Gourami species should never be mixed in the same tank.
Gourami males tend to be bullies. If they want to spawn and the female doesn't, males can be downright nasty. Males have been known to kill females. However, in my experience this does not apply to honey gouramis. I have had more trouble with females fighting than with a male harassing a single female. Yes, honey gourami males do chase females, but of all the honeys I've had over the years, the worst has been a nipped tail.
I would go with a m/f pair. If the male does bully the female, you can get another female or even two.
Honey gouramis come in three colours - natural, red and yellow.
The photos in the profile on here show the natural colour. These are the easiest colour to sex. Males are tan, females are silver beige. The males in the shop tank will be stressed and paler than the one in the photos. When the net goes in the tank all the males could lose all colour. females usually have a darker stripe from nose to tail, but not all females do.
Yellow honeys are the next easiest. Both male and female are yellow, but males tend to have an orangey back end and females have the same line as natural coloured females, just not as pronounced.
Take someone with with when you go gourami shopping. The way to chose these two colours is to stand and study the fish in the shop tank. Males will behave differently from females as well as being differently coloured. Males are more up front; females just get on with life.
Look at all the fish. Find the most brightly coloured male; find a female from those fish which show the stripe - males don't have the stripe. Now send your colleague to fetch a shop worker and keep your eyes on your chosen fish. make sure they catch the fish you want!
Red honeys are difficult to sex. You have to go by fin shape, which is not reliable. Males tend to have a pointier end to the dorsal fin, females tend to have a rounder end. I have never bought red honeys because I can never be sure.