Chapter XII
"The One Where They All Go To Los Angeles."
A week later they all arrived at LAX. Erica and Jack were at Monica's parent while Emma was at Rachel's mom. It's been a while since all of them go on a trip without their kids.
"Ah Los Angeles! It's good to be back. It's warm here. I love it." Rachel said as she stretched her arms.
"You've been here before?" Ross asked curiously
"Well yeah, when I was in college. I went here with my girlfriends." She explained
"Wow after ten years there are still things I haven't know." He looked surprised
"Well, mister, there are a lot of things you haven't know about me." She teased him.
Not long after Monica, Chandler, Mike, and Phoebe catch-up.
"So where is Joey? He said he is going to pick us at the airport." Monica asked
"I'll call him." Chandler said as he took out his phone.
Before he had a chance to call Joey, they heard a familiar voice.
"Guysss!" A man yelled from a distance running towards them.
"It's Joey!", Phoebe yelled excitedly.
Joey face was red and he drenched in sweats because of all the running. He finally said something after he tried to catch a breath.
"I'm sorry, I fell asleep." Joey explained.
That is so typical Joey. Monica knew his best friend habit, so she purposely told him that their plane landed an hour before.
"You are not late, honey" Rachel explained
"But Monica said-"
Before Joey could reply, Monica cut him off.
"Let's head to the hotel!" Monica yelled in her typical way of bossing people around.
After roughly an hour, they arrived at the hotel. The LA traffic was bad as usual. As soon as Rachel entered the room she put down all of her belongings and laid down on their bed.
"A bed, finally!" She yelled
"Are you okay?" Ross asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I just need to lay down a bit." She replied
"Okay, I'll take a shower." Ross said as he grabbed some stuff from their bag and went to the bathroom. An hour later, Ross finished his bath and his intricate hair ritual. He saw Rachel was sleeping soundly. He moved her inside the blanket and tucked her in. He then laid down next to her and sleep. Ross woke up by the sound of water dripping from the bathroom. It was Rachel. As he was about to close his eyes again, Rachel walked in the room with a black see-through night dress. He gasped. She was 17 weeks pregnant, but she was stunning. Suddenly Rachel started to frown.
"I'm not sexy anymore didn't I?" She sounds upset.
He shook his head and answered her, "No! You look hot!" He replied with a smile
"I'm fat." She sat down in the bed and sulked.
Ross wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.
"Well your belly isn't the only thing that got bigger" He explained
"Well I hope the end of that sentence is good." She pouted.
"No. No. I mean. Your boobs got bigger too." He paused. "And I like it" he teased her.
She suddenly laughed.
"What's so funny?" He asked puzzled
"It's nothing. It's just I remember this thing that happened when I was pregnant with Emma." She replied
"What thing?"
"Well I was about four months pregnant just like right now. My hormones are going crazy. I got turned on with every guy I saw. I remember going mall to mall to sit on Santa's lap." She giggled
"Really? I didn't know that. Did you sleep with someone?" He asked curiously as he raised his eyebrows.
"Of course not! I couldn't just sleep with any random guy." She snapped
"What about me? I didn't think you ask me." He asked
"Well you were with Mona. Remember?"
"Oh Mona!" Ross suddenly remembered.
There was this awkward silence for a few minutes. Ross was trying to lift up the mood, so he asked her, "So are you feeling horny right now?" He started to run his fingers around her thighs and ran it through her sensitive area.
"Uh-huh." She blushed in spite of herself.
"Well I better satisfy my wife before she start drooling over some random guy." He joked
They were kissing passionately as their hands were all over each other, when suddenly Rachel broke the kiss and muttered, "Ross..."
He immediately understood what she meant. He kissed her bumps and then whispered, "I'll be gentle." He smiled and began to kiss her passionately.
This is one of the things that made them crazy about each other. Sometimes, they understand each other without changing words.
...
It was a beautiful morning in Los Angeles, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear. Ross woke up with the biggest smile on his face. He turned his body around and slightly moved towards Rachel. She was sleeping with her hair covering most of her face. He brushed her hair slightly to the side so he could take a good look at her face. She was so beautiful, he thought. He laid there for a few minutes before he heard a knock on their door. He climbed out the bed slowly and opened the door.
"Geez Ross. It is 10 AM already! We have to leave in a half an hour! I thought I made it clear yesterday!" Monica was being annoyed at the fact it's almost noon and they haven't left the hotel since they arrived in L.A yesterday.
"Okay I'll meet you at the lobby in 30."
He closed the door and sat next to Rachel. He wasn't sure if he wanted to wake her up, but he knew Monica will be pissed if they're not ready in thirty minutes. He leaned towards her and placed a kiss around her neck. Rachel started to smile and then slowly opened her eyes.
"Good morning sleepyhead." He smiled as he stroked her hair lovingly.
"Good morning." She grinned and continued, "Thank you for last night."
"No, Thank you." He kissed the top of her head
"I really don't want to leave this room, but Monica just came by, clearly pissed. We need to be ready in about.." He paused a bit while looking at the clock. "25 minutes."
And precisely 25 minutes later, Ross and Rachel showed up at the lobby. All seven of them including Joey went to this brunch cafe Monica always wanted to go. The cafe was located in the downtown area, and it was packed with people. They were enjoying the food when suddenly a beautiful brunette girl wearing a floral mini dress walked over their table. Joey landed a kiss on her lips and introduced her to them. The others were bewildered by the scene.
"So guys, this is my girlfriend, Kate Peterson. We've been dating for four months now." He smiled proudly.
The all six friends were dumbfounded. Joey never mentioned her before, even to Chandler.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Kate. Joey told me stories about you guys and about New York all the time." Kate then squeezed Joey's cheeks playfully.
Rachel stood up from her chair and shook her hands, "Well nice to meet you, Kate. I'm Rachel." He pointed at Ross and introduced him, "and this is my husband, Ross." she smiled
"Oh yeah Ross and Rachel, Joey talked about you guys all the time. Congratulations for the baby by the way." Kate smiled back at Rachel.
Joey then started to introduce her to the other while pointing at them one by one. "This is Phoebe and her husband Mike. And this is Monica, Ross' sister, and this is her husband, my old roommate, Chandler."
"Oh Chandler, the funny guy!"
"Yes, I guess that would be me." Chandler left an awkward laugh.
"So, how do you guys meet?" Phoebe asked, breaking up the awkwardness.
"Well Joey and I work at this movie together and we immediately feel in love." Kate explained
"Oh. So are you an actress too?" Ross asked curiously. She was pretty enough to become an actress but Ross hasn't seen her before.
Kate started to giggle before she replied, "Nah, I'm his stylist and then he started to hit on me."
The others shared a knowing look and Joey smiled sheepishly.
They were talking and laughing, and then Joey went outside to get some air. Ross followed him from behind.
"Hey Joe. So, are you ready to settle down?" Ross asked.
"What do you mean?" Joey asked, puzzled by his question.
"I mean you and Kate. Aren't you guys in a serious relationship? Because she told us earlier you guys were madly in love." Ross explained
"Well.. Honestly I'm not sure. I mean.. I love being around her, she's cute and HOT. But I don't think I'm IN love with her yet, you know?" Joey explained and Ross nodded, "Besides, I don't know if I will be ready to engage in a serious relationship. Unlike you Ross, I don't just meet a girl and marry her." Joey added.
"Hey! I don't just met Rachel and marry her! I waited for TEN YEARS." Ross yelled, mock offended.
"Not Rachel. I mean Emily." Joey explained.
"Oh, Emily! Okay you have a point." Ross cleared his throats and then patted Joey's shoulder.
"Just try it, man. Try to be committed to one girl. Who knows she's your lobster." Ross joked
Joey slightly chuckled and then he thanked him, "Thanks, man. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome, Joe. Just call me if you need any relationship advice." Ross said and Joey started to laugh.
"What?" Ross asked, puzzled by his sudden laughter.
"I should ask a relationship advice from you? Ross, the divorce force? Really?" Joey said which caused Ross to give him a dirty look.
Ross groaned then said, "You guys really should stop making fun of my divorces! I'm now married and I'm not planning on divorcing Rachel like ever!"
Joey somehow started to get uncomfortable at his remarks. No matter how much Joey tried to bury his feelings toward Rachel, he couldn't help but felt jealous at Ross. Ross got everything he ever wanted. It wasn't a fame nor money that Joey always dreaming of. Deep down, he was dreaming to have a family, kids, and of course Rachel as his wife. It was a dream he learnt to let go, after both Rachel and him agreed to stay friends.
It was the biggest decision he'd ever made, to let her go. What Rachel didn't know is how much he suffered from it every time he saw her with Ross. It broke his heart but he could never tell it to anyone, because deep down he knew it was wrong. It was wrong to have a feeling for your best friend's wife. He wished he could control it, but sadly he couldn't. So, now, all he could do is to never let anyone knows about his feeling and silently prayed it will go anytime soon. Even though, the feelings probably never going to go away. After all, just like people always say, first love never goes away.
Luckily, Ross didn't catch that because the rest of the gang suddenly appeared. Joey sighed in relieved.
After having brunch together they all went separated way. Phoebe and Mike decided to spend their day at the nearest beach. Kate, Joey, Monica, and Chandler are going to Santa Monica Pier as the boys insisted to visit. Meanwhile Ross and Rachel went to Rodeo Drive to do a quick shopping and went straight back into their hotel.
I do believe Joey feeling's for Rachel is never resolved and deep down he cared for her more than just a friend. That's why I decided to bring this to the story.
Anyway, I actually posted this story on wattpad a while ago, but decided to post it here with a little change here and there. And again, I'm sorry for my grammar error, English isn't my first language.