“You ever kill anybody?” Jake asked as he lined up a bank shot on the four ball.
He shot and missed.
“No,” I said.
I took the nine ball in the side. Followed that with the thirteen, banked the fourteen in the side and scratched on the eight.
“Nice game.”
“Fuck you.”
As I racked up the next game, Jake said to me, “You know, I've killed some people.”
“I don't want to know about it, Jake.” I said.
He broke a decent scatter but left it open.
“No man,” said Jake. “This was legitimate. I was in the military.”
“Then I really don't want to hear about it.”
I shot the four ball, then picked the three and five off the rails, leaving me four balls in open space, though my seven was tied up under his thirteen. All in all, a decent lay.
“You mean to tell me,” said Jake. “That I risked my life for your freedom and you don't even want to hear about the children I killed.”
“Aww man, children,” I said. “Dude, don't?”
“Just kidding,” he said. “They were women.”
“Real fucking funny.”
“You're supposed to ask me about the people I killed, now.”
“Why?”
“Because that's what people do, man. People are curious about that shit. Aren't you?”
“Not really.”
I shot the six ball in the far corner.
“Hey Nate.”
“Yeah, Jake.”
“I never was in the military, man. I was just kidding.”
“Cool,” I said.
“I did kill a few women once, though.”
“Please stop.”
I broke the seven out by coming off the cue low-left while cutting the one in the side. The two was in front of the far right corner pocket and my cue ball was tight on the seven. So I shot the two, froze the cue for the seven, then took the eight by going rail first around his eleven.
“Nice game,” said Jake.
“Nice game.”
“Seriously though, you don't want to hear about me slitting some bitches' throats?”
“Okay dude, now people are looking at us.”
“You've turned into a real prude, DeGraaf.”