elm.

note: elm is a novelette  

Summer nights… the ones we envisioned as teenagers but didn’t begin experiencing until adulthood. Blaring horns. Beckoning men. Loud speakers. And that one guy… the one everybody knows but know nothing about finally notices you after what feels like forever. Fortunately for you both, it is forever.

____

Easy on the eyes, his entire aesthetic was pleasing. From the denim jacket and chains down to the multi-colored Jordans, he resembled something straight out of a music video, as if he laid tracks. 

But he didn’t. He laid bricks. One by one, rebuilding Dooley one rehabbed home at a time. Though I no longer lived in the area, there were two sets of big, brown eyes waiting by the door for my bi-weekly visits. Tash’s twins were my Goddaughters and being their second mom was a job I didn’t take lightly. 

Grady. Everyone knew his name but not very many people knew him. For the most part, he was a figment of Dooley’s imagination. Hardly home but always repping. Drake had him in mind when writing that bar. His signs lined the lawns of the homes he’d purchased throughout Dooley, however, he rarely graced the neighborhood with his presence. Tonight was a rare occasion. 

I was amongst royalty. Channing City Royalty. 

elm audiobook will be released approximately three weeks after the eBook release. for 50% off this Huffington Original, join our audiobook club, Heard!