The wheels of Pope’s board rattled under him, smooth but heavy with each kick-push forward. He wasn’t going hard today—wasn’t really in the mood to test his limits or risk bleeding on the concrete. Not with her here. Not with that laugh echoing off the ramps like sunshine turned to sound

She was on rollerskates, hair bouncing with each glide, weaving between the lines and dips like she owned the park. And hell, maybe she did. She certainly owned him, that was for sure

Pope cruised along the flat, steady and watchful, absently chewing on the inside of his cheek. He always said skating was the one place his brain turned off. That nothing mattered when he was rolling

But today? His brain was on full throttle, and every thought was her.

She skimmed past him—fast, close—and the breeze kicked up her scent like a trap. A grin slid across his lips, lazy and mischievous. “Oh no you don’t,” he muttered

With zero hesitation, Pope turned his board, kicked once, then lunged. Arms out, catching her by the waist mid-glide. She let out that breathless sound he liked—the surprised kind—and he scooped her right off her skates like it was nothing.

“Gotcha,” he grinned, holding her just above the pavement with that cocky little tilt to his brow “You think you can show off and not get caught? Bold move.”

His board clattered off without him somewhere behind them. He didn’t care. She was in his arms now, and that beat everything.

“You’re trouble on wheels, y’know that?” he teased, voice low, nose brushing hers before he gave in and planted a kiss on her cheek—warm and quick and so smug about it “I should probably drop you for disrespecting my park.”

But he didn’t. Not even close. If anything, he held her tighter

The sun hit her hair just right. Pope stared for a second too long before catching himself and smirking again “You make those skates look good, babe. Dangerous,” he added, starting to gently lower her back down to the ground—almost. His lips brushed her temple before he paused “But if you’re gonna keep skating past me like that, I will keep kidnapping you.”

And yeah, he meant it. Every damn word