Page 73 of On Merit Alone
“Oh.” I felt my eyelashes flutter against my cheeks as I tried to make sense of that and compose the subsequent flutter in my chest. Swallowing demurely, I said, “Okay.”
His mouth pulled apart in a slow smile as he watched me, hands remaining over mine. “But haven’t you been struggling with these same shots all day?”
“Yeah.” I screwed my mouth to the side. “I guess I have a lot on my mind. I can’t string two good moves together right now.”
He nodded. Then he ducked his head to find my eyes with a mischievous glint. “Want me to help?”
“I’d love it,” I said, surprised since he hadn’t been able to help before.
Taking the ball from my hands, he bounced it as he took a few steps backward. Then, from his spot right under the net, he took ashot. It went straight in, though from this close up, I’d be more surprised if it didn't.
When the ball slipped in, he brought his eyes back around to look at me expectantly. I just looked at him blankly. He raised his brows. “Your turn.”
“For what?”
“Take the shot.”
I laughed. “What are we playing, HORSE?”
He shrugged, “Why not?”
“How on earth is a kids game going to help anything?” I asked.
Jogging over to get the ball himself, he reappeared in front of me and lifted it between us. His voice went into mock horror as he whispered. “I don’t know, it could befun. Ever heard of that?”
Snatching the ball, I took the shot, standing in the same place with the same arm and the same angle as he had—I was not losing a letter of HORSE on a technicality—and I didn’t even watch as the ball went in. I was in one of my comfort zones, I knew it would. Instead, I raised an eyebrow at my “opponent”, crossing my arms over my chest. “I can make shots like this all night. But like I said, it won’t help my game.”
“Wow, Six, didn’t know you could peacock so much.”
“You asked for it.”
“That I did.” He nodded, taking me in as he walked back with the ball again. “Alright, how about we up the stakes then?”
I groaned. “How about we actually practice and not play kids games?”
He rolled his eyes. “Merit, it’s like eleven at night. We both came here for a reason and that’s not getting our best practice in. Can you lighten up a little?”
I frowned. I hated when people told me to lighten up. It felt like an insult to my character. Like my personality was too much for them to take on, and they’d rather change me than deal with me as I was. Ira had taken to telling me to ease up on the intensity a lot, butI thought that was just on court. I didn’t think about how he might also get tired of who I was.
I cleared my throat. “You want me to lighten up?”
His eyes filtered over my face before meeting mine. “Is this a test?”
“No.” I looked away. “But this is just who I am. So if you’re looking for something else underneath, you’re not going to find it. You can just leave now.”
He was silent. As the quiet egged on, I found myself peeking over at him and was surprised to find a soft expression on his face. When our eyes touched, it got even softer. “You know when I tell you to take it easy I’m not saying it because you’re too intense for me or something. I like the way you are. I understand it because I feel like that sometimes too—especially when basketball is involved. But sometimes things grow too big in our own heads and we need someone to remind us to take it easy before it consumes us. That’s all I’m doing, Six. Reminding you to get out of your head.”
My body thrummed with the vibration of his earth shaking words. Why was he so good? Why was it me he’d decided to share that good with?
“Okay,” I said, voice small. It’s all Icouldsay as I swallowed to mask the croak of my voice. I stood corrected by Ira King. Again.
“Okay?” he asked, confirming I understood one more time. I nodded and he followed suit, his eyes sliding to the ball. “I’m tired and I just want to take my mind off the serious things for a while. I thought you could use the same. So, play with me?”
I took the ball, dribbling a few times. “Up the stakes, how?”
The smile he offered this time was almost wicked. “You miss a shot, you lose your clothes.”
I sputtered, my eyes blinking rapidly as an embarrassing warmth spread throughout my entire body.
