played you, have I?â
Ah. So she was looking for a fresh victim. Probably tired of beating the same guys over and over.
âI donât think so,â I said, like I wasnât sure.
âSo, how about it?â She flashed me a smile and then turned back to the table to point out a combination shot that I couldnât make if I had a hundred chances. She chalked up, leaned over the table, and slid her cue forward just once to line up the shot before making it. She turned back to me without even watching to see if it all happened as sheâd predicted, which, of course, it did.
âUh, I already put up at another table,â I said. It sounded pretty lame.
âWhich one?â
I pointed to the back of the room. At the same time, I felt Tack nudge me in the back with his elbow. It was a What are you, nuts? Go for it! kind of nudge. I almost lost my balance. Terrific.
âSo, Iâll put up for a game with you at this table,â she said, plopping down a toonie. âYou can play at whichever one is free first.â
But there was no question as to which one would be free first â not the way she shot â and she knew it as well as I did. She could wrap the table in a quarter of the time it normally took to play.
âYeah, okay. Sure.â I tried to look enthusiastic while I prepared myself for the coming humiliation.
I made my way back to the corner and parked myself on the bench, wondering if there was any way to get out of playing her.
â What is your prob lem, dude?â Tack asked.
âWhat, you mean because Iâm not dying to look like a fool?â
âCâmon, man, who cares? Sheâs hot .â
âShe just wants a fresh sacrifice,â I pointed out.
âMaybe,â he said. âCould be more to it.â
âSure, because sheâs always going out with guys just like me,â I said.
He didnât have an answer for that. We both knew Loren wasnât about to start hanging out with anyone my age, and especially not someone who was always broke. Her taste ran to older guys with cars, guys who all had a certain look about them â like they were always on the verge of sneering. At everything.
Tack was, as usual, being the optimist, thinking she could have more on her mind than the desire to add another idiot to the long line of guys sheâd embarrassed at the pool table. But it turned out he was right, just not for the reason he thought.
She beat the players who had already lined up at her table in no time and then signalled me that I was up. I walked over, wondering if my fake smile was fooling her.
âYou still on probation?â she asked as I racked the balls and stepped back to let her break.
âDonât waste any time getting to the point,â I said. But I smiled, because it really didnât bother me. I like girls who are direct a lot more than the ones who put on a big coy act while they work their way up to whatever they really want to say.
âWe probably donât have much time,â she said, smiling back. âIâve seen you play.â
She chalked up and broke. She got low, and her eyes swept the table, assessing which shot she should take next. You can always tell the good players because they never go for the easy shots first.
âSo, are you?â she said.
âSeeing as you paid good money to get this information,â I said, âthe answer is no, Iâm not.â
âBut you were?â
âUntil last year, yeah. Why?â
âI just wanted to know how things work. I had to hold, you know, for Jack.â
âWhatâs the charge?â I guessed Jack was the current boyfriend. A real winner by the sounds of it. You just canât help admire a guy who expects his girlfriend to take a fall for him.
âI dunno. They didnât tell me that yet. But it was mostly just weed.â
âHow much?â
âHalf an ounce, maybe. And some E, but