I pulled on the leather pants that I’d purchased last year for Halloween and clutched my massive trident, though the long metal spear couldn’t ever replace my real trident that had been pounded into my flesh upon my BUD/S graduation. Standing there with my class, looking at my family in the audience, my father’s face beaming with pride, without question had been the best day of my life.

“Babe, let’s go. I don’t want to be late.”

Aria emerged from the bathroom door, and one look at her caused my heart to beat strong in my chest. Stunning, simply stunning. She wore thigh high red and gold boots, a short blue skirt over black boy shorts, a red bustier, and a long black wig.

“Damn, woman. I’m going to be fighting off men at this party.”

She laughed and then whipped her gold lasso at me.

I grabbed the lasso and wrapped it around her. “We can use this later tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

My hand clutched her ass, and I kissed her. My hand traced over the metallic rope. The truth lasso. If only it actually worked. Then I would be able to force her to be honest with me. “Let’s go, babe.”

We left her place and got into my car. I drove over the bridge and headed toward Grady and Isa’s place. I was looking forward to talking to Grady alone, find out what really happened to him in Iraq, off the record. I knew too well how the media embellished war stories. Grady was no doubt a hero, but I wanted to hear his account in his own words.

I was also curious to see Aria in a casual party setting. Would she let loose? Get drunk? Have a good time? I worked my ass off, but I also knew how to chill out.

Aria gripped my thigh. “So, I know you can’t tell me details of your job. But, in general, what are deployments like? Where do you go?”

I appreciated her interest in my job. Most girls I’d dated didn’t care at all about it, even if they had pretended that they thought it was cool that I was a SEAL.

“Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria. We go everywhere, but different Teams have different regions.”

“What’s your exact job?”

“Well, I’m an officer, but a junior one. Kyle is my superior officer. But SEALs are all operational, officers and enlisted. I plan the missions, interpret Intel. I was an Economics major at Annapolis.”

Her eyes widened. “Wow. That’s so cool. I considered majoring in comparative literature, but I ended up declaring HumBio.”

“What’s that?”

She blushed. “Oh. Sorry. Stanford lingo. Human Biology—the relationship between biology and social science. It’s really cool. I was pre-med also.”

“Really? So, are you going to apply for med school? UCSD has a great one. And they are the Tritons.”

She averted her eyes. “Maybe. I’m not sure.”

There she went again . . . being evasive. “You aren’t sure about what? I’m finding it hard to believe you don’t have every minute of your life mapped out.”

“Oh. Um . . .” She removed her hand from my thigh and looked out the window. “I already told you that I’m going to train back east after this summer. Then I’ll figure out what I’m doing.”

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. Why was this bothering me so much? I really liked this girl but I had only known her for two weeks so why did I care that she wasn’t opening up to me?

We arrived at Grady and Isa’s complex near San Diego State University. Isa buzzed us in, and we walked into their apartment. It definitely contrasted from my bachelor pad. Though the furniture was black, there were framed pictures, fresh cut flowers, and a bunch of those throw pillows on the sofa.

A few girls dressed as sexy superheroes and villains were talking to Isa, and there were a bunch of dudes who looked like jarheads milling around, but I didn’t recognize any of them.

Isa greeted us dressed as Black Panther. “Hey, guys! Oh my god, you both look awesome.”

Aria hugged her. “Thanks. So do you. Though with my red hair and your black hair we should probably switch superheroes.”

Isa laughed. “I know, right? Yeah, it’s a joke. You see I met Grady at a frat party. He was dressed as Hulk, and I was Black Panther. We went to the same party a month ago as Harley Quinn and the Joker but it wasn’t the same so we are back to being the Hulk and Black Panther. So we decided to hold an anniversary party and invite our friends. I can’t believe it’s been over a year since we met. If you had told me last year I’d be married, I wouldn’t have believed you. Anyway, let me take you to meet my friends.” Isa led Aria out to the patio.

Grady walked over to me. He dressed as Hulk but wasn’t wearing a mask. A lump grew in my throat when he came into focus. I’d met him before, but every time I saw his face, I was reminded of the risks I took when I deployed. Grady was ripped and masculine, but half of his face was mangled and horribly scarred. I forced myself not to stare at his glass eye or his misshapen ear.

Grady shook my hand. “Hey man, thanks for coming.”

“Anytime, bro. It’s an honor to hang out with you.”

I stared at his beautiful wife outside with Aria, noting how she looked at him so lovingly, as if he was the most handsome man in the world. I wondered what it would be like to find a woman who loved me the way Isa loved Grady. Could Aria be that woman? I had my doubts, especially since she refused to talk about any future with me nor even clue me into her plans for the next year.

“Can I get you a beer?”

“Yeah. That would be great.”

Grady went to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of local craft lemon shandies. He squeezed a lemon wedge through the neck and handed me one.

I knocked his bottle with mine. “Cheers man.”

“Cheers.”

He took a swig, and I did as well. It tasted refreshing—like a glass of summer.

“How you’ve been?” I asked.

“Good, dude. Trying to get through school but I have another surgery next month. I’m doing some work with wounded warriors, but the pay sucks,” he grimaced. “Not sure how much longer I can afford to do it. I still get offers to write a memoir, but I’m not into it. And I’m asked all the time to do speaking engagements . . . but I’d probably just have panic attacks, so I don’t know.”

My eyes scanned his place. It was nice and modern, but small. This badass was a medal of honor recipient. He’d jumped on a bomb to save his friends’ lives. Rage filled me when I thought about the celebrities who lived in mansions while Grady was struggling to make ends meet, medically retired from the military, unable to serve the country he loved. The entire situation pissed me the fuck off.

“That sucks, man. I respect the hell out of you. And I agree with you about not wanting to write a book. Most of the Team guys I knew who wrote them completely regretted it.”

“Yeah. It would all be some fake war propaganda. There isn’t that much to say. What do they want to write about? My fucked-up childhood? Basically, a grenade was thrown into the building I was clearing, and I jumped on it. End of story. The rest would just be a pity fest.”

Now I liked this guy even more. Even some of the SEALs I met bragged about our missions. Grady was so humble. “Don’t downplay it, dude. You’re a beast.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” His gaze trailed off toward his wife, who was chatting with Aria, and his expression softened. “I’ll tell you, man; I wouldn’t still be here if I hadn’t met Isa. Before she came in my life, I had some dark times. I’d spent months wishing the bomb had killed me. She really saved me.”

Fuck. His words chilled me. I’d lost some of my own buddies to suicide. I patted his shoulder. “Well, I’m glad you found her. I’ve talked to her a few times at the pool, and she’s great. And she’s crazy about you.”

“Well, it’s mutual. I still can’t believe how lucky I am. Hey, do you guys have that new Glock 19? I’ve been dying to shoot it.”

“Hell yeah. It’s awesome. I still love my Sig, but the Glock is smaller. Do you want to come shoot on our range? I’d be honored to take you anytime.”

The half of his face that wasn’t scarred lifted and he smiled. “You mean it, man? The civilian ranges suck.”

“Yup, anytime.” I took out my phone, and we exchanged numbers.

“I’ll take you up on that.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder. “One more thing. I know you have Isa, but if you ever need to talk to someone who has been through war, call me. I mean it. I know you have your buddies, but I’m here for you.”

He swallowed. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I’m going to go feed everyone.” He brought a platter of burgers out to the grill.

Aria came back inside. “How long do you want to stay?”

I gave her a blank look. “What? We just got here?”

Her shoulders were slumped, and she pulled her hair. “I know. Isa is super nice, but I don’t know anyone else here. I just am not much of a party girl.”

“That’s the point of a party, babe. You get to know other people. Do you want a drink?”

She shook her head. “No, I missed my workout today so I shouldn’t.”

I took both of her hands in mine and gazed down at her. “Aria, you are in perfect shape. Just relax a bit.”

“I can’t. I came to Coronado to train, and I’ve been spending time with you, so I’m behind.”

“Behind on what? What are you training for exactly?”

She pulled her hair and looked away from me. “Nothing. You’re right.” She looked around the kitchen, extricated herself from my grip, and poured herself a rum and coke in a red solo cup. “Hey. I wanted to tell you something.”

“What’s up?”

“I like that you keep trying to push me out of my comfort zone.”

“I just want you to live a little, sweetheart. I spent six months of my life in BUD/S training. I was so focused. Didn’t want to let my dad down. But he died right after I graduated. He invited me to a Padres game once, and I didn’t go because I was training. I regret not taking the time to have fun.”

She gave me a sympathetic nod and stroked my forearm. “Wow. I’m sure he understood.”

“Yeah. Well, I can’t go back in time. I’d been so focused on school, my career. I want to make my personal life a priority.”

A shadow crossed her lovely face. “I don’t even know what that means. I’ve never even had a boyfriend.”

My heart hammered in my chest, and a wave of possessiveness surged through me. “Well, you have one now.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it quickly, her gaze darting between my eyes and the floor. “I like you, Erik. I really do…more than you can possibly know. But I’m leaving. I just don’t see how this can work out.”

“Doesn’t matter that you are leaving. Any relationship I’m in is long distance. You could be in another country, and it wouldn’t make a difference. I’ll be halfway around the world next month.”

She took a step back from me. “Look, I really care about you. It’s just—”

“Just what? What are you so afraid of, baby? We’re perfect for each other.”

“But…how can you even say that? You don’t even know me!”

I pulled her into my arms and held her close, forcing her to look at me. “You’re drop dead gorgeous. But it’s so much more than that. We’re both over achievers . . . and you inspire me. I’ll never be lazy with you. And I can teach you to have some fun, too. I’m a SEAL officer, and I want a strong woman like you beside me. Give me a chance.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Erik…my life is just so complicated right now that I can’t even think about anything long-term. Can’t we just enjoy our time together until I leave and then figure things out from there?”

“Fine.” I pounded my beer and left her in the kitchen. I wasn’t delusional. I knew she was attracted to me. I could see the way she looked at me, feel the way she touched me. If any part of me thought that she wasn’t interested in me, I’d back off. But that wasn’t it. Something was holding her back, and I didn’t have a clue what it was.

But I was a SEAL—and SEALs never quit.

I’d just have to break down her walls and make her mine.