her head on his lap.
One by one the rest of the group came over and saw the new apartment. Phoebe "Did she work for two days straight?"
"I think so," Chandler whispered while he watched her sleep. He chuckled nervously, hoping they wouldn't think too much about Monica sleeping on his lap. "She just kinda…passed out."
"She must be exhausted," Ross sighed right when Rachel came into the apartment and joined him in the kitchen.
Chandler was barely listening to her talk about Joshua, the client she had a crush on while he was focused on Monica in his lap. From what he heard Rachel was meeting him at a club and trying to convince Ross to go out with a woman named Emily. He didn't see this going well, but it was best for him to keep his opinion to himself. Monica says that he's not the best at giving advice and he had to agree. Ross and Rachel's situation was complicated, he could barely keep up with it anyway.
"I don't want to take out a random woman I've never met to the opera so you can hit on some random guy Rach," Ross argued.
Rachel groaned in frustration and stomped her foot like a child. She was practically whining in desperation, "I thought we were in a place where we could be happy for each other. I thought we moved on? Please, Ross?"
Chandler tune the rest of the conversation out when Monica stirred in his lap. Two days without sleep, she didn't need to be woken up by their friends fighting. He thought about moving her, but he worried about waking her. The volume of their voices increased further, making Monica shift. Chandler gently ran his fingers through her hair in an attempt to soothe her. "Guys, either go across the hall or stop arguing. You're going to wake up Monica and she needs to sleep."
He didn't yell, but his tone was firm enough to make the apartment go silent. It was a new side to him that Phoebe has never seen before. He wasn't one to get mad like that very often and if he did, he brushed it off with a joke. This time he sounded like an angry father scolding his children.
Once Ross and Rachel left to continue their small spat, Phoebe saw Chandler take a deep breath. She watched him stroke Monica's hair and her body relaxed into him further. They've always been close, but she never realized how close. "I didn't expect you to have a firm hand like that. I like this new side of you."
Chandler chuckled as he shook his head slightly, "Are you flirting with me?"
"Maybe," Phoebe teased back. She watched him turn his focus back to Monica and his smile changed into something else she couldn't place. His arm moved to her hip, moving his thumb in a small circle and Phoebe smiled. She scooted forward to the edge of the chair, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she whispered, "Are you going to stay in Monica's apartment forever?"
"No," he answered quickly. "It's a nice place, but it's hers y'know? She hates it here. Besides, it's just a stupid bet, I didn't want to switch apartments in the first place. It was Joey's idea, but I couldn't think of a reason to say no without-"
Her eyebrows raised when he stopped mid-sentence. "Without? Is there something Chandler Bing isn't telling us?"
"No, no-no. You know I'm bad at keeping secrets. I just meant without…y'know." His eyebrows furrowed trying to think of something to say besides 'without saying she's my girlfriend.' The gaze in Phoebe's eyes became more intense with interest. He sighed and chewed on his bottom lip, "Y'know, ruining the mood of the game."
The smile on her face only grew, "You're a bad liar, you know that?"
"Why would I lie? What else would it be?"
"It's so obvious. You don't want to go with the bet and inconvenience Monica, you play with her hair and you yell at your friends for almost waking her up. You have a crush on Monica." Phoebe leaned back in her chair triumphantly.
His jaw fell open as he searched for what to say, looking between her and Monica. "I do not."
"Of course you do. It all makes sense now. That's why you're always sitting next to her and staring at her. Don't act like you haven't because we've all noticed," she shrugged casually.
"I care about her as I care about all of you. If you wanted to sit next to me you should've asked, there's enough Chan-love to go around," he smiled. "If you want to meddle in people's love lives, there's one across the hall."
Phoebe sighed in disappointment. She was usually good at reading people, but he didn't seem to be moving on the subject. "Yeah, but they're so predictable. We know he's going to end up going to the opera for Rachel anyway. You, however, haven't been with anyone since Janice and look at Monica like she's special to you."
"Janice cheated on me, that stuff takes time to heal from. Even if I did like Monica, Ross would kill me. It's like one of the guy rules not to date your friend's sister." Chandler ran his fingers through her hair as guilt built in his chest. They talked about this before, but that didn't mean he felt any better about it.
"That and she's a little out of your league," she muttered. "But it's still sweet that you have a crush on her. I bet she'll be flattered."
He rolled his eyes at the comment and denied the accusations again. Phoebe was relentless once she had an idea about anything. Especially now that she was pregnant she believed that she had a sixth sense about things. Of course, she was right, almost, but it wasn't her business. Chandler heard a woman across the hall talking with Ross and Phoebe went to look through the peephole in the door.
"I was right, he is going to the opera. This girl is cute too," Phoebe said from the door.
"Well, you're right about one thing at least." He mumbled while focusing on Monica again, just watching her sleep. Chandler started to like waking up early in the morning just so he could catch a few minutes of her sleeping in his arms. It was hard not to kiss her and lay down so he could hold her properly. But with Phoebe already thinking he had feelings for her, it was just too risky, so he stayed put just playing with her hair for hours.
–
It's been two weeks since Ross started to date Emily while Rachel was still failing to ask out Joshua. They still haven't switched their apartments back and everyone thought that Monica was sleeping on her floor when she was sleeping with Chandler. It was unbelievable how they were getting away with this, he even started to fear that they all knew but haven't said anything. Knowing their friends, they wouldn't have been able to keep it in long if they knew.
Monica watching her brother start a new relationship was exciting for her since her relationship was a secret. Chandler could tell she was getting antsier about wanting to tell everyone because she was almost living vicariously through them. Ross asked why she cared so much and all she said was he was living her fantasy of falling in love with someone from a different country. It had made him laugh, but he covered it with a cough at the last moment.
Today, however, Ross was moping. Since Rachel was still struggling to get Joshua's attention, she threw an impromptu party for Emily, ruining Ross' perfect last night with her. Somehow the party had gone from just socializing to sitting in a circle with a bottle in the center. Chandler wasn't sure how they got here, but Rachel seemed eager to have a chance at kissing her crush.
He eyed Monica from across the circle, wondering if she was as nervous as he was. Spin the bottle was a harmless game, but he didn't want to see her kiss Joey or even someone like Gunther. It felt disturbing just thinking of it. Chandler watched Monica spin the bottle, keeping his eyes on it as it spun. It stopped, pointing directly at him and he wasn't sure if he should be grateful that it wasn't anyone else, or scared that he had to kiss her in front of everyone. His eyes met hers from across the circle and she seemed just as nervous as he was. It didn't help that their friends were whistling and encouraging them to kiss.
Monica made the first move to the center of the circle and he followed. In a game like this, all that was expected was a quick peck so he shouldn't be nervous. Except he was. He's done a lot of unspeakable things with her, but kissing her so publicly had his heart beating in his chest. Chandler leaned in and connected his lips to hers. They both lingered for a second longer than they should have, which wouldn't have been a big deal if Phoebe wasn't eyeing him once he returned to his spot. She seemed to be more confident in her theory of Chandler's crush and he felt his cheeks becoming warm under her gaze. He could hear Monica's chuckling from the other side and he rolled his eyes.
It was his turn to spin the bottle next so he spun it without care. It didn't matter who he had to kiss if he could get this game over faster. The bottle spun with everyone's eyes on it when it stopped on Monica. Chandler didn't stop the sigh from escaping from his lips, putting his head in his hands.
"Two in a row! You have to use your tongues now," Phoebe smirked.
They moved back to the center of the circle, standing on their knees as they looked at each other. He temporarily forgot everyone else around them as he looked into her eyes. Chandler leaned into her ear and whispered, "You don't have to do this, y'know?"
"Do you think I'm going to lose a game just because I have to kiss you?" She whispered back with a small chuckle.
"You're right, that doesn't sound like you at all. Although, I think I'd prefer seven minutes in heaven," he quipped.
Monica hit his shoulder, pushing him back slightly with an amused smile. She's been watching him the whole game and could tell how nervous he was. They've tried to hide their affection for so long that it felt wrong to do this with everyone's eyes on them. The first kiss was quick and nothing anyone could read into, but this was different. Every time she kissed him she ended up getting lost in his soft lips. They've both created a habit of touching and grabbing each other when they kissed, who knows what would happen now. What if she grabbed his hair in the way she knew he liked by accident and he moaned like he always did? Or what was going to happen if he moved his hands down to her ass and pulled her into him?
Phoebe's voice broke the tension between them, "Come on, kiss already."
They met each other in the middle and for a second the kiss was tentative until Chandler expertly slipped his tongue between her lips. His hand moved to her hair like it has so many times before, holding the back of her neck. Everyone around them was forgotten as he became engulfed with the smell of her perfume and the taste of her tongue moving with his. Monica gripped the front of his sweater vest forcing him to pull away before it went any further. They looked at each other, trying to catch their breath.
"Woah, is that the kind of game we're playing?" Joey smiled.
"Seriously, what was that?" Ross watched Chandler move back to his spot in the circle.
He shrugged slightly, fixing his sweater vest to avoid eye contact. Maybe it was the ideal time to confess that he was in love with the woman he just sucked faces with, but he wouldn't. Coming clean was something he and Monica had to do together. "It's just a game. Maybe I'm just a good kisser."
Monica chuckled at the confidence in her boyfriend before she spun the bottle for the third time. When it landed on Chandler again, she wasn't sure what else there was to do unless this actually did turn into seven minutes in heaven. She started to move into the circle anyway until Ross grabbed her arm, holding her back.
"Why don't we let someone else go," Ross said, staring at Chandler skeptically.
Chandler cleared his throat and looked at Rachel. The whole point of this was so she could kiss Joshua. "Yeah, let's let Rachel go next."
As their friend spun the bottle, Chandler and Monica sat smiling at each other with a knowing look in their eyes. It was possible someone in the group caught on, but they could deal with it later. For now, they felt like they were floating on a cloud after months of hiding, they had a moment of open honesty in front of their friends.