How Does 7 Minutes In Heaven End?

In university, it was common to play games and spice up the school life. But at work? Oh hell no! Reigna Amethyst was a typical office worker, not until she found her boyfriend cheating with her older sister. And, with a little twist, her heartbroken self was picked up by a cute kid who led her to her boss, the cold and detached CEO of XCC corp., Carlisle Amoroso. "I have to keep an eye on you." intimidatingly, he closed their distance, a gleam of malice and threat evident in his piercing green orbs. "Speak about my son and you'll regret it your entire life." To keep his secret to the world, along with the newfound spark of entertainment by messing with the innocent Reigna, Carlisle made themselves a player of the game '7 minutes in heaven' to have all sorts of reason to keep her close. "Secretaries don't do this, sir..." flustered, she sat on his lap with hesitancy in her flushed face. Can her gentle heart keep up with the lust incarnate himself? And oh...what if there's another twist? Carlisle's ex, the birth mother, returns?

Grace Anderson is a striking young lady with a no-nonsense and inimical attitude. She barely smiles or laughs, the feeling of pure happiness has been rare to her. She has acquired so many scars and life has thought her a very valuable lesson about trust. Dean Ryan is a good looking young man with a sanguine personality. He always has a smile on his face and never fails to spread his cheerful spirit. On Grace's first day of college, the two meet in an unusual way when Dean almost runs her over with his car in front of an ice cream stand. Although the two are opposites, a friendship forms between them and as time passes by and they begin to learn a lot about each other, Grace finds herself indeed trusting him. Dean was in love with her. He loved everything about her. Every. Single. Flaw. He loved the way she always bit her lip. He loved the way his name rolled out of her mouth. He loved the way her hand fit in his like they were made for each other. He loved how much she loved ice cream. He loved how passionate she was about poetry. One could say he was obsessed. But love has to have a little bit of obsession to it, right? It wasn't all smiles and roses with both of them but the love they had for one another was reason enough to see past anything. But as every love story has a beginning, so it does an ending.

“True love stories never have endings.” Dean said softly. “Richard Bach.” I nodded. “You taught me that quote the night I kissed you for the first time.” He continued, his fingers weaving through loose hair around my face. “And I held on to that every day since.”

My fiancé, Luca, dragged me along to a party with his crew. We had barely walked through the door before his boys were hounding him to play "Seven Minutes in Heaven." "Angelina, babe, come join us!" Fiona, Luca’s "best friend" from back home, called out to me with a smirk. I shook my head and slipped onto a barstool, my fingers nervously tracing the rim of my glass. I watched them huddle in a circle, drawing cigar bands with names scribbled on them. Luca drew Fiona. They shared a laugh before disappearing into the storage room behind the bar. "Seven minutes! Starting... now!" someone hollered, followed by a chorus of whistles. But seven minutes came and went. The door stayed shut. Ten minutes. Fifteen. Twenty... I finally stood up, my heart hammering against my ribs, ready to see what was going on. Just then, I heard Luca’s friends whispering in a thick Sicilian dialect. "This American guy... her head is greener than a lemon tree in Palermo and she doesn’t even know it." "I bet Luca and Fiona are having the time of their lives in there right now." "Poor Boston girl. Look at her, sitting there like a loyal little dog. Hilarious." I froze. My blood turned to ice, and the air felt too thin to breathe. Suddenly, the storage room door creaked open. Luca walked out, wiping sweat from his brow, followed closely by Fiona, who was busy smoothing out her rumpled shirt. "Whoa, how was it? Seven minutes in heaven live up to the hype?" someone teased. Luca smirked, his eyes glazed with satisfaction. "Better. I didn't want to leave."

Nubia has her life planned out. She is working on her master's degree in post colonial studies. She has a quiet apartment and a schedule she sticks to. Every Wednesday night she finishes class at nine thirty, walks to the bus stop, and waits. The bus is always late. There is always a stranger sitting on the bench. He wears headphones and draws in a sketchbook. He never speaks. She calls him Pencil Boy in her phone and does not think much about it. Then one October night the bus is delayed by forty three minutes. Eli studies architecture but he draws people instead of buildings. He has been sketching Nubia for six weeks without ever saying a word. He is quiet and pays close attention to things. He has learned to keep people at a distance because it feels safer that way. But when the cold night gets to Nubia and he gives her his hoodie, the silence between them finally breaks. What begins as pie at a late night diner turns into a Wednesday night tradition. Then a friendship. Then something much deeper. As Nubia and Eli grow closer, they must face the things that make them different. Race. Class. The dreams they are chasing. The families they come from. And the strong pull of a connection neither of them can ignore. Set over one school year, 43 Minutes is a warm and sensual love story about two people learning to truly see each other. It is about letting yourself be seen. And it is about the moments that change your life in less than an hour but stay with you forever.

“Tell me what you want from me.” * * * | Athena Hendrix | The Spades are the second highest ranking mafia. As daughter of the mafia's leader, Athena Hendrix is nothing less than the most skilled in the mafia. She is usually sent on solo or duo missions, her father knowing she doesn't need anyone else. | Callum H. Rivers | The youngest man to ever take over a mafia, let alone the highest ranking mafia. As leader of The Skulls, Callum H. Rivers is brutal and ruthless. With his nickname "Hades," this man kills anyone who gets in his way. | The Spades Vs. The Skulls | As two of the highest ranking mafias, these rivals reek of nothing but hatred for each other. They are enemies; nothing more, nothing less. What happens when these two meet? * * * TW: mentions of violence, self-harm, etc.