Young Chasing Rainbow Trout

By KP Wee

Book Details

• Author: KP Wee
• Publisher: Cacoethes Publishing House
• All Romance eBook Listing: Young Chasing Rainbow Trout
• Year: 2008

Book Description

Jeffery, upon arriving back in town, is dating Amy, a woman whom he'd known in high school but hadn't seen in years. The story is told by Jeffery, the proverbial "rainbow trout," a predator who does many hurtful things behind Amy's back, who is portrayed as "young"--ambitious but naive.

Meanwhile, Amy inherits a large sum of money, which Jeffery certainly has his eye on. Jeffery cheats on Amy and also is behind the demise of her mother, both incidents which he covers up well. Kim, Amy's exchange student "sister," and Mandy, Jeffery's own foster sister, are both in love with Jeffery, and know all of his secrets.

Will Kim, Amy, or Mandy betray him? Will Amy give up on or hook the rainbow trout she's been chasing all these years?

Excerpt

I was having dinner at home with the Chens when my cell vibrated violently in my pocket.

I excitedly dropped my chopsticks and grabbed the phone out of my pocket, my face beaming with high anticipation. It had to be Kim.

Mandy glared at me, as if she disapproved of me answering the phone. I ignored her stare, mainly because I didn’t care, and also because Mandy was the worst offender in terms of chatting during dinnertime. Meanwhile, her parents, who were still munching on their food, didn’t have any reaction.

But my excitement didn’t last long. It wasn’t Kim. It wasn’t even a call. It was a text message—and it was Amy.

It was a deflating moment, to be sure; however, I got over the letdown quickly. This message was an SOS.

7:57p May 25

Message From:

amy chan

where r u? i need u, come to cliff cole pub, clough st, PLEASE.

i’ll wait 4 u

“I gotta go. Emergency,” I said, getting up without bothering to finish my dinner.

“Is it a girl?” Mandy responded angrily—unhappy, I supposed, that I had ruined everyone’s meal with the phone call and abruptness.

“Don’t wait up,” I said without looking back at the table. I was kidding, because they didn’t wait up for me in any case.

I took a cab and got to Cliff Cole Pub on Clough on the double. Inside, I looked around to see if I could spot Amy. It was at least as noisy as I had expected, but it didn’t bother me as I worked my way around the maze of tables.

There was Amy, right at the bar counter. She sat on the stool by herself, head down. Or at least it looked like her, her back facing me, that slim figure of hers. The black jacket she had on, and long straight hair that covered the back of her neck.

I approached slowly, thinking about what to say and wondering what she was up to.

“Amy?” I said softly, tapping her on the shoulder.

“Jeff?” she replied in a feeble, cracking voice, head still down. “I love you, Jeff. Why don’t you love me?”

Yup. She was drunk.

I sat on the stool next to her and tried to calm her down.

“Amy, I’m gonna take you home. Just hang in there, okay?” I said in a low voice.

The bartender came around, and after consulting with him, I understood that Amy had been there for an hour and she’d had too much to drink. Some rowdy guy tried to pick her up, but luckily the bartender was on top of things.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on her.” I winked at him with a smile, then half-wished a second later I hadn’t given him the eye, in case he was into men.

I checked in Amy’s purse and located her cell phone. Bingo. Killing two birds with one proverbial stone.

This was the ticket to get Kim’s number, and also give her a buzz to figure out where they lived.

I flipped the little gadget open and checked the contact list.

Ada, Amy P., Andy, Angela, Anita, Anna…

Great. This was practically the entire telephone directory of the city.

I sighed heavily and peeked over at Amy, who was still muttering to herself.

I kept pounding the down-arrow button frantically, trying to locate Kim’s entry.

Luckily, there was only one “Kim” listed on there. No need to awkwardly call ten Kim’s before figuring out that the last one was the right one.

I quickly pulled out my own phone and keyed in the number there, to ensure it was stored on my device. I hit the “talk” button on my phone and hoped for the best.

“Ahn-yong ha-seh-yo?”

Yup. That was Kim. I remembered the greeting from the café when she answered the phone to interrupt our private moment.

“Kim? This is Amy’s friend,” I stumbled, not exactly sure how to introduce myself. “From the bus. Jeff.”

“Hello Jeff,” Kim yelled, much to my surprise. I was so startled that I moved the phone away from my ear.

No, I wasn’t at all shocked that she sounded like an eight-year-old; that, I’d expected and had taken for granted.

However, with her level of enthusiasm, it seemed she was actually happy that I’d called—not something you could fake.

I got to the point, as this was no time for idle chit-chat.

“Hey, I’m with Amy now. She’s drunk.”

“Amy drunken?” she replied worriedly. “Oh no.”

“Unfortunately, yes. Where do you guys live? I don’t have the address. I’ll bring her home.”

Sure, I could very well have checked her purse for a driver’s license, but this was better.

I scrambled for a pen and paper—but the bartender came by and gently slapped both on the counter in front of me, giving me a wink again.

I was troubled by the wink but smiled back, albeit uneasily. Mental note to self: Don’t come back here again.

Kim read me the address as I jotted it down.

I walked Amy out of the noisy crowded pub and flagged a cab down—mercifully no more bartender, no more noise, and never having to come back.