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Erik? Did he say his name was Erik? Like The Little Mermaid’s prince? I couldn’t help but smile at the coincidence.

Or maybe he was messing withme.

“Nice to meet you, Erik.”

“You’re incredible. My little sister is a huge fan.” Even though a stunningly beautiful Isa was right beside me, Erik’s eyes were locked completely on mine. “I am too, by the way. So, do you livehere?”

“No, just teaching here at the resort for a month.” Because I’d joined the Navy and was heading to Officer Candidate School in Rhode Island and then back here on a BUD/S contract. But I kept my plans to myself. The last person I wanted to confess my desire to become a SEAL to was an active duty Frogman. From everything I’d read, the Team guys were violently opposed to integrating the Teams.

They could choke on their opinions. The defense secretary said that the Pentagon would open all combat jobs to women. Including SEALs. So these men didn’t have a choice.

“Cool. Hey, I’m at work, but when I get off let me take you to dinner.”

Wait what? Forward much? I’d never, and I meant never, been asked out on a date like that. Sure, I’d had a few internet proposals. But this guy had just metme.

My face must’ve shown my shock.

“I get off at six. I’ll pick you up where you are staying, or we can meet here. There’s this great place down the street.”

Isa let out a laugh as she nudgedme.

I was speechless. Did this guy want me or was he just interested in meeting an Olympian? He probably would’ve acted the same if he met any champion, male or female. I mean he was a SEAL. One of their mottos was “it pays to be a winner.”

I wanted to be a SEAL, not be fucked by one. Well, that could be fun too. But that wasn’t the point. My eyes raked him up and down, drinking in his big, muscular physique. Nope . . . not happening. There was no way I could go out with this super-hot man and risk being distracted from my dream. I vowed to watch these SEALs from afar for a month, go to Officer Candidate School, and then finish BUD/S. There was no room for romance in my world.

“I’m not interested,” I said as convincingly as I could.

Erik’s mouth curved into an amused grin. “I’m not going to give up that easily, sweetheart. I always go after what Iwant.”

Great, I had just challenged a SEAL, a man who would neverquit.

“Well, good luck with that. As I said, I’m only in town for a month, so there’s no point to start something we can’t finish.”

His eyes twinkled, and he licked his lips. Man, he was gorgeous. Maybe I had made a mistake. This could be a win-win. A hot summer romance with a sexy SEAL and I could glean some intel on the Teams. What could go wrong?

“Who said I wouldn’t finish? I’m known to finish strong. I’ll stop by tomorrow. Nice to meet you, Aria.”

And with that, sexy SEAL turned and ran down the beach. His friend slapped him on the back and seemed to be joking withhim.

“Oh my god . . . how cocky was that guy?” I muttered, turning my attention back to Isa. “Do you even know thatdude?”

“Yeah, he comes around all the time. He’s gorgeous, don’t you think?”

“Uh yeah, girl. He’s probably the hottest man I’ve everseen.”

She laughed. “Welcome to San Diego. Anyway, Erik seems nicer than the rest of them. You should just go havefun.”

Fun. I didn’t know the meaning of the word fun. My entire life consisted of setting goals and working hard to achieve them. But maybe Isa was right, and I should learn how to let my hairdown.

We climbed out of the pool and headed toward the locker room to shower. Afterward, Isa and I exchanged numbers, we parted ways, and I walked back home. I hadn’t even taught my first class, and I had already begun to lose focus. Erik was ridiculously sexy, but it didn’t matter. It would be unethical to use him to gain an advantage in training, though I needed any help I could get. Honestly, winning a gold medal seemed almost easy compared to becoming the first woman to graduate from BUD/S. But I refused to let anything—or anyone—distractme.

Even if that distraction was an over six foot, fine as hell NavySEAL.