"I'll play you." Kross challenged with a serious expression on his face, smoothly twirling the basketball on his pointer finger. "For what?" Amiko sighed heavily, a bored look on her face, crossing her arms over her chest, tapping her foot repeatedly on the ground. "𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭."

"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. ❀ 🝳 ❀

Book 1. - ❝THINGS AIN'T ALWAYS SET IN STONE, THAT BE KNOWN LET ME KNOW.❞

Ja'Lani Banks. David Jr. started 3.17.2020 "That smile on your face makes it easy to trust you..."

First time we fucked, we ain't really plan it.. But now I'll be making love to you through him...

Five years ago, Monique and Messiah were supposed to have the perfect wedding, but everything went wrong. A gang issue connected to Monique's brother turned into a shootout, and Monique got shot. Everyone thought she died, including Messiah, who was left to raise their baby daughter, Angel, on his own. After years of grieving, he slowly started to move on and ended up falling in love with Saloni, Angel's kind daycare teacher. Just when life was starting to feel normal again, Monique came back. Messiah is completely shocked, and even though Angel is happy to finally meet her mom, he's angry and confused. Monique says she had to fake her death to keep them safe, but Messiah doesn't know if he can forgive her for letting them suffer. Everything gets more complicated after he spends a night with Monique and then tells Saloni, who admits she's been cheating on him. Now Messiah has to figure out if he wants to try again with Monique or leave the past behind for good. - Start: 4/23/25. - End: N/A.

Just read (free writing)

SEQUEL TO LIES YOU TELL After Graces world comes crashing down around her, she struggles to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and mend her shattered perception of life upon learning that the man she grew to love more than life itself was a cold and remorseless murderer. Landing the position as a criminologist on the NYPD homicide squad, she works hard to rebuild a new life for herself and leave the past in the past. After waiting four long years, Joseph finally gets put on a highly publicized trial and with the help of a well known criminal defense lawyer, the jury reaches a verdict that rocks the city of New York. During those four years being incarcerated, Joseph is forced to let go of the love of his life but upon his release their paths inevitably cross and now he has to fight for and work to earn her love and trust back. To do so, Joseph finally opens up to Grace about his dark past but opens up a can of worms in the process. Grace learns about history of her own family and uncovers dark secrets not even her mother knows which puts her in danger. In a dark twist of faith, Joseph learns who the true enemy is. Will Grace and Joseph finally get their happily ever after? Smoke and mirrors- the obscuring of the truth of a situation with misleading information. DISCLAIMER: This story is a work of pure fiction. Story has no association to photos in the story used to depict the characters in real life. Dec 2021

"𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧' 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐬." - 𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢 👅 𝙶𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚜𝙽𝚊𝚒𝚒 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 © 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟶