TOW Ross and Rachel's wedding

The Bridesmaid

It was raining outside, to much of her surprise. “Didn’t happen to have brought an umbrella or something?” She asked the man behind her.

“No. You neither, right?”

“No.”

“Well, I guess there is only one way to do this.” Chandler said, and started running, until he reached a Starbucks across the street that had tables outside of it, and big umbrellas too. Monica followed him to much of her own surprise.

“I am wearing this dress for the first time today. When my mother sees how it has become she is going to kill me.” She was. Judy was always looking for the smallest excuses to scream at her, and a new ruined dress was a rather big one.  

“I think you deserve a mistake.” The man said, smiling, as he put a hand in his long hair. “Whenever you are ready.”

“Now.” Monica said, and they started running in the sidewalk. “Take my hand!” She said to him, and he did. His hand on hers was a strange feeling. She liked him. Even though she started the night by hating him with all of her heart she now had started having second thoughts. He was awfully handsome, perhaps the most handsome man she had ever met, and something about him made her blush, everytime she felt his eyes on her. He was a playboy, there was no doubt to that, and too irresponsible to be trusted with anything but still… all those things didn’t stopped her from being attracted to him.

She led him to Central Perk, taking them almost twenty minutes to get there. She stopped running kind of abruptly, which made Chandler almost fall into her. They got really close for a brief moment and Monica was almost sure that she saw him taking a glance at her lips. “So are we there yet?” He asked eventually.

“Yes, this is the place.” She said, showing him the coffey house.

“Wait. I think I’ve been here at least once before. Isn’t this the place where Rachel works?”

“Yeah. Me and the girls hang out here all the time.” She led him inside, taking a sit at their usual orange couch, and making a gesture to the blond owner of the shop, Gunther, to come. When he did she ordered: “We’ll have a hot chocolate with toffee and…”

“A coffey, black.” Chandler ordered, and Gunther went to bring their drinks.

“So, that speech of yours, the best man’s speech. It was really good.”

“Thanks, I was preparing it for months. It was hard to write anything about love, and been in love, when you never had that feeling, you know?”

“Wait, you never had actually being in love?” She asked, genuinely surprised. Yeah, he was a playboy, but he couldn’t actually never have felt anything for any of the girls he had dated.

“I don’t do the commitment thing, never have slept with a woman more than once. When you do that it’s quite hard to catch feelings for anyone.”

“Never more than once? That’s…” She tried to find the right word.

“Insane?”

“I would say unusual. But it’s insane too.”

When they got their drinks Monica took a sip, admiring the feeling of the hot chocolate in her cold hands, and the sweetness it left in her lips. “So, I’m guessing you don’t do one night stands?” His question, as indistinct as it was, gave a smile on her lips. Did he actually wanted an one night stand with her?

“No, I’ve done some. You know, some men are just not boyfriend material. You, for example…” He raised his eyebrows the moment she said that “You are not boyfriend material.”

“Well, can’t deny that.” He got his hand into his pocket, getting a cigarette pack out of it, offering her one.

“No, thanks.” She smiled as she saw him putting one between his lips and lighting it. Oh, god, he was looking hot while smoking.

“Can I ask you something?” She nodded. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.” He actually wanted to know if she had a boyfriend? Chandler Bing wanted to know if she had a boyfriend? “We broke up about a month ago.”

“Really? Why?”

“He snored. Like, a lot!” She added, looking at his confused face.

“If relationships are to be broken just because someone is snoring then I’m better off without them.”

“Hey, no, what are you talking about? Not all relationships are like that!”

“Yeah, but you are going to break up eventually. Something is going to happen, someone is going to get hurt and you are gonna break up. I’m telling you, it doesn’t lead nowhere.”

“That’s not the right way of thinking.” She pointed.

“And what’s the right way of thinking?”

“Well, starting of a relationship you start with something new, something exciting. You feel the tingling of the first sight, the first date, the first kiss, the first time of sleeping together. Then there is the progress of starting knowing each other. Getting more comfortable. That’s when you start falling in love with the other person. Meeting each other's families, friends ect. Then it comes to the wedding. Most people freak out in this part, but when you get past that it’s actually nice. Making a family, having kids-” She stopped as soon as she saw the look in Chandler’s face. “You're freaking out, right?”

“Can I, please, only have the first times part?” He was half joking.

What was she getting herself into? She was clearly attracted by a man that didn’t want to do nothing with the things she dreamed. God, he didn’t even wanted a simple relationship. “I guess you can, if you are sleeping with different women every night.”

“So, you’re saying that I actually know what I’m doing?”

“I still think what you are doing is wrong, even for a guy like you.” She pointed.

“Come on, you have done it too. And you wanted it didn't you” He had gotten close with her, closer than he should be for her to contain herself. His face was so close with hers that she could feel his hot breath down her neck. He had his thumb in her cheek and his blue like-the-sky eyes were looking into her blue like-the-ocean ones. And before she knew what was happening he grabbed and kissed her.

After that things escalated quickly. He paid for their drinks and then they went to her place, which was only two blocks away. As soon as the door of her apartment was closed behind them they kissed their way into Monica's bedroom.