Javier Solis knows how to leave a mark, both on skin and on the heart. The oldest of six, he grew up surrounded by love, laughter, and art, and now he pours all of himself into the tattoo shop he owns. Navy Jones has spent her life holding everyone else together. The middle child of a big family, dependable and quiet, she became a teacher not just to guide children, but to give the care she's always given others, even when no one gave it back. On New Year's Eve, Navy walks into Javier's shop for her first tattoo: a lotus placed close to her heart. One night, one tattoo, one choice, and suddenly two lives collide in ways neither expected.

"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. ❀ 🝳 ❀

𝙰 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗.. 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚃𝚂 𝚂𝙾𝙻𝙳 𝚂𝙴𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙻𝚈

She arrives in the city, believing distance could keep her untouched. He arrived unconscious, his future already alternated. What connects them is never named, or felt formed in silence, restraint, and moments that were never supposed to happen. This is a story about loss, proximity, and what happens when feelings become unavoidable. © 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟨 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐋𝐈

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 . 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱𝘆

- 𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐖𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎 ..

𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺.... 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘇𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲. 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦.... 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

"I know ma. Stop fronting. Tell me you miss me." He kissed her in between his words, in love with the way her brown eyes dazed. "I miss you. And your mouth tastes like pickles." She spoke softly, a smile taking over her face once he laughed. "You wanna taste it again?" He stuck his tongue out at her, and she closed her eyes after sucking it into her mouth. She cradled the side of his face, rubbing over his prominent jawline as the kiss deepened. Dayvon's hands went underneath her tank top, breaking the kiss for a moment to get it off. The way he rubbed on her body made her moan again, missing the feeling of his hands on her skin. He hadn't touched her intimately in so long. She'd missed him.

𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾? - 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 -𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

All rights go to me: • Aaliyah aka angelswearpradas • don't steal my shit, in any way or form. S: March 9th 2021 E: July 29th 2023