**The Following Evening.**
**Central Park Café.**
"Why? Why? Why?"
As soon as Monica walked in, she bombarded Adam with three rapid-fire "whys."
"What happened?"
Adam looked puzzled.
"Are all n liars?"
Monica was clearly furious, throwing out a sweeping accusation.
"That depends on the situation," Adam joked. "n, you know... before the act, they're as wild as devils; afterward, they're as holy as saints. Which type are you asking about?"
"What's the difference? They're all liars!" Monica snapped.
Adam chuckled and nodded. "True! When it cos to certain things, n are all liars!"
Whether it's deceiving themselves before the act or pretending to be saints afterward just to get so sleep, they're all liars in the end.
Phoebe had a hunch. "Did the date with Paul not go well? That can't be. You even let him stay over."
"I regret letting him stay over! He's a liar!"
Monica fud. "He tricked
into feeling sorry for him. Who knew he used the sa trick on my coworker? And I thought I was doing him a big favor!"
"No way!"
Phoebe gasped, then burst into laughter. "What exactly happened?"
"It was our first date. I wasn't planning on moving that fast at all," Monica began to vent. "But during dinner, he brought up his ex with this hesitant, almost heartbroken look. Naturally, I asked about it, and he told
that when they broke up, he smashed his ex's watch. The reason? She cheated on him and dumped him."
"And then?" Phoebe asked, leaning in.
"Then he hesitated again and ntioned that because of the heartbreak, he hadn't been with anyone for two years. Two years!" Monica clenched her fists. "I was so shocked I nearly spit out my drink. I felt bad for him, and before I knew it, I invited him over for coffee."
Adam started to laugh. This was classic. She got played.
"What's so funny?" Monica demanded.
"I'm laughing because, for soone who's dated as much as you, how could you fall for that?" Adam teased. "If he were telling the truth, do you really think he'd bring up sothing that embarrassing on the first date? Or ever, for that matter?"
"I thought I was special, that I got him to open up," Monica muttered, clearly upset.
Adam burst out laughing. "Whether he opened up or not, you definitely opened up to him!" He continued laughing. "This just proves my theory: in relationships, the one who cares more loses. And clearly, you lost."
He wasn't even pretending anymore—he was laying it all out.
To be fair, Adam's unconventional dating philosophy and Joey's one-night-stand approach were well-known among their friends, labeled as the "Two Great Player Theories."
"Your theory is ssed up!" Monica shot back. "What if I really did et a jerk? Do you have any idea how I felt this morning?"
"I know!" Phoebe chid in. "You couldn't stop smiling! That was pure happiness!"
"Exactly!" Monica pointed dramatically. "Sure, I misjudged him this ti, but that doesn't an I'll always get it wrong."
"Hold on," Adam interrupted. "Don't get carried away. That smile was just the afterglow mixed with a sense of accomplishnt from thinking you helped him. It wasn't about love or happiness."
Monica froze, her face falling.
He had a point. Before she found out Paul was a liar, she was happier than usual because she genuinely thought she'd done sothing good for him. Otherwise, it would've just been a typical morning-after glow.
Her happiness shouldn't be that shallow!
"At least we're trying, unlike you, who just gives up," Phoebe jabbed, trying to comfort Monica by taking a shot at Adam. "Are you just going to keep things unclear with Caroline? And what about Juno and Karen from the other night?"
"Juno and Karen? We're just friends, like I am with you guys," Adam said with a grin. "As for Caroline, we're more than friends but not quite lovers. We help each other out and go with the flow. What's wrong with that?"
"More than friends, not quite lovers?" Monica scoffed. "I bet she'll never beco your girlfriend."
"Exactly!" Phoebe agreed. "n get bored easily. If you're not ready to commit at the start, what makes you think you'll want to later? I don't buy that 'feelings will grow over ti' nonsense."
Adam's mouth twitched. How did this go from mocking Monica's bad date to them grilling him?
At least he was more responsible than Joey.
Joey would eagerly ask girls out, then ghost them right after their night together, no matter how much they wanted to keep seeing him.
He did this so often that there would co a day when he t a woman he'd hooked up with before, but neither of them would recognize each other. It was a hilarious but brutal reality.
Sure, in that case, it turned out he'd actually been with her roommate, but Joey wasn't surprised he couldn't rember her. He was just annoyed that she didn't rember him.
Joey's track record was so extensive that he and Barney from *How I t Your Mother* were said to have collectively dated half of New York.
Joey was a lovable goof, but he never rembered the girls he'd already been with—only the ones who'd turned him down.
Adam, on the other hand, was always upfront about his intentions, letting the other person decide if they were on the sa page. He wasn't a one-night stand kind of guy.
But New York was different. He quickly realized his blunt approach didn't fit in with the city's dating scene, so he adapted to a more ambiguous style—what he called "more than friends, not quite lovers."
It wasn't about commitnt, but it also wasn't about using people and moving on like Joey or Barney.
This change of heart ca when Adam started volunteering at New York University dical Center. He heard so many crazy stories there that he rembered this was the world of TV dramas, where everything from heartwarming codies to bone-chilling horrors coexisted.
He didn't want to end up in a nightmare scenario.
Joey once beca the face of a public service announcent, and people avoided him just from seeing the ad—even his own family wouldn't let him co ho for Christmas.
Sure, they knew he was just an actor in the ad, but knowing Joey's dating habits, they couldn't help but be suspicious.
If it weren't for Chandler and the gang knowing Joey so well, they might've been just as wary of him too.
**(End of Chapter)**
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