Chapter 13 #2
“This is your son?” Nikos asked, surprised with a bewildered look on his face. She couldn’t blame him. It was not like she had necessarily broadcasted to the world that she had a child. Many of the girls at the club had no clue that she had a son, except for Rachel and Amber.
“Nikos, this is my son, Kai,” Honey introduced. Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing that Nikos knew she had a son. Maybe this would stop all of his flirtations as it did with most men.
“How do you know my mom?” Kai asked curiously. He kept his distance which he often did with adults he didn’t know.
“Umm…I’m your mom’s friend,” Nikos said, and Honey whipped her head to look at him incredulously. She would not describe them as friends at all. They were barely co-workers.
“You sure? Are you my mom’s boyfriend?” Kai asked, looking at Nikos suspiciously.
“Kai,” Honey admonished as Nikos laughed.
“No, we’re just friends for now,” Nikos explained. “How old are you, kid?”
“Eight and a half,” Kai said. If Nikos thought anything of his age and hers, he didn’t say anything, which was good because if she saw a hint of judgment in his eyes, she would throw him out of her apartment herself.
“Cool. I remember when I was eight like you,” Nikos said as he bent down to her son’s level. “I used to play with the same toys too.”
“You played with transformers too?” Kai asked excitedly as he approached Nikos more openly. Nikos took the toy, fiddling with it until he turned it into a car.
“Yeah, but my toys were definitely not as extravagant as these. You’re lucky, kid. Are you an Autobot or a Decepticon?” Nikos asked.
“A Decepticon!” Kai cheered. “I like Megatron and Starscream.”
“Those are the bad guys, kid,” Nikos said as he ruffled Kai’s curls. “You have to be a good guy like Optimus and Bumblebee.”
“But the bad guys have all of the cool powers,” Kai grumbled.
“Still, you have to be a good guy so you can protect your mom,” Nikos said, and Kai nodded before he started bouncing excitedly on his toes.
“Do you want to play games with me?” Kai asked. “I have the PlayStation.”
“Kai, it’s a school night,” Honey said. “You should be sleeping right now.”
“Please, mom. Just one game,” her son pleaded as he looked at her with that tender, sad face he always gave her whenever he wanted something.
Honey looked reluctant, not wanting to give in to her son’s adorable face that always made it hard for her to say no to him.
It wasn’t good for him to be up late because he would have a hard time waking up in the morning, and it was hard getting an eight-year-old out of bed when he was still sleeping like the dead at seven am in the morning.
“Please, Honey. Just one game,” Nikos said, mimicking her son. Honey sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, and her son cheered, knowing she was giving in. Kai tugged on Nikos’s hand, pulling him into the living room before he turned on the TV, and set up his gaming system.
“Just one game,” Honey called after them.
But her son didn’t respond as he handed Nikos his other controller.
Honey sighed before she continued to put the groceries up.
As she did that, she heard chatter and laughter coming from the two boys in her home as they played the PS4.
When she finished putting everything up, she sat down on the loveseat, watching as they played a fighting game.
“Aww, you beat me again,” Kai complained moodily. He hated losing.
“That’s because I’m the champ at this,” Nikos said before he placed his own controller down and then placed his hands on top of Kai’s smaller ones.
“You can’t press buttons randomly. That will only get you so far. You have to press X and triangle at the same time. Yes. Just like that. And when you want to get even more creative, hit LR while holding X. Yes! You see.”
Kai nodded as he did it on his own, and when he was able to hit Nikos’s avatar with direct hits, he cheered. Nikos smiled as he took his own controller and played again.
Honey watched them with a small smile on her face, surprised that Nikos was good with children like this.
But she guessed that he was just like a child himself, and that was how he was able to get along with her son.
They played a couple more rounds until Honey noted the time on her watch.
Realizing that it was past midnight, she called the game off.
“Aww, come on, mom. Just one more game,” Kai pleaded. Honey ignored him as she took the controller from his hand.
“I already let you play one more game. Now, it’s time to go to sleep. You have school in the morning.”
Kai pouted as he stood begrudgingly.
“Tell Nikos goodnight,” Honey instructed.
“Goodnight, Nikos,” Kai said, and Nikos smiled, ruffling his hair.
“Don’t worry. We’ll play again another time,” Nikos promised, and Honey arched a brow because there would definitely not be another time. This was a one-time occurrence, and the last time Nikos would be stepping inside her home.
“Really?” Kai asked.
“If your mom lets me,” Nikos said knowingly, and Honey glared at him.
“Mom, can Nikos play again with me another time?” Kai asked eagerly, even as he let out a yawn. Honey could flat-out say no, but then she knew Kai would only mope around instead of going to bed like he needed to.
“We’ll see,” Honey said, placating him, but she did not plan on having Nikos around again.
“Okay,” Kai said before he gave her a hug, and she pressed a kiss against the top of his head. “Goodnight, Kai. Love you.”
“Love you too,” Kai told her before he headed back to his room.
Honey smiled, hearing his door close. He would be out like a light for the rest of the night, and she would definitely have to pull him out of bed herself, but she was glad he had fun.
“Your son’s really cute,” Nikos said fondly. “I didn’t know you had a child.”
“Now you know,” Honey said, shrugging. She didn’t think Nikos would be much of a gossip, but then again, it didn’t matter if people at the club knew she had a child.
“He looks like you,” Nikos commented as he looked at the photo of her and her son together on her wall.
“That’s what everyone says until they see his father,” Honey said as she looked at the photo, and though she wasn’t exactly on good terms with Kai’s father, she could thank him for her son’s good looks.
He would definitely be breaking hearts when he got older.
He was already doing it now, considering how many girls in his class liked him.
Honey placed the controller down and set the PS4 back on the stand before turning off the TV. She glanced at the clock on her wall before she looked at Nikos.
“Don’t you have some poor woman to harass?” Honey asked pointedly.
“I don’t harass women,” Nikos said as he stood, grabbing his shirt. “I seduce them.”
Honey rolled her eyes before she nibbled on her bottom lip. She initially had every intention of telling him to leave tonight, but then she thought of the smile on her son’s face.
“How are you getting home?” she asked.
“Probably call a cab,” Nikos said, shrugging.
“If you want, you can sleep on the couch tonight,” Honey offered begrudgingly.
She had a feeling that after what Nikos possibly experienced tonight that he probably needed it.
She usually wasn’t this nice, but she was grateful for how kind he had been to her son, answering all of his silly questions and playing with him.
“Thank you, Honey,” Nikos said, and she could hear the sincerity in his tone.
“Thank my son,” Honey said as she walked over to her hall closet and pulled out a blanket for him to use.
“Don’t drool on my couch,” Honey said as she headed to her room.
“How about your bed?” Nikos called after her, and she rolled her eyes before she went into her room and got ready for the night, showering and changing into her night clothes before she crept into her son’s room.
She usually slept in her own room, but she didn’t know Nikos all too well, and she wanted to make sure that her son was okay even if she was doing a nice thing.
After kissing the top of her son’s head, she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.