Page 174 of On Merit Alone
She was pacing.
Back and forth.
Up, down.
On the couch, out the back door, in the kitchen, and around again.
She couldn’t stay in one place. She still hadn’t looked at me once since I’d walked in, and I didn’t know if calling her name would work since I had yet to try it.
I took a chancing step in her direction. She whirled on me. “Sit down, please.”
“Okay.” I obeyed, taking a slow seat on the edge of the couch and watching her as she continued to move.
Back and forth.
Up and down.
Out and in.
I cleared my throat. There was only so much of this I could take. “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”
“I’m trying to wrap my head around this.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“I can’t think.”
“Alright.” I stood. “Let’s go out where you think best.”
Taking her hand, I led her out to the court. Where it all began.
Chapter Forty-Five
Merit
As soon ashe placed a basketball in my hands, I felt like I could breathe again.
Ever since he’d said those words back in that crowded room, I’d felt as if air had escaped me. As if he’d stolen it and was holding it hostage along with my beating heart.
I was happy, angry, and confused as hell. But most of all, I was ready to be on the same page as Ira. For the first time in a long time, I could peek ahead and see the highlight reel of the future and dare to hope it came true.
But first I needed to understand.
Ira stayed a good enough distance away from me as he watched me hold the ball between my hands. Looking at him, I watched the way his eyes tracked my movements, his face calm as he waited patiently. And I felt this intense amount of emotion rise up in my chest.
He’d been doing this all along. He’d known himself for so long—known us too. Before I could even see an us, he’d known and he waited patiently for me to catch up. Having trust the whole time that I would.
He did the same tonight. Declared to the entire world that where I go, he would follow. And there he stood again. Waiting for me with his hand extended, ready to pull me up to that next level with him.
I closed my eyes and let my breath seep out of my lungs. This was it. I was done being a step behind. I wanted to be right where he was, right there with him from here on out.
Dribbling in a slow walk, I started toward the basket. In my periphery, I could see Ira turn and mirror my paces. I took a shot. He caught it off the rebound. When I looked at him again, I said, “I thought you weren’t proposing.”
His face cracked in a soft smile. He passed the ball back. “Do you see a ring, Six?”
Pacing a couple steps back, I set my stance and took another shot. “I think throwing away your thirty million dollar standing contract is worth more than a ring, Ira.”
He rebounded again, passing the ball back. “It’s actually not, Merit. No contract is more important than you. That’s sort of what I was getting at when I gave mine up.”
