Page 47 of Triton

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Aria

Today wasmy final mermaid fitness class. Erik had insisted we stay at the hotel last night because we both had too much to drink. He drove me back over the bridge early for my class.

As I walked into the Del pool for the final time, Isa greeted me with a present.

I hugged her. “You shouldn’thave.”

“It’s just something small. I’m so sad to see you go. Are you sure you can’t do another month? All of our classes have been sold out because ofyou.”

“I’m sure. I have another adventure lined up.” I paused. “Hey, I noticed you guys don’t have a dog. Is there any reason?”

She gave me a quizzical expression. “Actually, we were just talking about getting one the other day. Grady wants an English Bulldog, so we’ve been looking at rescues. Why?”

I bit my lip. “I’m in a bind. I have to go away to train for a bit, but I’ll be coming back here in around six months. I have nowhere for Flounder to go. He’s a great dog. My mom won’t take him. Is there any way you would consider watchinghim?”

“Of course I would. Let me text Grady.”

She typed on her phone as I opened the present. It was a picture of Erik and me staring at each other in the pool the day he took my class. My breathing slowed as the memory took over and my body felt heavy. I was so conflicted. Hard as I tried to fight it, I still cared about him very much. And he’d been extra sweet to me lately, so it was impossible to stay mad. All through dinner last night, I had warmed up to the thought of being brutally honest with him about my insecurities about his intentions toward me and about my future plans. I had considered that maybe I had been wrong about him using me to snag a client. The conversation had focused mostly on Erik’s impressive career, and I hadn’t felt at all like he had been usingme.

In fact, I believed now with a hundred percent certainty that he just wanted me by his side and I obviously had blown the whole thing out of proportion. Yes, he had mentioned that maybe I would be good at working at TritonFix, but his reasoning was correct. Many Olympians were motivational speakers.

And as angry as I had been with him that night he asked me, I had no intention of using him. Even so, I wanted to try Dirty Name again.

Unfortunately, my feelings toward Erik didn’t matter. He had again reiterated his opinion that women shouldn’t be SEALs. And that was a deal breaker forus.

We couldn’t be together…no matter how much I wanted it to workout.

Isa looked back up at me. “Grady said no problem. But wait, why didn’t you askErik?”

Think fast. “Oh, I would’ve. But he deploys somuch.”

“That’s right. Well, don’t worry about Flounder. We will take great care ofhim.”

“Thanks. You don’t know how much this means to me. And thank you again for this picture. I loveit.”

“You’re welcome.”

The guests began to arrive. As I taught my final class, my thoughts returned to Erik. I had just over twenty-four hours left with him, and then I would have to say goodbye. How could I now live without him? I craved him. Who would I turn to when I needed support? Who would write him letters and tell him how much he was loved when he was deployed? The thought of disappearing from his life was ripping my heart out. Within the next two weeks, I’d be reporting for Officer Candidate School.

But in six months I would return to this island.

I would become the first female Navy SEAL. And maybe, just maybe, Erik would amend his views on women in combat. If he did, perhaps we would have a chance of then starting a real relationship. But I wouldn’t hold my breath. As Erik had reminded me about his buddies’ who had drowned, sometimes holding your breath was the end of your world.