Adultery, Part2


INTRODUCTION: Continuation of Adultery part 1 (now there's a no-brainer)... Read and review, please!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the "Friends" characters, just the other ones.


Monica was beginning to feel more and more torn. She loved Chandler more than anything and she wanted to spend time with him, yet at the same time she wanted to get to see Joey. She started to feel slightly disgusted with herself, because these days it seemed as if her life was just about sex, sex and more sex. Sex with Chandler in the morning, sex with Joey after work, then sex with Chandler in the evening. She mostly enjoyed it while it was going on, but afterwards she would feel terrible. She started refusing Chandler in the mornings, claiming she wanted more time to sleep in on. But then sometimes when she had been with Joey she would be to exhausted to have sex with Chandler in the evening. Or just unwilling to.

Chandler didn't know what the problem was. He too was starting to feel bad about himself. Monica didn't want sex in the mornings anymore, he respected that. But sometimes she didn't want sex in the evenings either. And those nights were always the nights when she worked late and got home later than usual. But it couldn't just be work. She had never been too tired to sleep with him just because of work before. So Chandler took it as that she didn't want to have sex with him too often anymore. That either her sexdrive had gone down, or that she wasn't attracted to him anymore. But when she wasn't too tired, when she was in the mood, she was just as willing as before. Chandler started asking her if she wanted to try new things in bed. He hoped that would keep her interest up. Monica soon told him she had had enough of new things for a while though, and Chandler was hurt even though he said nothing. He didn't want to let it show, but he felt like a failure. He knew something was wrong, and he thought he was the problem. He figured that he had done or said something that made Monica unwilling to sleep with him. Or that she didn't enjoy sleeping with him. And he didn't want to lay a burden on her, so he stopped asking her for sex. He only did around once a week, when he couldn't control himself any longer.

Monica noticed the difference. All of a sudden Chandler stopped initiating sex, and the times he did initiate it there was something wrong. She couldn't put her finger to what it was, but he seemed either guilty or like he only slept with her because he felt that it was his duty. Monica didn't like the situation and decided to do something about it.

She hadn't yet talked to Joey or figured out what their affair meant to her. She had deliberately put it off because she enjoyed sleeping with him. And she knew that if she thought the whole thing through she might come to the conclusion that she should end their affair right away. And she deep down inside didn't want that. But now she was having a problem with Chandler, and he came in first hand. Joey would have to come in second always, and right now she didn't have time for him. She talked to him the next time she saw him, and explained that they wouldn't see each other for a while.

When she got home, Chandler was watching cartoons with Lukas. He looked up at her and smiled when she entered the TV room, but she could see a sad and hurt look on his face even though he tried to hide it. Monica suddenly felt scared. What if he knew?

She sat down next to him and kissed him on the lips. She had first thought about making him a nice dinner and talking to him about what was going on over candle lights, but then she had changed her mind. She had a better idea, and she waited until after they'd gone to bed to tell him.

*

She let her head rest in her right palm, lying on her side, looking down at him with a smile on her face. It wasn't a big smile, more of a content one. She gently stroke him over the chest and waited until he looked up at her and then away again.

"So I was thinking…" she said. "You haven't been yourself lately, really. And neither have I. I was thinking that maybe we both need some time off."

Chandler didn't look at her. He was sure what she meant. She was talking about a break.

"Chandler I was thinking… Why don't we go away, you and I?"

Chandler looked up at her, slightly confused.

"Go away together?"

"Yeah. To a motel or something. Somewhere where we can relax and…" she grinned, "rekindle our flame…"

"You wanna do that?" he asked, slightly surprised.

"Oh yeah, I got the idea in my head earlier today and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it… Just you and me, we can leave Lukas with Rachel and Nigel."

"Sure. They'd probably baby-sit."

Monica's smile widened.

"And we could have romantic dinners… long talks about everything and nothing… Not to mention spending most of the time in bed."

Chandler sighed slightly. He didn't want her to feel pressured to have to do something like that. He was convinced that she wasn't really interested in sleeping with him anymore.

"Monica you don't have to do this…" he said.

She got a confused look on her face.

"Do what, exactly? Go away with my husband?"

"Don't feel like you have to!" Chandler said, trying to make her understand where he was coming from without saying anything directly.

"Really honey. Calm down. You don't have to be so enthused" Monica replied with her voice filled with sarcasm. She lay back down and stared at the ceiling.

"Monica--"

"What?" she replied, snapping at him.

Chandler looked at her, slightly shocked. He had obviously hit a tender area by saying they didn't have to go away together. He felt slightly annoyed.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked. "What, am I not allowed to not want to go away? If that is the case, then why even bring it up as a QUESTION?"

"It's not about that" Monica hissed at him. "But how about telling me you don't want to go in a better way? You could have blamed it on work, for crying out loud, or just said that you're not up for it. Don't give me some sort of 'you don't have to do this' crap, just tell me straight out that you're not interested in going!"

"Calm down!"

"Okay then here's the deal. I calm down and you let me be."

"And I'm sorry for having an opinion" Chandler said sarcastically. "Since when are you so edgy?"

"Since you lost your sense of TACT!"

"What's the matter, are you pms?"

Monica made an offended exhale and got out of bed. She walked to the bathroom connected to their bedroom and closed the door hard. Chandler frowned and wondered what was up, really.

*

That Friday Chandler got home a little later than usual. Monica was in the kitchen with Lukas, cooking him dinner. She didn't seem to be on a very good mood, and his hello was only returned by a slight nod of acknowledgment.

"What's for dinner?" he asked.

"Pasta. And some sauce" Monica replied, not looking up at him. She finished the cooking and put a plate in front of Lukas.

"What about us?" Chandler asked.

"If you're hungry you can have a sandwich" Monica replied. "It's only five o'clock."

"Sandwich?" Chandler said. "I never have sandwiches. You know I'm not too fond of them."

"Then eat some cereal. The Cornflakes need to be finished soon anyway."

She walked past him and went up the stairs. Chandler looked at Lukas, still confused.

"So what did you do to piss her off?" Lukas asked.

"Nothing" Chandler replied. "What did you do to learn phrases like that? You shouldn't use them."

*

Five minutes later Monica came down the stairs again, with a bag. Chandler stared at her and felt really uncomfortable.

"Monica what are you doing with a bag?" he asked.

"What do you think I'm doing with a bag?" she replied. "I'm going away to that motel. Just because you're not interested it doesn't mean I can't go."

"Monica I think you should stay."

"Chandler I think you should say nothing."

"Mon, I'm serious" Chandler said, and leaned his side against the wall. "There's something weird going on between us right now. I think you should stay so we can talk it through."

"No, not right now."

"And why the hell not?"

"Don't sweat when Lukas is in the next room" Monica said. "Who do you think he's picked swear words up from?"

"Don't avoid my questions, Monica."

Monica put her jacket on.

"I already tried to get us to talk. I suggested it. I suggested that we would go away where we could be by ourselves and just talk everything through. But that suggestion didn't suit kind sir here."

"Honey…" Chandler said. "Listen, this is really killing me. I hate it when we're on bad terms with each other. And I am so sorry for hurting your feelings. But that is not reason for you to go off and get even more mad until you end up too mad to ever want to talk to me."

"Maybe I need some distance, did you ever think of that?" Monica asked while she tied her shoelaces.

"Then why suggest that we would go away together?"

"Maybe because I thought we could talk things through without getting distance first. And maybe I really need to not see you now. I'm hurt that you didn't want to spend a weekend away with me, did that ever occur to you?"

"Monica, come on…" Chandler said. "Don't leave. You know I don't like being apart."

"I asked you to come with, didn't I?" Monica coldly said and grabbed her mittens. "Suit yourself. You weren't interested then, don't think I'll stay now just because you don't want to be alone."

"Monica, please!" Chandler said with a sad voice. "Please just take the coat, the shoes and the mittens off… Please don't go. I love you, and let's talk this through before--"

"Bye Lukas!" Monica called out, cutting Chandler off. Then she placed a kiss on Chandler's cheek, grabbed her earmuffs and her bag and opened the door. "I'll be back on Sunday. The number for where you can reach me is on the fridge."

Then she left.

*

Joey felt awkward. Here he was, listening to his best friend's love problems. A best friend who was married to the woman Joey was sleeping with.

Chandler was biting the nails on his right hand, trying to figure out how to solve the situation with Monica until it got too deep. He had called Joey and asked for him to come over and talk, because Joey was usually good at helping him solve his problems. He didn't even notice that Joey didn't really act as normal. He told him about the last week's events.

"Chandler…" Joey said with a sigh. "Don't bite your nails."

Chandler didn't reply, but he stopped the nail biting. After a minute he looked up at Joey.

"What am I going to do?" he asked. "Joey what if this turns into something really big between us? What if I loose her? What will I do if I loose her?"

"You're not gonna loose her, Monica is crazy about you" Joey said.

Joey felt jealous. And he really thought Chandler was stupid. If Monica had wanted to go away with Joey, he would have agreed in a second. He loved being around her, not just to have sex. Her company was pleasant and she was so easy to talk to. It didn't occur to Joey that he was falling in love. He knew that he wasn't allowed to like her that way. And here he was, trying to give her husband love advice.

Joey was torn between two options. One was being a good friend and telling Chandler to go to wherever Monica was and try to solve it. Talk through all the misunderstandings and then make up and be happy. The other option was to keep quiet. Joey knew that if Chandler went to find her and no further mistakes occurred, Chandler and Monica would end up spending the weekend in bed together, making love. And that felt hard for Joey, knowing that Chandler was getting what Joey wanted. Eventually the first option won. Joey had always put friendship before love, and he didn't intend to change at this state. He had already risked his friendship with Chandler way too much.

"Chandler," he said, "why don't you just go over to that motel and talk to her? Sort out all of the mistakes and misunderstandings, have some fun with her. Make her feel like you really care. I know that you do. So show that to her. I really think she needs that. I'll baby-sit Lukas, you go talk to your wife."

Chandler looked up at Joey with a slight smile on his face.

"That's a good idea… Thanks, man."

*

Monica put her diary away and sighed heavily. It wasn't fun being away by herself. She felt lonely. She really wished Chandler had agreed to go with her. She couldn't for her life figure out why he had said no. Did he know about her and Joey? But if he did, why had he asked her to stay home? Had she done or said something that had upset him earlier?

"Monica, you are not being nice to that man…" she mumbled to herself. "Treating him as if he's done something wrong… YOU'RE the one doing something wrong. He's not. Why do I take it out on him? And why am I talking out loud to myself? I'm not in Sunset Beach."

She got up from her chair and decided to go for a long walk to clear her head. Hopefully the sense of loneliness and depression would go away. And hopefully one thing would go away. And that one thing was the fact that she missed Joey. Not much, but she had thought about him a few times already. She missed his company. And that made her feel even worse, since she only really wanted to miss Chandler. Chandler was the one she cared about, after all. Not that she didn't care about Joey, but he could never compete with Chandler.

Someone knocked on the door. She answered and saw Chandler on the other side, looking slightly awkward and with a bag in his hand.

"Too late to change my mind and join you?" he asked.

Monica smiled happily and opened the door wider. He entered and put his bag down, looking around. Monica closed the door and when Chandler turned to look at her she walked into his arms and kissed him lovingly.

"Honey you are more than welcome…" she said and kissed him again.

"Thank you…" Chandler said. "I wasn't sure you'd let me come in…"

"Hey, my casa is your casa…" Monica replied and stroke his cheek. "Wherever I am, you will always be welcome."

"Thank you" he whispered, and kissed her lovingly again.

*

An hour later they were resting together after making love. It had been more relaxed and lustful than it had been between them for a few weeks now, and they were both very content. Chandler gathered his courage and asked her why she had been so uninterested in sex lately.

Monica looked up at him with a confused face and then she giggled.

"You'll probably not believe me, but I was about to ask you the same question."

"I just figured you wanted to be left alone…"

"I've been quite tired lately" Monica said, stroking his chest. "And stressed. That has affect on your lust, and it ain't positive. I haven't always been in the mood… It has nothing to do with you, I hope you know that. But then you all of a sudden stopped initiating sex. And I for some reason didn't dare to initiate it myself, because, well… You've always been the one who's mostly initiated it. And now that you stopped doing that I guess I figured you wanted to be… left alone. Pretty much like you thought I wanted to be."

Chandler smiled.

"Well then we've sorted that out" he said. "So here's my idea. What do you say that tonight we stay in bed and talk and have sex. And tomorrow we can go out and do something fun, and then return to bed… And spend Sunday in bed as well, until we've gotta leave. It's been over two years since we spent an entire day in bed."

"True…" Monica said with a smile and kissed him again. "Chandler I am so glad you came. I'm so glad you took the first step. I hate it when we fight."

"Not as much as I do" Chandler whispered, and kissed her harder.


Did you like it? Hate it? Let me know which, and if I should continue... I'm continuing it either way, but I'm not sure I'm gonna post the rest here...