Page 22 of Triton

10

Aria

I woke the next morning,and it took me a few minutes to remember where I was. But the Coronado sunrise quickly reminded me that I was in Erik’s bed. But unfortunately, he wasn’t init.

My chest constricted as I recalled my previous drunken hookups, waking up alone, filled with regret. I completely owned my choices for having casual sex, but no matter how much I had tried to convince myself that I actually had enjoyed sex with my previous lovers, honestly it had never been that satisfying, physically or emotionally.

But last night with Erik had been different. The sex had been mind blowing. I’d never came with a lover before. But more than the physical chemistry, I’d felt that we had connected on a deeper level.

My entire life, I had always figured that people had pretended to like me because of my accomplishments. But Erik seemed to actually be interested in who I was as a person.

The only problem was that I didn’t exactly know who Aria the woman was. Aria the champion always had dominatedher.

I hurried out of bed, pulled on my clothes, and went into the living room where Erik was making breakfast.

I gasped at the sight of him, wearing nothing but long pajama bottoms which hung low on his waist, giving me a view of his happy trail. His chest was ripped, and his shoulders were broad.

He brushed his dark hair out of his face. “Morning, beautiful.”

“Morning.” I couldn’t believe he thought I was beautiful. My mom’s words filled my head with doubts. I imagined that Erik would date a beach babe with sun-kissed hair and poutylips.

“You hungry?”

“Sure.” Another first. I’d spent the night with a man, and now he was cooking for me. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

He handed me a plate filled with sunny side up eggs, thick cut bacon, and toast. He sat next to me with his own plate and poured us both some coffee.

His eyes brightened as he checked me out. “What are you plans today?”

I didn’t dare tell him. My plans had included preparing for BUD/S: an ocean swim, a beach run, and pushups until I collapsed. You know, a typical Sunday.

“Oh, just a long workout. You?”

“Do you ever take a dayoff?”

I shook my head. “Not even the day after I tookgold.”

“You’re more hardcore than I am. But I play hard, too.” He reached across the table and held my hand. “Spend the day with me, babe. We can relax, go biking, or drive up the coast. I can show you some of the cool hidden beach towns.”

Biking, ha. He would laugh at me when he found out I’d never ridden a bicycle. “That sounds fun.” My gut twisted. I liked Erik and didn’t want to deceive him. I had vowed to tell him the truth after we had seen Wonder Woman, but we had been caught up in the moment. But now, there was no excuse. I had to confess my plans and see what he had to say about females being in the Teams. Maybe he would be completely supportive and help me train.

I took a deep breath and eased in. “I read that SEALs are going to let in the first woman soon. What do you think aboutthat?”

He dropped my hand, took a sip of his coffee, and gave me a keen look. “I think it’s the dumbest fucking ideaever.”

Well so much for him being supportive. I knew I should’ve dropped the topic. I had wanted to know his position on the issue, and it was evident he was againstit.

Move on, Aria. He’s a great guy with a typical SEAL mindset. Just shut your mouth and—“Really? Why?”

Dammit. The feminist in me couldn’t be quiet.

“Because no woman could pass BUD/S, first of all. The Navy will end up lowering its standards, and good men will die because of it. I’m sick of all this politically correct bullshit. Ideas implemented by legislators who have frankly never served a day in their fucking lives in any branch of the military, let alone special operations.”

Alrighty then. Tell me how you really think. “Okay. But I mean, what if a woman could pass BUD/S, without lowering the standards. Someone like Wonder Woman. I’ve met some athletes who could. I knew this one woman Kendall, a wrestler, who could totally do it. She was so strong and fierce.”

“Wonder Woman is fictional.” He shook his head. “It’s impossible. It’s not just about strength, though that’s a huge part of it. It’s about endurance. No woman can perform the same physical tasks as a man without the standards being lowered. It has never happened and it neverwill.”

Watch me.“It has never happened because no woman has ever been able to try. And what if a woman could pass? Then you still think she shouldn’t be letin?”