The Bravest Hero (A Curvy Girls Club Novel Book 2)

by Twyla Turner

  The two words were like a record scratching. The whole party stopped talking and the quartet stopped playing. An uncomfortable silence spread across the backyard. Unfortunately, Royal didn’t notice and didn’t lower her voice.

  “We were best friends! And then you used me so you could learn how to fuck, and then forgot about me when you left for Stanford. Parading around a new girlfriend during every break.” Royal railed on.

  “That’s enough!” Rochelle hissed under her breath after she stormed over and gripped Royal painfully by the arm. Purposefully digging her manicure talons into Royal’s skin. “You are causing a scene and embarrassing us.”

  “Who cares? This party is stupid and phony anyway,” Royal grumbled.

  “Then get out,” Rochelle commanded as she pushed Royal towards the house. “And you can forget about your allowance, you ungrateful brat. You’re cut off.”

  “That’s fine. I don’t need your stupid money. At least I won’t have to bend over and take it up the ass just to keep it anymore.” Royal ripped her arm out of her mother’s painful clutches. “I will finally have the freedom to do what I want. To be who I want…me!”

  Royal looked to find Payton, Mia, and Kennedy surrounding her back. Always there when she needed them.

  “Let’s get outta here,” Royal said before heading towards the house.

  Without a word, they followed her through the house and to her car. They continued to remain silent as she wept in the passenger seat. She felt their hands as Payton gripped hers from the driver’s seat and as Mia and Kennedy rubbed her shoulders soothingly from the backseat.

  A constant source of strength.

  ~~~

  “Take it all out, and then cut it off,” Royal said firmly when she sat in her hairstylist’s chair.

  “Are you sure?” Her stylist asked skeptically, looking at the beautiful sew-in she’d only done just a week before.

  “Hella, sure!” Royal said with more conviction than she’d ever had.

  She didn’t shed a single tear as her stylist took out the sew-in, unbraided her own hair, and began to cut it off. A couple hours later, Royal felt like the biggest weight had been lifted off of her shoulders as she stared back at her reflection. Royal turned her head left and then right. A smile bigger than the Cheshire Cat’s spread across her face.

  Her stylist had cut her shoulder length hair, she’d kept long for her family, into an adorable pixie cut and styled it into an edgy faux hawk.

  Looking at her reflection, Royal felt more like herself than she ever had.

  “I love it!” She exclaimed as she looked at her stylist through the mirror.

  “I have to admit, you were right. In all these years, I’ve never seen a cut and style look more right on you than this. You’re gonna rock the hell outta this.” She grinned as she moved a perfectly curled hair just slightly.

  “Thanks,” Royal grinned happily.

  She got up from the chair and adjusted her ripped jeans over her Converse shoes and straightened her vintage AC/DC t-shirt. She paid for the cut and style and left to meet up with the girls for Saturday lunch to celebrate her good news.

  Royal walked into the sushi restaurant they’d just discovered. Her three best friends were already there and waiting for her. Mia looked up from the menu and her mouth practically dropped to the table.

  “Holy shit!” She exclaimed loudly, grabbing the other girls’ attention.

  Kennedy and Payton both gasped as Royal walked up.

  “You look fucking hot, Ro!” Mia complimented.

  “You really do,” Payton nodded her agreement.

  “It suits you, perfectly,” Kennedy added.

  “Thanks, chicas.” Royal grinned happily. “If I wasn’t good enough even when I actually tried to be like them, I might as well be not good enough as I try to be myself.”

  The waiter came over and took their drink and food orders. When their drinks came, Kennedy held up her dirty martini and waited for the others to follow.

  “To your new job at the new, up and coming men’s magazine Diesel as their resident fashion photographer. And for finally having the freedom to be the person we’ve always known you to be. Our kickass sister from another mister!” Kennedy finished her toast.

  “Fuck yeah!”

  “Hear, hear!”

  “Damn straight!”

  Royal beamed at the women around the table as she clinked her pint glass with theirs. She would now be making her own money, doing what she loved. And was no longer beholden to her parents to be Miss Susie Sunshine.

  I’m free!

  Chapter One

  Present…

  Royal heard the old utility elevator to her loft apartment start its ascent with its loud mechanical creaks and moans. She smiled happily as she placed her mug of coffee on her kitchen counter and headed over to the elevator. Once it reached her apartment, she lifted the gate. One of her favorite people in the whole world and a relatively new member of her favorite people list, broke apart guiltily from a deep kiss they’d been sharing. Payton and her man Bradyn.

  Royal leaned against the elevator and grinned at them. “Oh, don’t stop on account of me. I’m gonna need all of that passion for the shoot. As a matter of fact… Stay right there.”

  She winked at them before quickly jogging over to her camera and running back. She closed the gate before she began instructing them.

  “Payton, I want you against the elevator wall. Bradyn, I want you standing in front of her. Clasp the side of her face that’s facing me and Payton look up at him. And just be natural. Look at each other the way you’d normally look at each other. Just remember, this photo shoot is all about your love and passion for one another.”

  Through the metal gates, Royal snapped some shots of them. She knew the old elevator would make the shots look gritty and forbidden, as if the viewer is seeing a private moment. She had them kiss a few times too, before she got all the shots she needed from the elevator. Then she opened the gate once more and invited them in.

  “Now that your initiation is finished… Hi!” Royal greeted them with a hug. Bradyn’s hug was a little more awkward since he was six-foot-five and she was only five-feet even. “Sorry about that. I saw you two kissing and it just sparked an idea that I had to get out of my system before saying hello. So, how have you both been?”

  “We’ve been really good,” Payton answered.

  “Vera well,” Bradyn smiled lovingly down at Payton.

  Royal melted just a little watching them.

  “You two are adorable. This photo shoot is gonna be kickass!”

  They both looked away bashfully. Royal knew they were both blushing, although you couldn’t tell with Payton’s dark coffee-colored skin. But Bradyn’s fair complexion, flushed with red was enough for the both of them.

  They were a walking talking contradiction in every way, except for where it mattered most. Where she was dark, he was fair. Where her body was soft and curvy, his was hard and muscular. She was a computer geek; he was a retired MMA Champion. She was American and he was from Scotland. But they were both the shyest and sweetest people Royal had probably ever met. They were perfect for each other and their contrasts were going to make for a great shoot.

  Kennedy had written a novel based on Payton and Bradyn’s incredible love story. But as far as finding the perfect photograph or cover models for the cover of the book, she hadn’t had any luck. So, an idea was born. Luckily, Payton had gained quite a bit more confidence in the last couple of months. All thanks to the redheaded Scotsman at her side. So, she had agreed that she and Bradyn would be willing to model for Kennedy’s cover.

  Kennedy’s request then put the wheels in Royal’s head into motion. She was getting tired of lending her artistic touches to only the magazine. She wanted to create her own art, and have an art exhibition or create a coffee table book of artistic photographs. Maybe both. And she wanted the photos to feature curvy women and the men who loved them. Highlighting the beauty of
the imperfect body of a woman, especially black women.

  Scouring the internet, there were little to no sexy, classy, or artistic professional photographs of curvy women or black women. Definitely not nude photos. Royal had every intention of changing that.

  She led them over to the separate space in her loft apartment that she used for photo shoots. She’d bought a cheap mattress for the occasion and draped a couple of white sheets over it, with a couple black sheets waiting off to the side to switch out for contrast. She turned on the lighting that faced the makeshift bed as the couple stood shyly next to it.

  “Alright, you two.” Royal faced them and then smiled reassuringly. “Try your best to act naturally. Just focus on each other and pretend I’m not here.”

  “What do ye want us to do?” Bradyn asked.

  “I want you to act as if you’re about to make love. Kiss. Caress. Strip each other down. The only thing I want you to try to remember is to find your light.” Royal paused to point to the lighting she’d set up. “If you lose your light, you’ll go into shadows and the photo won’t come out right. I’m going to stay relatively quiet and just snap away, but every now and again I’ll give you instructions to help you out. Though staying quiet, helps you to forget I’m here, so I won’t say much. Got it?”

  “Aye,” Bradyn nodded and grinned down at a visibly nervous Payton. “Ye’ll do great, Coffee Bean. It’s just us.”

  Payton smiled softly and pushed up her big black glasses. “Us.”

  “Hey, I’m your bestie! It’s not like I’m some stranger.” Royal fake pouted.

  “That might actually make it worse. At least if you were a stranger, I wouldn’t necessarily have to see you again,” Payton reasoned.

  “What are you so worried about me seeing?” Royal cocked her head to the side.

  “She’s worried that ye’ll see that she’s actually a wildcat in bed, so she canna pretend to be sweet an’ innocent any longer.” Bradyn teased her.

  Payton elbowed the large man in the side and he flinched and laughed as he rubbed the tender spot.

  “Ouch! See! I tell ye, the lass is feistier than ye can imagine.”

  “I see that.” Royal grinned at them. “Use that feistiness to your advantage, Payton.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Sweet! Let’s get this party started.” Royal winked.

  Royal quickly French braided her hair back from her face to keep it out of the way while she worked. These days her hair was shaved on one side and cut in an asymmetrical bob with an under layer of peek-a-boo rainbow colors on the other side. Once she’d finally let go all those years ago, she embraced her style and hadn’t looked back. Next, she was considering a full on mohawk.

  Once she finished braiding her hair, Royal selected a playlist on her phone that was sexy and smooth to set the mood. The sensual voice of Sade floated out of the wireless sound system she had installed in her place. Royal always thought that it was hard not to get turned on by the soulful songstress’s voice.

  “Okay, guys. Whenever you’re ready, start kissing and undressing slowly like you would if you were at home alone,” she instructed them.

  Royal raised the camera up and through the digital screen on the back, she watched as Payton took a deep breath. Her friend looked up at her man and Royal snapped a photo of the moment Payton lost herself in his eyes. The adoration Bradyn had for her was written all over his face. And Royal gobbled it up as she fired off shots.

  He stroked his pale battle-scarred hand down Payton’s face to her neck. Her plump lips popped open at his gentle touch. Bradyn’s fingers on his other hand wove their way into the hair on the nape of her neck. He gripped her hair and tugged slightly to arch her neck back. His lips descended towards hers and he devoured her. Royal zoomed in on the kiss. She captured the contrast between his masculine face with her feminine one. His red beard against her smooth dark chocolate skin. His tongue stroking hers.

  “Remove her glasses, Bradyn,” Royal instructed softly.

  Bradyn did as she asked and tossed them on the bed. Then he went back to focusing on his woman. He pulled down the straps of her yellow dress that she’d worn on their first date and kissed her bare shoulders. Payton bunched up his black t-shirt in the back and began to pull. He helped her rip it over his head. He was left in just his sexy kilt and black combat boots. Then he unzipped her dress and let it fall to pool around her feet. All the while, Royal shot every frame. Every movement.

  She took a couple of shots of them individually. Then turned away as she asked them to strip down completely naked and stand face to face, holding each other.

  Now they were skin to skin. Fair to dark. Hard to soft. It was beautiful.

  “Stand behind her and reach around to cover her breasts. Payton reach down and cup your mound,” Royal instructed, deep in thought.

  Payton hesitated shyly to turn around completely bare. Bradyn whispered something to her and kissed her nose and she took a deep breath and turned. They got in the position that Royal had asked. First, she had them stand completely straight. Then she had Bradyn lean his head down to kiss Payton’s neck as she tilted her head to the side. Royal knew deep down in her bones that these were going to be the most stunning photos she’d taken in a long time. And it mainly had everything to do with the stunning couple in front of her.

  “Now get down on the bed. Payton, I want you to straddle him and wrap your arms around his neck. Bradyn sit crossed-legged and caress her back with splayed fingers. Good. Now, slowly make your way down to her sides and clutch the soft skin there. And then reach down and clasp her ass.” Royal said as she snapped away.

  Through the course of an hour, Royal had them in every position. Shot from every which way. All while, keeping the focus on their bodies and not their faces. That was a stipulation from Payton. She didn’t want her full face seen. So, most shots were taken of them in profile or from the mouth down. And if not, Royal would crop out or shadow their faces later.

  With both of them completely naked, each passionate position cranked up the heat level in the room. Royal could sense their arousal, even if she didn’t blatantly look for it, trying to give them some form of privacy. Their embraces became more desperate. Their kisses deeper. It was almost as if Royal had disappeared and it was just the two of them.

  Bradyn whispered compliments and words of love to Payton in his deep brogue, keeping her wrapped up in the moment. Even Royal had to wipe the sweat from her own brow. She felt flushed and her heartbeat was slightly erratic just watching their intimate interaction. Together they were a work of art in motion.

  “Alright, guys. I think I got enough shots for the day.” Royal informed them as she stood up from her crouched position on the floor.

  She’d changed the sheets to black to contrast against Bradyn’s fair skin as he laid on the bed. Payton was draped over him like a coffee-colored blanket. Her jet-black hair fanned out across his fair, muscled chest.

  “Uh…could ye give us a moment, Royal?” Bradyn said quietly as his face turned beet red. “I’d prefer it if I dinna give ye an eye full of my… Well, I’m sure ye get my meaning. I canna control the wee lad when I have this bonnie lass, bare as the day she was born in front of me.”

  Payton buried her face in his chest, trying to stifle her laughter and embarrassment. Royal had inadvertently seen Bradyn’s junk during the course of the shoot as they changed positions. There was nothing wee about him or his lad.

  “Ah! I’m picking up what you’re throwing down.” Royal turned her back to them and started heading towards the livable part of her loft. “I’ll just leave you two alone.”

  Royal choked down on her laughter as she heard Bradyn growl low to Payton.

  “Ye know I’m gonna fuck ye senseless when we get home, right?”

  “I look forward to it,” Payton replied.

  Then a loud smack reverberated through the room. Royal heard Payton’s gasp and follow-up giggle. Royal grinned when she realized the sound must hav
e come from a kinky ass slap.

  “Yer a naughty minx, that’s for sure. An’ I got more where that came from.”

  “Promise,” Payton purred.

  Royal clapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the dirty talk her shy, innocent friend was engaging in with her man.

  My little Payton is all grown up.

  It took them a few minutes to cool their jets, which was perfect timing for Royal to compose herself after the revelation that her friend had finally broken out of her shell. When they finally stepped out from the photography studio, all parties were back to normal. Though Royal couldn’t wait to tease her friend when she was away from her man.

  “Thank you both so much for modeling for me. Kennedy’s cover is gonna be badass and the photos I took for my future art show are smokin’ hot. I’d show you, but I want you to see the finished product.” Royal said with excitement coursing through her.

  “Are you going to photoshop my rolls out of the pictures?” Payton asked.

  “Are you crazy?! Hell no! The whole point of the shoot is to bring to light the beauty of curvy women. I plan on trying out different filters and that sort of thing. But the beauty of you both, flaws and all, is staying.”

  “I keep trying to tell her that she’s gorgeous. Every last inch of her. She doesna want to believe me, though. Maybe when the photos are ready, she’ll see what we do.” Bradyn smiled down at her.

  “You two are just too much. Get out before you give me a toothache with all your sweetness,” Royal teased.

  She walked them to the elevator and gave them both hugs before they went down. Once they were gone, Royal found her phone and shot Devon, her boss/friend-with-benefits a text. She had a ton of pent up sexual tension to release after that sexually charged photo shoot.

  Royal:

  Hey D! What r u up 2? Wanna stop by?

  I just had a hot shoot and need to relieve some tension.

  Royal waited for at least a good half an hour before her phone pinged a new message.