Petra's manicured nails slowly twirled one of her perfectly kept locs around her finger. The nail glittered in the low candlelight, a dark sparkly maroon that looked lovely next to her brown skin. Her chocolate-colored eyes were glued onto Lucio's painted face, simultaneously impressed and furious at the small man who had managed to capture the heart of her man seemingly without effort. It was impossible it ignore the way Ansel looked at him; she couldn't ever remember seeing him look at<i>her</i>that way. Even in the dim light, Petra could see Ansel's pupils dilate when he glanced down at the thin man who had practically sewn himself into his side. There was a softness to the older man's face that she didn't know existed. Petra had always known Ansel to be a sexy, but stern man, with very little room for negotiation or compromise. With Ansel, it was his way or no way, and although Petra had often argued against it, she had quickly come to realize during their relationship that whenever she did get her way it was only because Ansel willed it. But now he was looking at this dolled up little whore as if he were the most beautiful creature he had ever laid his deep hazel eyes on, and it infuriated her.<br/><br/>Lucio's verbal stab certainly didn't help matters, and Petra felt her fist clenching involuntarily at her side. "Well, it is fabulous to know that you've been a slut right from the start. No wonder Ansel enjoys you so much. I'd like to think his tastes would be of a higher standard, but apparently I'm mistaken." The thought that Ansel had allowed this little tart to suck his dick in his office disgusted her, though now she had the real answer for why the door had been locked that day.<br/><br/>"Petra, are we really going to drag this out?" Ansel asked, completely bored by the entire display. He simply wanted her to leave. He wanted to spend the night with his lover and appreciate all of the work Lucio had put in to making himself look as stunning as he did. This argument reminded him of the dozens upon dozens of ones they had spat out between them before, maybe not the subject but certainly the tone. In that moment Ansel realized just how unhealthy and contentious their relationship had been, and how smooth his interactions with Lucio seemed in comparison. Petra was prickly and hard to please, and while Lucio did have some issues the two would need to work with--his shockingly vicious jealousy, for one--he and Ansel communicated with one another perfectly, two puzzle pieces that fit together without force. Lucio was making him realize where he had gone wrong in choosing Petra. Looks did not always equal compatibility.<br/><br/>The young woman threw a bitter look in Ansel's direction before dramatically throwing up her hands. "Fine, fine, you two little lovebirds enjoy your perverted evening. Who am I to judge? Ansel has obviously made his choice, however misguided and digusting it is, and it would be classless for me to argue." She took a long, deep breath and forced a smile onto her face when she exhaled. "My advice to you, little boy," she said, gathering herself and slowly walking back toward the front door. "If Ansel cheated once, he'll cheat again. And I'm sure you weren't the first he cheated on me with. This was just the first time he got caught. So go ahead, play cutesy little housewife now, enjoy your time together feeling like you're the most important thing in his life. He'll turn on you eventually, just like he did me. Once a cheater, always a cheater.<br/><br/>"You two have a fantastic evening." The woman gave one last sarcastic grin, waving her fingers at the two men as she exited the apartment and slammed the door behind her. Ansel released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding after she had gone, removing himself from Lucio's momentarily and making his way over to his liquor cabinet. He pulled out a glass and a bottle of Balvenie, a single-malt scotch he was particularly fond of and only pulled out when he was feeling stressed.<br/><br/>"I'm sorry for that, Lucio," Ansel said harshly, dropping a few cubes of ice into his glass before pouring a bit of scotch in. After setting the bottle down, he lifted the glass to his lips and took a few long sips, savoring the fruity, spicy flavor of the alcohol. "That was embarrassing. I am appalled by her behavior, but more so that it would interrupt our evening. I haven't even had the chance to look at you properly."<br/><br/>The glass clinked as he placed it back down on the marble counter top, nodding to the bottle of champagne he had pulled out. "I thought we could indulge ourselves tonight. Would you be interested?"