Chapter 34
C H A P T E R
HONEY STEPPED INTO NIKOS’S OFFICE WITH HER HAND OUT, wanting this to be a simple exchange between boss and employee, with her accepting her pay from him so she could leave.
That was the plan until she noticed Nikos wasn’t working behind his desk.
Instead, he was shrugging his jacket on while speaking in his native language to Georgios, and Honey didn’t need to know Greek to know that Nikos was probably more than likely passing his duties off to Georgios, who was always second-in-charge when Nikos wasn’t there.
“Here, Honey,” Georgios said as he passed her pay to her that felt just as thick as the envelope she received from Nikos before.
This was what she had wanted, to receive her pay with minimal words so she could leave, but she had been hoping that Nikos would be the one to do it while he was behind his desk to ensure that she could leave tonight without them talking.
This situation right now was giving her no reassurance.
She wanted to say something, but with Georgios in the room with them, she couldn’t say anything without drawing attention to their inappropriate relationship.
“Thank you,” Honey said shortly before taking her pay and leaving. She walked down the hall, and it wasn’t long before she heard footsteps in her wake, and it definitely wasn’t Georgios.
Honey rolled her eyes. “Why are you off the clock now?”
“I’ve done what I needed to do for the day, and it’s time to go home now,” Nikos said as if it weren’t awfully convenient that he was leaving at the same time she was leaving.
They left out of the back, and Honey headed to her car with determination to leave without another word spoken between them.
But then to her surprise, she noticed that Nikos wasn’t walking toward his Camaro, but to her car.
“You don’t need to walk me to my car,” Honey said.
“That’s fine because I’m not just walking you to your car.”
Honey chuckled. “You’re not coming home with me.”
“We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. What just happened was a one-off,” Honey said as she unlocked her car before getting inside.
“If it happened twice already, it can’t be,” Nikos replied as he got in the passenger side without her permission.
Honey stared at him in disbelief before she glared at him. “Well, suit yourself because you won’t be coming inside with me.”
Nikos smirked. “We’ll see.”
***
Well, they saw, and Nikos was definitely inside her apartment on her couch, playing the game with Kai.
She had every plan to make sure Nikos didn’t step foot inside her place, but when they arrived outside of her apartment building, her sister happened to be out there with Kai, picking up the pizza they had ordered for delivery.
The moment Kai saw Nikos get out of the car, he immediately became glued to him and whined when she spoke about Nikos returning home.
Kai was like her kryptonite, and she had no choice but to let Nikos inside, who was now relaxing on her couch with her son as if he owned the place. Honey shook her head as she continued to wash the dishes they had used to eat their pizza.
“I’m going to head out now,” Olivia announced as she stood up, grabbing her purse.
“Bye, Auntie,” Kai said distractedly.
“Bye, baby.”
“Bye, Olivia,” Nikos said as he continued to play the game with Kai.
“Bye, lover boy,” Olivia said, and instead of making her way to the door, she came into the kitchen to stand next to her.
Honey withheld her sigh, knowing that Olivia definitely wasn’t coming over to tell her about the weather.
Her big sister always felt that it was her duty to impart advice whether Honey asked for it or not, and right now, she definitely didn’t want it, and yet, she would get it anyway.
“Yes, Olivia?”
“Don’t make things complicated, Hope.”
“I’m not making—”
Olivia gave her a look, and Honey sighed as she stopped washing the dishes and gave her sister her full attention.
“Sometimes, it’s okay to act on how you feel. It doesn’t have to be a right or wrong answer or the perfect timing, especially when it comes to relationships. Just stop using that brain of yours for once, and ask your heart or your vagina how it feels.”
“Well, I definitely know you’re not Maya Angelou,” Honey said from her sister’s choice of words, though she got her point either way.
“I’m not,” Olivia said, winking. “I’m better.”
Honey watched as her sister left before she continued washing the rest of the dishes. After drying her hands, she walked into the living room and cleared her throat. It was getting close to midnight now, and it was definitely past Kai’s bedtime. He still had school in the morning.
“It’s time for bed, Kai,” Honey said, “and it’s time for Nikos to go home.”
“I don’t want Nikos to leave,” Kai whined with a pout.
“Kai,” Honey said with a warning tone. She wasn’t in the mood for it.
“We should have a sleepover,” Kai suggested with excitement. “That way Nikos can stay.”
“No,” Honey said without a second thought. She definitely wouldn’t let Nikos sleep over here. The last time she had a sleepover with Nikos, she woke up in her bed naked. She definitely wouldn’t chance it again after what happened earlier.
“Another sleepover would be fun,” Nikos said suggestively.
“No.”
“Mom,” Kai whined, looking disappointed, and Honey tried to ignore that look. She wouldn’t give in just because her son was sad now. She would not let that work on her again. She was not Superwoman, and Kai was not her kryptonite.
“It will be an appropriate sleepover,” Nikos emphasized, “and I promise not to do anything.”
And though he gave his word, Honey wasn’t quite sure if she could believe him. With her son here, she doubted that Nikos would do anything with her. But, on the other hand, a few hours ago, she never thought Nikos would fuck her in the changing room either.
“No—”
“Please,” Kai sang out his plea, looking at her with those puppy dog eyes he gave her whenever he wanted something.
“Please,” Nikos joined in on the chorus, also giving her the same puppy dog eyes, except that his pleading did nothing to move her. Honey folded her arms and glared at him before her eyes landed on her son, and she softened.
Dammit.
He was her kryptonite.
“Okay,” she relented.
“Yay,” Kai yelled with excitement, high-fiving Nikos before he ran to his room, probably to grab something to show to Nikos.
Nikos stood up, smirking with triumph. Not only had he managed to come into her place as he said he would, but now he would even be spending the night. She had definitely lost this round.
“Even you have a weakness,” Nikos said.
“Don’t take advantage of it too much because I do know how to say no to my son,” Honey said with warning. She tried not to disappoint her son too often, but if she had to, she would.
Nikos took a step closer.
“Ah, ah,” Honey said. “Remember your promise.”
Nikos grinned as he took a step back.
***
It was after midnight, and the movie credits were rolling now after the Marvel movie finished. Honey was worn out now, and all she could think about was going to sleep in her bed.
“It’s time to go to bed,” Honey announced as she stood from the couch.
“Mom—”
“I’m tired too,” Nikos announced, cutting off Kai’s whine.
Kai looked disappointed and was pouting but didn’t make any more fuss about it.
Nikos began to clear the furniture off to the side to make space in the middle of the floor.
Once he was done, Honey helped him set up thick blankets and pillows for them to sleep on.
“Goodnight,” Honey said, heading for the light switch. Everything was settled now, and she would just have Kai take a shower in the morning before he went to school.
“Ma, I want you to sleep with us too,” Kai said as he got under the blanket.
Honey grimaced. “I don’t know about that.”
“Please,” Kai pleaded.
Honey looked at her son uncertainly. Not only had she not planned to have a sleepover, but she definitely didn’t plan to have a sleepover with her son and the man she had been running away from.
It would be better for her to go into her room, and she was nearly ready to walk away and do just that until she thought about it.
If she slept out here, Nikos wouldn’t dare do anything to her while her son was out here too.
Maybe a sleepover wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
“Okay.”
“Yay,” Kai cheered. “Mommy’s sleeping with us! Aren’t you excited, Nik?”
But surprisingly, Nikos didn’t look excited at all. If anything, he looked suspicious with his eyebrow raised, probably surprised that she had gone along with this so easily.
“You want to have a sleepover with me?” Nikos asked, pointing at himself.
“I want to have a sleepover with you and my son,” Honey said, smirking. Nikos’s befuddled expression was replaced with a smirk, but Honey would have the last laugh. The only thing they would do tonight was sleep, and she would make sure of that.
With the lights off, it was dark now with only the pale moonlight filtering between the blinds.
They had all settled down under the blankets with Kai between herself and Nikos.
Honey listened to the soft snores of her son, who had gone to sleep much faster than them, which wasn’t surprising.
Kai had been a ball of joy all night. With all that spent energy, it had taken nothing but laying down for his eyes to close.