Pushing himself from the door Gulian neared her, standing in front of her. "I want you to stop seeing 𝙝𝙞𝙢, that's what I want." Kyomi scoffed as she shook her head. "Why would I stop doing that? Just 'cause you call yourself asking nicely?"

𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

"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. ❀ 🝳 ❀

Detroit has always been the type of city that carries its own unique name with pride. Full of nonstop hustlers who move with dignity, each chasing their own dream. Trevon Gardner is one of them: a rapper finally gaining real attention, trying to turn his talent into the life he's been chasing forever. Xamira Evans is a gifted cosmetologist with her own blueprint, living life to the fullest. Their worlds don't usually collide...until one unexpected moment changes everything. Now they have to face the consequences. Will it bring them together, or tear them apart?

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴𝘀... 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗶 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴𝘀?

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.

"𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚟'𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐"☆ 𝚂𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝙼𝚢 𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐

Riah had her own reasons on why she never dealt with dudes involved inna streets but when HE showed up it was hard for her to remember that reason...

I was a boy when I met her and loving her taught me how to be a man. ** This book features MATURE THEMES including violence, strong language, sexual content and potentially-triggering fictional scenarios. Please read at your own discretion. ** BOOK TWO OF THE STAY DOWN SERIES ON @RE2RAW

'𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑..