Page 54 of Triton

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Erik

The second myshift was over, I bolted out of the compound. Fuck my fucking life. Aria was the first female in BUD/S. I couldn’t believe it even though I had seen her with my owneyes.

I hadn’t been blind. I had suspected her plan once but then dismissed it as me being paranoid.

I walked into my office and slammed the door behindme.

But no sooner than I had sat down, Kyle appeared at my door. He knocked, and I signaled for him to comein.

“Commander Anderson, I’d like a word.” His face was stern, his brow furrowed.

Oh fuck. “Sure, sir.”

Kyle sat in front of me. “By now you know about Aria. I wanted to warn you sooner, but I was forbidden by the Admiral to tell you. He wants her to succeed. He didn’t want to risk you getting upset and approaching her during Indoc and convincing her toquit.”

The Admiral knew? This was even worse than I imagined. “I understand. I swear I had no idea she planned to be aSEAL.”

He nodded. “I believe you. But the problem is, the media doesn’t.”

The media? What the fuck was he talking about? “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t understand what you are talking about.”

He grabbed his phone and handed it to me. “Here.”

My eyes focused on the screen. An article from Daily Mail. I read the headline, and my heartsank.

“EXCLUSIVE: This is the hunky Navy SEAL boyfriend of Olympic Gold Medalist Aria Clements—who inspired her to become the first female NavySEAL.”

What the fuck? There was a fucking picture of me staring at her in the pool at the Del, wearing that ridiculous sparkly pinktail.

I forced myself to read on. My stomach was completely nauseated as I realized my career wasover.

Aria Clements, 23, had been dating military officer 25-year-old Erik Anderson last summer.

The couple met in Coronado where he is based at the Naval AmphibiousBase.

Aria, a graduate of Stanford University, won the Olympic Gold medal in synchronized swimming at the last summer games.

A top graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, Erik was described in his yearbook as “known for his love of fast cars and faster women.”

My blood boiled and every muscle in my entire body tensed. My name, my picture was splashed over the internet. I swiped back on his phone to the news feed, and my fears were realized. It was the number one story on thesite.

Fuck. My. Life.

I slammed my fist into thedesk.

Kyle stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, man. This will die down. My name and face were on the cover of People when I married Sara. And I’m stillhere.”

“I’m begging you, sir. Please put me on Second Phase and then switch me back to First Phase when she quits. I can’t see her. I can’t be aroundher.”

Kyle shook his head. “I’d love to, but my hands are tied. The Admiral believes that you are the only person who can help her pass. You will remain a First Phase instructor.”

God no. “Sir, no. I can’t. I won’t help her. She lied to me. She betrayedme.”

“Look Anderson. This is work, suck it up. She’s a job to you now. The thing is everyone believes she is qualified and they want to see a woman graduate. She was in the top ten of her Indoc class. I’m ordering you to help her. Not bend our standards, we will never do that. But you will help her. As her instructor. You are strictly forbidden from seeing her during your off time. I mean it. I’m sorry. This will all blow over once she graduates.”

“If she graduates.”

He glared at me. “She will graduate. Be sure of it. In fact, make sure of it. Good night.”

Kyle walked out of the room, and I grabbed my own phone. It was lit up with hundreds of texts and missed calls. My email box was also flooded.

Fuck. I’d be the laughing stock of the SEALteam.

I found the flask of whiskey in my drawer and knocked back a drink. But even the liquor did little to calm my nerves.

I would be her instructor, but I would teach her the same as any other candidate. I would not help her outside of class. She would get no special treatment.

Since she’d vanished from my life, I’d missed her. Every day of my last deployment I fantasized about fucking her again, even just spending the day withher.

But nomore.

Yes, I had lovedher.

But I despised her now. That bitch had used me. And the only thing I was certain of at this moment was that I would never love her again.