Nikos put his hands up in mock surrender. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“Lick me again, and the next punch will be in your eye,” Honey told him. “Now, help me finish this.”
By the time they finished making everything, the sun was down, and it was after eight. They packed everything, and a bunch of boxes filled with desserts were on his table, and Nikos could say for certain that those kids were lucky, considering that he had snuck a couple of those treats.
Though Nikos told her he could have someone else come clean up the kitchen, Honey did it herself and turned his kitchen back to what it looked like before she got here, if not cleaner. While Honey did that, Nikos picked up something from his room and returned.
“Here,” Nikos said, holding an envelope in his hand. Honey dried her hands on a towel before taking it.
“What is it?” she asked curiously.
“It’s for our time spent today and for the other nights I missed,” Nikos said as Honey opened the wallet, flipping her fingers through the bills with wide eyes. It probably seemed like a lot to her, but it was because he added the days he had bailed out on. “I’m sorry for being so busy. This is the only day I’ve had off this week.”
Honey laughed, to his surprise.
“You sound like a neglectful husband,” she said, and Nikos blinked, recalling his words before he laughed too. He guessed he did sound like that, and technically, he felt that way. He had been the one to start this arrangement between them, and he felt that it was his duty to make sure Honey got paid properly. He knew how much this meant to her, and he didn’t want her to ever be in a position where she contemplated going to work behindthe doors again. He had been working with Angela to make sure that it was safe for their girls back there, but to be honest, after what happened, he never wanted to see Honey back there again.
Honey took a small portion of the money before handing the rest back to him.
“I can’t take money for the other nights because I didn’t do anything to earn them,” she said. “I would feel guilty if I did.”
“You shouldn’t feel guilty,” Nikos argued, knowing how stubborn Honey could be when it came down to money. She didn’t like handouts, and he knew that, but this definitely wasn’t that for him. If anything, it was him paying what he owed. “It was my fault for not being around.”
Honey sighed, shaking her head with a small smile, a smile that Nikos soaked in. He really liked when she smiled, and lately, he had been seeing it more and more, and like a greedy man, he still wanted to see it.
“You still sound like a neglectful husband,” she said, looking amused, but stubbornly added, “I won’t take it.”
The problem was that he could be just as stubborn as Honey. He tried to think of what he could do, so he wouldn’t hold Honey back on her goal because he was too busy. If it were up to him, he would offer to pay for her schooling, but he knew that Honey would never accept that from him, and he didn’t want to ruin their relationship by making her upset with him. So he thought about it until an idea popped into his mind.
“How about you dance for me?” Nikos suggested. “That way you won’t get the money for no reason.”
He hoped she wouldn’t be offended, but she wasn’t and actually looked amused as she folded her arms together, facing him.
“Wouldn’t that be boring for you since you’ve already seen me dance before?” she asked.
“Trust me. It would definitely be entertaining,” Nikos assured. No matter how many times he saw Honey dancing before, he never got tired of it, and if he were in the building, he always made sure to see her perform. That was how good she was at it. Five of her performances were already living in his mind rent-free. He was pretty sure every man who saw her perform thought the same.
Honey still looked uncertain, and then his phone rang. Nikos pulled it out of his pocket, and when he saw Christos’s name, he knew he needed to answer it.
“Give me a second,” he told Honey, who nodded. Then, he stepped outside his apartment, not wanting Honey to hear anything. Not because he was afraid of her running to the police but because he knew that Honey didn’t like to be privy to this dangerous lifestyle.
“Hello,” Nikos said as he answered the call.
“We’ve got a few of Ricardo’s men,” Christos informed him.
“Do what needs to be done,” Nikos said, not wanting to say too much over the phone, but Christos knew what he meant. They had been trying to find a way to get to Ricardo for a while now, and this would be the way to do it. If they had to break a couple of bones to do so, then so be it. He had long gotten past the morals that had stopped him from hurting people. Now he did it because he knew it needed to be done. That was his cross to bear after taking over his uncle’s position.
“Are you coming?” Christos asked.
“I’m busy with Honey,” Nikos said. He would need to help her get her things in her car, and he would probably have todrive with her back home too and help her carry everything upstairs. He didn’t want her to have to do it by herself.
The line went silent, but Nikos already knew what Christos was thinking, and now he wished he hadn’t mentioned her name. For some reason, Christos thought there was something between them, but Nikos knew better. Honey didn’t want him, and his uncle’s warning was always clear in his mind, even with him in a coma.
“It isn’t like that,” Nikos said. Christos was probably thinking they were fucking when, in actuality, he had just spent the day with her helping her make desserts for her son’s school.
“Don’t forget about your uncle,” Christos told him before he hung up. Nikos sighed. How could he forget about him? Nikos shoved his phone back into his pocket, and when he stepped back inside of his apartment, he was surprised to hear music playing. But what was even more surprising was Honey. She stood in the middle of the room with her hair down and a chair in front of her. Just having her hair down alone was enough to change the mood in the room, and though she had been wearing the shorts and black blouse all day, suddenly, it looked sexy.
“Are we doing this?” he asked because though he was the one to suggest it, he thought she would decline. Honey shrugged.
