A Good Deal

Chapter 6

"You've been distracted, and you know how I feel about that, Angie." He turned on his heel to face the moth, who was leaning against the doorway of the practice studio. Val didn't look particularly angry, but he didn't exactly look happy either.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll do better, Val, I swear." He turned back to the pole he'd been using and tried to focus on that instead. The soft clicks against the marley floors had him tensing as the man grew closer.

"Relax Angie, I'm not going to do anything. It's been a good day so far, and you're not scheduled for anything huge, just a show tonight. I'm just worried you're gonna fall off the pole, honey, and then what are we gonna do?" He felt the slight vibration and looked up to find the man's hand wrapped around the pole.

"I'm not gonna fall, Val, I promise." Angel straightened before moving to dry his hands from the sweat. He'd powdered them earlier, but now he felt like he needed to again. Despite being with the man for roughly forty years, he still found himself nervous every time Val was too close. It shouldn't happen, not after having seen just about every side of the man imaginable. He'd seen him aroused, sad, curious, angry, and livid. And there was a difference, of course, because him being angry meant he might hit you once, or put you in a violent seen, or make you walk for twelve hours. Him being livid meant you were done, completely.

"I know, you're better than that, but it'as a worry I have when you're distracted like this. Silly, of course, because you've been doing this for the last, what, few decades at least." He turned back to look at the moth, who had taken over his pole. The pimp had stripped off the coat, which truly meant he was feeling fairly good today. Watching the man, he forced himself to breathe. "So, what is on your mind, Angel?" The moth gripped the pole above his head, facing the arachnid as he slowly slid down, to the floor, spreading his legs as he went and felt into a split.

"Nothing, just... " He paused before continuing. He definitely wasn't going to tell Val about Husker, that spelled disaster with a capital D. Considering how territorial the man was, the idea that Angel had feelings, like any normal person, had a chance of sending him into a rage. Feelings like love meant that he might try to leave at some point, and you didn't leave until Val let you go. "Just conflicted on a part of tonights dance. I'm not too sure if I should pull up, or if I should flip up. That's all." The moth stood back up, delicately running his fingers over the metal as he went in a sensual movement that matched just about everything else he did. Turning his body around, he took careful steps around the pole until he was front and center for Angel.

"Think about the stage. You'll be at Blue tonight, to it's not a 360 stage, it's a 180. It'd probably be best to pull up for Blue." The spider watched his boss as the man, lifted his hands above his head again, one grabbing the pole just behind his head, while the other reached higher. Lifting his feet off the ground, he walked himself up the metal and wrapped his legs back until he had a brace. Releasing his hands, he leaned forward, holding himself with nothing but his calves, and motioned for Angel to come closer. When he complied, he found himself following the moth as he pulled back and pressed his back to the pole. In seconds, the man had his feet on the ground and was staring down at Angel. "Try to keep your mind here, Angel, and not on whatever has you second guessing yourself." He nodded and the man strode across the room to his coat, sliding it back on. "Oh, and Angel, remember to eat something." The reminder came as the pimp slipped from the room and walked away toward whatever else he had to run. Moving back to the pole, he spun around it for a moment while he thought. He hadn't brought anything, and if he didn't eat anything now, he wouldn't have the time. Not to mention how bad it could end up if he ate too close to going on stage. Cursing, he pulled out his phone and started searching through his contacts. Someone he knew had to be available, right? Able to just pick him up food and bring it to him, no matter what it was? About halfway down the list, his eyes stopped on Husker's name and he felt the little skip of his heart. Biting his lip, he weighed his other options, but decided that more than the food the cat might bring him, he just wanted to see him.