Honey slipped off another outfit from the rack and placed it in her arms, and though Nikos knew he should pick something out and give it to Allison as she had asked, Nikos found that his feet wouldn’t lead him far away from Honey.
“Why are you all buying these clothes yourself?” Nikos asked curiously as he fingered a pair of leather gloves, imagining Rachel wearing these. She was quite dominant in the bedroom. “Isn’t this something my uncle should provide?”
Honey paused in her steps, looking at him as if he were a child who had asked a dumb question. “Do you even know your uncle?”
“Not really,” Nikos admitted. “Seen him here and there during family occasions and celebrations, but since he lives here, and I’m from Greece, never really got the chance to be close to him like I am with the rest of my uncles.”
“Well, Antonis doesn’t provide us with clothes. We have to get them ourselves. Paris does sell clothes in the back, but they’re expensive, and the clothes here are way more affordable.”
“That sucks,” Nikos said. “I would imagine it would kind of be like a company providing uniforms.”
“Most clubs aren’t like that,” Honey said, shrugging. “I guess the owners feel like they’re doing us a favor by giving us a stage to dance on.”
“If I owned a club, clothes would be provided,” Nikos said absentmindedly as he scratched the scruff under his chin. Honey didn’t say anything as she picked out one more item before she walked over to the dressing rooms. Nikos followed her, andin passing, he snagged something off the rack without looking. When Honey found an empty dressing room, she turned and looked at him, and Nikos lifted a brow.
“Do you need help?” he asked flirtatiously, though he had no meaning behind it.
“No,” Honey retorted. Her eyes wander around suspiciously, never meeting his, before she put her hand out. Nikos frowned, not understanding the gesture until she did it more forcefully. When Nikos realized why she did it, he smirked.
“I thought you weren’t going to wear something I picked out,” Nikos said as he handed it to her.
“And I thought you said it wouldn’t matter either way,” Honey retorted as she stepped into the dressing room, but before she could close the door, Nikos stopped her, using his arm as a wedge in the entryway. Honey looked at his arm as if it offended her, and Nikos found himself wondering if it would ever be possible for him to see her smile.
“Can I ask you a question?” Nikos said as he leaned against the doorway.
“Haven’t you asked enough questions,” Honey said as she hung her clothes up on the clothes rack inside the dressing room.
“Why don’t you like me?” Nikos asked seriously. Even with her back turned to him, he could see her face in the mirror. A deep frown of confusion appeared on her face as she turned to look at him with her arms folded on top of each other. And Nikos waited because he genuinely wanted to know. It was not as if he expected everyone to like him, but it was just interesting that Honey didn’t like him. He didn’t remember offending her in any way, and yet, from the beginning, Honey had made it clear that she didn’t care for him.
It was not as if he planned on hooking up with her. Those might have been ambitions he would have had if his uncle hadn’t laid claim on her, but his uncle and everyone else around him had already made it clear that Honey was off-limits, and even Honey herself made it clear that she was not an option for him. But still, what had he done to cause a wall to be placed between them when less than ten words had been exchanged between them beforehand?
“Is it because I’m flirtatious?” Nikos asked as he thought back on her words earlier and how she had singled out only Allison, Sweetie, and Rachel— three women he had hooked up with.
Before he could get a reply, the next dressing room stall opened, and Allison stuck her head out, her eyes searching the store before they landed on him.
“What took you so long?” she asked, peeved as she tugged on his arm, causing him to lose his footing in the entryway and giving Honey enough time to close her own stall door and lock it. Nikos shook his head as he chuckled. She really didn’t like him, and he had no idea why.
“I thought you said you didn’t like neon,” Allison said as she took the item out of his hand, and Nikos realized that he had pulled out a hot pink bathing suit by accident. He followed Allison into the dressing room and sat down again, and from where he sat, he could hear Honey dressing in her own room. And instead of paying attention to the woman undressing in front of him, he imagined what Honey would look like in the outfit he picked for her.
***
Nikos was exhausted. Though he loved being around women, his idea of a good time was not shopping. An hour later, after being held hostage in the store, his arms were stacked with bags as he leaned against the wall outside the store, standing with Allison, Honey, Sweetie, Amber, and Rachel as they waited for Rita to finish at the register with her items.
“Where should we eat after this?” Allison asked. “I want some Chick-Fil-A.”
Rachel shook her head. “I like to keep my food and religion separate.”
“But their food is so good,” Allison argued. “What about you, Nikos?”
The last thing he wanted was to eat at a fast-food restaurant. He wanted real food, and these were the times he craved Ira’s cooking. Ira was the maid who had worked at his house ever since he was a young child. His mother made good food too, but Ira’s cooking had always reminded him of home. He would love some Stifado and Moussaka right now. Before Nikos could tell the women that it was up to them, rising voices in the near distance caught his attention.
All of them turned their attention to the front of the store, where Rita stood conversing with another man. Nikos wouldn’t have thought much of it if it weren’t for the fact that the Latina woman looked uncomfortable, and the smile that had been on her face all day was now lopsided. The man was showing her something on his phone, and from where Nikos stood, he couldn’t see it.
“Isn’t this you?” the man asked Rita. “You’re from the Gentlemen’s Club, right? Right?”
“Ugh,” Sweetie said, rolling her eyes. “Not another one of these assholes.”
“Excuse me,” Rita said as she tried to step away, but the man grabbed her arm, and Nikos tensed, not liking what was taking place.
