The Certainty of Deception by Jeanne McDonald Read Free Book Online Page B

“I’m the first born son; so, I’d be Keanu.”
    Jared placed his phone down on the table, and picked up his half-eaten slice of pizza.  “Wasn’t he attracted to his sister or some shit like that.”
    The room broke into laughter.  Gavin waved his hands, shaking his head frantically.  “Oh, hell no.  That’s disgusting!”
    “I’d do your sister,” Ethan countered.
    I stood up, making my way to the wall rack where all my pool sticks were on display.  “You’d fuck anything with a pussy.  Case in point.  You fucked Holly tonight.”
    “Seriously?” Gavin choked.  
    Ethan stood up, depositing his empty bottle in the trash, before grabbing another from the fridge.  “What can I say?  I wanted to see what all the talk was about.  Trust me, she’s not that good.”
    “Do you agree, Drew?”
    Taking the chalk cube that rested on the edge of the table, I twisted it over the cue tip.  “You’re asking the wrong person.  I vaguely remember sleeping with her.  All I recall was she sounded like a cat in heat when she came.”  I dipped my finger into the round indentation of the chalk, extracting dust and rubbing it between my index and middle finger s as well as my thumb.
    Ethan clapped his hands together, and then pointed at me.  “Yes!  That’s it!  I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what she sounded like.  It was the most unattractive thing I think I’ve ever heard.” 
    “I’m sure Chewie and Wicket would’ve loved her,” I noted.  I lifted the triangle rack away from the billiard balls, and hung it on the wall.  Pool was a game I’d always excelled at.  I enjoyed the calculations that the body and mind needed to create the perfect shot.  My body leaned forward, holding the back of the cue in my left hand while creating a bridge with my right to center the cue for the perfect shot.  Precision, alignment, and force were constants in the art of the perfect break.  
    Most people tighten their grip in anticipation of the shot, but I knew better.  Keeping a loose handle on the stick, I thrust the cue forward, in a spring-like motion.  The crack of the cue against the cue ball, followed by the impact of against the other fifteen balls, created the precise domino effect and resulted in a perfect break.  Several balls hit pockets, another testament to my skill.  “I call solids,” I announced.
    “Where are the fur balls?” Gavin asked.  He grabbed a cue from the wall, chalking it up, as I moved around the table to make my next shot.
    From my new position, I caught sight of Jared, quietly sitting at the table staring at his phone.  I shook my head, desperate to manage my temper.  My body hunched over the black felt of the billiard table, aligning my next shot.  “They went with Ruby and Wyatt,” I said without thinking.
    Gavin leaned on his pool stick, watching my assessment of the table.  “Really?  Why would you send them ahead?”
    My head popped up. I was stunned.  They’d taken the cats because I didn’t want to worry about them while I was in Amarillo.  There was no other logical reason for my little buddies to be gone.  My mouth gaped open and it took me a moment to speak.  “I, uh, wanted to give them a chance to acclimate.  It’s such a long trip,” I fibbed.
    Ethan straightened up in his seat.  Jared stopped texting long enough to gage Gavin’s reaction.
    A bemused smiled played across his face.  “Makes sense.”
    I sighed in relief.  He bought it.  Ethan appeared as relieved as I did, and Jared returned to paying more attention to his phone then the company of the evening.
    “Three ball, left corner pocket,” I announced my shot.  My arm coiled and the pool cue sprang forward, knocking the cue ball dead center.  A perfect shot, as was expected.
    “You know,” I said, moving into my next shot, “there’s a game going on here.  You think you could pull your nose out of your phone for ten minutes to mingle with the group?”