Page 283 of Bad Prince

---

Each word deliberate.

Each syllable precise.

Like language itself bends to him.

We move through the gym.

The weight room.

The courts.

And everywhere we go?—

people notice.

“This is where I train,” I say.

And when I step onto the court—I feel it.

That shift.

He sees it too.

“You change here,” he says quietly.

I glance at him.

“What?”

“You become… sharper.”

I smirk.

“Yeah. That’s kind of the point.”

We head outside toward the stadium bleachers.

I lead him to my spot.

Top row.

I drop my bag.

Sit.

He stands for a second?—

then sits next to me.

“I run these,” I say. “When my head’s loud.”

He looks down the rows. Then back at me. “We’ll run them together.”

I laugh softly.

“You?”

A brow lifts.

---