Monica woke up the next morning alone in bed. Chandler left in the middle of the night so no one would catch them. She had a great time last night, and Chandler told her to meet him outside of Central Perk at 8:00pm for a Valentine's Day date, but still every time she woke up to an empty bed, she felt a little ache in her heart. She just wanted to be able to be with him without all the hiding.
She stood up, put on her slippers and her robe and went out of her room. On her way to the bathroom, she saw a little box wrapped in wrapping paper and a bow on the living room table. There was a folded note attached to the box. She walked over, picked it up and opened the note.
Happy Valentine's Day, M.
X.
Monica smiled to herself. She looked towards Rachel's room. She saw that her door was closed, and she hopped that she didn't come out of her room yet this morning and didn't see it.
Monica put the note on the table and opened the box. There was a small cupcake in it with white frosting, and on it a heart in red frosting. Monica's smile grew bigger now, and she felt butterflies flying in her stomach. A heart. He gave her a cupcake with a heart frosting.
She took a piece of the cupcake with her fingers and put it in her mouth. It was delicious. Monica could tell this was from a quality place. She closed the box and put it and the note in the left drawer of the kitchen to eat it later with her coffee. Then she went to the bathroom to get ready for work.
Chandler told her to meet him at 8:00pm, but he didn't tell her where they were going. She had to force herself to stop smiling so she could brush her teeth, excited about the day.
Work has never passed slower. She wanted it to be 8:00pm already, but the time just moved so slowly. There was not a lot of traffic because most people planned on going out at night for a Valentine's Day date, so she didn't have that to distract her. Monica looked at the clock. 3:00pm. The time just didn't move.
About an hour later, Patrice, one of the cooks, entered the kitchen with a bouquet of red and white roses.
"Awww, you got flowers. They're beautiful," Monica said.
Patrice smiled at her mischievously and shook her head. "No, you got flowers."
Monica's eyes widened. "These are for me?"
"Yes."
Monica smiled and walked over to her, taking the flowers.
"Thank you," she said, and she put the flowers on the table.
"Who are they from?"
"My boyfriend," Monica said, smiling.
"Your boyfriend? I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Patrice said.
"Well, it's kind of hush-hush. We didn't tell a lot of people."
"Why?"
Monica moved nervously from foot to foot, but she decided to tell her because there wasn't a big chance of her meeting the others. "Because he's my best friend."
Patrice looked at her with a questioning look for a few seconds. Then her eyes went wide.
"Chandler is your boyfriend?" She asked.
"Yes." Monica said.
"He's cute." Patrice said. Monica gave her a warning look. Patrice laughed.
"Don't worry, chef, I'm just saying his cute, I'm not going to do anything."
"I know, I know. It's a reflex." Monica said, embarrassed a little. "Thank you for brining me the flowers, happy Valentine's Day, Patrice."
"Happy Valentine's Day, Monica," Patrice said and walked out of the kitchen.
Monica looked at the flowers again. They were really beautiful. She liked that Chandler chose red and white roses, adding a touch to the regular red roses bouquet.
She saw there was a folded note attached to the flowers too. She picked it up and opened it.
Roses are red
…and white
Will you be my Valentine?
X
Monica laughed. The note made the choice of the flowers even better. It always seemed to her like Chandler didn't like Valentine's Day, but he seemed to be going all cheesy this time. But she didn't mind it at all.
Later in her apartment, she was finally getting ready and about to go on her date. She was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom and putting on her earrings, the last touch.
She told Rachel that she was going out with the non-threatening Ray Liotta waiter because there was no way she could go out on Valentine's Day without Rachel asking her where she was going. To her relief, the others weren't there, and she didn't need to lie to anyone else.
At 7:55pm she was getting out of the building because she hated to be late, so many times she would get early to places. She was surprised to see Chandler already next to Central Perk.
"Hey," she smiled. "You're early."
"I figured you'd get her early and I didn't want you to wait," he smiled back. Monica's smile grew bigger.
"You're so cute," she said as she walked closer to him and put a hand on his arm. "Thank you for the cupcake and the flowers."
"Wait, what cupcake and flowers?" He looked at her with a questioning look on his face, but she rolled her eyes and hit his arm, and he smiled at her.
"You look beautiful." Chandler said. Monica was wearing a red dress she knew Chandler loved.
"Thank you. You look very handsome," she said. Chandler was wearing a dark-blue suit with a grey tie that she hasn't seen before. He must have bought them especially.
"Shall we?" he said and handed her his other arm.
"Where are we going?" She asked as she put her arm through his.
"You'll see soon."
They walked for about ten minutes when they got to a little French restaurant.
"I love this place." Monica said when she saw the restaurant. She looked at him and smiled.
"I know," he said, and he took her hand in his. She laced their fingers together and they walked into the restaurant.
"Two for Bing," Chandler told the host and the man nodded and led them to their table. It was in the back of the restaurant, a bit more secluded than the rest of the tables.
"How did you get this place? It takes ages to get a table here, especially on Valentine's Day. When did you book this place?"
"Ah, not so long ago. I got lucky." Monica figured he was probably lying. She knew he probably had to book the place weeks in advance. She felt those butterflies again, thinking about how long ago he booked a place for them for Valentine's Day, feeling strong enough about her to hope that they would still be together by that time.
They sat down and a few moments later a waiter came with two menus. Chandler ordered Monica's favorite champagne and they each ordered their dishes. After the waiter went away, Monica looked at Chandler and said, "that's my favorite champagne."
"When you are a friend with someone for more than 10 years, it helps when you date them." Chandler smiled at her.
Monica reached over with her hand on the table and Chandler took it in his own. "Thank you."
They talked a lot, laughed, stole little touches from time to time. At one point, Chandler had a crumb near his lip on the right side of his face and Monica brushed it with her finger, which resulted in Chandler staring at her for a few seconds until she poked his side with her elbow. He looked away and chuckled nervously, blushing. She smiled and touched his chin with her hand, making him face her and kissing him gently.
When they finished their main courses, the waiter read them the dessert list.
"Choose whatever you want," Chandler told Monica.
"The cheesecake," she said, knowing it was Chandler's favorite dessert. He smiled at her.
They shared the cake, already a bit tipsy and giggling. She couldn't wait to go to his place already and spend the night with him.
Chandler paid the bill, although Monica insisted on sharing it. "You'll pay next Valentine's Day," Chandler said, and Monica didn't argue anymore. Next Valentine's Day, she thought. He's already talking about sharing next Valentine's Day with her.
They walked home slowly, holding hands. She was in no rush to go back to the building and have to separate again so their friends won't know about them.
When they reached their building, Monica let go of Chandler's hand and kissed him quickly on the lips. He smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. They walked in, and when they reached their floor, Monica said to him quietly, "I'll come at 3:00, okay?" She started to walk towards her door, but Chandler grabbed her arm. "Wait," he said.
Monica turned around and looked at him with a questioning look on her face.
"What?" She asked. Chandler took her left hand in his right hand and stroked her hand with his fingers. He looked down for a few seconds and then he looked up at her eyes.
"I… I wasn't planning on doing this like this, but I can't keep it in anymore," he said, and he took a step towards her. "I love you."
Monica looked at him surprised for a few seconds, and then she smiled, walking closer to him. "I love you too," she said.
The smile on Chandler's face was ridiculously big. He let go of her hand and cupped her cheek, leaning in, so slowly. He finally kissed her, and she felt waves all over her body. She wrapped her right arm around his neck and her left arm around his shoulders and deepened the kiss.
They pulled apart breathless and Monica hugged him close. He wrapped his hands around her back and held her just as tight.