Khari Valentine is a basketball player from New Orleans, Louisiana who seems to be very rough around the edges. His move to Washington, DC to play college ball for Georgetown University is less than smooth. He meets a very well rounded young lady in Malia King. She's smart, beautiful, spiritual, and patient. Can they build a friendship or would the two think that they have nothing in common?

Works #1: Ahmad Hassan Sinclair, 25, was taught to always fight and work hard for what he wanted. In the life he was given nothing was ever handed to him. He grew up in the hoods of Houston, witnessing things no child should ever see in their life. His mom and pop worked hard just tryna make ends meet, to keep food on the table and clothes on their kids back. But it was far from easy .. Seeing his parents struggle the way they did for years, motivated him to work ten times harder. He made it a mission to not end up like his folks, he wanted more in life. He knew there was more to life than what he grew up seeing. But he also knew in order to be somebody in this world as a black man he had to fight and strive for it and also dodge the bullshit that came along with it. He set goals, he had dreams, he had a vision and nothing could stop him from achieving them. Now that he's at the top of his game, making money, living the live he always wanted, seeing the things he never seen and moving up the success path .. he figured life would eventually turn out to be great but sadly he still isn't happy or content with how things are.. there's this one missing piece in his life that will fully complete him. But let's see how determined Ahmad will be to find what that missing piece is or what he will do to get it.

Amari Sinclair's manicured fingers had never touched anything rougher than Egyptian cotton sheets, her inheritance from Sinclair Markets ensuring she'd never need to. From her Hollywood Hills balcony, Los Angeles sprawled beneath her like a kingdom she'd never bothered to explore. Seventeen miles east, Officer Natalie Taylor wiped sweat from her brow as she radioed for backup, her S.W.A.T. vest heavy against her shoulders. The city that separated them might as well have been an ocean-until the day it wasn't.

Mariah Jade Grey is 21 years old, freshly graduated, and trying to figure out what comes next. She's stylish, sarcastic, and guarded- always has been. After losing more than she ever talks about, she's learned not to get too close. Love doesn't stay. People don't stay. So she keeps herself safe: with ambition, independence, and the quiet ache of something missing. Kyra Reyes is 30 years old, the kind of woman with a camera in one hand and someone new on her arm- easy, unattached, free. Nothing ever sticks: not the girls she leaves tangled in her sheets, not the art that never quite feels finished, not the whispers about her being a player. But when it comes to Mariah, everything sticks. Every glance. Every laugh. Every moment that isn't supposed to mean anything, but somehow means everything. As their best friends build new lives and the city around them quiets down, Mariah and Kyra find themselves circling each other, drawn together by late nights, unspoken truths, and the weight of everything they won't say out loud. It's there in the way Kyra looks at her. It's there in the way Mariah never quite lets her go. And when the silence finally breaks, it changes everything. What they have isn't just friendship. But it isn't love. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Almost. But is almost ever enough?

Haley Carson never wanted it to end. The countless parties in the Heights and smoking until her thoughts were incoherent. She made every excuse to avoid the structure and mundane routine a college education had to offer. She wasn't expecting it to end abruptly. She surely wasn't expecting Ashley to cheat at their local IHOP. Carson closed up. She was done with any and everything that reminded her of Ashley and responsibility had finally caught up with her. She finally got her shit together and enrolled in art major classes. Her college experience started right along with the overwhelming feelings for her cheerleader roommate, Tate Chandler. She's beautiful and so much more than cheer captain. The two quickly become more than roommates, sharing the most intimate parts of themselves. Carson knew she was in trouble long before their eyes touched. Living with Tate Chandler was a dream. Her boyfriend Brett, was not. Being best friends wasn't bad. Honestly, it was close enough. Right?

Love is complicated Love is blind. It isn't always patient And sometimes, It is far from kind... ~~~~

Twenty-four-year-old stripper Leana Jones was born into a state of survival, and after years of battling with the situations life has placed before her, she is now stuck with trauma and scars that beat her to the point of no return. So what happens when life throws a love in the middle of the battle that will require her to put down her defences and simply be? Will she trust it or will she turn love away?

Just as Annabeth's hands reached to grab the back of her jacket, Sonya pivoted smoothly, one arm coiling around Annabeth's waist like a whip. There was a sharp gasp-Annabeth's-and then her spine slammed against the edge of the bar, the breath knocked clean from her chest. Sonya's forearm pressed hard across her collarbone, pinning her in place with infuriating ease. "If you wanted my attention, sugar, all you had to do was ask," Sonya murmured, her voice sultry and rough, lips inches from Annabeth's. "Get off me," Annabeth snarled, squirming beneath her hold. Sonya arched a brow, leaning in even closer until her body molded against the younger woman's-thigh to thigh, hip to hip. "You're feistier than the girls next door," she whispered against the shell of Annabeth's ear, her breath hot. "Careful now, Anna. I've always had a thing for resistance." Annabeth jerked against her, face twisting in rage. "Let. Me. Go. You stink of whiskey and whores," she spat, kicking against Sonya's shin. Sonya didn't flinch. "Say please," she drawled, her voice silk and steel, utterly unbothered. "Manners go a long way in this town." "Never," Annabeth hissed.

Like a moth to a flame, she drew me in. I felt the heat, but I dared not cower away. Scarred by the burn, I only reveled in the pain. I knew it was poisoned. I knew no good could come of us. But still, I kept going back to her. *** Dani Kingsley is a pastry chef by day and waitress by night. Despite her struggles in life, she is easy-going and optimistic. Ariella Wright is a successful editor for her father's publishing company. She has everything she ever dreamed of, but remains longing.

𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞 only searched for one thing in life. Money. It was something that we all craved. However, Aria didn't want it for greedy reasons. She simply needed it in order to live comfortably. The way Aria acquired her income was draining- yet worth it. One of her jobs were deemed natural while the other was labeled as unnatural or inappropriate to some. Aria didn't give a shit what those "some" thought. She knew what was necessary for her future. However, the redhead becomes a little too money hungry and finds herself in a rather. . . steamy situation. Aria Fabienne encounters 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬 and my god is their relationship a tough one. They may not be the perfect pair but by all means are they the most desirable.