Page 25 of On Merit Alone
I did. And almost immediately I noticed an opening on his right.My left. I wanted to take it. Oh, how it would feel so good to get a drive past Ira, too. But considering how I’d been feeling on that side, I went the other way.
That was obviously the wrong move.
He had the ball in a matter of seconds, stealing it and running it down the other side of the court. I frowned again, hands falling to my hips as I watched him go. My eyes followed more than just his technique as he stretched up to drop the ball right into the basket.
He was enormous. Not the biggest in the league, but definitely one of the taller players in his position. As a result, he barely needed to exert any effort to gain air and reach up toward the hoop. Even in his nonchalance, he glided through the air due to his powerful legs and all the painstakingly designed muscles grouped there.
He was impressive. This wasn’t the first time I’d thought so, but seeing it up close almost distracted me from the annoying feeling I got with myself for giving that shot away so easily. That’s what stuck in my mind as I watched him jog his way back to me.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, stopping right in front of me.
Tilting my head, I looked up at him and scowled, answering truthfully. “That you’re huge.”
This brought that annoying smile to his face. The one that had the corner of my mouth twitching too, making me want to smile along with him. “That’s no excuse. You gave up way too easily. Plus,I’ve seen you take on bigger.”
“Thanyou?” I asked with a scoff. He started dribbling aroundme in a slow circle, and my shoulders followed him like I was attached on a string.
“Yeah,” he snorted. “Four years ago, Miami, Helga Vladimir.”
I glanced up at the ceiling, trying to remember the game he was talking about. When I did, I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Oh.”
Helga was a six-foot-seven hulking beast of a center who, I swear to God, wanted to eat me for breakfast. I was terrified when I learned she would be the one guarding me, though I wouldn’t admit to that out loud or even to myself at the time. She ended up being slow and easy to outmaneuver.
“Oh yeah, you remember that now?” he laughed along with me. He continued to circle me, pointing with a mock stern finger. “Light work on your part too. She had nothing on you.”
Tilting my head, I realized something. “You remember a game of mine from four years ago? You watched my games back then?”
“Honest?” he asked. When I nodded he winced. “I didn’t really know about you yet. I was watching because I heard aboutHelga.”
Another laugh slipped free from my lips. “You didnot.”
“I did!” He laughed too, a strange expression lighting in his eyes. “Hell yeah, I did. I wanted to see Helga dominate. I was a fan before I even went to the game.”
“Youwent? In person?” I asked, not sure why that surprised me, but it did. Unlike men’s basketball players, we weren’t household names. Unless you gained some kind of attention or recognition with branding or other accolades, people tended to overlook us for our male counterparts.
For Ira, even back then, to go out in public to watch a women’s basketball game... it must have been a whole thing. And he’d done it to see Helga Vladimir, who wasn’t even that great to begin with?
Why did that bother me a little?
“Yeah, me and some buddies snagged some tickets.” He shrugged and finally stopped his pacing right in front of me.
I crossed my arms over my chest, chin inclining as I challenged him, but I’m not sure why. “And your thoughts?”
Another shrug. “Helga wasn’t that great. But you…”
Suddenly, my face was burning. I ignored it and cleared my throat, adjusting my stance straighter. “Me?”
Slowly, he began to lean forward. I instantly felt a sense of panic at his approach. What was he doing? Why was he getting closer? I didn’t move away, just watched him as he continued to lean in, and then muscle memory saved me from something potentially embarrassing as I grabbed the ball he suddenly flicked my way.
The smirk he gave me was all teasing. “Stop fishing for compliments, Six.”
I sputtered.What? But before I could say anything in defense, he was crouching down in front of my body. I mean, could I burn any more at this point? Blocking my face with the ball, I was unsure of my expression, but I peeked over the round of it slightly as I looked down at him.
Ira didn’t seem to think anything of it as he leveled his face with my lower half. He also thought nothing of giving my left knee a pat.
My bare knee. His bare hand was on my bare knee. His soft warm skin touching my not-shaved-in-two-weeks legs! I could die. Iwasdying. Mercifully, he started talking about basketball again and it revived me.
“How comfortable are you with this thing?” he asked, tipping his head back and squinting up at me.
