Hello again!
Wait no more, this is the chapter I know you all want to read! Hope you enjoy it as much as enjoyed writing it ;)
The next morning, Chandler excused himself from Hannah's house earlier than he would have done any other time. Something inside him made him feel like he needed to be at apartment 20 for breakfast, like usual, and deep down he knew it was because he needed to know how Monica's date went.
After showering and changing clothes at his own apartment, Chandler opened the door of the front apartment. He looked around but no one was sitting at the table or the couch as he had expected. Only Monica stood near the stove, cooking their breakfast, later than she usually would.
"Hello! Where's everyone?" – He asked. Monica turned to him and by the defeated look on her face, he knew something was wrong.
"It's Saturday. Rachel's still asleep and she won't be up for a while. The others are probably still asleep too" – She flipped a pancake onto a plate and sat at the yellow chair at the dining table.
"You look good. Your date went well?" – She added with a smile he knew was fake.
He knew something was wrong with Monica and he wanted to comfort her. But at the same time, she was his best friend and he wanted nothing more than to talk to her about the mess his mind was. Except he couldn't because she was the reason for his messed up thoughts. But Chandler didn't want to lie to Monica either, so he opted to answer her question with a half-truth.
"Yeah. I think we might actually be getting somewhere more serious" – He opted to leave out the fact that it was not because he really wanted, but because he needed to move on from his crush on her.
"That's good. I'm happy for you" – Monica rubbed his arm, but she didn't smile. Chandler looked at her and lifted an eyebrow at the unusual behaviour.
"What's wrong, Mon?" – He asked, worried. – "I thought you went on a date yesterday?"
She sighed as she dropped the fork in her hand onto the plate. She looked at him and even though she still avoided his gaze, he could see her eyes glistening with what he was sure were tears about to fall. It broke his heart a little, seeing her like that because of another man.
"Hey, you can tell me anything" – He said reassuringly. Then, she lowered her head in defeat and started to tell him about the previous night, about her terrible date and how the guy just wanted to sleep with her. He felt a wave of anger rise within him. How could that guy treat Monica like that and hurt her feelings? He felt ready to go out and hunt the guy. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, hoping to bring her some comfort.
"Mon, you don't deserve to be like that over a guy" – He started, stroking her hair before he continued.
"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met, but you're also so much more than that. You are one of the most caring people I know and you're sweet and quirky, which makes you an amazing person. And if that guy can't see that, he doesn't deserve you" – As he spoke, Chandler could feel the smile on his own face. He knew he was entering dangerous territory, but he let his heart speak for him because he knew that at that moment Monica needed to hear all those things. He only wished that she could understand the real meaning behind them.
When he finished talking, she lifted her head to look at him. Tears rolled now out of her face so he tightened his grip on her, allowing her to cry all she needed against his shoulder. He could feel her grip on the fabric of his shirt, as she sobbed in his arms. A few moments after, she lifted her head again and for the first time in two weeks, she looked at him straight in the eyes.
Her eyes were red from her tears, but Chandler still felt like drowning in their intense blue. He felt as if he was been pulled to her and before he realized it, he was already moving his head towards her. Luckily, before he could do anything stupid, Monica spoke.
"Thanks, Chandler" – She said in a low, soft voice, with a hint of a smile on her perfect dark pink lips.
He brushed his thumb across her cheek, to clean the tears that framed her face and could feel goosebumps all over his body, just from the touch. He let his finger linger on her skin for a second but as he was about to remove his hand from her face, Monica grabbed his wrist to prevent him from breaking contact. They hadn't broken eye contact yet and the more he stared at her deep blue eyes, the more he felt like a magnet was pulling him towards her. How he wished he could just lean a few inches and kiss her lips. But he knew he shouldn't. It wouldn't be fair on her.
And yet, he couldn't also move away. He could feel the thick tension in the air, like a force pulling them together, and their breaths mixing in the small space between them. And he could almost swear she wanted him to kiss her because her lips were now slightly parted as if waiting for his own. But what really made him lose all self-control was the look in her eyes. They were glowing in a way he had never seen. Telling him silently that she wanted him to close the distance between them.
So, not caring about the woman with whom he just spent the night, Chandler closed his eyes and slowly sealed their lips in a soft and sweet kiss. He had imagined that moment a thousand times in his head and yet his mental images were not comparable to the real feeling. Her lips tasted a bit salty from her tears but were softer than he could ever have imagined and moved against his like that was where they belonged. He could not get enough of the feeling of kissing her, so he cupped her face in his hands, pulling her closer.
She responded by grabbing the nape of his neck and Chandler forgot everything around him, focusing only on the feeling of Monica kissing him back with the same need and urgency as him.
Too soon for his liking, they run out of hair and reluctantly pull apart. His eyes kept fixed on Monica's face. Her eyes were still reddish from being crying, her cheeks were flushed in a light shade of pink and her lips swollen, still slightly parted. God, that woman was beautiful and he wanted to kiss her over and over again. But as they regained their breaths and the moment passed, reality sunk in again and guilt crept over him.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have…" – He started to apologize
"Don't ." – Monica interrupted him with a soft smile on her face and her hands on his shoulders.
But he knew he needed to let go of her. Because he had a girlfriend who cared about him and he shouldn't be cheating on her, even if it was with the woman he truly wished. Besides, Monica probably just had kissed him in the spur of the moment, because she was depressed about her failed date. And he didn't want to mess up his feelings more than they were already.
"I need to go to the bathroom" – Monica said suddenly, breaking the contact between them.
She got up from her chair and walked towards the bathroom. Chandler stood in his chair looking at her, replaying their kiss in his mind and wondering if it would feel that amazing even after a thousand times. He sighed for himself when he realized where his thoughts were going. His feelings were already more messed up than he intended to.