Page 25 of On Merit Alone

Silence. I could tell she was thinking about arguing, carefully weighing the pros and cons of debating with me. Thinking better of it, she just inclined her chin and met my gaze. “What do you want?”

“Do you have siblings, or are you an only child?” I asked.

She blinked. “What?”

My fingers twitched toward the window again, and she reached forward to stop me. I had to lean back so we wouldn’t connect. “Just answer.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with literally anything, Ira,” she said, her voice getting a little breathy and a little panicked.

I softened my tone, not wanting to push too hard. “I want to understand you, Merit. You’re so sensitive about some things and unbothered by others. It’s never what I expect from you. So this is me trying to get some perspective.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re friends.”

“We are not?—”

“You think I let just anybody climb all over me?” I asked, looking pointedly at our positioning.

She followed my gaze, then abruptly returned herself to her own seat.

I stifled my laughter. “See? Friends. Now answer the question, Mer. It’s simple.

Here, if it’s easier, I’ll go first. I’m not an only child.

I have a brother and a sister. I’m the baby. ”

She puffed out a laugh. “That actually explains a lot.”

“Right!” I laughed. “Now you go.”

She didn’t bother looking at me. I still had her glasses, she apparently couldn’t see much of me anyway. “You probably guessed, but I’m an only child. Just me. ”

I did guess, but now I wanted to know why she sounded so sad about it. Unfortunately, though I could be a pushy asshole at times, I could read a room. Now didn’t seem like the right time to ask.

Reaching between us, I returned her glasses. “I did guess. You’re especially offended by simple teasing, so you make it kind of obvious.”

“Ha! Well, you’re especially bad at taking no for an answer,” she grumbled, crossing her arms.

“Also true,” I said, leaning on the center console. “Which brings me to why I’m here today.”

Sliding her glasses up her nose again, she turned to me and raised a sassy little eyebrow. “Which is?”

I cocked my head toward the road in front of us. “You gonna drive this thing or what, sweetheart?”

“Well, sweetheart , I’m going home. So unless you start talking, we’ll be in this parking lot all day.”

“You don’t want to take me home?”

“Ira, for the love of God, what do you want?”

“Damn, rip my heart out,” I fake grumbled. Mostly fake, at least. “I just came to drop off your tickets.”

“Tickets?”

“To tomorrow’s game.”

“Um…why?”

“Because you need tickets to get in—Jesus, have you never been to a sporting event before, Merit? I swear I have to explain everything to you,” I poked.

She wasn’t biting, her joking mood seemed to have passed. Now she was looking at me over the rim of her glasses again. Blinking as if she didn’t understand something. I cocked my head, giving her a narrow-eyed stare.

“You’re coming to the game,” I said more than asked.

“I actually wasn’t planning on it. I travel the next morning early and?— ”

“Don’t care. You’re coming.”

“Why?”

“Earth to Merit, weren’t you listening the last time I told you? We’ve won every time with you there. You’re like a part of the team now.”

She scoffed. “A part of that team? No. They think I’m?—”

I stopped her before she even went there. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“What?” She gave me a suspicious look. “Why?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I repeated.

“You didn’t say anything, did you?” she asked, sounding mortified.

I couldn’t help it then. I reached across to her side of the cab and brushed her braids behind her shoulder, letting my hand linger there and squeezing her. “I took care of it, alright? And if you have any more problems with those idiots, I’ll take care of that too.”

She didn’t answer, just held my eyes for a few extra seconds before turning to face the windshield again. “Did you watch the interview?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And I’m sorry about whatever you were going through that pushed you over the edge that day,” I said.

When she looked at me, obviously shocked, I just shrugged and settled back into my own seat.

“I know how those interviews are, especially after a loss. We’re human.

We can’t be expected to keep it together all the time.

And Cherry was digging that day. You dug back.

If she can’t take it, she shouldn’t dish it. ”

“Do you see the good in everyone and just ignore the bad?” she asked. Maybe she was unaware that this was a compliment; one that made me feel hot with embarrassment as I imagined the way she saw me.

“I see the good in you, Six. I feel it. And that’s why I need you on the sidelines tomorrow,” I said, taking the opportunity to explain this want for her to be around me in the best way I could right now.

She opened her mouth to protest, but I beat her to it.

Changing tactics. “You want us to lose? Is that it?”

“What? No!” she sputtered defensively.

“Then come,” I said. “Please, please, please?—”

“Oh my god. If I say yes, will you get out of my car?” she groaned.

I laughed. “Yes.”

“Okay then,” she grumbled. “But if I oversleep the next morning, I’m blaming you.”

I scoffed as I reached into my pocket. “The game will be over by like ten, Grandma. How many do you need?”

She bit her lip. “Just one.”

I peeked over at her, confused. “I can give you more than that if you want to bring?—”

“Just one, please, Ira. Thanks,” she clipped. And I could tell this was one of those things I shouldn’t push on, especially if I wanted her at that game for me. And I did.

So, handing over the best ticket I had, I gave her a triumphant smile. She shook her head as she accepted it. “Do I get a special send-off for the championships?”

“Tie that score up and then, maybe,” she said.

“I’ll do it if you’re there. So don’t stand me up,” I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. I was supposed to be meeting my sister soon, and looking at Merit’s dashboard clock, I might already be running behind.

“I won't.”

Just to be a jerk, I added, “Also, be sure to wear my shoes. All my biggest fans wear them to the games.”

She bit down on her lip, trying to hide her smile as she shook her head. “Sure. ”

Opening the car door, I unfolded my long legs out of the side before looking back. “And Merit?”

“Yes, Mr. King?” she answered sarcastically.

Leaning backward, I moved her sunglasses out of the way so I could see her eyes.

Tipping her chin so she was looking at me too.

“Don’t ever let a fucker like Scottie, or people in the media, or anybody make you feel like the person that you are is somehow bad.

You’re better than that. You’re stronger.

I didn’t become a Merit Jones fan because she made pretty shots and won basketball games.

I liked her because she’s gritty and determined, and she always leads with that, everything else coming later.

I love that about her, and if somebody says that they don’t, then fuck them. ”

Her silence was contemplative, if not surprised. Raising my eyebrows, I tapped my thumb on her chin, just to make sure she was listening. “Alright, Six?”

“Okay,” she said softly. And nope. That wasn’t going to work for me.

“Can I get a little more feeling this time?” I asked.

And what did the smartass do? She lifted two fingers to her head in a familiar salute before saying, “Yes, sir.”