I learned that time was never the promise. Love was.

After five years apart, Ariah Montgomery and Najeer Porter find themselves back in the same city, picking up their friendship where they left off. But as familiar laughs and late-night talks turn into something neither of them expected, they're forced to question if things between them have truly stayed the same, or if something unspoken has been there all along.

The lifestyle her mother introduced her to? It was never a child's place but she had no choice. Esmé Solei, at the age of twelve, witnessed things a child should never have to. A lifestyle meant for survival but passion to most, at least according to her mother. Esmé grew accustomed to the streets being that she's around her mom twenty four seven. Unfortunately the number twelve would be embedded in her head forever. A particular night happened to change her life for the better and worse when she runs into Moses. A face the streets feared and the name that was opposite of the biblical meaning. But that's also short lived.. because she wanted everything and by all means necessary, she was going to get it.

"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. ❀ 🝳 ❀

two strangers. one apartment. zero intentions of falling in love.

She's used to being alone-no love, no drama, just her peace. But then he comes along, moving different, making her feel things she ain't never felt before. Some love ain't meant to be rushed. It's built to last.

𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙖? 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙢𝙢!! ━━ "Anyways y'all I'm bouta hop off cause I'm so mother fucking hungry that I would eat pork right now" I swiped off Instagram and turned off my phone. Mir moved to go lean on the counter and I fixed my position so I could see his face "I can ask you some?" Nodding my head I waited for him go say something "you love a nigga for real?" Shit do I lie? Pretend as if it's a joke and I'm playing? Laugh it off? Try act like I couldn't hear him? No hablo inglés? Or just keep smiling? Or tell the truth? I'm sure any will work. ━━ y'all the book is unedited!! ranks 🦋 #1 hoodlovestory #1 clingy #1 blackcouples #1 thuglife #1 smutmaybe #2 hoodlove #2 urbanstory #3 shortstory #3 crazylovestory #3 newyork #4 urbanfiction #4 thuglove #5 lovestory #5 urbanromance #6 possessive #8 hoodromance

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥

Jada, a tough girl with a guarded heart, meets Xavier, a quiet, mysterious boy with a painful past. Amid school, friends, and life in their Atlanta neighborhood, their bond grows through late-night talks and shared moments, turning into a powerful, unexpected connection that changes everything.

People have spent years turning Zakai into some kind of monster. Scarred by a tragic apartment fire that took place when he was only eleven years old, Zakai has lived most of his life hiding from the world. With rumors surrounding his name and judgment following him everywhere he goes, isolation became safer than being seen. Meanwhile, Kinsley never expected a simple errand job to lead her to him. What starts as grocery store runs and brief interactions slowly becomes something neither of them saw coming. Because beneath Zakai's cold and distant exterior is a man struggling with years of guilt, grief, and loneliness. And the closer Kinsley gets, the harder it becomes to walk away. Some scars never fade, people just teach you how to live with them.