“My bad,” Nikos said as he stepped aside so she could come in. Honey looked at him with an arched brow, and Nikos realized that he hadn’t even bothered to get dressed properly and was only wearing a pair of briefs with no shirt on. Nikos sheepishly smiled.
“Maybe I was hoping you would do more than baking,” Nikos said, winking at her, and Honey snorted before walking over to his kitchen. Nikos quickly closed the door before catching up to her so that he could grab her bags. Honey looked surprised, though he didn’t know why.
“I’m a gentleman,” Nikos said as he helped put the bags on the counter for her.
“A gentleman who comes to the door half-naked,” Honey said sarcastically. “I wouldn’t say that’s gentleman-like at all.”
“I’m a half-naked gentleman then. Though, I could be a fully naked one for you,” Nikos said. Honey ignored him as she didwith all of his advances as she began to unpack her things. She glanced at him as she did, pointedly looking at his disheveled appearance, and now he wished he had remembered she was coming because his hair was probably in complete disarray.
“You know you can go back to sleep if you’ll like,” she said as if she knew he was still tired, and he was. The idea of jumping back in his bed and closing his eyes was calling him. But he didn’t want to be rude.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“It’s fine,” Honey said. “I don’t need any help.”
Nikos hesitated before nodding. “Just call me if you need anything.”
Honey nodded, and Nikos padded back down to his room, nearly dropping into his bed before he paused. Though sleep was still calling him, the idea of Honey being inside his home without him speaking to her bothered him. As of late, he had been so busy that he had barely had the chance to really speak to her how he had before. Now he only spoke to her in passing or when they were going over paperwork. Another opportunity wouldn’t arise like this any time soon.
Instead of getting back in bed, Nikos got into the shower, washing up before getting dressed and heading back into the kitchen where Honey was whisking eggs. She looked like a professional, completely in her element. It almost made him want to return so that he wouldn’t get in her way, but he didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to spend time with her.
“Your hero is here,” Nikos said as he came behind her, dropping his chin on her neck. Honey cut him a look but continued to work, and it showed how close they had grown because she hadn’t even bothered to move him when a couple ofmonths ago, when they first had met, she would have been ready to pepper spray him.
“Don’t say that I didn’t give you the opportunity to sleep,” she warned before she passed him a bowl of eggs. “Whisk.”
It wasn’t long before he found himself sweating in the kitchen as he helped Honey. He hadn’t been expecting it to be hard work, but making the dough was not easy as it seemed.
“What happened to cupcakes and cookies?” Nikos asked as he punched the dough that seemed to be fighting against him.
“I’m making that too, but I’m also making cinnamon twists. The kids in Kai’s class last year loved them,” Honey said as she mixed chocolate chips into the cookie dough before she glanced at him, and when she saw how he was punching the dough, she shook his head.
“I saw you fight a man two hundred pounds larger than you, but you can’t even properly knead dough,” Honey said as she shooed him away before she took over for him.
“I’m a lover, not a fighter,” Nikos quipped.
“You’re an idiot,” Honey tossed back as she pounded the dough, and he thought he had been rough, but Honey was practically manhandling the dough, and he watched her amused.
“I hope I never get punched by you,” Nikos said, half-joking, half-serious.
“Never cross me then,” Honey said, pointing her dough roller at him.
“You never have to worry about that,” Nikos said, and he meant it. Honey arched a brow as if she were trying to figure out if he was serious before continuing.
“Let’s finish this, lover boy,” Honey said, and they broke the dough down before twisting them and putting them in the oven.An hour later, after they took everything out of the oven and let them cool down, it was time to add the cinnamon syrup and sugar powder.
“Are you finished?” Honey asked as she concentrated on making the cinnamon syrup. Nikos held a powder shaker and shook it on top of the cinnamon twists that smelled incredibly good. He was trying to refrain himself from sneaking some.
“Yeah,” Nikos said as he shook it one more time. He looked at his work proudly, thinking that maybe he should try being a baker. He wasn’t half bad at it.
“Good,” Honey said as she came over with the cinnamon syrup and slowly drizzled it on. Nikos watched her as he did when he noticed that some of the syrup was on her cheek, and he realized that it had gotten pretty messy in here while they were baking.
“You have some on your face,” Nikos told her after Honey finished putting the cinnamon syrup on top.
“Do I?” Honey asked absentmindedly as she tried to wipe it off her cheek but couldn’t find the right place. Nikos smirked when an idea came to him. It wouldn’t hurt to try it.
“I’ll help you,” Nikos told her cheekily before he leaned down and licked the syrup off her cheek. “You taste sweeter than I imagined.”
Honey glared at him before punching his shoulder, and Nikos laughed. And that was another reason he knew their relationship had changed and that they were friends now because he definitely would have been punched in the eye a few months ago. But he liked that he could joke with Honey like this. He always had a good time with her, even doing things like baking. He even liked hanging out with Kai too because the kid was great.
