"Well, I am awesome. You can't expect every Navy man to live up to my standard." Though the Naval Academy was far from a cakewalk. He hadn't had the connections to get in. Not to mention his pesky, if minor, run-ins with the law.

"That would be impressive. Vic says the competition's stiff at UCSD." He took a long drink of his beer. "You must be stuck in the dorms as a freshman." Which also meant that Gaël was eighteen to Carlos' twenty-three. It wasn't robbing the cradle or anything, but...

Well, he was probably a little old for him.