The Project

Julia woke early the next morning with a pounding head. She staggered into the bathroom to get a glass of water and some aspirin, then went back to bed. Several hours later she woke up again. From the angle of the sun streaming in the window she knew it was late morning without even looking at the clock. She still felt groggy but at least the headache was gone. Julia had a nagging feeling she had something important to do today, even though it was Saturday. She sat bolt-upright. "Oh God," she groaned as the memories flooded in.

She remembered flinging herself at Steven like a shameless hussy. Briefly, she wondered if there was a chance he might not remember. But he hadn't been as drunk as her, so that was a long shot. She was going to have to explain that her behavior was due to the alcohol. He was going to be crushed.

Julia padded into the kitchen and found her phone on the counter. It displayed three missed calls, from Mark, Ben and Steven. God, when did her life get so complicated? She had a shower and then some breakfast and then couldn't put off making the call any longer.

She dialed Steven's number. "Hi, it's Julia," she said, probably unnecessarily.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

"I had a headache earlier but I'm better now, thanks," she replied.

"That's good. Hey, I was wondering if you were planning to go to the antique expo in Upper Hutt this weekend." "Antique expo?" Julia asked.

"You must have heard about it. It is supposed to be the biggest collection of antiques for sale in Wellington." "Oh, yes I remember reading about it weeks ago. I thought about going but forgot until now," she admitted.

"How about we go together, this afternoon," he suggested enthusiastically.

Julia hesitated. She did want to see the antiques but was worried things might be weird with Steven. "I'm not sure," she said finally.

The phone was silent for a while. Julia hoped he wasn't taking her reluctance too hard. She wished she could see his face.

"Come on, just as friends? We can still be friends, can't we?" he said hopefully.

"Of course we can," she said automatically. She made a snap decision then not to let what happened last night spoil things. She didn't have many friends and he was a nice guy, damn it. "Actually, I think that's a great idea. How about I pick you up at two?" she said.