Friday 29 June 2012

Romantic Friday Writers: Stuck In The Middle


Hello everyone! I'm glad to be back with Romantic Friday Writers. This week’s challenge is to write 400 words of prose or poetry or excerpt to the theme Stuck In The Middle.

I'm taking a break from a hectic schedule. All I can say is that I'm looking forward to some downtime this summer.

So I've chosen a snippet from An Engagement Challenge. You can read the blurb here.

In this scene, the heroine Ijay discovers that her fiancé Vincent and her ex Paul know each other. Guess who’s stuck in the middle. LOL. 

Yes, I know it's not supposed to be about love triangles. But I hope you enjoy reading it anyway.

Word count: 396

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“Vincent, please call me. I need to talk to you.”

Ijay left out a frustrated sigh after leaving yet another voice message for her elusive fiancé who was getting harder to get hold of these days. It seemed whenever she wanted to talk to him, he was out of reach. Continually getting his voice-mail was disconcerting to say the least.

Gritting her teeth stopped the banked tears in her eyes from falling. She switched off her phone and dropped it on the table. The events of the night left her feeling raw and sensitive.

She recalled Paul’s expression when she’d told him about Vincent. The distressed and disgusted look on his face made her feel confounded. His eyes had darkened to a menacing glint and his lips twisted with repulsion.

“Paul, what’s the matter?” she asked, fighting to quell the sick feeling roiling her stomach.

That he could be all over her one minute and the next look at her with loathing had hurt her more than anything else he’d done. The anger rising within her had put the tears on hold.

“I’m taking you back to the hotel,” he replied coldly without looking at her.

He promptly called the waiter’s attention, paid the bill and ushered her out of the restaurant. All attempts to get him to explain the reason for his response met with stone cold silence all the way back to her hotel.

He unceremoniously bid her good night at the entrance of the hotel. She stood there fuming in silence and he drove off into the night.

As she walked up to her room, she tried to work out why Paul would be in such a state about Vincent. His behavior confirmed he knew Vincent.

When they’d first started dating, she’d chosen not to ask Vincent if he knew Paul. She’d tried to imagine how that conversation would have gone and changed her mind.

“By the way, Vincent, do you know a Paul Arinze? Oh, he’s just a man I had a one-night stand with whom I keep dreaming about.”

No biggie, right? Wrong! What man would have liked his future wife flaunting a one-night stand in his face? She’d quickly decided against it, choosing to forget Paul in the process. Of course, not discussing Paul was the easy part. Forgetting him was a little more difficult to achieve, to her chagrin.
http://romanticfridaywriters.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/linky-sign-up-for-stuck-in-middle.html
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Share your thoughts as usual. 
Remember to check out the other entries to this week's RFW challenge.

Have a fantastic weekend!


15 comments:

  1. Hi, Kiru,
    I'm back posting for the first time in months. By the sound of it, Ijay (love that name, by the way) isn't sure what's going on with man and it sounds like she's not over Paul, albeit their very brief encounter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi J.L.
      It's good to see you back at RFW. Yes, Ijay is a very confused woman right now. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  2. Kiru, great story. You're a rebel like me this week and have used the love triangle. In my case it was go with the story as is or have none to post. It is still about the others in the relationship though.

    Like Joy, love the name Ijay. Love all the names you choose BTW. Names are so important to a story and I spend a fair bit of time on this. Love it actually.

    Rave on Denise. Sorry. Great story with lots of emotions. What's going to happen now? Is she really over Paul? Will the wedding go ahead? Maybe you'll eke this out bit by bit!

    Denise

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Denise, thank you. Ijay is short for Ijeoma which contextually means 'Have a safe journey through life' or 'Have a safe passage in life's journey'

      Delete
  3. Scandalous! I am intrigued by love triagles. I wonder who she will choose?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. Hi Heather, by their very nature, love triangles are scandalous. We love to read them even if we don't like to live them. :)

      Delete
  4. It doesn't seem to bode well for any of the characters as they don't seem to be able to trust anyone, including their own emotions. A tangled web.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You got that in one, Sally. Things are going to get worse before they get better for all 3. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  5. Hi Kiru,

    OMG: a love triangle of the worst order. Trust being the crux at issue! Perhaps a blessed daisy will help Ijay decide who is going to be number one! One petal Paul, two petal Vincent, three petal... :)

    Not a great middle field to be for Ijay.

    best
    F

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. Nice one, Francine. I should've thought of that. :)

      Delete
  6. Good story. Nice tension and you wonder which way the story is going to go.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gripping from the go and the unresolved ending added to the tension. I wonder what happens next, throw away everything to chase Paul? Or push away his memory and hope for the best. Given Paul's reaction, is something off about Vincent? So many questions...signs of a good writer. :)

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  8. Oooh, Paul must have really impressed her during the "one night" to keep ljay's emotions returning to him so often. What a gripping trio of characters. Who gets the girl is a nice plot set-up.

    Thanks for participating in this weeks RFW challenge Kiru.

    .....dhole

    ReplyDelete
  9. They know each other? Whoops! a set up that's bound to sizzle, Kiru. Well done on your work. I know I'm behind and need to catch up. I will, soon! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello.
    Lots of intrigue in this little snippet Kiru. Nothing good ever comes of these love triangles. I always love your posts. Thanks for sharing.

    LOL at Francine's & Donna's comments.

    Thoughts Of Beauty In The Stillness Of Dawn...

    ReplyDelete

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