Cas laughed when Iris became flustered at his declaration that she was a bad girl. If she really was, her reaction told him that she didn’t see herself that way. She even tried to brush off the title by comparing herself to him. He rolled his eyes at the mention of the parties he went to. [color=#b97703]“Yeah, some bad boy I am,”[/color] he snorted. [color=#b97703]“Checking in with my dad whenever he calls me and making sure I get home by midnight. I don’t think a few jello shots make up for all the rules I have to follow when I go out.”[/color] He would have liked to stay up until two in the morning, drinking and partying with the other young adults in the capital though. If he was ever offered the chance to be a normal high born instead of a prince, he would have taken it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, he would never be so free when he would have to take over as the next king of Aspiria someday. Being a ‘bad boy’ wasn’t in the cards for someone like him, even if it was something he wanted to do.

[color=#b97703]“And what flirtatious attitude are you talking about?”[/color] he went on, cracking an amused smirk as he leaned his head back against the cushion behind him. [color=#b97703]“If either of us is flirtatious, it’s you, and you know it. I’ve just been nice to you this whole time, but you kept making those little passes at me that made it damn hard for me not to do anything about it sooner.”[/color] To prove his point, he placed a hand on her arm in a manner reminiscent of the way she had touched him before either of them had admitted that they had feelings for each other. [color=#b97703]“Just admit it. You were after me from the start, and you got what you wanted… bad girl.”[/color] He snickered, unable to keep a straight face as he teased her with the nickname.

As she tried to claim that he was the bad one between them one more time, Cas shook his head. [color=#b97703]“And that’s why I’m [i]not [/i]a bad boy,”[/color] he reiterated, looking away from her to fiddle with a shoelace. [color=#b97703]“I’ve never… [i]taken advantage[/i].”[/color] He coughed awkwardly. The media liked to paint him as a playboy who never kept up a long-term relationship because he couldn’t be tamed, but the reality was that he had never slept with anyone before. One-night stands were off the table because of his status—word would definitely get out if he ever had a fling, because no high born woman would keep it a secret that she’d bedded the crown prince—and his overbearing father prevented him from holding onto a relationship with someone long enough to comfortably get that far. Now that he was almost halfway through his twenties, a part of him believed he wouldn’t be able to sleep with a woman until Atlas arranged his marriage. After all, anyone he met now most likely had a sexual history already, and the fear that he wouldn’t be able to live up to expectations had become yet another barrier in his love life.

More than happy to get off the subject of his lack of experience, he looked up again with a grin when Iris called him James Bond. [color=#b97703]“I may have gotten more invested in this since you convinced me last night,”[/color] he admitted with a shrug. Even that was an understatement. Since he’d agreed to sneak out with her, he’d transitioned from apprehensive to eager to absolutely thrilled about the prospect of pulling one over on the guards. If they were successful, he would always have the knowledge that he’d been clever enough to get past the royal family’s security team without anyone ever finding out.

When Iris explained that she was ready, he reached for her hand, finding her enthusiasm adorable. [color=#b97703]“That was the plan,”[/color] he confirmed. [color=#b97703]“We just have to wait about two hours before we can leave, so the guards won’t see us go. Until then…”[/color] A mischievous smile crossed his lips, and he took the empty plate from her lap, setting it down on the carpet below them. [color=#b97703]“We might as well think of something to do to pass the time,”[/color] he spoke in a low tone, holding her by the waist as he leaned in to kiss her.