"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. ❀ 🝳 ❀

𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 a new teacher walks into a classroom she prayed for, a mother watches her family shift beneath her feet, and a man with blood on his hands tries to keep them clean. until feelings get tangled, truths unravel, and love starts showing up in places it shouldn't.

| 𝐚𝐡 • 𝐠𝐚𝐡 • 𝐩𝐚𝐲 | 𝟏. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞; 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. (BOOK ONE.) (EXTENDED SUMMARY INSIDE.)

"𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲" "𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 ..."

Gabe hates Jarstin's guts. Jarstin wants to get in Gabe's guts. Shenanigans ensue. collaboratively written with @thankmelautner