"And you kept smiling at him." "I was being polite," I whispered weakly. "Mm." The sound she made sent another shiver through me. My pulse spiked immediately. She lowered herself close to the side of my face, her breath fanning my ear. She whispered darkly, "well, baby girl." She nipped my ear then. "Tonight..." Her hand came up to my throat. Not hurting Not choking. But firm enough to steal my breath away. Then she pulled back a little to look at my lips. Her gaze rose to my eyes then. Eyes dark. Pupils blown wide. "I'm not going to be." ... Jules has always lived carefully-balancing expectations, responsibilities, and the quiet weight of a world that doesn't always leave room for uncertainty. But everything begins to shift when she meets Jeanna, a confident and composed businesswoman who disrupts the rhythm of Jules' guarded life in the most unexpected way. What starts as a connection neither of them fully understands slowly deepens into something impossible to ignore. Jeanna is patient, steady, and unwavering in a way Jules has never experienced before-offering her not just affection, but space to grow, to question, and to choose for herself. Set against the backdrop of a conservative environment, this story explores identity, courage, and the complexity of choosing love when it feels like everything else is at stake. At its core, it's about two women finding their way to each other-not perfectly, but honestly.

Madeline Craft. 19. College freshman. Ex-greaser, or so she thought. When she gets a custody call that her two siblings were seemingly abandoned in their Tulsa home, there's no option: she has to go back. It wasn't ideal, but her little brothers, four-year-old twins Jack and Graham, they needed her more than she needed college. Besides, college would always be there if she could ever go back. But on a cold day, back at her high school job working at The Dingo, she meets someone that makes anything poor become great. All rights to SE Hinton besides my additions :)

"Promise me this won't change." Three years after leaving Tulsa, you return to the only place that feels like home. Except things aren't quite the way you left them.