Frosting and Fur(in-Progress)

Chapter X: Vanilla Frosting

"I need you to raise the reflector a bit higher," Braxton called from behind the camera. "Yeah, yeah. Right there! Hold it, Angelo."

D'Angelo held the wide circular reflector as steady as he could while Braxton tried his best to immortalize Sandy and Mandy in business chic. One twin wore pinstripes and white, while the other was draped in all black. Their identical long blonde tresses were parted just off the center. Smokey eyeshadow and exaggerated eyelashes gave the twins a surreal appearance. What truly stood out were their open-toed high heels. Mandy wore yellow and Sandy wore orange, at least that was Angelo's guess. He couldn't tell the women apart.

Braxton knelt down in front of the pair to get a different angle. His arms, sculpted by years of heavy construction work, were like chiseled chocolate on a small frame. He wore a cream colored tank top and matching slacks. His brown Gucci belt and silver chain were more expensive than any one clothing item D'Angelo owned. Angelo focused on keeping the secondary light source steady while Brax worked his Nokia camera with deceptively delicate hands.

"Okay, back to back. Mouths closed, but smile with your eyes." Braxton backed away slowly, his eye hunting for the shot he envisioned in his mindseye.

"You mean smize?" D'Angelo asked, his brow wrinkling as he fought to keep his cramping arms still.

"Oh!" piped one of the twins. They struck a fierce pose in unison, their eyes the envy of any of Tyra Banks' prodigies.

Braxton snapped away for what felt like the longest two minutes in history.

"Okay, girls. That's it. We're good."

D'Angelo lowered sore arms and walked over to Braxton's iPad. Lowering the music he sat down and relaxed on the soft loveseat. Sandy and Mandy walked off to get changed as Brax turned off the set lighting. When he was done he sat on the arm of the small sofa.

"Smize?" Braxton asked as he retrieved a pair of water bottles from the cooler at his feet.

"What? I'm a writer. Random knowledge is an occupational hazard."

"Yeah, more like you watch Top Model to catch a glimpse of your childhood crush."

"That too, bro."

The two laughed while Braxton passed D'Angelo a water.

"Thanks for your the assist. I was supposed to have help, but he never showed up."

Angelo studied Braxton's expression.

"Lucas?"

"It's not like that. He's been seeing Mandy."

"Of course he has..." Finishing the water, Angelo crushed the bottle and tossed it into the garbage with a three-point worthy shot. "Look, I ain't mad. Hang with who you want to hang with. We're not kids anymore."

"You sound a bit mad, bro."

"Big mad?"

"Nah, little mad. The way you used to get before you'd ghost a brother for a month."

D'Angelo shrugged.

"We're too grown for that nonsense, Angelo."

"I'm just messing with you. We're good."

"You sure?" Braxton nudged him. "Aight. What made you come through anyway? You never come to the studio."

"Dude, this place is in the middle of Staten Island. That's like $20 dollars to come and watch you take pictures."

"Snug Harbor. And I do more than take pictures," Braxton said as he walked over to his computer and started looking over his photos.

"I'm kidding, bro."