Mark outstretched a clumsy hand as he fumbled for the phone.

He heard his lamp knock over; a few coke cans clatter to the ground... finally he grasped the phone, brought it to his ear that was hidden underneath a pillow and croakily spoke; "Hello?"

"He's coming over"

Mark was silent for a moment, still trying to register and co-ordinate what was happening around him. "Huh?" he snorted. "Who....who is this?"

"It's...." the voice trailed off.

"Huh?" Mark asked again.

"Juliet.... It's Juliet, Mark!"

His eyes opened wide, and he struggled to come out from underneath his heap of pillows and blankets. He held the phone close as he sat upright, taking a side-glance at his clock, it was 7:30.

"Juliet?...ahh....what....how are....what?" He fell over his words, but quickly shook his head, blinked and cleared his throat once again, trying to gain some bravado in his voice, act natural... unnerved.

"Ah, Juliet, eh? How....how are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow slightly, his voice was deep and husky... he hoped to god that he sounded cool.

"Peter..." She blurted on the other end, "Peter is on his way to you're place right now"

Mark's eyes grew wide, and whatever minute coolness he had was lost, "What?!" he practically screeched. "Is it because...Jesus! Juliet...did you..." he didn't even want to think about it.

"No!" She snapped, and then let out a sigh, "no...he thinks you were being a knob to me the other day, when I went over to look at the....err....video"

"What?" It was 7:34 in the morning; Mark Bradley did not function well until at least 8:30, and needed no less than 2 cups of coffee in his blood to do so... "Where would he get that daft idea from?"

Juliet sighed again, becoming impatient. "He just assumed you were the reason I was in a crabby mood!"

Mark gave a small nod, and both listened to the long expanding silence coming from either end.

"Soooo..." Mark breathed, ruffling his hair.

"Peter's coming over to try and convince you to...to be more civil towards me"

He couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Juliet did not find the situation as funny.

"Considering what you know now, you gotta admit this whole thing is ironically funny." He said, "Isn't it?"

On the other end he was sure he could hear the slightest of small laughs.

"So, about what did happen....should we....you know...talk?"

The laughing stopped. He guessed that was a no.

"Ahhh...Mark, I'm still trying to process what happened..."

Just then, there came a familiar heavy banging on Mark's front door.

"Oh shit," he cursed under his breath.

"What? What?...Jesus...is it Peter?"

Low and behold. The man appeared before him, holding up Mark's spare key.

"Morning mate!" He half smiled.

Mark looked to him, his jaw dropped- he had to think fast.

He suddenly spoke, voice slightly shaky. "Yes...so wong tun noodles with extra pork...thankyou..."

"Goodbye Mark" Juliet whispered, and was confronted with the dull dead tone.

"Chinese for breakfast?" Peter raised an eyebrow.

Mark shrugged, spotting a woollen jumper thrown on the floor, he stood, picking it up and pulling it on. "Yeah well, I'm a bachelor....what can I say?"

"True, true" Peter nodded, tucking Mark's spare key into his pocket.

"So, what can I do you for, mate?" Mark asked, walking past Peter to the kitchen, where an empty coffee cup awaited.

"I'm actually here to talk serious..." Peter replied, following.

Mark threw him a strange look over his shoulder, and Peter laughed.

"Well...only a little"

Mark started to busy himself with the blender and coffee beans. Grateful to keep himself amused while Peter spoke about his wife... every time he mentioned Juliet's name Mark licked his lips, sure he could still taste her soft kiss, and his hands would shake just a little.

"...She's a great girl, Mark...honest, I think you two just need to get to know each other better, that's all"

He nodded, and stared into his black coffee before raising it to take a long sip.

"She thinks your great! Really...and she hates that we cant all be friends..."

Mark nodded again.

"...She's always mentioning how she has a single friend you could take out on a date...hell, we could all go on a date together! It'd be great!"

Mark raised his head. "Ahh...I don't do blind dates"

"Well, fair enough....I'm just throwing out suggestions, ya know?"

"Yeah, yeah I know"

"Give her a chance, please?"

Mark looked pointedly at his friend, forcing a smile he gave another small nod, "I don't know what it is about her..." he began, his voice uncertain, unsteady, "...I guess your right...I just have to get to know her better"

"That's all it is!" Peter agreed happily.

"So, I have this idea, a way for you to apologize and make up for being a complete ass this past year..." Peter began, "Jules is real cut up about not having any great footage of the wedding..."

"I told you, I don't have any!" Mark suddenly snapped.

Peter continued, ignoring his outburst, "I thought, instead, seeming as we didn't hire a professional photographer because I'm a complete tight-ass-twat...well I thought you could do a modelling session for us...you know, we get dressed up in the wedding outfits again, you take a few happy-snaps and you and Jules can start over, and my little lady is happy as Larry, cool?"

"You want me to take some pictures of you two?"

"Yeah, just a few to show the grandkids!"

"I don't think I can, mate...."

"Why not?"

"Well...because I don't do that sort of thing..."

"You're a photographer, right?"

"Yeah...but"

"So you can take pictures? Of anything?" Peter smiled, "I know it'll be hard for you, cause we wont be stark naked...but you can do it...just a few, to make Jules happy, please?"

He looked into his coffee cup again, nodding dully. "Yeah, swing by sometime this week" he murmured.

Peter clapped his hands together triumphantly, "Great! Jules will love this! She really will, thanks Mark, I owe you one!"

"Don't mention it"

"Sometime this week..." Peter repeated, as he headed for the front door, to let himself out, "thanks again!" he shouted, closing the door behind him.

"Bloody oath!" Mark hissed, slamming his mug down.

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"You what?!"

Peter smiled, "I knew you'd be happy!"

Happy? Jules thought to herself. Oh yeah, I'm bloody well over the moon!

"But....Peter...Mark takes pictures of tits and buttock's...he doesn't do wedding photos!"

"Jules, the man is handy with a camera, he'll be great!" Peter held his mobile to his ear as he walked through the streets of London, side-stepping out of the way of another suit.

"I don't know about this Peter...I mean, you still haven't called all of you're relatives... maybe they have some brilliant photo's, and we wont have to hassle Mark about this" She bit her bottom lip.

"Jules?"

She turned around, putting the phone down for a moment as Marcy, one of her colleagues, held up two different curtain patterns. "What colour is the main wall again?" Jules asked.

"Dark Ginger?" Marcy held both patterns out closer for Jules to examine.

"Go the plain with a ginger coloured tassel!" she ordered, and placed the phone back to her ear.

"Peter?"

"Look Jules...I'm just around the corner from the office.... I have to go... love you!"

The phone went dead, "love you too,..." she whispered, putting it down.

She looked down at her watch, and bit her bottom lip again. "Marc?" she called.

The stout, curly haired woman with a soft face reappeared, "Yeah Jules?"

"Can you cover for me for just an hour?...."

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The place was deader than a Christmas tree farm in summer.

The occasional teenager or two came in, to gawk and giggle. Sometimes a couple would wander in, thinking he sold quaint little paintings of canals and landscapes, but were given a rude awakening when they saw the woman's breasts hanging on the main wall.

The artsy-type people from overseas poured in during the summer, when they were in London for business, and had heard about the MB gallery from word of mouth.

Mark roamed the wide gallery, admiring his own work, making mental notes to re-hang certain paintings, and continue with a particular idea... when he found a suitable model.

"Bit quiet, isn't it?"

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard her honey voice.

"Oh well, I guess that's the way it gets around Christmas time.... My office is pathetically lifeless aswell!" she stood by his entrance, wearing an emerald green beanie, and holding her blue scarf and black coat in her arms.

He felt his face turning hot, "Err...hey....ahh...yeah...quiet, very quiet!" he blurted, running a hand carelessly through his hair. Trying to act natural. She knew the routine.

Next, he dug his hands in his jean pockets, and did his usual cool-as-a-cucumber stance.

She gave a small smile and a nod as she stepped inside his studio, she reached up, pulling off her beanie- her hair ruffled, but she smoothed it down perfectly with one run through of her long fingers.

She took a quick look around, at the hanging photos. "I like that one" she nodded towards the row of butt-naked men wearing Christmas hats; "Very yummy!" she smirked.

"Ahh, yeah" he tried smiling aswell. But looking at her only made him nervous. Nervous and sweaty. His palms were sweltering inside his pockets. But he was too consciousness to pull them out.

"So what are you...."

"I came here because..."

They both laughed as their sentences collided.

"You first!" Mark nodded.

Jules quickly sucked in some air. "Peter told me what you agreed to..." she started, "And I just wanted to say thankyou. Its very sweet of you....but I don't think we should..."

"I really didn't want to. But you know Peter, he can be so goddam persuasive!" Mark interrupted.

She gave a small nod and understanding smile, "yeah, yeah I know what he can be like!"

They stood awkwardly far apart, and tried to avoid connecting eyes as they waited for the other to say something... anything.

Mark cleared his throat, and Juliet let out a sigh of relief.

"Not much is happening here" he started, "Do you want to go out and grab a coffee?" he asked, his words shrinking inside himself as Juliet stared at him, clearly defensive about the proposed outing.

"Purely platonic!" Mark raised his hands in defence.

She bit her bottom lip, hard. And then, she smiled. "Yeah, that'd be great...."

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Juliet threw her head back as she laughed. Mark admired her as she did so...she had an infectious laugh.

She turned back to him, urging him to continue.

"So here I am, in my bloody boxers, freezing my ass off...yelling at Peter 'forget the stupid goddam chicken!'..."

She started laughing again, and reached out, lightly touching Mark's elbow, as if to steady herself. "So what happened in the end?" she finally asked, when her giggles had calmed.

"Well McCarthy found us both...two bloody human popsicles, Peter holding this crazy chicken in his arms...." He shook his head slightly and smiled as he relived the memory, "we were suspended for a week...but the footy team needed us back, so they started a petition and we were back after two days"

They continued strolling through James's Park, both rugged up in beanies, scarves and jackets, clutching their coffees.

"That's brilliant!" Juliet giggled.

"What? Peter never told you that one before?" Mark asked, taking a sip from his cooling coffee.

She shook her head slightly, "No... I suppose it was too embarrassing to share with me" she shrugged.

"Ah well, don't tell him I told you..." Mark elbowed her gently, "Pete and I had some great times in College, great times!"

She nodded, and stole a side-ways glance at him. "I cant believe all this time I just thought you were an absolute twat!"

He looked to her and grinned, feeling his cheeks blush, "yeah well.... I was an absolute twat!"

She looked out across the deserted park, too cold for people to venture outside; "I suppose you always tease the ones you like...." She whispered, in a fairly monotone voice, as if she regretted straight away, saying the words.

He said nothing, only took one last sip from his coffee.

He wanted to tell her another story from College.... He wanted to keep himself busy while around her, by cracking jokes and making her laugh, marvelling at the way her eyes lit up when she started to chuckle. If he could do this, then perhaps he could avoid having a serious 'talk' about their....kiss.

"You know its hilarious..." she started, not looking to him as she spoke, "I haven't even been married for 3 months and I already have another man in my life!" the way she said it, it didn't sound hilarious.

She suddenly stopped walking, and Mark had to turn around to face her again.

"Not that you are in my life... as if we are having an affair....just that, well you know...your another man...and we... I mean you told me....and then I...." She let out a little gasp, closed her eyes and cursed under her breath. "Just slap me right now! Tell me I'm a daft idiot!"

"You're a daft idiot"

She opened her eyes, a small smile creeping across her lips. She gently slapped him across the arm, and he feigned pain.

"Shut up!" she laughed again, and he couldn't help but smile.

She opened her mouth; about to say more, perhaps some more gentle taunting, when her phone rang.

She handed him her empty cup, and reached into her coat pocket, "probably the office" she whispered before pressing the button and answering it.

"Hello?" she said, in a song-sing voice, smirking at Mark as he watched her.

"Hey Babe, where are you, I just tried the office...?"

Juliet grimaced, and mouthed Peter's name to Mark who, in return, mouthed the word 'shit'! Very appropriate.

"Jules?" Peter spoke.

"Ahhh..." she looked to Mark for guidance.

He threw his coffee holding hands in the air and shrugged, then closed his eyes for a second of thought.

"Juliet?"

"Umm....well you see sweety...." She started, speaking very slowly.

Mark mouthed the words 'errand to run', and then pretended to run on the spot.

"Oh....I had an errand to run...." She spoke to Peter, looking to Mark, who nodded.

"Hmmm...ok, well what time will you be back? I'm getting off work early tonight and thought you might like a lift?"

"A lift? Yeah that'd be great...." She started, "oh no wait...I'm a while away...maybe you shouldn't bother?"

Mark listened for a second or two, as Juliet and Peter made merry chitchat. "Ok...so milk and bread?" she nodded as Peter marked off what they needed.

Mark felt as though he was intruding. So he turned around, and headed for a bin to get rid of the cups he was left holding.

He took a seat on a nearby bench, digging his hands deep into his brown coat pockets. Juliet continued to chat. Realizing Mark wasn't standing beside her anymore, she quickly whirled around, until she spotted him, gave a reassuring smile and rolled her eyes as Peter continued with their grocery list.

"Alright love, bye. Love you" she turned her phone off, and headed for the bench, cautiously taking a seat beside Mark.

"Is it always going to be this weird?" he asked, without turning to look at her.

She gave a nod. "Yep.... yep I think it most certainly will be"

"So, at barbeques. Parties. Get togethers...."

She nodded again. "It's going to be as weird as a donkey in a barber shop"

Now, he turned to her, grinning from ear to ear. "That's a pretty darn weird scenario....you think that up all by yourself?"

She nodded, and then turned to him, smiling.

There was a calm silence for a while, as they sat together. Until finally, Mark stood up.

"I better get going"

"Ok, thanks for the coffee....and the chicken story..."

He looked down at her, "hey...anytime...." And he started to walk back the way they had come.

She watched him go. And when he was a little while away, she called out to him, and he stopped to turn around. "Thursday?"

"What?!" He yelled back.

"Can you do the photo's on Thursday?"

He caught his breath for a moment, as he stared at her, green beanie and all...and finally "Alright! Thursday!"

She smiled when he turned his back and continued walking.

"Thursday..." he whispered to himself, with a smile.

Juliet continued to sit. And look after him. A twinkle in her eye.... He wasn't such a bad guy...infact....he was kind of...

"Brilliant" she said quietly to herself, smirking.

AUHORS NOTE

second chapter is long. Sorry about that. When your on a roll.... Also, I don't intend to write 45 chapters to this fic. 10, tops. So, sit tight, there's plenty more where this came from.

Please review.