Nightrunners Read Online Free PDF Page B

mean, I haven't seen any action."
    She let that go for a while, then one night, while he was singing the same song, one hundreth verse, she said: "Whatever happened to my nice Jimmy?"
    That seemed to get him a bit, but he said, "Part of my problem. Too much Mr.
    Nice Guy.
    What's it got me?"
    "After we're married you can have me."
    "After we're married, after we're married, that's all I ever hear about. You got stock in marriage licenses? I'm not so sure I want to get married anymore. I mean, I might be getting a pig in a poke, you know what I mean? Or maybe a pig that won't poke, know what I mean?"
    "What's with you? . . . You're different."
    "I'm learning some things about women."
    "From your friends?"
    "Yeah, they've taught me some stuff. Sure. Real cool guys."
    "Things like how to treat women?"
    "Things like that."
    "You love me, don't you, Jimmy?"
    "Yeah, I guess . . . I'm just not sure I want to get married until I've sampled the water, you know what I mean? Get in there and get my feet wet."
    "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?"
    "What's that?"
    "Think about it."
    "Don't try and turn the tables on me, Angela."
    "I'm not trying, you asshole, I'm doing. I don't care much for the new Jimmy. You can take these new friends of yours and shove them up your ass."
    "Hey, you're getting loud. Your mother will hear."
    "What do you care? I'm giving you your money back."
    "Hey, why's that? We're getting married."
    "Who's getting married? You haven't gotten to sample the water." She started away from the window.
    "Say, Angela, I'm sorry, baby. Really."
    "Mean it?" she said, turning back to him.
    "Yeah . . . Yeah, I mean it."
    "You sure?"
    "I said so."
    "Just being the tough guy for no good reason?"
    Silence.
    "Come on, say it, Jimmy."
    Nothing.
    "I'll get your money."
    "Okay, okay . . ." Softly: "Just being a tough guy. No good reason."
    "Where I can hear you."
    "I said it, that's enough."
    "Want me to get you money?"
    "Yeah, get the fucking money. I've had it."
    "Fine." She started across the room.
    He called through the window, just above a whisper. "Sorry."
    She turned. "Did some wind blow through here or something, or did I hear you talking?"
    "Sorry," he said.
    ""How sorry are you, Jimmy?"
    "For Christsakes, what do you want from me?"
    "I want the old Jimmy back, the one without the tough mouth and the tough-guy friends.
    The one that cries at movies when they're sad."
    "Goddamnit, I don't."
    She smiled. "I've seen you. It's okay."
    A moment of silence. Then: "I'm sorry. Real sorry. These guys, they say I let you push me around too much. That I see you too much. They say I'm pussy-whipped."
    "How's that? You don't get any."
    "Well, they don't know that."
    "So you been telling them how it is with hot little Angela?"
    "Not exactly."
    "But you suggest?"
    "Sort of ... I mean it isn't manly for me not to ... You know?"
    She crossed the room, rested her elbows on the windowsill. He moved his hands up, clutched her elbows gently. Softly, shyly, he said: "Sorry."
    "Yes, you are."
    "Don't deny it. It's just that . . . well, I want to run with these guys. They're neat . .
    . and they got this house. I thought when we got married we could move there. Wouldn't cost us much. Later . . . well, later we could get us an apartment."
    "Who are these guys?"
    "Real cool heads."
    "Who are they?"
    "Just some guys I met around the pool hall. They got this big house and some girls live there with them sometimes."
    "Change girls like socks, huh?"
    "Guess. I don't know. Don't care."
    "Jimmy?"
    "Yeah?"
    "You're acting like an asshole. Your friends sound like assholes. All they're good for is trouble, I know it."
    "You don't know them."
    "I don't need to. I can smell them on you, and I don't like the stink."
    "I'm not acting like an asshole. And they're not assholes neither."
    "Take my word for it, you, them, assholes. Big ones."
    Jimmy sighed. "You're the hardest girl I ever did know."
    "Assholes,"
    "All right, assholes. I'm an asshole