Joey suddenly realized that his roommate's new relationship with Monica, which Chandler and Joey both hoped would become permanent, opened up romantic options for him. Although Chandler was never a lady's man, he had dated some pretty girls. Some pretty hot girls. Some he had slept with, some not. Either way, Joey figured that they were all now fair game for him. Joey mentioned it to Chandler, "Hey, I was thinking that, since you're with Monica now, I can date any of your exes."
Chandler froze. He was unable to think of a credible reason to prohibit Joey from dating any former girlfriends, "Well, I guess so, but I don't think you'd really like any of them."
This was an unexpected and unpleasant development. Joey was definitely a lady's man. He tended to very short-term relationships, usually one-nighters, with women who ran the gamut. Joey's conquests might be promiscuous, chaste, intelligent, dumb, rich, poor, cute, pretty, beautiful or gorgeous.
Chander and Ross had agonized many times when Joey brought home a beautiful, educated, classy woman who was drawn to Joey only by his good looks and streetwise vibe. Some of them would have been perfect mates for Chandler or Ross, but sleeping with Joey voided their warranty, so to speak.
Joey's first target, predictably, was Janice. Chandler had had exactly four dates with her, and no sex. She was pretty, with short brown hair. Janice was tall. In heels or boots she looked taller than either Joey or Chandler. She intentionally wore tall shoes to gain a height advantage. She was an Archaeologist. She studied building and construction sites around New York City, looking for, identifying, and classifying human remains and artifacts. She was quick-witted, and both Ross and Chandler had longed for her.
To Chandler's horror, a matter of hours after Joey had asked for Janice's number, Joey reported that they had a date for Saturday night. Chandler spent the night in the apartment of an even more attractive woman across the hall. Around ten o'clock, Chandler had to go back to his apartment to get something, and he saw Joey's door closed, with a necktie hanging from the doorknob.
Joey and Chandler had separate bedrooms, and there was no chance of Chandler going into Joey's room, but Joey still put out the traditional "Do not disturb" sign anyway. There were faint noises. Chandler got what he needed and retreated to Monica's place. Monica was on the couch, reading. Chandler sat beside her, took her hand, and said, "I feel the need to talk. Is now okay?
Monica closed her book, "Sure. What's up?"
Chandler looked straight ahead, "I know I'm being ridiculous. I have a gorgeous woman that I'm crazy aboutβthat'd be youβand yet I'm ruminating over a woman I never even held in my arms. Joey had a date with that girl I dated, Janice. Remember her?"
Monica said, "Oh, yes. She was cute. I thought you two would work out."
That stung, "Well, I hoped that we would, too. Four dates, and we never got intimate. Now, on her first date with Joey, they're already in bed across the hall. It's humiliating."