" I don't even like you like that." Her face scrunched up in disgust watching water drip from curls in his hair. " 'Cause you love me. Just like I love you." He retorted with a grin, disregarding the deflecting she was doing. --- They were two sides of the same city-until one move split them down the middle. Elijah and London were inseparable once, bonded by childhood summers, beat-up bikes, and secrets too deep for anyone else to know. Unfortunately, when Elijah's mom packed up and moved her family across Onyx to a rival neighborhood, everything changed. She always thought when she spoke to him again he would've changed like her. She was witty, sarcastic, and had a low tolerance, but he was still the same calm , sweet, cute boy with a heart the size of the sun. Some things haven't changed. Some things never change. The pull between them, the memories that still burn etched marks in their brain, and the words they never said out loud. In a world where loyalty can be life or death, and love isn't always enough to cross old lines, Elijah and London find themselves circling each other again. --- STARTED; MAY 26th, 2025 PUBLISHED JUNE 6th, 2025 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 27th 2025

"𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭." 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦. "𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭." 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.

"I made the decision to cheat on my wife because I liked the way you made me feel vulnerable and comfortable enough to open up to you the night before it happened. I ain't never did shit like that before and that's what made it easy for me to choose to risk everything I got for you." "That shit probably not a big deal to you but a nigga like me ain't never opened up to nobody but my best friend-and still..that's rare. I hate even talking about her with you but I don't even feel comfortable talking to Ariana about my feelings 'cause I know she gon' judge me. You don't make me feel like that."

Riani, feeling eyes on her Iooked over seeing Kiari staring at her. "Why are you staring." Riani chuckled playing in Kiaris hair. "You're just beautiful." He shrugs still not looking away. "Oh for real." She asked breaking out into a smile and he hummed in response. Riani stares back into Kiari's low redish eyes before smiling and pecking his lips. He grabbed her neck kissing her back, then backing away and running his tongue across his bottom lip as he stared at her some more. "I love you, Riani." He finally got it off his chest. Something that he has been waiting to tell her for the longest.

"You ain't even that cute." Jojo playfully rolled her eyes allowing Dice to pull her arm to wherever he seemed to be leading her. "Where are you taking me!" She grew annoyed with the anticipation. "On a trip, just chill." -- For as long as she can remember, Jojo Rosewood has lived a picture-perfect life in a suburban area located in Chicago-designer clothes, private schools, and a glamorous lifestyle all thanks to her high-powered mother. Evidently her perfect world seems to be a lie when it comes crashing down as her mother's secrets come to the light, forcing her to face reality. Now having all of her family's assets cleared she's every bit of confused on what to do. With nowhere else to turn, Jojo is forced to leave behind everything she knows and move across a plethora of states to live with her father, a man she barely knows due to distance, and his new family. Learning to balance the shift in culture and the chaos of her first year in college all in one, Jojo struggles to adjust to her circumstances and blend into a world where her privilege no longer holds any weight. Things grow even more complicated when she meets Dice, her half-brother's best friend-a well mannered , street-smart young adult who seems to embody everything Jojos maternal side of the family warned her about. Dice is equally frustrating and intriguing, with a no-nonsense attitude that calls Jojo out on her unrealistic expectations. As their chemistry builds, Jojo finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about family, loyalty, and love while Dice struggles letting Jojo take a trip to his world. Started; December 18th, 2024 Published; January 4th, 2025 Finished; March 2nd, 2025

sequel to flame.

"It was always you, nobody else could ever fit your shoes, you'll always be the one I hold on too, Guess it's not the time for me and you" - Natasha Mosley

A Chicago love story.

ᴛɪʀᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪ'ᴍ ᴛʀᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ᴅᴀᴍɴ ᴍɪɴᴅ, ᴛɪʀᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪ'ᴍ ᴡʀᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴍɴ ʟɪᴇ, ᴛɪʀᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴍʏ ʟɪꜰᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴍɴ ɢᴀᴍᴇ, ɴɪɢɢᴀ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴡᴀɴɴᴀ ᴅɪᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ......

"𝖡𝗎𝗍 𝖨'𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗐𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌... 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝗼𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫." © -𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚈𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚂𝙴𝚁 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙳𝚄𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐋; 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑︎ ︎