My Heart Won't Let Me

Shattered Dream

Chapter 3

‘Shattered Dream'

It took Joey a while to realize where he was. He blinked a few times, rubbing the sleep from his eyes away as the sun shone through the window of his bedroom blinded him. He groaned and threw a pillow over his head, wanting to shut off the entire world and just hide away from reality in his peaceful slumber. He was about to drift back to sleep when his alarm blaring from his bedside table, reminding him of the real world and the responsibilities waiting for him.

He shut the alarm clock off violently, knocking it down in the process. He counted to ten before he reluctantly pushed the pillow away from his face and forced his eyes to open.  He stood up abruptly - without any warning - his head spun and for a moment he almost fell. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose after he regained his full balance, reminding himself not to do that again.

Sleepily, he reached the door knob, but then he stopped. He turned his body, searching through the floor for his boxer and shirt, reminding himself he wasn’t living alone anymore and the lady living next room made it very clear that she wasn’t really fond of watching him naked first thing in the morning.

Well, maybe now she doesn’t mind.

As he put his shirt on, he smiled goofily, playing it again and again in his head the event last night when he made love to the woman he loved. Made love. It sounded too girly for him, but last night he understood why they named it that way and why it was different than sex. Every movement, every touch, every kiss, he put his love for her on them. It was sincere, unlike the other intercourses he had with other women before. If only his best friend could hear his thoughts right now, he wouldn’t hear the end of it. But right now, he didn’t care.

He smiled to himself as he made his way to the bathroom, whistling to his favorite song, doing a little dance move along his way.

Joey Tribbiani was in love.

He almost couldn’t believe it himself, but he did. He was madly in love with his girlfriend, it was almost pathetic. What he was feeling for Rachel was overwhelming. She was on his mind the first time he woke up in the morning, she was the only person that was on his mind the last time he closed his eyes to sleep every night. She was even on his mind whenever he ate, which was the understatement of the year, because Joey Tribbiani considered meals as the most important thing in his life.

Well, maybe not anymore.

These were the feelings he never thought he could ever experience. He used to be jealous with his friends - Chandler and Ross - because they seemed to have someone they were in love with at some point of their life. He even envied Chandler when he was with Kate, because he never could feel the same way like Chandler did for Kate - not even remotely close - and what Chandler had for Kate was nothing compared to how he felt for Monica.

Joey enjoyed being around women - that was a common fact – but he never got attached with any of them.

He used to be jealous of them, but at the same time, he also didn’t really care, really. He even enjoyed it. He didn’t need to get caught up in some complicated relationship craps, when he could have as many women as he liked. He didn’t believe in relationships, he didn’t believe in love. He thought they were overrated.

What was so good about spending the rest of your life with only one woman when you can have a different one every night? He wondered.

However, all his beliefs crashed one day when he saw his roommate in a different light. One date. It took Rachel one date to change his entire beliefs. It took him a few hours with her, to really get to know her alone in an intimate environment to finally understand what this fuss about love was.