Monica smiled at Gray as he began to fumble around and stutter with his words. It was so uncharacteristically strange on him, and yet instead of asking him if something was wrong and finding it weird she found his shy little voice adorable. The woman ruffled his hair, "Cat got your tongue, big shot?" She carefully took the cake and wine bottle from his hands and grinned, "Thanks for getting these! That was kind of you," she hobbled back into the kitchen, "Wait here!" determined to show off her newfound walking skills that were in reality quite shaky. 

The woman had sat up a little folding table with a couple chairs, a little vase of flowers and a couple small candles. She was rather proud of her tiny apartment kitchen at the moment, and quickly pulled the chicken from the oven and the rice off the stove. She prepared the plates as nicely as she could; her stomach was rumbling and she was ready to eat with Gray, and set them on the table. She hobbled back and stuck her head back into the living room, "Okay, it's all ready now!" She grinned and beckoned him in with a couple waves of her hand. 

Monica laughed and moved over to the side her friend was headed toward to pull out his chair for him. Her laughter grew louder as she grabbed his napkin off the table and tucked it down the front of his shirt. Her hands lingered on his chest and shoulders for much longer than they should've, and she gently rubbed the muscles in his shoulders before removing her hands and sitting across the small table with a small grin. 

The woman placed her own napkin on her lap and began to eat. Her cooking wasn't half-bad; it wasn't exactly five-star cuisine but it certainly wasn't bad. She ate as politely as she could. It was odd, when they were kids she would scarf down a whole pizza in front of Gray but now that they were adults she felt bound to manners and etiquette, something she'd never felt in front of him. 

[i] This isn't a date, Monica, relax a little, [/i] she thought to herself before realizing she hadn't even attempted to start a conversation with the man. 

"How was work today? Anything exciting happen?" She asked before taking another bite and holding his gaze with her own.