That Thursday, David did not return to the club. Avery didn't think much of it, assuming he would simply show up the next day. 

Oh, how wrong he was.

Friday came, and although Diablo waited the entire night, the CEO did not appear again. He tried not to show his disappointment or confusion, yet his gaze strayed to the door more than once, waiting for the dark-haired man to appear. But he never came.

On Saturday, when it happened again, the devilish companion wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“Do you think he’s sick or something?” Lionel asked him. He was the only one who dared to ask, and although Avery had a hunch about the answer, he just shrugged and told him, “I have no idea.”

He could only hope that Stanley hadn’t noticed as well. Besides, he still believed it was only temporary. After all, the announcement that Diablo would be dancing on stage next weekend had been made not only in the club—where it was met with applause and loud shouts of joy—but had also been posted on social media. Avery had no doubt that the CEO wouldn’t miss his performance.

He was sure of it, until Monday came and, at 2:15 pm, only one set of footsteps headed toward the register instead of two. 

“Alone today?” 

He tried to keep his voice light, hiding how much David’s absence affected him. 

“David couldn’t make it,” Nick explained, but since his typical smile was missing from the statement, Avery knew it wasn’t the real version, just the one that required no further explanation. 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Then, to protect himself from a slip-up, he turned it into a joke. “Now I’ll have to calculate how much your order costs. I hope you have the exact amount so I don’t have to give you change.” 

“It’s your lucky day.”

Nick’s face was a little more cheerful now as well, and when he handed him the banknote, he added, “Keep the change.”

“You are a generous man.”

Avery kept the conversation lively, although thoughts clashed in his mind, urging him to think about David’s absence. Was it only a coincidence that he had stopped coming to both places where the blond worked?

He learned the answer the next day.

“Hi, Angel!”

“Hi, Nick. Solo again today?”

Faking a smile was becoming increasingly difficult, and Avery knew that if this continued, he wouldn’t be able to keep it up. It wasn’t that his mood depended on those fifteen minutes the younger brother spent at Bean & Blossom every day. That wasn't it. He was simply worried about his financial situation.

The fair-haired man waved his hand at the question. 

“Don't even ask.” 

The barista wanted to ask.

“Just promise me he isn’t seriously ill and I don’t need to start worrying,” he said, still keeping his tone friendly and light despite what his words suggested. 

“If grumpiness is an illness,” Nick laughed briefly. “He’s fine. Just stubborn.”

“Did he say something?" Avery asked before he could stop himself.

Nick frowned. “About what?”

That was how the blonde came to his senses and realized his question had been out of line. It was clear that David hadn’t told him anything about their chance encounter in front of the club, and it was Avery who had raised his suspicion… well, his confusion, but that could quickly escalate into something more.

“Stupid question.” He waved his hand, trying to act as if he hadn’t just made a blunder and his heart wasn't racing in a panic. “Sorry. It’s been a long day, I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.”

Nick didn’t look like he entirely believed him, but fortunately, he didn’t push it.

Just as Avery did not ask the next day, when the CEO did not appear, about his absence. Nor the day after that. Yet he still believed that he would visit him at the club.

Fortunately, the blond barista didn't have much time to think about it, since he had to prepare for the performance, and that meant that he spent his afternoons and evenings in the club to learn the choreography. Luckily, Jonah managed to make time for him whenever he could, and since Avery knew his own abilities, he made sure that it was often.

Over the year they had worked together, his muscular, brown-haired colleague had managed to teach him several routines. Of course, every time Avery mastered one, Jonah took it as a challenge and would next time add steps that didn't come as easily to the companion.

This time he outdid himself. Besides Diablo moving around the pole among the other strippers, a grand finale awaited him, where he ended up front and center, surrounded by the other half-naked men.

The whole dance moreover ended with Avery literally ending on his knees, but not in so simple a manner. Thanks to Jonah’s instructions he had to trust gravity, for he ended upon the ground in a deep arch, his torso bent back and his arms spread upon the floor beside him, palms down.

He didn't see anything sensual about it until Jonah ordered him to slowly move his hands to his own chest, sliding them up toward his neck. Then, as he began to rise into a kneeling position, his hands moved from his throat down across his chest agonizingly slowly, reaching all the way to his stomach.

His fingertips ended at the waistband of his leather pants, which were a bit looser this time to allow him to dance, while also letting the band of his thong peek out. Avery hated wearing them, but on the nights he did, he received the biggest tips.

“Now the teeth.”

At Jonah’s command he bared his teeth and bit down, just as the choreographer had planned. Of course, a second later he burst out laughing, for it was ridiculous, though he was certain that his fans would eat it up.

“With the wig and the horns, it’ll be perfect,” Jonah assured him, though an amused smile appeared on his face as well.

Right now, the blonde was wearing the clothes he planned to dance in, but the rest of the costume was missing. Consequently, his demeanor wasn't entirely demonic either—but it never was during practice. However, when the day of the performance arrived, he knew he had to give it his all and that no amount of self-confidence would be too much.

Diablo represented all seven deadly sins, and on the dance floor, pride was his greatest asset.

…

“You look nervous.” Lionel stopped beside him, their gazes meeting through the mirror. The stripper looked concerned, and so Avery realized that he had been showing his expectations more than he had thought.

“It’s nothing.” 

Judging by the way the blonde man standing next to him frowned, it didn’t sound as convincing as he had hoped. 

“Is it about your rich guy?”

Although they weren’t friends, not in the true sense, everyone knew that just as Diablo was the CEO’s favorite companion, David was Diablo’s favorite customer. He never complained about meeting him and always searched for him with his eyes in the club. His colleagues teased him about it, and although he always assured them that he had only a professional relationship with him, he knew not all of them believed him.

“I’m sure he’ll show up.”

Lionel tried to cheer him up, but Avery wasn’t as optimistic. Not when the CEO had been avoiding him at his other job as well. Still, he believed that even if he didn’t come today, he wouldn’t miss his Friday performance. 

“We’ll see,” Diablo replied vaguely and finished his makeup, putting on his mask as the final step of his preparation. The night had begun, and he had to transform into the devil.

The club was full, despite it being only Thursday—traditionally the least busy day of the week. The companion saw many unfamiliar faces in the crowd and assumed their social media posts had once again reached people who decided to check out Burning Temptation for themselves, or perhaps new residents had moved into the area. After all, the club was located in a part of town where no one lasted long. The streetlights were too bright, the street noise too loud, and living near nightclubs wasn't exactly ideal.

Fortunately, Avery was soon offered a distraction in the form of a regular. The demonic performer's steps automatically headed in his direction, ignoring the hands that felt the need to touch him as he passed by. 

“You are more desired than usual tonight.”

The first thing Diablo noticed was that Luca sounded more positive than the week before. A smile played on his face, and his shoulders weren’t as tense as before. However, since he knew him well enough—or so he dared to say—he knew this wasn't necessarily a good sign. 

“I’m hard to resist,” he replied in a tone as if it were a matter of fact. In this line of work, he could afford as much self-confidence as he wanted, after all.

“I’m glad you found time for me,” Luca said, as if he didn’t know the horned companion always made time for him. They might not have been friends, and there was certainly no chance of anything more developing between them since they both had different "types," yet they tended to be each other’s favorite distraction. Diablo could be a bit more himself around him, and Luca had someone to talk to without being judged. 

“I always find time to look at pretty things.” To prove his point, he leaned further back, bracing his palms against the table he was sitting on so he could get a better look at the medic in front of him.

“I’m pretty sure I should be the one saying that to you,” the man opposite him countered, though as always when receiving a compliment from the companion, his cheeks took on a deeper hue. 

“You can tell me tomorrow,” Diablo assured him. “When I’m on stage.” 

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Luca’s promise was fulfilled, yet he was not the one whom the masked companion searched for with his eyes when he stepped onto the stage and wrapped his palm around the pole.

The CEO usually stood behind the first tables by the stage. He never sat, always standing in a direct line with the stage so that he had a perfect view of his favorite demon. Once Avery asked him why he never sat in the front to see him more closely, but he told him that he left that view to the others, since he knew he would receive an even closer one later.

This time, however, it seemed he had opted for no view at all.

“If you say I'm too much, baby, go find less…”

The first notes of the track rang out, and Diablo no longer had time to scan the crowd or mourn the CEO’s absence. It was showtime, and he had to give it his all—especially since he was still in Stanley’s debt after his late arrival.

He spun around the pole, tossing the dark hair as though it were his own, long since no longer afraid that he might lose the wig during the dance, and ignored all the hands that reached for him in vain. He was not at the front yet, and so the only touches upon his body were his own.

“If you can't keep up, stay below, I guess…”

There were several moments in the song where the chorus repeated, but Jonah had decided to make one of them a bit more special. That was why Diablo’s lips were now nearly brushing against his, while the muscular brunet slowly sank to his knees—until the companion’s hand landed on his shoulder and shoved him straight to the ground, just as the other dominant dancers in pairs were doing.

The disguised devil slid his fingers into the brunet’s hair, the one with whom he formed a pair almost every time he danced on the stage, simply being the most comfortable with him, since Jonah was the one who had taught him every dance step from the very beginning and had enough patience with him to explain things even a hundred times until Avery finally understood them.

A wide, almost manic smile played on his lips as he played his part, though he felt no joy inside. He felt the thrill, as he always did when dancing—knowing he could mask any mistake as an act of defiance or rule-breaking, something he could never afford in his previous life—but this rush didn't last long.

Not when, even after the applause erupted and everyone felt the need to touch him, the CEO was still nowhere to be seen.