𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝗼𝗺𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝗼𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝗺 𝐣𝗼𝐛 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝗼𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝗺𝗼𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝗼𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝗺𝗼𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝗺𝗼𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝗼𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝗼? 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝗺𝗼𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝗼𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝗼𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝗼𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝗼 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝗼𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐯𝗼𝗺 𝐭𝗼 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐭𝗼 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞.

Milan Ren Vaughn and Kairo Benton have spent months turning their apartment hallway into a silent warzone. She's convinced he's loud, messy, and allergic to respecting her peace, while he swears she was born to complain about anything he does. Their neighbors know the tension. Management knows the tension. And Christmas is the only thing keeping the building from falling apart. So when the manager assigns them to co-run the annual Christmas charity event, neither of them takes it well. Still, the holidays won't wait, the toy drive needs saving, and someone has to hang the lights - even if it means working side by side with the one person they can't stand. But as the season settles in, something unexpected begins slipping through the cracks. Late nights of planning feel calmer than they should. Their banter softens. The glow of the holiday lights makes everything seem a little less harsh, and a little more... possible. Moments that should've meant nothing start to feel like something they can't explain. They promised their truce would end after Christmas. But the holidays have a funny way of revealing gifts you never knew you needed - especially when they're wrapped in the person living right next door.

"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. ❀ 🝳 ❀

Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it a memory... You know you're in love when you can say anything to the person and you know they won't laugh at you. When you can see their face when you close your eyes. When you can still feel their arms around you holding you tight after they're gone. When you can still taste their kiss after you have said goodbye. You can tell you're in love when you miss them before they're gone. When their voice lingers in your ears. When their presence eases any pain. When their name sends chills down your spin. When they're the only thing you can think about. You know you're in love when you can see all their hopes and dreams and their soul when you look into their eyes. When they call you at four in the morning to say, "I Love You" and mean it. When your tears stain not only their shirt, but also their heart. When even a simple chore done with them can become a lasting memory. Ultimately, you know you're in love when you can't imagine living without them and can't figure how did you live before you knew them. When they fulfill every need and without them you're incomplete. The love of someone else completes the heart, and sound and mind all at once. 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎-𝐟𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

Sarye "Riya" Knowles is a certified boss in every sense of the word. At just 32, she's built a brand from scratch after walking away from a toxic relationship and raising her daughter. By day, Sarye is a thriving entrepreneur running her own cosmetic company. By night, she's the unapologetic, witty voice behind the hit podcast "Pillow Talk & Real Sh*t", where she keeps it raw and unfiltered about love, relationships, sex - and why women need to love themselves first. She's known for her infamous line: "Sis... your man is NOT in prison! Stop glamorizing struggle love" Sarye knows the harsh reality of that life. But life gets real when her wild, brutally honest best friend and co-host Josalyn dares her - to write a prison pen pal. The topic? Whether love can really be found behind bars. Thinking it's harmless content and knowing full well it's against everything she believes, Sarye agrees. It's just a letter. A joke. A teachable moment. That't until she encounters Steffon "Street" Austin, a 35-year-old inmate serving time with 15 years left on his sentence. But what starts as playful dare quickly turns into long letters, raw vulnerability, and undeniable chemistry. Street isn't who she expected. Charming. Intelligent. Business-minded. A protective energy that makes her feel safe - even from behind bars. Their connection is instant but layered with complications. Soon, Sarye finds herself sneaking to the mailbox like a teenager, rearranging her beliefs, and questioning everything she's ever preached to her listeners.

"You trust me?" I look up at him, staring into his light brown eyes that stared directly at me. It felt like he was staring into my soul trying to read me. I could barely answer his question because I was busy looking at him. Once I realized I was staring like crazy, I quickly look down. "I do." ----------------------------- She's the girl you never saw coming, the unexpected one who calms you, centers you, and still she turns out to be the surprise love of your love. She gets you, really gets you like no one ever has. She is your best friend, lover, and soulmate all wrapped in the prettiest package. She is unforgettable, she is like no one, which is why you are addicted to her mind, her soul, her body, and her presence. You can't get her out of your system. You taste her and she runs through you hot like blood and fire. She never leaves you no matter what, because she too, knows how rare the connection is. You have never had anyone stick by you like that before. She is the safest place you ever know. You are soft for her no matter how hard life gets, she is there and your feelings never change. She loves you fiercely and you feel her love deep in your bones and in your soul. She is the one who makes you feel whole in a way you never have before and that terrifies you. But, what terrifies you even more...is losing her. 03/12/21-04/25/21 Rankings: #9 in africanamerican 9-16-21 #84 in urban 9-16-21 #113 in blacklove 9-16-21 #1 in blacklovestory 9-16-21 #45 in contemporarylit 9-16-21 #18 in blackcouple 9-16-21 #218 in urbanromance 9-16-21 #1 in saveblackcharacters 9-16-21

/ˌserənˈdipədē/ (n.) To find something good without looking for it "they annoying," I said quietly. He leaned on the counter beside me, close enough I could feel his shoulder. "yeah," he murmured, eyes soft. "but I'm only here for you anyway."

"𝐈 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 '𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮... 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 '𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞."

A student professor arrange marriage romance ｡⁠*⁠♡✧⁠*⁠。 ✧She was his gravity , his fucking planet and he was lost without her ✧ (⁠◉⁠‿⁠◉⁠) TROPES- Arrange marriage ✓ Age gap ✓ Student × Professor ✓ Grumpy × Sunshine ✓ Slow burn✓ Jealousy ✓ Green flag ✓ #2 in youngadult #3 in comdey-drama #9 in cute #4 in cute #4 in agegap