Having Lucio wrapped around his arm sent erotic vibrations coursing through Ansel's body; he was appreciative of the touch. He moved his arm slightly so as to make Lucio more comfortable, allowing the young man to put as much of his weight as he wanted onto him. Ansel felt his heart swell as Lucio gave his sweet, perhaps calculated response to Deandra's teasing. There was a part of Ansel that relished Lucio's words, feeling their raw sweetness sweep him off of his feet. The thought that Lucio could possibly adore Ansel as much as the professor adored him was too wonderful to entertain. Perhaps Lucio felt the way he claimed, Ansel desperately hoped so, or perhaps Lucio was just using his superior acting skills to convince this small group that Ansel's invitation was merited. The two men were already teetering dangerously on the line between truth and falsehoods. Ansel just had to wonder which side Lucio leaned toward.<br/><br/>Ansel didn't have much time to ponder, however, as Lucio quickly took Deandra's bait and threw it right back at her with a happy, full-bodied laughed that made Ansel want to melt right into Lucio's hands. The professor smiled dreamily as Lucio looked up at him, unable to resist going along with Lucio's game. "Yes, Lucio is correct. Were I to participate in a relationship with one of the students on campus, I would be placing myself in very vulnerable position. Depending on the situation, my involvement could lead up to a suspension, perhaps even termination. Thankfully, my relationship with Lucio does not leave me feeling worried."<br/><br/>Isaac, the quietest of the group thus far, took a sip of some amber colored liquid and offered the two a gentle smile. Isaac, openly gay since high school, had been suspicious of Ansel's claim to heterosexuality since they had met. There had always been something different about the intense, generally detached man that had peaked Isaac's interests, but he had never been able to crack Ansel's tough exterior. Seeing Lucio wrapped around Ansel, and Ansel very obviously enjoying it, had not only confirmed Isaac's decades-long suspicion, it also left him feeling exceptionally jubilant, even if he didn't overtly show it.<br/><br/>"You two look good together," Isaac said simply, a warm flush creeping up his neck as he watched the two.<br/><br/>"Well, of course they look good together," Deandra laughed. "Lucio is a damned model and Ansel, well, we all know Ansel is the most delicious hunk of streusel in the Midwest."<br/><br/>"Okay, no more champagne for Deandra," Ansel said playfully, interlacing his fingers with Lucio's. "Birthday boy makes the rules. Now, if you all don't mind, Johanna will be awfully disappointed if I don't make the rounds. We'll talk to you later."<br/><br/>Ansel pulled Lucio away from the small group and lead him toward the back of the condo where a small hallway led to one of the spare bedrooms Johanna had previously mentioned. The dark hardwood flooring clicked pleasingly as the two men walked, Ansel opening the door to the room and pulling Lucio inside.<br/><br/>The bedroom looked like something out of a catalog, perfect and hardly lived in. The furniture was dark and modern, with a queen-sized bed in the center of the room and black and white photography hanging on the slate gray walls. "You can put your backpack in here. I wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to set your things down before we went back outside and had another riveting conversation about how old I am and how pretty you are. To be fair, though, the latter I could talk about forever." Ansel smiled as he waited for Lucio to deposit his belongings, leaning up against the bedroom door.<br/><br/>"Thank you, by the way. As the night goes on and my acquaintances get drunker, chances are you'll have to answer many more probing questions. Knowing some of my sister's guests, there is a high chance that they'll get fairly raunchy. You're not required to answer anything that makes you uncomfortable. But keep doing what you're doing and they'll fall in love with you."