When a suburban Black girl meets a hard life Hispanic boy.

Kaiden enters prison still emotional, loud, and full of life. Saint had already become hardened by years behind bars after being incarcerated at fourteen for protecting his little sister from abuse. Together, they slowly learn that even in a cold, violent environment, love, vulnerability, and trust can still exist. Even hearts surrounded by concrete can still feel something.

𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙸𝚂 𝙵𝙰𝙻𝚂𝙴!! 𝙸𝚃𝚂 𝙶𝙰𝚈 𝙱𝚇𝙱 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 : 𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 15 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.. 𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘷𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭.. 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Nas disappeared years ago. Kyrin moved on from his dumb crush on his older brother's best friend... or so he thought. But Nas's return proves those feelings never vanished - they just hid. He's different now: older, sharper, more calculated, with eyes that speak more than his words. And the difference this time? They're living in the same space....where temptation lurks in every corner.

| 𝐚𝐫 • 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐫 | 𝟏. 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. 𝐀 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫, 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (EXTENDED SUMMARY INSIDE.)

"i gotchu forever kane...i swear youn gotta worry about nun wit me." "i believe you." "you better nigga i ain't been chasing you my whole life for nun." black bxb

Arlo lives under constant pressure, doing his best to hold things together while caring for his 16-year-old sister Moniece and navigating a home shaped by their mother's addiction. When a crisis at home disrupts what little stability he has, Arlo is forced to take on even more responsibility than he ever expected. Cartier's life is shaped by risky choices and misplaced trust, until one night changes everything. Arlo, working a late shift at a gas station, steps in at a critical moment and gets him the help he needs. That single act connects their lives in unexpected ways, setting the stage for a bond that grows deeper as both men struggle with loyalty, survival, and the possibility of something more.

"𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫.." ©️ 𝙽𝙴𝙸𝙰𝚆𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴𝚂𝚂

𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐱𝐛

After twelve years behind bars, Iman has learned to feel nothing. With only six months left on his sentence, the last thing he expects is a new cell mate who forces him to confront everything he buried for so long.