Page 32 of Triton

He laughed, pulled up his boxer briefs and then embraced me. “I’m crazy about you, do you knowthat?”

I felt it. I saw it in his eyes. But I was holding something back. I could never fall in love with this man or let him fall in love with me until I was honest withhim.

I let Flounder back in the house. “Do you want to come with me to Isa’s house tomorrow? She and her husband are having a superhero costume party for their anniversary.”

“Sure. I’ve met Grady once. Guy’s a fucking badass. I’d be honored to get hammered with him.” He cocked his brow. “Who are we goingas?”

I gave him a playful grin. “Aquaman and Wonder Woman. We can work on our costumes tomorrow.”

He laughed and gave me a wink. “Kickass, but I already have a costume. Aquaman is my favorite superhero. You know, the first time Orin and Diana met before they became Aquaman and Wonder Woman, Triton attempted to take her away before Orin saved her. They kissed passionately before partingways.”

I pinched him. “I detect a hint of geekiness. Don’t get me wrong . . . it’s sexy. Let me guess; you go to Comic Con everyyear.”

“Damn straight. We should go together next month and cosplay.”

My test tightened, knowing I would be in Officer Candidate School. “That would be fun. Maybe nextyear.”

He wrinkled his brow at me. I quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, the party is at seven. You can just meet me here atsix.”

He sat on my sofa and grabbed the remote control. “Better yet, I’ll just spend the weekend with you. I’ll stop by my place later and pick up some stuff.”

A lump grew in my throat. I had wanted to spend the rest of the day training. But maybe I could make some adjustments. I had already done the “O” course today.

And for the first time in my life, I had a glimpse of what it would be like to be in a real relationship. Could I ever be happy living outside of the limelight? Maybe I could love and support someone else’s dreams instead of selfishly focusing on myown.

Or better yet, maybe we could lift each otherup.

“Sounds good. You hungry?”

“Starved. I can order a pizza.”

“No, it’s okay. I have some food.” Pizza was a treat I rarely indulged in. Despite how much I craved the gooey cheesy and greasy pepperoni, eating it just made me feel guilty.

I walked over the fridge and stared at the contents. Watermelon, grilled chicken, brown rice, eggs, and bell peppers. I was even depriving my refrigerator of having somefun.

“Actually, yeah, a pizza soundsgood.”

He grabbed his phone. “On it, babe.”

I glanced back at him. This sex god was sitting on my sofa petting my dog. Today had already been such an incredible day. Erik had shown up at my class, forgave me for storming out of his place, and had let me run the “O” course.

I vowed to embrace the rest of the time I had left with him. Really explore having a relationship.

But first, I had to tell him the truth.