Page 26 of Yours

I almost screech “wait!” but before I can find an alternative way to keep him on the phone, he’s gone.

Nine

Brian

Iline up the seven ball and take my shot, but it misses by a hair then bounces in just the right way to tap Higgs’ ball into the opposite pocket.

“Thank you,” Higgs says with a grin, his thick, brown beard twitching.

I frown. “You’re welcome,” I growl, crossing my arms while he takes his shot, a straight line that sinks the four into the corner pocket. The bar isn’t loud, but something’s messing with my head because this is the worst game of pool I’ve played in years. I take a sip of my Coors and return to the table. After Higgs misses, I make my next shot but miss the next.

“You wanna up the bet?” he asks, swaggering his bear-like frame to the corner to line up his next move.

“Fuck no,” I reply.

Two girls at the bar have been watching us. I’ve seen one of them around. She’s a checker at the ShopKo, but I can’t remember her name. The other girl I’ve never seen before.

I take my next shot and miss. Good thing the game’s almost over so I can hand over my ten-spot and grab another beer. When I stand back to let Higgs line up, I notice the girls are heading our way. The ShopKo girl is wearing a short, black skirt and an oversized, denim shirt with a wide belt around her skinny middle. Her brown hair is up in a ponytail and as she gets close, I see she’s wearing a lot of makeup.

“Who’s winning?” she asks, her smile revealing a set of pointed canines, giving her face a slightly predatory look. Her friend stands slightly behind the ShopKo girl, chewing her lip. She’s wearing tight jeans and short, high heeled boots.

“That’d be Higgs,” I say, pointing my stick at him. Higgs grins like the salacious bastard he is. “You girls want to watch me clean up, and then we can play doubles?”

I groan inwardly because I have no desire to spend time with these two, let alone Higgs who will undoubtedly strut and crow like the king of the flock.

“Oh, I’m not very good at pool,” the ShopKo girl says.

“We’re good teachers,” Higgs says.

I restrain myself from rolling my eyes.

The girls agree and perch at the edge of the table while Higgs takes me to town on the last three shots. I hand over my ten and he gives it to the girls to get us all a round of drinks. I don’t like the way he ordered them around like that, but clearly, I’m not in charge tonight.

We rack up the balls. “I get the shy one,” he says in a low voice. “I’d like to teach her a few things.” He adds chalk to his cue tip. “The other one’s all over you anyway.”

“Look,” I say. “I’ll play along, but this isn’t really my scene.”

“C’mon,” Higgs says, his icy blue eyes darting to the bar and back. “We could go back to my place. You get the couch though,” he says, looking serious.

I shake my head.

The girls return with Coors for us and Bud Light for them. We place them on the shelf along the side wall and pair up. I learn her name: Stacy. Her friend’s name is Ivy, and she’s just started working at the ShopKo.

I try to enjoy myself. Stacy is actually a decent shot, which makes me realize she was hoodwinking us. I could be pissed, but for some reason it seems to fit with the way this evening is going.

Ivy though, is terrible. But Higgs pulls out all the stops to help. If I wasn’t so irked at having to pretend that I was into this whole charade, I would be impressed. By the end of the match, my third beer is starting to take effect and I don’t care that we won. Higgs escorts Ivy to the bar, his hand on her low back, steering her to the far end.

“You work at Milt’s Auto, don’t you?” Stacy asks.

My head snaps back. “Yeah,” I reply, wondering how she knows.

“That’s what I thought,” she says, centering the balls inside the frame. “He’s a nice guy,” she adds. “Told me I’d be better off selling my car than fixing it.” She sighs. “I should have listened to him.”

“What happened?”

“I blew a gasket,” she replies with a shrug of her lips.

“Sorry to hear that,” I say. A blown head gasket is a death sentence for any car. “Milton’s a smart guy.”

---