Anything for Love
Chapter 11: The One Where Joey Moves In With Phoebe
Phoebe and Joey finally called their friends back, who apologized profusely. They said that though, they don't approve of Joey and Phoebe getting married to soon, they still loved them and would even help Joey move.
Phoebe and Joey both forgave their friends, but their disapproval of their engagement still left them feeling hurt.
Joey was sad to move out of the Plaza, because it had a lot of good memories for him and Phoebe, but he knew it was time. He moved in with Phoebe. He didn't have much more than a suitcase or two, so he didn't really need their friends' help. His mother was going to have his things from LA shipped to him. He had made a note of what he wanted, and was letting either his sisters or parents keep whatever of the bigger furniture of his that they wanted. Phoebe had most everything they needed already, and he wanted a fresh start anyway. It was mainly more clothes, some art, and some kitchen utensils he loved. His bed was a single, so he let his nephew have it. He left his dresser for his nephew too. He figured he could just buy a new one instead of spending a fortune to have that one shipped to him. Of course his penguin had already come to NY with him.
"Wow, this closet is so small!" Joey said as he unpacked the clothes he had. The rest hadn't even arrived yet, and the half of closet space that Phoebe gave him was barely enough for what little he already had in New York!
"Sorry. That's one of the only bad parts of living in New York City, they charge you a ton for very little," Phoebe said with a blush.
"It's okay. I'll make due. Do you think we could fit another dresser in here?" He knew that Phoebe was using the entirety of her own dresser now that it was packed with the stuff she had had to take out of her closet to make room for his clothes.
"Maybe if you get a smaller one. Man, I wish they had never put that wall back in. This room used to be twice as large when Rachel was living here," Phoebe said with a pout.
Joey smiled. "It's okay. We'll make do." He really didn't have that many clothes being shipped to him. A smaller dresser should cut it. He would just have to either limit his clothing buying from now on, or get rid of some older stuff to make room for newer stuff. It was no big deal.
He finished unpacking his clothes, and then he grabbed his penguin and looked at the bed. He hesitated.
"What's wrong?" Phoebe asked, noticing the weird look on his face.
"Are those clean sheets? It just kind of grosses me out being in a bed that you and Mike…." He trailed off. He didn't even want to say it.
Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Duh! Of course they are! Mike left me nearly a year ago, Joey. I think I'd have changed the sheets by now." She smirked.
"What about the blankets and the comforter?" Joey asked, nodding toward them.
Again, Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Yes, they are clean too."
Joey still hesitated. "I think we should get a new bed."
"Why?" Phoebe asked. "This bed is still in great condition."
"It's just that… I know everything is clean and all, but it still feels weird being on a bed that you and Mike used to have sex in. A lot apparently seeing as you guys were trying hard for a baby." Joey looked away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that last part up."
Phoebe smiled sadly, but shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's fine. Our divorce is going through any day now. I'm over it. Sure. If you want a new bed, that may be a good idea. I can probably get some good money for this one."
"Maybe you could give up the comforter and blankets too. And any sheets you used with Mike?" Joey asked.
Phoebe sighed. "I think that's unnecessary, but if that makes you feel better, then fine. I can always sell them with the bed as a packaged set and get even more money." She was slightly annoyed, but at the same time it was kind of thrilling that Joey was so bothered by her and Mike. He must really love her, she knew. Monica and Rachel didn't know anything, and neither did Chandler or Ross for that matter!
"Thank you." Joey kissed her. "We can go shopping for a new bed and bedding this evening, and then…." He pulled her close, "we can christen it all tonight." He kissed down her neck. "And tomorrow…" He kissed her neck further down. "And—"
"Keep talking like that and we're going to be using this bed right now," Phoebe teased.
Joey grinned, and walked away from her to put his penguin on the couch for the time being. "I can wait. You're worth the wait." But really, he just couldn't get himself to use the bed that Phoebe had slept with Mike on. They'd definitely have to buy a bed one that night, he knew!
"Phoebs! Let's get this one!" Joey called out as he and Phoebe perused the mattress store. They had had dinner that night, and then picked out a bed that would be delivered and set up later that night, but now they needed a mattress to go with it.
Phoebe walked over to the bed Joey was lying on. "Look!" He said. He wiggled around on the mattress, and then rolled over revealing a sunken down spot on the mattress that was his outline. "Isn't that cool? It's memory foam!"
"Cool! Let me try." Phoebe plopped herself down next to him and wiggled herself deep into the mattress. She then got off the bed and looked at the spot where she had just lain. Sure enough, there was a Phoebe-shaped spot in the mattress. "That is so cool!"
Joey meanwhile had rolled onto his stomach and pressed his face into the mattress. He then lifted himself up and looked. He laughed when he saw his face imprinted in the mattress. "We have to get this one," Phoebs!"
Phoebe got back onto the bed and laid down on it. "Well, it is pretty comfortable. I love the way I sink into it." She shrugged. "All right, this will do."
Joey purchased the mattress and that would also be delivered in a couple of hours. At both places, he had paid a little extra money for same day delivery even though it was late. He had also promised a handsome tip to whomever delivered their new bed and mattress.
Their last stop was a bedding store whose name was simple and to the point—The Bedding Store. It was full of unique bedding, so they knew it would be the perfect place for them to get their new bedding.
They picked out two new sheet sets and a new comforter. They already had their own pillows. Joey had brought his own to New York, and Mike had taken his own pillow with him. Phoebe had kept her own, so all was good in the pillow department.
"This comforter is pretty!" Phoebe said, picking up one with a rose pattern on it.
Joey made a face and shook his head. "Na, it's too girly." His eyes lit up. "How about this one?"
Phoebe made a face when she saw a comforter with a huge hamburger on it. "That's so tacky. No. I will not have meat on my bed even in picture form!"
Joey pouted. "Well I thought it looked delicious!"
Phoebe shot him a look. "We're getting it to sleep under, Joey; not to eat."
"It still would have been cool," Joey grumbled under his breath.
"How about this one? This one's pretty, right?" Phoebe held up one with a beach scene on it.
"I was thinking this one!" Joey held up one with a New York City scene on it.
Phoebe shook her head. "It's too corny! We live in New York City, so why would we use a New York City comforter?"
"Because we live in New York City!" Joey said.
Phoebe rolled her eyes. "No. We're getting the beach one, or a plain color one. You pick!"
Joey wrinkled his nose. "Plain colored is so boring! Besides, all they have left in our bed size are black, white, and red. I like blue or green!"
"Well there's a lot of blue and some green in the beach one, so we'll get that!" Phoebe said.
"But we don't have a beach house!" Joey argued.
"We don't need a beach house to have a beach comforter. We're getting this one," Phoebe said, already walking away with the beach comforter in her cart.
Joey sighed. "All right, all right…."
Three hours later, their bed was set up with the mattress as both had been delivered. Phoebe had made the bed with their new bedding, and everything looked great. The old bed was dismantled for the time being and shoved away in a corner of the living room. Phoebe had texted her friends to see if anyone wanted it, and Monica said she did to put in her grandmother's old apartment. She and Chandler hadn't gotten a chance to refurnish it yet, and it would save them money using Phoebe's old bed, mattress, and bedding. They were going to rent a truck to pick it up and deliver it sometime the next day.
"It's nice that Monica's restaurant brings in enough that they can afford to have a city apartment as well," Phoebe stated.
"Chandler gets paid pretty well too," Joey added. "It will be nice to hang out in the old place as a group again."
"Yeah." Phoebe smiled at the thought.
"You know, we could get a house by them and still have your grandmother's apartment," Joey suggested. "Between the two of us, we can afford it."
Phoebe looked at him. "Joey, I thought you agreed that it's best to live here. It wouldn't make sense to buy a house yet still live here. I don't want to live at the house most of the time and here only part-time."
Joey held his hands up to her. "It was just a suggestion! It was a dumb idea. I'm sorry for bringing it up."
Phoebe gently stroked his cheek. "It's not dumb, Joey. I just want to make sure that I'm not holding you back from where you really want to live."
"I really want to live anywhere you are," Joey said to her.
"Are you sure?" Phoebe asked, not yet convinced.
Joey pulled her close and kissed her passionately. "Does that answer your question?"
Phoebe took his face between hers and grinned. "Heck yeah!"
Joey grinned too.
The cat meowed then.
"Oh yeah! It's feeding time." Phoebe broke away from Joey and headed into the kitchen. She opened a can of cat food and spooned a heaping spoonful into the cat's dish. She had dry food out all the time, but mornings and nights the cat got a special treat of wet food.
As the cat started eating and purring away, she capped the can, put it in the fridge, and then scooped the litter box and washed her hands.
Joey wrinkled his nose. He really wished it was a bigger place. It was kind of gross to have the litter box in the kitchen, he thought. True it was on the floor, but still…
Phoebe pet the cat, and then turned off the lights, leaving a night light on for the cat. The cat's bed was beside the couch.
"Now what do you say we go try our new bed out?" She purred.
Joey licked his lips. "I say we see how many different positions we can embed into the memory foam," he murmured into her ear.
She moaned. "Sounds like a plan."
He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom then, ready to make as many positions with her as either of them could think up!
Joey was with Ross and Chandler at the gym the next day when the next problem arose. He had forgiven them yet again when they called, but he was still upset about how they apparently still thought of him as a womanizer. He was also a little hurt that they still refused to support his and Phoebe's engagement. Even so, they had been friends for years and he didn't want to end the friendship, so he had agreed to go to the gym with them.
They were all working out on their own treadmill when suddenly a very hot brunette with a very big chest walked by. She was wearing nothing but a short pair of running shorts and a sports bra. She had the perfect figure complete with perfectly flat abs.
As the lady walked by, Joey nodded at her and smiled. "How you doin'?"
She grinned, and winked at him. "Good, and you?" she purred.
"I've never been better," he said, still smiling as he winked back at her.
She walked past him to head to the sauna.
"See what we mean?" Chandler asked.
Joey glanced over at him. "What?"
"You totally just flirted with that woman," Chandler said with a smug smirk.
"I did not! I was just being polite and asking how she was doing," Joey said innocently.
Ross laughed. "Please, Joey! We've known you for too long. You can't pull one over on us like that! We know that was you flirting. If you were only being polite, you would have just said, 'Hi, how are you?'"
"Force of habit. It didn't mean anything," Joey grumbled. His friends were starting to get on his last nerve.
"Would you have done that if Phoebe were here?" Chandler asked.
"Of course not!" Joey said truthfully.
"Why not if you were honestly just curious as to how she was doing and it was harmless?" Ross asked.
"You know what, just shut up, okay!" Joey was angry now. "I love Phoebe and only Phoebe. Besides, don't act like you two weren't looking too."
"Sure we were, but the difference is we didn't ask her how she was doing," Chandler stated.
"Only because I'm more outgoing than the two of you," Joey insisted.
"Fine, whatever you say. We know you love Phoebe. We have no doubt there," Ross said.
Chandler nodded. "I'll agree to that."
"Well, good!" Joey said. "Cuz I do. More than you could imagine."
They finished exercising after a while, and then headed to the showers.
After they showered and dressed, they headed out to get a quick lunch.
"So, how is it living with Phoebe?" Ross asked.
Joey smiled. "It's fabulous. We got a new bed because I didn't like the idea of sleeping in the one she slept with Mike in. We even got new bedding."
"I know. Monica and I bought it from you guys," Chandler reminded him.
"Oh yeah," Joey said.
"New bedding too?" Ross asked.
Joey nodded. "Yep!"
"Well, at least she let you do that. Don't be surprised if down the road she will start setting down ground rules about what you can and cannot have. It is her apartment after all," Ross warned.
"It's both of ours now," Joey reminded him.
Both Ross and Chandler laughed.
"What's so funny?" Joey asked.
"The fact that you think the apartment is both of yours just because you moved in there," Chandler replied.
"Well, isn't it?" Joey asked.
"Is your name on the lease?" Ross asked.
"Well, no," Joey said. "But still…"
"Did it originally belong to your now dead grandmother?" Chandler asked.
"Well, no, but—"
"Then it's not yours," Ross and Chandler said in unison.
"It may not be mine per say, but Phoebe considers it our place, and so do I!" Joey defended himself.
"Yeah, well don't be surprised if she starts getting possessive and bossy about certain things in the house," Ross warned.
"Like what?" Joey asked.
"About what you can and cannot get rid of, or what you can and cannot keep there," Chandler answered. "Trust us, we've both been there before."
Ross nodded.
"Not with Phoebe, you haven't. Phoebe isn't like that. She gave me no problems about the bedding. Trust me, she considers the place just as much mine as it is hers," Joey insisted.
Chandler shrugged. "Suit yourself! But don't say we didn't warn you."
Ross nodded his agreement with Chandler.
"Whatever," Joey grumbled. They didn't know what they were talking about. In fact, he was beginning to think they were just jealous!
"I'm still mad at you two, you know," Phoebe said as after they had given their lunch order at The Olive Garden. They all loved it there, and frequented it a lot. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Phoebes, please don't be angry with us. We just love you and don't want you to get hurt!" Rachel said gently.
Monica nodded. "We'll always support you, and we'll always support Joey, and we really do want things to work out for the two of you."
"Then why are you both being such bitches about our engagement?" Phoebe snapped.
Monica and Rachel both winced.
"As Rachel said, we only want what's best for you," Monica said gently.
"Well, you have to trust me on this one. I know Joey in ways that neither of you do. You know he and I have always been closer than he has been with either of you," Phoebe said.
"Well, duh!" Rachel said with a laugh.
"I don't only mean because we've slept together," Phoebe said with an eye roll.
Rachel stopped smiling as it dawned on her. "Oh."
"Can we please just talk about something else?" Phoebe asked; irritated.
"All right, so, how is it living with Joey so far?" Monica asked.
"It's only been a few days, but we've got the most comfortable new bed that we've been having a lot of fun trying out." Phoebe grinned big.
"I bet!" Rachel said, sipping her drink that had already arrived.
"He's gotten a lot more hygienic and we've had no smell problems so far. At least not with him. The cat, however, smells like something died every time he poops. I inquired about it when I called to set up his vet appointment and they said that is normal for um-neutered cats. He's due to get neutered on Thursday," Phoebe explained.
"So, did you name it yet?" Rachel asked, not wanting to mention Joey again for fear of getting her head chopped off.
"Joey calls him Smelly because of my song, and because of the obvious, but I feel he deserves a better name. I named him Harry because he has a lot of hair, and now he can pretend he is a famous prince. Prince Harry." Phoebe grinned as it dawned on her. "Yes! I'm going to add the Prince to his name so that every time I take him to the vet, the nurse will call out "Prince Harry" and everyone will think the real Prince Harry is there!"
Monica and Rachel both laughed.
"That is so stupid and yet so genius!" Rachel said.
Monica nodded. "It will definitely be a conversation starter!"
Phoebe grinned. "Why thank you!"
"I have to say it though, please, just be careful with Joey, all right, Phoebes? I don't want you getting hurt, and we've all seen what a womanizer he can be," Monica said. She was braver than Rachel.
Phoebe narrowed her eyes at her. "You know he's changed."
Monica shrugged. "I hope so, for your sake. But you know the old saying, 'a leopard can't change his spots'."
"Thank you for your opinion, but it is not needed. Joey and I are just fine, and he only has eyes for me, thank you," Phoebe said.
Monica held up her hands. "Fine, I'll say no more about it."
"Good!" Phoebe said.
They managed to have a nice lunch after that despite Monica and Rachel's earlier warnings. Phoebe didn't want the argument to ruin her friendship with Monica and Rachel, so she let it go. Even so, it was kind of hurtful that she could no longer talk to her best friends about her relationship.
That afternoon when Joey came home, Phoebe wasn't back yet. He decided to sit down and watch some TV. As he was watching, the delivery guy arrived with his stuff from Los Angeles. He thanked the delivery guy once everything was in the apartment, and he tipped him generously. Once the delivery guy was gone, Joey went about putting his stuff away.
He had a dresser by then, so his stuff went into it. He then put his favorite kitchen utensils away in the kitchen moving some things to different places to accommodate his own things. Finally, he put up his artwork. In fact, he was just hanging up the last piece when Phoebe arrived home.
"What the heck is that?" she asked, upon seeing the painting.
He turned around and grinned at her. "My stuff arrived. This is one of my favorite paintings. Isn't it cool?"
"It's ugly and tacky!" Phoebe said. It was a painting of a dog standing on his bottom feet, eating a hamburger holding it between his two front paws.
"Well I like it!" Joey said, his face falling a bit.
"I don't want it on my wall. Please take it off," Phoebe said simply.
Ross and Chandler's voices suddenly sounded in his head. He flashed back to earlier when they warned him about it still being her apartment, and that she would get on his case about things like this.
"It's my apartment too, and I say it stays! I like it! No, I love it!" Joey said defiantly.
"Well I hate it! Anyway, it's my name on the lease; not yours, so take it down now!" Phoebe snapped. She then went into the kitchen to get a drink. She went to grab a glass from the cupboard and couldn't find any glasses. She turned to Joey. "Where are all my water glasses?"
"I put them I the underneath cupboard so that I could put my mug collection up there," Joey answered.
"We don't have enough room in this kitchen for a mug collection. I like my glasses there. They don't belong in a down below cupboard, they belong in an up above cupboard," Phoebe snapped.
She then went to grab a glass from down below and yelled. "That's disgusting!"
"What? Is there a rat?" Joey asked, instantly jumping off the couch.
"There is a meatball in one of my water glasses. Why is there meat in my water glass?" Phoebe shrieked.
"Oh that's where I put it!" Joey said, getting up, walking over to Phoebe, and taking it out of the glass. He popped it into his mouth. "I had forgotten where I put it," he said with his mouthful.
"Why did you put a meatball in one of my glasses?" Phoebe asked evenly.
"I was having a meatball sub and one fell out of the sandwich and onto the floor. I picked it up and set it in there so it couldn't roll away again," Joey explained.
Phoebe wrinkled her nose. "You ate a meatball that was on the floor?"
Joey shrugged. "Five-second rule!"
"I thought you just had lunch with the guys," Phoebe said.
Joey shrugged. "I did. I was still hungry and needed a before dinner snack."
"Well I don't want meat in my glasses, and I don't want my glasses down below!" Phoebe said.
"It's my place too you know, even if your name is the only name on the lease. I should be able to have my things where I want them too!" Joey hated that his friends were right and he was wrong, so he was annoyed now.
They both stood up, for they had been crouched down by the cupboard.
"You can! Just not when your things are ugly or they interfere with where I like to keep things," Phoebe snapped.
"But why should you have the right to put things wherever you want and I don't?" Joey asked.
"Because it's my apartment!" Phoebe snapped.
Joey was hurt. "Funny, because I thought it was both of ours now."
Phoebe's face and tone softened a bit. "Joey… I—"
There was a knock on the door then.
"Must be the pizza I ordered," Joey said.
"My gosh, Mr.! How much do you eat?" Phoebe asked. She knew Joey always ate a ton, but lunch with the guys, a meatball sub, and now a pizza all before dinner? That was just gross.
Joey shrugged. "I saw a Pete's Pizza commercial and it made me hungry for pizza," he said.
Phoebe rolled her eyes, but didn't complain. She could always reheat some for dinner in a couple hours, she figured.
Joey opened the door, and a beautiful young college-age girl was there with his pizza. She was tall, blonde, and had an hourglass figure. She smiled a smile full of perfect white teeth. "Wow! Joey Tribbiani! I am a huge fan of yours. I've seen everything you were ever in! I can't believe I'm delivering your pizza!" she gushed.
Joey grinned. "How you doin'?"
She blushed and giggled. "That will be twenty dollars and twenty nine cents please," she said.
He took the pizza from her, set the box on the counter, and then came back and handed her a fifty. "Keep the change."
Her eyes lit up. "Really? Thank you so much! Can I get a selfie with you?"
He grinned big. "Sure!"
He posed happily with her as she took the picture with her phone, and she thanked him again profusely before leaving.
When he shut the door and turned to face the room again, Phoebe was standing there, tapping her foot, and shooting him a look to kill with her arms crossed over her chest.
"What?" he asked her.
"Why were you just flirting with her?" Phoebe asked.
"I wasn't flirting! She was a fan of mine and I was being polite. Gosh! What is with you nagging me today?" Joey snapped.
"You gave her a tip bigger than the cost of the pizza!" Phoebe snapped.
Joey shrugged. "She's a college girl. I figured she could use the money."
Phoebe plopped herself down onto the couch. "Monica and Rachel were right about you. You are a womanizer, and you always will be!"
Joey was angry now. "Yeah, well, Ross and Chandler were right about you! It's always going to be just your apartment to you. It's not mine! I know, I know, it's your grandmother's apartment and not mine. Your name is on the lease and not mine!"
"I can't believe Ross and Chandler talked about me!" Phoebe said, now angry with them too.
"Yeah, well I can't believe Rachel and Monica talked about me!" Joey snapped back. He then retracted. "Actually, I can."
Phoebe smirked. "And I can believe it about Ross and Chandler too. "What do they know?"
"Nothing! Just like Rachel and Monica." Joey calmed down then. "I swear I wasn't flirting, Phoebs. Ross and Chandler accused me of the same thing when I said hello to a pretty woman at the gym today. Maybe I am a flirty guy, but that's as far as it goes. I'd never be with other women now that I have you, Phoebs. Never! As for the college girl, you're right; the tip was too extravagant. I just remember being that age and broke. Now that I have money, I like to share it with the less fortunate like everyone used to do for me when I was broke. Also, she is a fan of mine. I always like to be kind to my fans because without them I'd be a nobody again."
Phoebe calmed down too. She gently stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. "You're not a nobody, Joey. You never were. You're always going to be someone special to me." She smiled.
He took her hand in his own and kissed it. "And you're always going to be someone special to me. I'm sorry about the mugs. I'll move your glasses back and keep my mugs in a box in the closet."
Phoebe kissed his hand. "How about a compromise? We can get shelfing put up on the kitchen wall and you can proudly display all your mugs for everyone to see?"
Joey grinned. "I'd like that, thank you."
"I'm sorry I was such a grouch when I came home. I guess I just let Monica and Rachel get to me. You're right. It is your apartment too. I've just fallen back into the habit of 'all mine' again since Mike left. It's going to take some used to sharing my apartment again, but there is no one I'd rather share it with than you," Phoebe said gently.
"If you want, I'll take my painting down," Joey offered, even though he really didn't want to.
Phoebe shook her head. "No, don't. It's your apartment too, and it will eventually grow on me I'm sure." She wasn't sure at all, but for Joey's sake, she was willing to put up with it.
Joey grinned. "Thank you."
"Just from now on, let's make decor decisions together, okay?" Phoebe asked.
Joey nodded. "Deal!" He then got up off the couch and picked her up.
She giggled. "Joey, what are you doing?"
"Having my dessert first," he purred.
Phoebe giggled again. "What about the pizza?"
"You're right. It is too much food. We can heat it up later for dinner. I got half cheese so you can have some. I know you don't like eating pizza that meat has touched, so I left half with no meat."
"You're so thoughtful and romantic," Phoebe said with a sigh. She knew Rachel and Monica were full of it!
Joey's eyes lowered. "I'm suddenly hungrier for you than for pizza anyway."
"What a coincidence," Phoebe said, her eyes lowered as well, "I'm hungrier for you than for pizza."
They kissed, their kisses quickly becoming more passionate as Joey carried her to the bedroom, and kicked the bedroom door closed with his foot before laying her down on the bed, and showing her exactly how wrong their friends really were about their engagement not being a good idea.