Every one of Avery’s weeks was practically the same. There was nothing remarkable about his work at Bean & Blossom, though from time to time a few Karens would appear, determined to make his day unpleasant. It was nothing he could not handle, however, and in time he had found arguments against their worn out phrases that they could not contest, and they would always leave in irritation.

As for Burning Temptation, everything there was as it had been as well. It had been months since anyone new had joined their team, and thus they were attuned without a single fault. All of them knew one another’s strengths and took care to ensure they shone. Attractive employees meant more money for the establishment and, in turn, greater commissions for them when Stanley felt generous.

Avery lived a comfortable life. Compared to the first weeks, when he slept in his car to save for rent, he now had a flat that sufficed him, a half full refrigerator, and still enough left to pay for petrol or afford lunch in the city.

Moreover, he set part of his earnings aside, for he had learned his lesson, and perhaps still harbored an irrational fear born of the past, and knew he never wished to be left again with only his car and a few hundred dollars in his wallet.

He knew it was more than most people possessed after finding themselves homeless, yet accustomed to more, he had needed time to adjust to the ordinary world without household staff, more rooms than one could ever require, and a selection of meals that could be delivered at any hour from any corner of the world.

The only thing Avery missed from his former life were his friends, yet Joshua fully filled that gap within it. Well… he and Delaney, though as the student worked only on weekends, usually when Avery had time off, they did not meet often.

“You are here rather early today.”

Delaney, a seventeen year old student who had worked here part time for the past few months and was the only other person Joshua had been willing to hire, had a tradition of spending the money she earned at the café right here as well. She claimed she knew the money would return to her favorite barista, and so there was no reason to go elsewhere for coffee when she craved it.

“Hello to you too, Angel.” The teenager cast him a falsely reproachful look before explaining, “Free periods.”

“More than one?”

“Teacher got sick and there was no one to replace her,” the brunette explained, her hair presently braided into two braids, the top of her head adorned with large silver star shaped clips.

“Hmm.” Avery gave a sound of acknowledgment as he moved to the register to enter her order. “So, a matcha day?”

On days when Delaney was in a good mood, she ordered matcha. According to her, it was a celebratory drink, and good days deserved an equally good beverage. On the bad days, by contrast, she chose black coffee, which she claimed reflected their gloom, though she added caramel syrup and whipped cream, as they required sweetening. Avery had long since committed these explanations to memory and had to admit there was something to them.

“With oat milk and vanilla, please,” she said, though it was unnecessary. Her order was always the same.

“One iced matcha,” the barista added the final detail as he entered the order and began its preparation. He knew the girl had already placed the exact amount of money upon the counter, and even if she had not, she always left the remainder as a tip.

“It is not busy here today.”

“Not yet,” Avery assured her. “Language Hub has opened a new semester of courses. I am waiting for the desperate students to gather here.”

On the same street as Bean & Blossom there were several different establishments. Right next door was a small bookstore, from which customers also came, buying books and then practically running straight next door into the café with them. On the other side was a nail salon, which also brought in clients, so Joshua had truly chosen a good location for his business.

Further along were the aforementioned language school, a tattoo and piercing studio, a bistro with takeaway windows, a flower shop, a pharmacy, and the largest building belonged to event spaces, which were fortunately far enough from them that the noise did not reach them.

“Are you planning to teach them again how to order coffee in Spanish? Or do you know another language too?”

Delaney teased him, and he could only roll his eyes. He had once made the mistake of correcting a student who, likely overwhelmed from too much studying, had accidentally tried to order coffee in Spanish, and Avery had corrected him on how to do it properly. Then he had made the mistake of telling Delaney about it.

In reality, Avery knew several languages. Since he had been preparing his whole life for a CEO position, he had needed proper education for it, including foreign languages. He began with a BA program in Economics and Management at University of Oxford and later returned to America, where he completed a Master in Public Affairs at Princeton University. He therefore spoke Spanish and French and had basic knowledge of Italian, but at this point in his life, all this knowledge was useless to him.

“Maybe I should start tutoring you,” the barista teased back.

Delaney had no problem with science subjects and mathematics, but for some reason, French and English gave her trouble. Not that she was the worst in her class, but compared to her excellent grades in science, it was quite a difference. The student did not make a big deal out of it, however, and always said that if she did what she loved, she would not need those things.

“Don’t even try saying that in front of my parents.”

Delaney’s parents were the polar opposite of his own. They used to drop by her work, not to check up on her, but simply to say hello. Although she complained about them like a typical teenager, Avery knew that a family dinner and the question "How was your day?" always awaited her at home. Something he had never experienced.

After another short conversation about nothing and everything, the teenager left, and Avery returned to attending to customers, since those who came here after lunch for takeaway coffee were slowly beginning to gather.

The whole day passed quickly for the barista, since he was alone, as Joshua had had to go home to help his mother with his sick sisters and could not come today. Well, he had tried, but Avery had immediately assured him that he could manage on his own and did not need to worry.

Thus, at 2:15 he did not have time to linger by staring at the most attractive man he knew, since he had to attend to customers, and when the pair of brothers came to the counter, he had time only for short small talk. Not that he ever spoke with them about personal matters. Baristas were not on the same level as bartenders when it came to desperate confessions.

“The same as always?” he asked before they even managed to greet him.

“Of course.” Nick nodded. “Busy day?”

“I’ve seen quieter,” the blond barista answered neutrally. Although it was more work than usual, since he was alone with everything, he did not complain. He still managed everything without problems and had no reason to panic or curse.

“Joshua had finally taken time off? God knew he deserved it.”

The older of the brothers continued the conversation while Avery tapped on the cash register. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Nick had already prepared a banknote for payment, while the younger brother placed the same amount into the tip jar.

“He went home to his family,” the barista revealed.

Nick and David did not know about Joshua’s family, or at least that was what Avery thought. The blond did not know what his boss talked about with them on the days he had off. Maybe Joshua got more out of them than he ever did. In that case, Avery did not know whether he should envy him or not.

“Ahh.” Nick nodded again. “So for now you are our favorite barista.”

Avery raised an amused eyebrow. “Are you saying I am not always your favorite barista?” He could not help himself and for a brief second moved his gaze toward the other brother, trying to see what his opinion was on the matter, though he knew he would not be able to read anything from it, since he probably was not even paying attention.

“You are our daily dose of angelic energy,” the fair haired man replied.

The barista rolled his eyes. Just as he was constantly hit with comments about looking like a demon at the bar, here at the café, it was the exact opposite. The difference was that while he wore a mask and a costume at Burning Temptation, here, he simply existed.

“I am starting to feel like dyeing my hair.”

His answer was not serious. Not because he cared greatly about his blond color, but if he dyed it darker, he feared that this time David might realize who stood in front of him every day. Maybe he could not connect his eyes and voice, but together with the hair… It would be too obvious, probably not only to him.

“Then you wouldn’t be our Angel.” Nick pouted before laughing.

Mentioning again that it would be easier to fall in love was probably pointless.

“You would just have to invent a new nickname,” the barista replied while immersed in preparing the coffee. “Anyway, how is your day going?”

“Surprisingly less busy than yours,” Nick answered, as usual, and Avery did not even realize that he had lifted his gaze from the counter and searched with his eyes for David, clearly signaling that he expected an answer from him as well.

“Good. I like Thursdays.”

It took all of Avery’s strength not to react to his words and not show that he knew their meaning. He suspected why these days were his favorite, and it had nothing to do with his work.

“Uh-huh. Almost the weekend.” He hoped his tone was casual, and it seemed that he had succeeded.

“Exactly.”

The blond tried to pretend he did not notice the look Nick gave his brother, signaling that he had reached the same conclusion as Avery.

Luckily, this conversation ended the moment he handed them their coffees and croissant, and then he had to attend to other customers and clean tables. The last thing he exchanged with them was a farewell greeting as they left through the door, and that was the last time he saw them that day. It was not supposed to be, but it was.

Bean & Blossom closed every day at 8 pm, except on Friday and Saturday, when they stayed open until 9 pm. Avery had less than an hour and a half left in his shift when he realized that the rest of his shift would not be as peaceful as he had expected.