They didn't end up in the same space on purpose. Brooklynn is the quiet type. Not shy... just tired. Tired in the "life been heavy for a while now" way. He minds his business, goes to work, comes home, and keeps his world small because that's how he breathes. Azyir is the opposite. Loud, funny, always in motion. ADHD running the wheel every day. Talks so much he forgets to say what he really means. Laughs loud so nobody asks if he's okay. They sit in the same trig class at their HBCU, but they don't talk. They don't dislike each other either. They just... live in two different worlds. Messiah Markell is their professor. Older, calm, strict in the quiet way that makes people sit up straighter. He owns a club downtown called Desirable, but in class he keeps everything controlled. He doesn't like watching people drown in silence or noise. He sees them both slipping. Not failing. Slipping. So he tells them to stay after class. Every day. Not for tutoring. Not for discipline. Just to sit, breathe, work, or not work. A room where nobody has to force themselves to be "okay." And somehow, without anybody planning it... The quiet one. The loud one. And the man who teaches them how to stay. Start learning how to need each other. Not in a fast way. Not in a dramatic way. In the way real connections happen: Slow glances. Shared exhaustion. Walking home together because home doesn't feel safe tonight. Sitting in silence that doesn't hurt. Being seen without having to explain. This is a story about: Black boy rest. Soft dominance. Messy feelings. Learning how to stay present. No fake deep. No forced love. Just real people figuring out how to breathe.

Everybody knew they were too close. The late-night calls, the jealousy, the lingering touches, the way they always found their way back to each other. But when feelings start turning into something neither of them can ignore, their entire friend group begins to notice what they've been trying not to admit. Maybe it wasn't just friendship after all. Maybe it had always been you.

Everybody expected Jalen Carter to crash out after prison. Instead, he came home trying to be a father. Trying to stay free. Trying to move differently. Trying not to lose himself again. But Amir Johnson makes that shit difficult. His best friend has been attached to his side since they were kids, still loud, still reckless, still the only person who can get under Jalen's skin without trying. And the closer they get, the harder it becomes to ignore the tension building between them. Now with his baby mama wanting their family back, old street problems resurfacing, and feelings neither of them knows how to handle... everything they built together could either save them- or destroy them..

Kaiden enters prison still emotional, loud, and full of life. Saint had already become hardened by years behind bars after being incarcerated at fourteen for protecting his little sister from abuse. Together, they slowly learn that even in a cold, violent environment, love, vulnerability, and trust can still exist. Even hearts surrounded by concrete can still feel something..

"I'm not bout' to complicate yo life baby, you don't want this." "Elijah, you don't get to choose what I want to do with my life !"

"Help me understand, how you speak your love language."

Why choose, when both could be the love of your life? Imagine every well loved love triangle From the Edward Cullens and Jacob's, down to the Salvatore's; where it's almost too agonizing picking who you should root for in the end. This book shows a love triangle that develops into so much more. Growth. Loss. An unexpected relationship. With yearning so deep, you can feel it through the pages. 𝐌𝐱𝐅𝐱𝐌

𝖲𝖾𝗄𝖺𝗇𝗂 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝗈𝗈𝖽, 𝖻𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗉 𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗈𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗌 𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖾𝖿𝗍 𝗁𝗂𝗀𝗁 𝗌𝖼𝗁𝗈𝗈𝗅, 𝖺 𝖢𝖺𝗋𝗂𝖻𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗇 𝖿𝖺𝗆𝗂𝗅𝗒 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗁 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾. 𝖠 𝖻𝗅𝗈𝖼𝗄 𝖿𝗎𝗅𝗅 𝗈𝖿 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗁𝖾 𝖺 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗋, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗀𝖺𝗇𝗀 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾𝗌 𝗁𝗂𝗆 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝗌𝖺𝖿𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗉𝗉𝖾𝖽... 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍'𝗌 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾... 𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗍?

"Explain to me why this not right baby, please." "Nyzir I'm not suppose to feel this way about you."

Can we be lovers and friends? 𝐌𝐱𝐌 .