After years of surviving under the roof and shadow of her adoptive mother, Audra is finally claiming her freedom with nothing but a beat-up Honda Civic and the weight of her past.

Formerly known as "Just A Kiss." If you want to familiarize yourself with this story before reading, please go take a look at "Shorts," a book with short stories based on and inspired by songs. "Loving him was easy. Learning to love herself was the real story." Let's follow Karmine, a young woman trying to make sense of who she's becoming while facing the realities of her upbringing. From schoolhouse drama and dealing with abandonment to the quiet battles she fights within herself, Karmine had to grow up quickly-learned to wear strength like armor. But then there's him-the one person who's always there, no matter how messy things get. Him, his presence, are reminders that she doesn't have to face everything alone. He loves her loudly even when the world is silent. Love isn't just about grand gestures, but about the quiet moments that remind you you're still worth living. Karmine begins to see that healing doesn't always mean being unbroken. As she learns to open up and find her place in the world, she discovers that growing up simply means learning to love yourself just as loudly as someone else loves you.

Imagine being only 17 years old living in the big city of Texas. 27 year old Ace, the most dangerous drug dealer of Houston, had just been released from prison for murder, and who would've known 17 year old Marsai would be the reason why he was sent away. She will run into him and face many obstacles that will try to spill her truth. Will he find out? What will be the outcome? Love or death? Witness or protection?

"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. ❀ 🝳 ❀

What happens when a suicidal twenty-two year old meets someone who pushes her to be more than her grief. In return she teaches him how to be patient and a better person overall. "Talk to me" "There's nothing to say, I'm fine" Zed stared at her blankly emptying out his pockets onto Kiya's dresser, removing the clip from his gun he sat it down. Stripping from his clothes he got into her bed getting a better look at the dried up tears on her face. "What the fuck are you lying for?" "mmcht bye Zed I told you about cursin at me" "Im sorry Phat, why you been crying? Most importantly why didn't you call me?" gripping her throat Zed pulled her closer until their lips were less than an inches apart. "what's going on with you, Mama?"

Zoni Adams, a resilient foster child with a jailed mother and an absent father, grows up navigating the streets until she's taken in at thirteen by Miss Atkins, the only person who ever truly cared for her. After tragedy strikes, Zoni's path unravels, caught between her abusive first love, Trevor (T5), and the dangerous pull of Samson "Blitz" Williams and Blair "Blu" Sinclair. two reckless decisions sends her life spiraling in ways she never imagined.

Theia Celeste Lawson thought the hardest part of her life was over. Her daughter is off to college. The house is quiet. And for the first time in years, she finally has space to breathe. What she didn't expect... was him. Cairo Blackwell is twenty-one. Too young. Too smooth. Too tempting for a woman who knows better but feels lonely anyway. What starts as conversation turns into late nights. Late nights turn into feelings. And feelings turn into something Theia never planned to carry. She knows how it looks. She knows what people will say. She knows she's too grown to be caught slipping. But knowing don't always stop the heart. Now she's stuck between being the woman she raised herself to be and the woman learning how to live for herself again. Because starting over at thirty-two sounds easy... until love shows up where it doesn't belong. Warning this book will contain quite a bit of smut...

📞 One phone call to a stranger in prison sparked a connection so deep, it unraveled secrets that could kill them both.