Three Months in ACCRA (Stamped: A Love Story Collection Book 1)

by L.B. Gaines

“I’m not flirting,” I said quickly, heat rising to my cheeks. “I am,” Kofi muttered under his breath, but loud enough to make sure I heard.

Oop

But something in me had started to hope—just a little—that maybe he saw me.

That maybe, somehow, I wasn’t invisible to him. And that scared me more than anything. Because what if I let myself believe I could have this?

But the truth was, I just wanted to be wanted. Fully. Freely. Without having to edit myself into something easier to love.

Phew felt!

“Wanting to be loyal to the people who raised you but also wanting to live your own story.”

on the other side of fear is life.

“To be Black in America is to never fully feel American. We try so hard to claim Africa as our home, but sometimes, it feels like a forced effort. Like we’re faking a connection we don’t have paperwork for.”

gently. “Can I ask you something, Kofi?” He nodded. “Of course.” “What’s Akoma mean?” His gaze didn’t falter. “It means my heart.”

“Did he defend you?” “He said I was his girlfriend, that I was smart and that I was his.” She smiled faintly. “That sounds like love to me.” I shook my head. “Is it?”

“Love isn’t always enough Tash. Not when your entire bloodline is sitting in the next room talking about duty and legacy and how I’m just some fat girl from nowhere.”

“I am strong,” I whispered. “I just know when to let go.

Because how do you say goodbye to someone who doesn’t know you’re leaving?

I left him sleeping. No note. No second glance.

Not even a note????

I vowed not to speak of him. Because heartbreak doesn’t always sound like thunder. Sometimes, it’s just… quiet.

This wasn’t running. It was survival. And if I had to block every version of him just to breathe again? Then so be it.

And I—well, I wasn’t going to beg for love in a room where I wasn’t even welcome to sit down.

IKTR

More than I thought I would ache. She wasn’t just a semester fling, she was the first person who ever looked at me and didn’t see a legacy. She saw only me.

I didn’t just come here to win her back. I came because some people are not chapters. Some people are the whole damn book. And you don’t stop reading until you find the end .

“Well, why America? Why D.C.? You could’ve picked anywhere—New York, L.A., Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Boston, even Toronto.” He turned to face me fully. “Because my Akoma lives in D.C.”

“What if your plan backfired? What if you got here and I’d moved on? Or left? Or didn’t want you anymore?” His voice dropped. “You were always going to be mine. Even if I had to hunt you to prove it.”

“You missed this? This mouth? These lips? That tongue that used to make you cry out Akoma?”

“I’d never give yours away either. Even when I hated you a little. Even when I was mad enough to wish I never met you. I didn’t let anybody else touch what was yours.”

“Kofi, what do you bring to this woman’s life?” He stepped forward. His voice was low and unwavering. “Peace. Protection. Purpose. Joy.” “And you, Aliza? What do you bring to this man’s life?” I looked up at him. “Loyalty. Freedom. Softness. Happiness.”