Thursdays were his busiest day of the week. In the morning, he opened the café, which meant that Joshua could finally take a break. Avery slightly envied this, even though he knew that Joshua often had his hands full managing the business.

He yawned as he made sure everything was in place and fully stocked, so that during the late-morning hours, when he was alone, nothing would be missing. The owner usually joined him before eleven, so by the time people started taking lunch breaks and grabbing their coffee — creating the second rush of the day — he never left his favorite employee helpless.

Until then, the blond barista was the only one preparing coffee and serving breakfast. Fortunately, the food had been prepared in advance, so he just had to heat it up and plate it. Nevertheless, he didn’t stop for the first few hours, but he managed it with a smile as always.

As a teenager, Avery had never been allowed to work. At least not in typical part-time jobs like other kids his age. His parents had a skewed view of the world and didn’t want him to interact with "regular" people. They believed that he didn't need to understand how ordinary people thought if he was never going to work with them. If only they could see him now…

Before he realized it, he laughed out loud. Fortunately, the café was busy, so probably no one heard him or thought he was crazy. Still, Avery quickly glanced around, but everything was as before. People sat at tables, enjoying their coffee, while others just came to the door to grab one to take to work or school. A typical morning.

He started humming along with the radio as he continued preparing coffee. Before he knew it, Joshua had joined him, and they got their work done faster. By 2 p.m., Avery was mostly at the register while Joshua moved among the customers, collecting their dirty dishes and asking if they wanted anything else.

They made a good team. They both enjoyed working with people, and when they weren’t talking to customers, they had friendly conversations behind the counter. After a year of working together, Joshua had become as much a friend as a boss to him.

At first, they seemed different, and Avery thought they wouldn’t get along. But then he discovered who Joshua Bennett really was and began to look up to him.

While Avery was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Joshua came from a large family in which his mother took care of everything. He had seven siblings, not all of whom had the same father. From what Joshua told him about his family, the blond barista could tell that the situation at home worsened after each stepfather left. However, none of them ever complained, and each child started working as soon as they could. 

Even now, at 29, Joshua would send money home to help his mother and his three youngest siblings living with her. 

He had a lot on his plate. Perhaps that was why he never had time to tame his dark, unruly curls. Instead, he wore a headband that Avery was sure had belonged to one of his sisters.

The blond barista almost felt guilty when he explained his own family situation. He had never lacked money. Just like private schools, his own car, or the salary he once earned in a month but now didn’t even hold in his hands after a year.

But Joshua didn’t judge him. He listened, supported him, and decided to be his mentor in the real world. After all, Avery never planned on going back, and he was no longer the spoiled heir. Not that he had ever looked down on others or wasted money carelessly. Still, one thing he couldn’t deny — he was used to a comfortable life, and getting used to a tiny studio apartment where hot water didn’t always run was anything but easy.

“Here they come.”

He didn’t have time to process the meaning of his boss’s words and instinctively lifted his head, meeting the gaze of the newcomers.

Just like every other day, his eyes skipped right over Nick and landed on David. Their gazes met for a brief moment, and although Avery often heard that his baby blue eyes enhanced his angelic appearance, they clearly weren’t memorable enough for the CEO to recognize them outside the club lights.

“Hi, Angel,” Nick greeted him first.

“Hi.” David was brief, as always, before turning his attention back to his phone.

“Hey, guys.” The blond barista wasn’t discouraged and flashed his usual wide smile, the one he saved just for the café. “The usual?”

Nick chuckled. “You know us so well.”

“I’d tell you you’re my favorite customers, but I don’t want to inflate your egos,” Avery replied playfully, scrunching his nose and earning another short laugh from the light-haired customer across the counter.

Since their very first visit, their order hadn’t changed. Both drank black coffee — the only difference being that while Nick added sugar, David preferred milk. Nick also always ordered a butter croissant, since it was his favorite, and when Avery once asked if he didn’t mind eating the same thing over and over, Nick had declared that the best coffee in the city deserved the best pastry, as if it were a law of nature.

Sometimes Avery wished he could fall for Nick instead of David. At least Nick would let him down gently, and Avery could move on with his life. But luck wasn’t on his side.

“Two black coffees, one with milk, and one croissant,” he repeated aloud while typing it into the register, though it wasn’t really necessary. He had barely finished the sentence when Nick was already handing him money, while his brother dropped the same amount into the tip jar. That, too, was their unchanging routine.

“How’s your day going?” Nick was not only the more talkative of the two brothers, but also the one who seemed more interested — at least here. 

Every Thursday, Avery was reminded of how little and yet how much he knew about them. Right after finishing his shift at Bean & Blossom, he went home to eat, shower, and head straight to the club for another shift.

“Hey, Angel,” one of the security guards at the entrance greeted him, and Avery flashed him a bright smile in return. Johnny had been working there much longer than he had, and ever since the blond had started a year and a half ago, he had always been kind to him. In the beginning, he would even ask Avery if he was okay whenever he saw him heading home.

“Good evening, Johnny. Think it’ll be busy tonight?”

“It’s always busy when you’re here,” the man at the door replied without hesitation. There was something to his words. Though Diablo was no longer the novelty he once was, and everyone had long since grown used to his look and devilish demeanor, people still came just to see and admire him. Avery didn’t understand it, but since it paid his bills, he didn’t need to have an answer for everything.

“We’ll see.”

He walked around the building toward the side entrance used by employees. Behind it stretched a hallway leading to the bar, the dressing rooms, and a staircase that climbed up to the boss’s office. Avery only went there when he had to, and thankfully tonight wasn’t one of those nights.

"Angel, what do you think? Too much?” The question came right from the doorway as soon as he stepped into the dressing room. Lionel, a stripper who loved experimenting with his look, had clearly decided to try something new again. His puckered lips were painted with dark burgundy lipstick.

“Looks good,” the blond replied, and as he walked toward his table, he added, “Hot.”

Unlike at the café, in Burning Temptation Avery might have been friendly with his colleagues, but he wouldn’t have called them friends in the truest sense of the word. He never met them outside of work, and unlike everything he told Joshua about himself and his family, here no one had any idea about his past. They had no way of finding out either, since Avery had changed his last name right after everything fell apart.

“Do you have eyeliner I could borrow?” Devin, one of the companions, suddenly appeared at his table.

Avery rummaged through his makeup bag for a while until he found the one thing his colleague needed. “Here.”

“Thanks, Angel.”

His conversation with his coworkers ended there for now since everyone needed to get ready, especially him, as he was changing his appearance the most. 

He braided his blonde hair, covered it with a net, and put on a wig. It was made of real human hair, making it look like his own. In fact, a few customers had asked him how he maintained it. The raven strands reached all the way down his back, moving with every step like a widow’s veil.

Next came the makeup. One thing he had done from the very beginning of his time here — back then mostly out of paranoia, but now just out of habit — was covering all his moles with concealer, even though most of them were already hidden under his mask.

Then came the eyes. Lining their shape with black pencil was already routine, as was the light coat of mascara that followed. He had to be especially careful with that one, to make it look like he wasn’t wearing any at all. It would be suspicious, after all, if he had such dark hair and blond eyelashes.

“Want some too?” Lionel appeared behind him, visible in the mirror's reflection. He held a liquid lipstick, apparently the same shade he had on his own lips.

“Are you suggesting you’ll put lipstick on me, or leave lip prints on me?” Avery turned his head toward him, amused.

The blond man with a few pink strands in his hair pressed his fingers to his lips and kissed them before showing Avery his hand. “Kissproof.”

"You know what? Sure.” The companion, who was already looking demonic, turned in his chair to give Lionel better access and tilted his head slightly back.

Delighted with his cooperation, Lionel got to work with enthusiasm, carefully applying the liquid lipstick to Diablo’s lips.

"Wait a bit for it to dry," he instructed once he was satisfied, stepping back to admire his work.

“How do I look?” Avery asked.

"Like true temptation from hell," his colleague replied, making him laugh.