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“Yeah.” I grinned at him. “Lupe’s is better than that one, though. Hey,” I added as I pulled off the suit jacket and shirt, then unbuttoned my pants. “What other places have you never been to here? I bet there’s a tonne of stuff you still haven’t done yet.”

“Like what?” he asked, voice muffled as he pulled his tunic over his head.

“Like… well, I mean there’s the obvious one. Roller skating.”

Crossbody paled a little as he dropped his tunic, his wings now hidden so he could get changed with ease. “But I’ll be terrible. I’ll fall. And you compete professionally.”

“So? I’ll teach you.”

“I’ll look stupid.”

“Everyone looks stupid when they first try roller skating, babe.”

He blushed, looking away as he picked up a loose linen shirt from the suitcase. “I suppose I could try. I don’t have skates, though.”

“You can just rent them.”

He looked at me in abject horror. “Rent shoes?”

“At the rink, yeah. You just rent out the skates—”

“Vince, I am not putting on shoes that other people have worn.” He shuddered. “That’s possibly one of the most revolting things I’ve ever heard.”

I laughed, my chest warming with affection. That was the Crossbody I’d known for years. “You have to do that for bowling too. But I guess you’ve never been bowling, huh? No, wait, we did that for Holt’s birthday.”

“I didn’t actually bowl,” he said sheepishly as he slipped on his shirt and began to button it. “I was too worried about looking ridiculous because I didn’t know what I was doing.”

My heart squeezed a little. “You should’ve said. I would have shown you.”

He burst out laughing, which made me glance over with a little frown.

“You hated me, Vince.”

My heart squeezed much, much harder. “No, I didn’t. Not really.” Guilt churning in my gut, I looked away and mumbled, “Sorry.”

“No, it’s—” Crossbody chuckled and shook his head. “I didn’t say it to make you feel bad. We both disliked each other then. Can you imagine if I’d gone up to you and asked you to teach me how to bowl? It’s just funny to think about now.”

I didn’t think it was all that funny. It was kind of making me feel like shit, because I knew how I would’ve reacted at the time. Probably laughed at him, made some cutting, sardonic remark, asked why he was even bothering to learn when it wasn’t like fae princes did shit as mundane as bowling.

My brows were pulled hard into a frown as I tugged on a pair of sweats. I was getting angry at myself over something I hadn’t even said. I was furious at myself for being such an asshole to him, for years, for no reason, just because I’d decided I didn’t like him, which had made him decide he didn’t like me either.

I heard Crossbody sigh as I turned for my dresser, my shoulders hunched and stiff with tension.

“I’ve made it strange, haven’t I?” he quietly asked as I opened the drawer to grab a T-shirt.

Instead, I stiffened even further, not moving as I stared down at the messily folded shirts. “What do you mean?”

“With what I said.” Embarrassment coloured his tone. “In the palace. It was… not the time or the place to—”

“So did you mean it?” I heard myself blurt, then whirled around to face him, my heart thudding hard and fast.

Crossbody froze, his eyes wide and stunned, his hands hovering in front of his half-unbuttoned shirt. “I… What?”

“Did you mean what you said?” I was breathing faster, that terrified anticipation rising again, making my belly swirl with nerves.

Colour rushed to Crossbody’s cheeks. He looked away and continued buttoning his shirt, hands visibly trembling. “Which part?”

“You know which part,” I croaked, and saw his throat bob with a nervous swallow.