"Solè, why'd you stay?" "Because, Zaire... you the first thing that ever felt worth staying for." ❀ 🝳 ❀ Harlem held the noise. Solè gave Zaire the quiet. Zaire Knox, Harlem's quiet storm, known for his ties to the streets and a gaze that read people faster than they could lie to him. Respected. Feared. Loved. With scars buried deeper than his tattoos, he never planned to love soft. Until a Harlem vinyl shop left behind by his late grandfather forces him to slow down, to breathe, to find his real purpose in the world beyond the streets. Solè Sinclair, soft but unbreakable, raised by her father after loss. By day, she serves warmth behind the counter of a café. By night, she disappears into her art, trying to paint the parts of herself no one ever sees. When their worlds cross, the city shifts. What starts off tense and unexpected turns tender. Together, they learn love can hold you just as fierce as the streets ever did, and softer, too. But love in Harlem always asks one question: what are you willing to risk when the heart wants more than the streets ever offered? A Harlem story. A hood love. A soft place to land. ❀ 🝳 ❀

Before the crowds screamed his name, before the league talks and the magazine covers, he met her. Calista Marchand. Not the kind of girl you run game on. She was sharp where it counted, soft only when she wanted to be. Real Brooklyn - pretty in the face, slick with the mouth, and solid with her hands if you stepped wrong. She kept her circle small, her loyalty tighter. The kind of woman who knew how to turn silence into safety and side-eyes into shut-ups. Men feared her. Girls tried to be her. She didn't chase, didn't fold, didn't need nobody. Until Ibrahim Montaigne walked into her life like he had all the time in the world. He didn't come with sweet nothings or flashy promises - just steady presence. Intent in his eyes, patience in his chest, and something rare behind the way he looked at her. Like he saw through the polish and the fire, like he knew the woman behind the defense. He didn't try to tame her. He studied her. Let her be exactly who she was. The shift was slow. She still fought when needed, still had a rep in the streets and in the salon chair. But somewhere between nursing exams and late-night block parties, she started saving parts of herself just for him. The quiet parts. The delicate ones. The ones nobody else got close to. And when she crossed that graduation stage, RN-BSN stitched behind her name and her grandmother crying in the crowd - he bragged harder than anyone. Didn't care who was listening. Forget MVP, forget the championship rings. She was the win. She was the headline. The girl from Brooklyn with spitfire in her lungs, gold in her smile, and a softness only he ever got to see. This isn't a story about being chosen. It's about choosing each other. No fairytales. Just Brooklyn grit and a love that never let go.

𝐓𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞.

"Where you been?" Lota asked. "Why? You missed me?" He smirked walking up to her so his face was inches away from hers. "My bad for asking," she rolled her eyes and walked off the the kitchen. "Aye I'm jus playing with yo ass," he said grabbing her wrist, "and sum smell delicious, whatchu cooking fa me?" "Who said I was cooking for you?" She asked. "I mean unless you got sum else you want me to eat.." he said licking his lips at her. <><><><><><> Lotanna and Simba

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦

WARNING: If you're too sensitive and overly precise, please do not read. *For drama and street life. *Needs editing. This book was written in 2015.

𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚣𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚜

Sequel to One Night. Continue to follow Aria and Landon through possible love and parenthood while also getting to know their closest friends.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

What happens when Landon, one of the University's most attractive men takes a bet to bed Aria, a lowkey girl who keeps her head in the books? What happens when it takes an unexpected turn? Will hearts be broken? Will love be found? All is not fair when gambling with hearts.