The excuse he gave was just that, an excuse that I wasn't buying. Honor was too meticulousjust to act.
Maybe he likes her.
My heart thudded quickly at the thought of Honor wanting or caring about someone else. I shook it off and lifted my mug to take a sip. The warmth settled my nerves, but not enough for me to let it go. I reached into the pocket of my robe and pulled out my phone to text Honey. Ever since her stint with Honor, I made sure to check on her. Chosyn asked about her a few times, but River seemed uninterested in hashing things out.
Me
I know it's early, but I need your help with something later.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket just as the front door creaked open.
"What you doing out here?" Honor asked. "It's starting to get chilly as fuck in the mornings."
Fall was quickly giving way to the chill of winter.
"Navy, you good?"
The rasp in Honor's voice did something to me every time. It brought peace in the morning and sent chills down my spine at night.
"I'm good, just enjoying the view."
His arms wrapped around my waist as his lips pressed into the nape of my neck.
"No running today?" I asked, shifting the energy before he could pull me into the parts of him that I struggled to deny.
"Nah. I thought I was gon' lay up with you, but I woke up alone."
"I wanted to start my day early."
"You gotta work?"
"No, but I did want to stop by and handle a few things. The kids have been asking for a basketball coach for a minute now. Since it's the weekend, I figured I'd start calling a few coaches to set up interviews."
Honor didn't answer right away. He kissed my neck once more, then turned me until I was facing him.
"They cool with having a girl coach, right?"
I frowned. "Why would they have a woman coach?"
"Women play basketball," he easily answered. "You sexist, Navy?"
"No, but I do think the boys could benefit from having a male influence in their lives. They need a man around to teach them things that the other women and I on staff can't."
Most of the staff at Gravehart Homes were women. We had a few men, but they mostly handled maintenance.
"Let me know who you got in mind." A smug grin pulled at his lips. "I'll run a background check."
"No."
"No, what?" His tone sharpened, and his lids fell low. "No, you're not going into work?"
"Honor, please don't play in my face. You know exactly what thatnowas about."
"Nah, I don't, so tell me." He dryly chuckled.
"I've never told you who you can and can't work with," I reminded him, "so I expect the same respect."
"I work with my brothers. Neither of them niggas wanna fuck," he shot back.
