Page 53 of Triton

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Aria

Today wasthe first day of BUD/S.

I had been surprised when I had found out that I wasn’t the only female in the pipeline.

But it didn’t matter. I was the only one who remained.

One hundred twelve men and three women entered the pre-training program five weeksago.

Eighty men and one woman remained.

I was officially the first female to ever join BUD/S.

Hooyah! Let’s dothis.

I glanced around the outside near the barracks. The concrete was damp from the early morning dew, but I knew soon enough it would be drenched in sweat and water, sprayed from hoses of our instructors.

Travis, a tall, skinny eighteen-year-old boy from Minnesota, stood next to me, both of us shivering in the cold pre-dawn air. “You ready? Someone always drops nightone.”

I looked at him dead on and punched his arm. I knew the key to succeeding was being treated like one of the guys. “Absolutely. Bringit.”

“Awesome. Let’s warm up.” He dropped to the ground and attempted some flutter kicks.

Before I dropped down also, I studied his form. “Hey, I noticed you rest your legs on the ground betweensets.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I want to take a break every chance I get. They will destroyus.”

“No, don’t do that. I’m a swimmer. You need those hip flexors strong, so we can pass our ocean swim test. Let me show you a good stretch.” I knelt next to him and showed him how to stretch deep, putting him in the correct position. He returned the favor by placing pressure on my back and helping me deepen my own stretch.

“Thanks, Demi. I hope you make it. I’m rooting foryou.”

Demi. My newly anointed nickname. G.I. Jane in the flesh. I smiled, touched by his support. Just like in synchro, I knew I was only as strong as my partner. “Hey, let’s make a pact. Let’s promise each other we won’t quit. We can be swim buddies.”

He hesitated. Maybe he didn’t want to be paired with a woman.

“I’d be honored. Hooyah.”

“Hooyah.”

I was pumped. I couldn’t wait. Nothing could stop menow.

We stood in line, next to the other men. Six SEALs in dark blue instructor shirts ran out. I scanned their faces, preparing myself to meet for the first time the men who would trainus.

But as the first instructor stood in front of the group, I gasped.

A man stood front a center. His dark bangs, skimming his deep blue bedroom eyes. His tanned, tattooed arms flexing under his shirt. His perfectly chiseled face and strong jaw sneering atme.

Oh fuck. Ohno.

It wasErik.

My heart dropped, and my legs quivered.

His eyes met mine, and I forced myself to keep my gaze steady as my bottom lip quivered. A sudden coldness hit my core, and it wasn’t from the chilly winter night. I blinked back tears. I refused to cry. The first female BUD/S candidate couldn’t cry under any circumstances.

It couldn’t be him. This couldn’t be happening to me. What was this cruel twist of fate? All the ways I’d dreamed of us meeting again, this had never been in the realm of possibilities.

All my hard work would be for nothing.

For the first time since I’d set out to become a SEAL, I doubted that I would succeed. And it wasn’t because of my physicality. It was a mental game. Erik knew me better than anyone. I had confessed to him my insecurities and confided in him about my father. He knewme.

And he could breakme.

My mind failed to comprehend what he was yelling about, unable to grasp the depth of my nightmare.

For Erik—my ex, the man I’d lied to and left, the only guy I’d ever loved was my instructor.

And I was his student.