ABSTRACT
I am standing on the beach in San Diego’s Mission Bay with Anthony and some other friends, talking with Alex, an almost unbearably cute 21-year-old of German, Jewish, and Native American ancestry from rural Wisconsin. Alex is just coming out and has a lot of questions. Because he is a Marine, I have some questions for him, too. He pretends to be more innocent than he is, but that’s okay with me. I enjoy—no, require—a modicum of wile in men I am attracted to. We drift off from the others and enjoy a spirited conversation.
