Page 62 of Triton

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Erik

We weretwo weeks into First Phase, and only forty-one members of the class remained.

One of them wasAria.

But she wasn’t in the clear yet. Hell week was two daysaway.

And she still hadn’t been able to complete the “O” course.

Every day I trained her with her classmates.

And every night, I watched her from my bedroom window, trying to jump on DirtyName.

It was a bit past midnight. The class had to be up at four in the morning. But as I gazed out my window, I saw a small figure under the fluorescent lights, attempting to overcome her hurdle.

At this point, it was mental. She was the most exceptional performer in our class byfar.

I knocked back a whiskey. One of the reasons I’d been so against women in BUD/S was I thought we would have to lower our standards.

But Aria had shown me that was far from the case. She hadn’t just met our standards; she had exceededthem.

The goal of BUD/S wasn’t just to haze these men. It was to ensure that they could succeed atwar.

Deep down, we wanted all the candidates to succeed.

So why was I being such an asshole toAria?

Was it because she hurt me? Humiliatedme?

Or was it because I didn’t think she belongedhere?

Kyle had ordered me to help her. The Admiral wanted her to succeed.

If I was truly the only person who could help her pass this hurdle, why was I holding her back? If it were any other candidate, I’dhelp.

I hurriedly dressed and put my boots back on. I ran back to base, flashed my ID, and made my way to the “O” course.

Aria was squatting on the first log of Dirty Name. She was filthy and battered, but I still thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d everseen.

She turned as I walked up to her. “Please, I know I’m not supposed to be practicing. Don’t kick me off the course. This is my last chance. I’m so close, I—”

I put my hand over her mouth. “I’m not here to make you stop. We’re going to do this together. It’s just like the bike, champ. You gotthis.”

“Champ?” Her lips trembled, and she blinked rapidly. “You’re helping me? You have no idea how much this means tome.”

“I’m helping you because of our past—I’m helping you because it’s my job. I’m your instructor. That’s all it is. Don’t speak. Watchme.”

I ran back and did a running start. Then I jumped off the log like I had done a thousand of times before and landed on my waist over the hurdle, using my forearms to propelme.

I returned toAria.

“I’ve done that. It doesn’t work. I just can’t getit.”

I grasped her shoulders. “Yes, you can. Don’t say that. I believe in you. You have completed both the ocean swim and run in time. You’re an Olympian. You will do this now. We’re going to do it together.”

She nodded.