The Dance...

  A Short story ..

There was a reason that Sam... was the best pool shooter in the place.
Sam was always the first guy in the pool hall, practicing and waiting,
like a lion waits in the grass...for his prey to come along.
When you play pool for money... you pay after every game.
 That was the unwritten, unspoken, pool hall's rules of playing pool.
 If you can't pay then don't play.

Thats the reason not to many guys would try to take him on, or try to win his money playing pool.
It was a losing proposition.

 P.J. was the kind of guy everyone hated, but would not tell him to his face.
 He was a bully and an asshole, the kind of guy who would play you all day for money and then when you were done playing and had him stuck for fourty or fifty dollars, he would tell you that he forgot his wallet. That he would pay you tommorow or the next time he would be in the place. 
It was his usual bullying tatic... because if you asked him for your money now, he would get mad and want to fight you.

Sam looked up and saw P.J. come waltzing through the door,  he just kept practicing.
It was like a ballet that Sam had danced ...many times before.
P.J. smiled and they looked at each other and smiled at almost the same time, they both knew what the other was thinking.
Sam thinking, here comes an easy mark...P.J. thinking... should I try him.
 "Whats up Sam?" P.J. said  as he sat down on the stool.
"Nothing P.J., whats up with you?" Sam replied.

 Sam kept on hitting the balls in a slow steady rhythm... until the pool table was cleared.
 Waiting for his opponent to speak those words, that he loved to hear.
"Want to shoot some Sam?"  he said as he got up and rounded the pool table, he walked to the other end and gathered the balls.
 He knew Sam would  play.
If they played for money...he knew Sam would play anybody.
P.J.actually thought that it was Sam's weakness... in a strange twisted way.
He already owed most of the regular guys in the poolhall money. So why not one more?

"Do you have any money P.J.?" Sam asked.
 "Yea, I do". P.J. answered. " Fuck you, Sam. What the fuck do you think I am ?"
That was usual intimidating tactic, start cussing real loud.
"Well, you owe almost everyone  that comes in here money, so what do you think ?" Sam  answered.
"I always pay Sam.", It might be later but I always pay." P.J yelled.
"Don't talk shit to me Sam, I'll fuck you up" P.J. said,  stopping and glaring at Sam.
 "If you don't have any money or you want to play on the wire *, I ain't going to waste my time with you." Sam answered very casually.

He already  knew P.J's  moves, intimidation would not work with him.
 Sam always kept his cool, that is why he was the best pool player in town...
Sam knew everybody's moves.

To Sam this would be easy money for him, but he had to dance the dance.
 He had to make his opponent feel good about losing their money to him.
That was his best move.
"O.K ...P.J.... rack'em up. let's play" !
"How much do you want to play for ?"... Sam said with a big smile.

The prey had come, the chase was over.
The feast had begun.

*On the wire, is a term used to describe a system of keeping track of who wins and who loses
 on a wire that runs across the top of a billiard table. The loser usually pays what is due at the end of the session of playing.