Page 77 of On Merit Alone
He shrugged, the question causing zero strain whatsoever. “When I look at my life, I want to see more than just basketball.Yeah, I want to play for a great team. But I also want a great relationship with my family. They mean the most, you know?”
I swallowed hard, my throat sticking. “Yeah. I get that. More than you know.”
Ira took the next shot. When I stepped to the line to shoot, he asked, “What about you? What else is there for your life? Other than basketball?”
This time, no matter how many times I dribbled, I knew I wouldn’t make the shot. My arms felt wobbly even as I lifted them to try. The ball died in the air and I watched the ground for a long time as I made myself answer. “There’s nothing else for me.”
“C’mon, you don’t?—”
“I mean it, Ira. There’s not.” I looked up to pin him with a serious gaze. “And I don’t want to talk about it any further than that, okay?”
“Okay.” He took a moment to read my face. “How about we ditch the questions?”
This brought a smile to my face. “We could keep the questions and ditch the strip tease.”
His smile mirrored mine. “Not a chance. Now are you losing the shirt, or do I have to take it off for you?”
I shook my head as I moved to work down my compression shorts. Holding them up, I dangled them on a finger. “I’m not losing the shirt yet, King. I always layer up.”
His breath left him in a slow stream, his mouth pulling at the sides. “Do you have anything else on under there?”
I shrugged. “Bra and panties.”
He nodded, but I saw the way he looked away quickly. His throat bobbing in a harsh swallow. “Okay. Shoot it.”
I did, and behind me, Ira missed an objectively easy shot for him that put him in nothing but the tightest little black boxers I’d ever seen. His thigh muscles strained the fabric as they stretched them out. I pointedly ignored the area of his crotch, though I’dcaught a glimpse of the sizable bulge there. If I wasn’t mistaken, it looked to be straining too.
I raised my eyebrow at his missed shot. He coughed. “I was distracted.”
I shrugged. “Fine by me. You’re the one who’s going to end up naked.”
He just shook his head, then proceeded to make his way past half court all the way to the opposite free throw line.
I balked. “If you miss that you automatically lose.”
“Alright,” he said. “But if I make it I get another turn.”
“Fine,” I said. “But Iwillmake you streak this amphitheater. Mark my words.”
He laughed.
“Damn, Six,” he said as he dribbled his trademark one time before lining his shot up and focusing in. Going up, he shot the ball. Then he turned to me, not even bothering to look as it soared through the air, to the basket, and… And the son of a bitch went in. His smile told me that my face was shocked. The smug ass just shrugged, saying, “Good thing I knew I’d make it.”
I winced, feeling the dread of my own defeat as I trudged to pick up the ball. Taking my spot exactly where Ira had, I would never admit defeat before trying—but we both knew that I’d lost. I can’t believe he’d brought out that shot just to get me naked.
Going for it, my shot didn’t even come close. I rolled my eyes as I turned to him in horror.
“Go on then,” I said.
“What?” His eyebrows pinched, confusion marking his features.
“Take it off me,” I said. I held my arms up, my long T-shirt riding just a little more up my legs.
His eyes trained on the motion for a second and he gravitated a step forward. But then shaking his head he halted. “Wait, wait. What’s the catch?”
“Youcan take my shirt off me, and we stop the game there,” I said.
“I thought you weren’t shy,” he said.
