I woke the next morning, and it took me a few minutes to remember where I was. But the Coronado sunrise quickly reminded me that I was in Erik’s bed. But unfortunately, he wasn’t in it.

My chest constricted as I recalled my previous drunken hookups, waking up alone, filled with regret. I completely owned my choices for having casual sex, but no matter how much I had tried to convince myself that I actually had enjoyed sex with my previous lovers, honestly it had never been that satisfying, physically or emotionally.

But last night with Erik had been different. The sex had been mind blowing. I’d never came with a lover before. But more than the physical chemistry, I’d felt that we had connected on a deeper level.

My entire life, I had always figured that people had pretended to like me because of my accomplishments. But Erik seemed to actually be interested in who I was as a person.

The only problem was that I didn’t exactly know who Aria the woman was. Aria the champion always had dominated her.

I hurried out of bed, pulled on my clothes, and went into the living room where Erik was making breakfast.

I gasped at the sight of him, wearing nothing but long pajama bottoms which hung low on his waist, giving me a view of his happy trail. His chest was ripped, and his shoulders were broad.

He brushed his dark hair out of his face. “Morning, beautiful.”

“Morning.” I couldn’t believe he thought I was beautiful. My mom’s words filled my head with doubts. I imagined that Erik would date a beach babe with sun-kissed hair and pouty lips.

“You hungry?”

“Sure.” Another first. I’d spent the night with a man, and now he was cooking for me. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

He handed me a plate filled with sunny side up eggs, thick cut bacon, and toast. He sat next to me with his own plate and poured us both some coffee.

His eyes brightened as he checked me out. “What are you plans today?”

I didn’t dare tell him. My plans had included preparing for BUD/S: an ocean swim, a beach run, and pushups until I collapsed. You know, a typical Sunday.

“Oh, just a long workout. You?”

“Do you ever take a day off?”

I shook my head. “Not even the day after I took gold.”

“You’re more hardcore than I am. But I play hard, too.” He reached across the table and held my hand. “Spend the day with me, babe. We can relax, go biking, or drive up the coast. I can show you some of the cool hidden beach towns.”

Biking, ha. He would laugh at me when he found out I’d never ridden a bicycle. “That sounds fun.” My gut twisted. I liked Erik and didn’t want to deceive him. I had vowed to tell him the truth after we had seen Wonder Woman, but we had been caught up in the moment. But now, there was no excuse. I had to confess my plans and see what he had to say about females being in the Teams. Maybe he would be completely supportive and help me train.

I took a deep breath and eased in. “I read that SEALs are going to let in the first woman soon. What do you think about that?”

He dropped my hand, took a sip of his coffee, and gave me a keen look. “I think it’s the dumbest fucking idea ever.”

Well so much for him being supportive. I knew I should’ve dropped the topic. I had wanted to know his position on the issue, and it was evident he was against it.

Move on, Aria. He’s a great guy with a typical SEAL mindset. Just shut your mouth and— “Really? Why?”

Dammit. The feminist in me couldn’t be quiet.

“Because no woman could pass BUD/S, first of all. The Navy will end up lowering its standards, and good men will die because of it. I’m sick of all this politically correct bullshit. Ideas implemented by legislators who have frankly never served a day in their fucking lives in any branch of the military, let alone special operations.”

Alrighty then. Tell me how you really think. “Okay. But I mean, what if a woman could pass BUD/S, without lowering the standards. Someone like Wonder Woman. I’ve met some athletes who could. I knew this one woman Kendall, a wrestler, who could totally do it. She was so strong and fierce.”

“Wonder Woman is fictional.” He shook his head. “It’s impossible. It’s not just about strength, though that’s a huge part of it. It’s about endurance. No woman can perform the same physical tasks as a man without the standards being lowered. It has never happened and it never will.”

Watch me. “It has never happened because no woman has ever been able to try. And what if a woman could pass? Then you still think she shouldn’t be let in?”

“No. She shouldn’t. It would ruin unit cohesion.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. “So are you saying that a woman couldn’t pass BUD/S, or are you saying that a woman could pass BUD/S but then still shouldn’t be a SEAL?”

He gave me a hard glare. “I’m saying that we are the most elite special operations force in the world. I’m not talking about women serving in the military. I’m talking about women serving in combat units. In theory, it’s great, and I support women’s rights to do any job. But academics and politicians can’t understand the special operations battlefield. If a woman were captured by the enemy, she would be raped and tortured. If you have a small SEAL unit and the men are competing for the attraction of a female, it will take the focus off the mission.”

I wanted to yell at him, but couldn’t clue him into my vested personal interest in this topic. “That’s ridiculous. I assume you don’t think gay men should be in the SEALs either?”

“Why does everyone compare gender to sexual orientation? You are wrong. I have no problem with gay SEALs. In fact, I have two buddies in the Teams who are gay. But they are on separate Teams and would never have a relationship during a mission.”

“But a woman can’t control herself? Or you guys can’t control yourselves around a woman?”

“It’s biology. I wanted to fuck you the moment I saw you. So did my friend. If you were on my Team, all my buddies would want to fuck you also. It would distract from our mission. Not to mention the spouses of my Teammates wouldn’t be happy to know that a female was serving alongside their husbands on long combat missions. Sometimes we spend months living in the middle of fucking nowhere in a dirt hole.”

I stared at him, disgusted by his answers. Why had I slept with this asshole? I had been wrong. We had nothing in common at all. If all SEALs thought as he did, I was in for a challenge even rougher than I imagined.

He placed his hand on mine, but I retracted from his grasp. “Sorry. I get worked up about this. There isn’t even a woman in the BUD/S pipeline, so we don’t have to worry about this debate for a while.”

Ha. There is too a woman in the pipeline, buddy. You are looking right at her.

I sulked like a child—pushing my food around with my fork on the plate. I couldn’t even look at this guy. I needed to get out of here. Get some clear air before I lost it.

His arm reached out to touch mine across the table. I snapped it away.

“What’s wrong? Are you that upset about my opinion?”

“It’s disappointing. That’s all.”

He stood up and tried to pull me out of my chair but resisted. “Let’s not ruin the day over this. We can agree to disagree.”

No, we can’t. Next January, you will learn the truth. My name will be plastered on the newspapers. As the first female in BUD/S.

I stood up to leave. “Thanks for breakfast. I need to get going and walk my dog.”

He ground his teeth and glared at me. “Fine.”

I grabbed my purse, walked out the door, and pressed the elevator button.

Ever since I’d met him, he had seemed like so much more. He was sweet with his family, had been kind and patient with me, and had seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me. So far, there was no indication that he was using me for anything. I felt we had truly connected, on even more than just a physical level. I thought about him every day last week. He had made me feel beautiful and desirable and not a bit like the awkward dork I saw myself as. And I had been charmed by his laid back yet masculine So-Cal surfer boy charm.

But I had known better than to go on a date with Erik. He was nothing but a typical chauvinist pig. He had been nothing but a distraction.

A completely drop dead gorgeous, mind blowing, orgasm-giving distraction.

I refused to allow myself to be sidelined from my dreams by a man.