Luv Jones Part III


Here's the next part. It's 2 1/2 months later. Read parts 1 & 2 for background info.
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters except David and Shelby.


The whole gang, plus David but minus Chandler, are at Central Perk in their regular spot sipping, snacking and having a discussion. Monica and David are sharing the big chair, Ross, Rachel and Phoebe are on the couch, and Joey is at the table eating a sandwich (duh!).
"Sweetie, what are you talking about? Being on a break means you're free to see other people," Ross said. "Ross, that is ridiculous. A break means just giving someone their space for a while, not completely breaking up," Rachel said.
"Guys, help me out here," Ross said.
"I think I'll stay out of this," David said.
"Good for you," Monica smiled.
"Joey? are you going to help me out here?" Ross asked. Everyone looked in Joey's direction as he remained quiet. He looked up with a piece of lettuce hanging from his mouth and mustard on the side of his lips.
"What?" he mumbled. "I'm sorry but this is the best sandwich ever!"
Ross just shakes his head. "Never mind." He turns back to Rachel. "Rach, listen...."
"Can we change the subject please," Monica interupted, "Because this could take all day."
"Thank you," Phoebe and Rachel said.
Ross was about to make yet another comment when Chandler walked through the door, holding the hand of a very pretty young woman.
"Hello children," Chandler said, smiling from ear to ear. Assorted hellos came from group.
"I'd like you all to meet my new girlfriend Shelby. Shelby this is everybody. That's Joey with the mustard on his face."
"Oh," Joey said, and dabbed at the corners of his mouth with his napkin, obviously missing the mustard.
"Yeah, you got it man," Chandler smirked. "Uh, this is Phoebe, Rachel and Ross," he said pointing them out.
"Hi," they said.
"And you remember David, and that's Monica." Phoebe got up from the couch so they could sit down and joined Joey at the table. Monica was shocked, and not to mention a little jealous to hear he had a girlfriend, but hid her reaction well. The last thing she needed was for David to become aware of, what she thought were defunct, feelings for Chandler.
Phoebe and Rachel exchanged glances at the introduction and assumed Chandler had gotten over his feelings for Monica.
"I've heard so much about all of you," Shelby said. And we haven't heard a single thing about you, Monica thought. "All good I hope," She said aloud.
"Of course," Shelby said, smiling at Chandler. "Chandler talks about you all so much I feel like I already know you."
"So where did you two meet?" Rachel asked.
"Uh, we met here actually. Yeah, I was here one day just reading the paper and Shelby came up to me and we ended up talking for two hours. We went on a date the next day," Chandler said. He smiled and took Shelby's hand, kissing it.
"Aww," Phoebe and Rachel said. Monica had to refrain from popping a vein in her neck.
"How long have you two been dating?" Ross asked.
"Almost a month," Shelby said. "I had to get the approval from David before I was allowed to met the rest of you," she joked.
"Honey that's not true," Chandler laughed.
"Honey?" Rachel mouthed to Phoebe who just shook her head. Monica sat stiffly beside David with a fake smile on her face. She knew deep inside that Chandler having a girlfriend was in her best interest, but on the surface she couldn't think past her feelings. Monica looked at Chandler and Shelby and their happiness made her curse her own lack of feelings for David. "Excuse me," she said to the group, getting up and going to the restroom.
David watched her leave and wondered what was going on with her lately. He knew things weren't great between himself and Monica but he still loved her and wanted to make their relationship work. Whatever she was dealing with, she didn't trust him enough to confide in him.


Monica threw cold water on her face, examining herself in the mirror. She looked at her reflection, paying close attention to her eyes as if the answer to all her problems resided there.
"Monica what are you doing?" she asked herself. Then she chuckled derisively. "Well for starters you're talking to yourself." She grabbed a papertowel and dried her face. She took a deep breath, contemplating on whether or not to go back out there. She got so lost in her thoughts she didn't hear the door open. Her eyes widened as Shelby walked in. Monica quickly turned away from her glance.
"Oh, hi Monica."
"Hi," she said, avoiding eye contact.
Shelby noticed this and thought maybe she could help. "Monica?," she asked. She cautiously put her hand on Monica's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Monica finally turned towards her with a fragile smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not feeling very well today."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Shelby was so sincere about wanting to help that Monica couldn't help but be touched. Even if she was Chandler's new girlfriend. "I don't think so, but thanks for asking. I think I just need to lie down for a while."
With that Monica walked out. She feigned a headache to the others so she could be by herself. David wanted to come with her, but she told him she'd just call him later. Rachel and Phoebe watched as she left, wondering what happened. David also watched with a concerned look as she left. Sometimes it was like he didn't know who Monica was anymore. He thought that if he loved her more than anyone else could she would eventually feel the same way. Now he was starting to think love just wasn't enough.


Chandler looked at David as he watched Monica leave. He knew all wasn't well between the two of them based on what David told him. On one hand Chandler felt sorry for his bestfriend. But he also couldn't help this perverse feeling of pleasure knowing things weren't going well. Chandler knew he was in a terrible situation feeling the way he did for Monica, so he only saw one way out: get over Monica by getting under someone else. He eyed Shelby talking to Phoebe and Rachel. She smiled and winked when he caught her eye. Am I making a mistake? he asked himself. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Shelby, but he knew he'd end up doing just that.
"What's up man?," David asked, sitting down beside Chandler.
"Nothing much. Is Monica okay?"
"Uh, actually I don't know. Something's going on with her lately. When I try to talk to her about it, she'll change the subject. She's been distant. I think she might break up with me."
Chandler had no idea things were that bad for David and Monica. "Dude, what are you gonna do?"
"What can I do? If I pressure her she might turn completely away. The only thing I can do is be there and hope she'll open up to me." David felt helpless about the situation. "But enough about my problems. How're things with Shelby?"
Chandler smiled. "Things are good. Nothing serious right now, thankfully."
David chuckled. "Man, when are you going to stop being afraid and committ to a woman?"
Chandler laughed and shook his head, but he kept thinking that maybe he'd already met the woman he could committ to, but she wasn't available.


Over the next few weeks Monica put more energy into her relationship with David. She pushed whatever her heart wanted with Chandler to the back and devoted her all to being a better girlfriend to David. This also meant spending time with Chandler and Shelby, but Monica was determined to make up for her distant behavior. But her willpower was tested the first time the four went on a double date. They'd gone to dinner and a movie and then back to David and Chandler's for drinks. Monica genuinely liked Shelby, and could see why Chandler liked her as well. Besides being pretty, she was smart and fun to be around. Monica thought she was well on her way to getting over Chandler until that faithful night.
"And then..." Chandler said, before laughing hysterically. Shelby was sitting beside him on the couch, laughing so hard tears were rolling down her face. Chandler had been trying to finish his story for five minutes, but each time he caught his breath he broke into a fit of giggles again. David, who was once sitting on the love seat with Monica, was on the floor holding his stomach and laughing. Monica giggled so hard she began to snort. It wasn't that the story was so funny, but the combination of alcohol and Monica's snort was too much for them to handle.
"You guys have got to stop, you're killing me," Shelby said between giggles as she wiped tears from her eyes.
"I think I need to get up and walk around," Monica said. She was having a really good time. Monica hadn't laughed this hard in a while and it was such a release from all the tension she'd been dealing with. She sat back down on the love seat watching as everyone caught their bearings. Shelby excused herself and went to the bathroom and David stretched out on the floor.
"I'm gonna go make some coffee," she said to no one in particular. Monica went to the kitchen and set up the coffeemaker. She was looking through their kitchen cabinets when Chandler entered. He chuckled lightly when she smiled at him.
"Maybe you can finish telling us that story when we're not so inhibited."
"Yeah I think that's a good idea. That way I won't be distracted by that snort of yours. What the hell is that anyway?," Chandler asked, before laughing again.
Monica's mouth popped open. "Screw you, with your.....your......your I don't know what!," she said. They looked at each other silently before bursting into laughter. Monica snorted again and covered her mouth, which led to Chandler laughing even harder. It was a few minutes before they'd both calmed down. Chandler leaned against the counter behind Monica as she resumed her search in the cabinets.
"What are you looking for?"
Monica turned around. "Coffee mugs. I can't seem to find any."
"They're at the very top. You may be too short to reach them." Chandler moved closer to Monica, sandwiching her in between his body and the counter as he reached above her to get the coffee mugs. Monica went into total awareness mode within five seconds as she felt his body pressed against hers, his front to her back. She felt his thighs brush the back of hers and her hair stood on end. Monica's breath caught when his manhood grazed her backside. She stood still, hoping and praying that he backed away without touching her. Back away Chandler.....please, she thought.
Chandler sometimes wondered why he did stupid things. Cornering your best friend's girlfriend in the kitchen with your friend only a few feet away was stupid. His need to feel her body against him, to smell her perfume, overrode his common sense. Chandler knew that just one hint from Monica, one movement in his direction, would cause him to throw all caution out the window and say to hell with everything. He slowly removed the mugs from the shelf as if to prolong the torture.
"There you go," he said, giving her an inch of space. Monica turned around breathing heavily. She could feel his breath on her cheek, and was painfully aware of how close his lips were to hers. Their eyes met as moved closer together. "I..." Monica said, before lowering her eyes preparing for his kiss.
"Hey!" came the sudden yell from the living room. "Where's everyone at?!"
David's call jolted Monica and Chandler back to reality and Chandler jumped back, knocking one of the mugs to the floor. Monica jumped when the glass shattered on the floor, then jump again when David popped his head in the doorway.
"There you two are," he said, walking in the kitchen. Chandler and Monica both had guilty expressions on their faces. He grabbed the broom and dustpan and swept up the glass. "You guys don't have to look so guilty, its only a mug," he chuckled.
Monica and Chandler both laughed nervously. "Uh, I'm gonna go check on Shelby," Chandler said. "She's been in the bathroom for a long time."
Monica watched Chandler leave then turned her glance to David. He smiled at her, caressing her cheek. Monica tried to return his smile but she was so nervous. She looked down at her shaking hands and put them behind her back before he saw what a nervous wreck she was.
"Did you have a good time tonight?," he asked.
"Oh yes. I haven't laughed that much in forever."
"Well I'm glad you did. We're going to have to get together more often."
"Great," she said, feeling anything but that. David took her hand and led her back to the living room. They sat on the couch cuddling when Chandler and Shelby appeared from the back. She was leaning on him as he helped her walk.
"Oh my God. Shelby are you okay?," Monica asked.
"Not really," she said softly. "This is why I don't drink. I can't handle alcohol too well." She smiled slightly.
"Sorry Shelby," David said.
"It's okay. I had a really great time you guys. We'll have to do this again. Monica, I'll call you later."
"Okay," Monica said. Chandler and Shelby said goodbye and left the apartment.
"She'll call you tomorrow?," David asked as soon as the door closed.
Monica smiled at him. "Yeah. We're suppose to get together for lunch next week."
"Wow."
"What does that mean David?"
"Nothing. I just......I got the feeling that you didn't like Shelby when you first met her."
"What? That's not true." Monica was surprised how easily that lie rolled off her tongue. "I was just having a bad day when we met but it was nothing personal. I genuinely like Shelby."
"That's great sweetheart," David said, kissing her on the forehead. "I think she's good for Chandler."
"Yeah," Monica said softly. Maybe if she said that to herself a few times she'd eventually believe it.




Okay that's the third part. Read & review, and tell me how to make it better. Chan and Mon are getting closer to crossing that line, huh? Part 4 coming shortly.