Full Figured 11

Book 11: Full-Figured Series

by Treasure Hernandez, Katt

Genres: African American Urban; African American Women's Fiction

Synopsis

Once again, Carl Weber brings together two literary divas to give listeners what they've been asking for: empowering stories about big, beautiful women.

“Lights, Camera, Action” by Treasure Hernandez: Janiyah Wade is a successful plus-size model who almost loses it all when she is sent to prison for three years. When things work in her favor and she is able to kick-start her career again, things are starting to look up for her and her husband, Gun. But the heat Janiyah feels when she’s under the bright lights during her photo shoots is nothing compared to the heat she and Gun will feel when their blessed union is exposed for all of Raleigh, North Carolina, to see.

“How Does It Feel?” by Katt: Braylin Smith, Nayla Anderson, and Judea Hamiliton are three full-figured women who come from totally different walks of life to become the most unlikely trio of best friends. Braylin’s man ain’t treating her right, but he strokes her right. A better man is on the way, but not without a price. Nayla never knew true love, just convenient lovin’. Will she be willing to look past a man’s wallet and accept true love? Judea has never known the touch of another, but before she can even think about committing to someone else, she needs to learn to love herself. These three ladies are dealing with drama almost as big as their beautiful curves. Travel with them as they ride through this adventure called life.

Release date: May 30, 2017

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

The shoot was over, and Janiyah was happy that she had completed another successful session. She was proud to be a full-figured model, and proud that she was able to put big girls in a position to compete with skinny women in the modeling industry. As she sat in a chair, unwinding from the shoot, she looked at the photographer. He was going through the pictures and putting everything together.

He noticed Janiyah watching him. “Janiyah, you want to see the pics?”

She didn’t waste any time. She jumped up and walked to where the photographer was standing. The photographer scrolled through the viewfinder on the Canon t3i DSLR camera. She was pleased to see various poses of her enjoying life in a black one-piece bathing suit, with and without the summer skirt. She was equally pleased with the way her strappy black Jimmy Choo sandals elongated her legs.

“You think I can use one or two of them for my Web site?” she asked. She didn’t want to show all of the pictures before the ad appeared in Ashley Stewart, but she figured she’d tease them on Instagram.

“Janiyah, I wish I could, but you know if Ashley Stewart knew I let you post one of these pictures before it appeared in their catalog, you and I would be in trouble.” The photographer saw the look of despair in Janiyah’s eyes. “You know I’m telling the truth.”

Janiyah did know he was telling the truth, and she didn’t want to jeopardize her valuable relationships with all of the clothing designers and retail stores. She was one of the most recognized models who showcased full-figured clothing. People sought her all around the world. She definitely didn’t want to lose any of those accounts and the money she earned from them. Janiyah was well aware that she didn’t have to work. Her husband Gun was a very successful “businessman.” He made a very good living being a major drug supplier in his hometown, and he gave Janiyah anything her heart desired. Although Janiyah appreciated everything he did for her, she considered herself an independent woman and had vowed a long time ago to never depend on a man’s income. She let Gun spoil and give her the finer things in life, but she still made sure to make her own money. The pay made it possible for her to treat herself or Gun and be proud that she did it with her own earnings. It also made it possible for her to have money saved for a rainy day. In case Gun was ever locked up or killed, she would be prepared.

Janiyah and Gun were an unlikely pair, coming from such different worlds, but from the first day they met, it was love at first sight. Gun referred to that day as the day the beast met his beauty. Most people assumed she would marry another model or some rich billionaire, but Janiyah was in love.

Janiyah looked at the rest of the pictures, and she was definitely pleased that she was going to have another stunning appearance in the Ashley Stewart catalog. Once the pictures hit the catalog, Janiyah would send out the page numbers to family, friends, and followers so they could look out for her. She couldn’t one-hundred percent claim that she was the sole reason some of the clothing designers had sales, but she felt she had some hand in raising interest in the clothes she modeled. Besides, she liked the fact that she proved that big girls can wear whatever anyone else wears.

Janiyah said her good-byes and headed to her dressing room. She opened the door, and the scent of lavender and jasmine incense were still in the air. She took a deep breath, and the aroma calmed her spirit. Janiyah had it good to be able to have a dressing room set up the way she liked. She leaned down, unbuckled her sandals, and slid them off. Then she brought her arm in front of her, stuffed her hand down her shirt, and unsnapped her bra, releasing her breasts into much-needed freedom.

She hopped into a chair. It felt good to be off her feet. Janiyah admired her legs as she lifted them off the ground, wishing that her husband was around to massage her feet. As she closed her eyes, she relaxed and took in a deep breath. Without warning, she felt a hand around her throat, and her chair leaned back. Save for her quick grip on her assailant’s arm, she would have fallen out of the chair.

“I see we meet again.” The voice of her attacker startled her.

Janiyah looked up and was face to face with a pair menacing eyes. He had on a black ski mask that covered almost his entire face. His eyes were the only thing visible. He was a buff man, probably about twice her size. Janiyah immediately knew she wouldn’t stand a chance trying to fight her way from the tight grip he had on her.

He lifted her out of the chair and pushed her back into the corner.

“Scream and I’m gonna push your teeth down your throat,” the man threatened.

For her safety, Janiyah complied and kept silent. Her body stiffened. She could feel something poking her. Before she was able to identify what it was, the sound of a belt coming undone caused her alarm. Janiyah looked down to see the man’s pants around his ankles, his member pulsating and aiming at her.

The attacker’s hand ran up her skirt and pushed the bottom of her bathing suit to the side. He looked her in the eyes as he ran his slender fingers up and down the crevice of her vagina. He teased, pushing part of a finger in at a time. “Damn, that’s nice and wet.”

“Would you please . . .” Janiyah begged.

“Naw, baby girl. Time to pay up,” he insisted as he worked at ripping the bathing suit from Janiyah’s body. He used his newly lubricated hand to rub Janiyah’s juices on his member. “Dick teasing me all these years . . . you oughta know that shit ain’t cool.”

Janiyah had no idea what the man was talking about. For starters, she had no idea who the man even was. For him to say she’d been teasing him for years was even more perplexing. She had never been the type to flirt with men, especially since she’d been with Gun. She would never disrespect her husband like that.

With a little force, he ripped the bottom of her bathing suit. Then a finger slipped inside of Janiyah and found her clitoris. He rubbed it softly, moaning as his fingers slid from side to side. “Yeah, I knew it’d feel nice and warm down there.”

Janiyah had to think fast. She refused to become a victim of rape, especially after standing all day and working a job she loved. An object rubbed against her breast, and she remembered that it was the pen she had used earlier in the day to sign her contract. As the man was worried about taking proper precautions and sheathing himself with the latex glove, Janiyah worked to figure out how she was going to get the pen out of her cleavage without alarming him.

She glared into his eyes again. The tip of his head was getting closer, and while she squeezed her vaginal muscles to refuse entry, she lifted her right leg up and wrapped it around his legs for support.

“Oh, you like this, don’t you? You ready for this big dick?” he questioned.

“Yeah,” Janiyah moaned breathlessly. She kept her eyes on her target as he worked to get inside her. Janiyah took her chance and wrapped her left arm around his neck.

“Girl, if you wanted me to pick you up, you should’ve said something.” The man crouched down and lifted Janiyah.

Janiyah used the opportunity to wrap her other leg around his waist, and before the tip of his penis could invade her any further, Janiyah quickly reached for the pen with her right hand and stabbed him in the shoulder area right near his throat.

“Aaaaggghhh!” He screamed and struggled to breathe as Janiyah pulled out the pen and stabbed him again. He grabbed Janiyah by her left arm and threw her like a rag doll across the room.

Janiyah felt her body slam against the wall, shattering the silver-rimmed mirror that hung on it. She felt shards of glass fall onto her as she collapsed to the floor. All she could do was put her head into her chest and shield herself with her arms as pieces of glass landed all around her.

“This ain’t over, bitch!” she heard from across the room. On instinct, Janiyah reached for a shard of glass from the broken mirror. She could hear more glass breaking as he came closer to her. As soon as she felt him just a few inches away, Janiyah lunged at the man.

“Die, motherfuckeeeer!” She screamed as she turned around and plunged the broken piece of glass into his chest with all her might. She was completely taken aback when she realized the man she’d stabbed was her photographer and not her assailant. She watched her photographer fall back and struggle to breathe. She scanned the room for the man in the ski mask, but he was gone. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. She felt the entire room begin to spin. She looked down at her bloodied hands and couldn’t stop herself from shaking. Just then, a security man ran into the room.

“Oh my God!” he exclaimed when he saw the photographer on the floor, blood spewing from his chest. “What did you do?” he said as he looked up at Janiyah.

“I–I–I don’t know,” she stammered. “He tried to rape me! He was touching me!” Janiyah began hyperventilating, and a full anxiety attack ensued. The security guard called 911 as he tried to calm Janiyah down and keep an eye on the wounded photographer.

The police finally arrived, and Janiyah was still in a daze. In an unexpected turn of events, the police cuffed her and sent the photographer to the hospital. She protested and told them a man had come into the dressing room and tried to rape her, but they ignored her pleas. As they escorted her from her dressing room to the back of the cop car, Janiyah was so filled with adrenaline she struggled to tell right from left. They took her to the hospital to clean her up from the cuts and the bruises, all the while keeping her in handcuffs.

After the cops took a look at the surveillance cameras, they learned that she was telling the truth about a man in a ski mask. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much they could do to track the man down except hold onto to his DNA as evidence, in case they ever had a suspect.

Even under the circumstances, the photographer chose to press charges against Janiyah for stabbing him.

In the back of her mind, Janiyah tried to make sense of everything that had happened, and how she was going to get out of the mess she was in.

Two Years Later

Janiyah lay back in her bunk and opened the letter that had just been handed to her by the CO. She loved getting these letters. It was the only contact with the outside world that she got. Gun wasn’t able to visit as often as they both would have liked. Considering his situation, he didn’t feel comfortable coming around prisons or any kind of law enforcement. Janiyah could feel her heart almost skip a beat from the excitement of reading Gun’s letter.

At that moment, Janiyah looked around her cell then hopped up to see where the COs were. Surely they had read the letter her husband had written. Since no one had confiscated the letter or pulled her in for questioning, she knew that whichever CO was scanning the letter wasn’t on their job today.

Or they just didn’t care.

Janiyah loved that Gun had such a deep love for her. He always made her feel like a queen regardless of any situation, whether good or bad. With her being locked up for the last couple of years, most men would have left her already, but Gun had stuck by her through everything. He sent letters every week, and always made sure she had everything she needed.

Jainyah loved her husband, and after seeing how committed and loyal he was to her, she loved him even more for it. A tear fell from Janiyah’s eye when she thought of Gun’s love and dedication to a sista locked up. Most dudes would have their things inside the first broad walking, but he wasn’t that type of man. Their relationship was much deeper than that. Gun loved her, and she loved him back. She missed her husband terribly. Many times, she lay in her bunk reminiscing about the things they used to do together. She missed being able to hold his hand and cuddle up with him in bed, laying her head on his chest. She missed their weekly Monday Netflix and chill ritual.

There were days she found herself wishing to wake up in her own bed and learn that the last two years hadn’t really happened. She hoped to God that this had all been a bad dream. With her having one year left, the best thing for her to do was to stay out of trouble and keep herself busy to pass the time. She couldn’t wait to get back to her man and the life she was forced to walk away from.

Janiyah reached under her mattress and took out her notepad to begin writing her response to Gun. It was five minutes before she began writing. She had to get her mind in a really good place before she dropped any ink on the sheet. She was running out of paper, and she wouldn’t be able to re-up until the following week, so this letter needed to count. She began spilling her thoughts on paper.

Just as she was getting into a groove, the door burst open and a CO she didn’t recognize rushed into the room. As she sized up the bullish-looking chick, Janiyah’s senses tightened, and she got the feeling that the she-man was nothing but trouble.

“Wade, strip!” she ordered as another CO entered the room and began turning the cell upside down.

Complying, Janiyah removed her tan khakis and shirt quickly. She kept her eyes on the CO who was grilling her, as she quickly shoved her state-issued pants and bloomers to the ground.

“Turn around and assume the position,” the CO ordered.

Following orders, Janiyah stepped out of her clothes. She turned around and walked to the wall. All she had on were the state-issued, low-cut Bob Bakers and some white tube socks.

“Well, look at this.” One of the COs started messing with her as they patted her down.

Janiyah could feel the latex gloves probing her body. The women were aggressive as they patted her down. One of the COs forcefully pulled her butt cheeks apart. A lubricated finger was forcefully entering her anal cavity, pushing itself in and out of her.

“I think we got us a tight bitch.”

Janiyah didn’t know who this new CO was, and she didn’t care, for that matter. She wasn’t going to let some bitch come in and violate her for no reason. As the CO who was sliding another finger inside of her turned her head to say something to the other CO, Janiyah took the opportunity and elbowed the CO in the jaw.

“We got us a fighter.” The other CO attempted to cuff Janiyah, but she continued swinging.

Both COs began using street force, kicking and punching Janiyah as she continued to defend herself. Janiyah knew being violated was not supposed to be part of the strip search. She looked at the door, hoping she’d be able to make an escape, but saw another CO guarding the entrance.

A low whistle to the tune of “Love Train” became audible. That’s when Janiyah knew these weren’t regular COs; these were COs that had been paid off by members of the Set It Off Bitches coming for her ass. The Set It Off Bitches were a group of prison girls that belonged to The Nietas street gang. They had been messing with Janiyah for months, and she knew it was only a matter of time before shit hit the fan with them. She was cool with them at first, but when she refused to cut a rival inmate of theirs, they saw that as a direct violation against them. As Janiyah continued fighting and defending herself, she could hear the electric humming of the taser, but she couldn’t tell which of the COs had it.

She felt the hot metal pierce her skin and give her an electric shock. Janiyah’s ability to defend herself weakened as the first ten-second shot jolted her system. Immediately, another ten-second shot was issued in rapid succession. By the time the third shot penetrated her skin, Janiyah had fallen to the ground and lost control of her bodily functions.

The last thing she saw was a CO spraying pepper spray in her face while she received another jolt of electricity.

Water was supposed to heal everything. Clean the body, cleanse the soul. Preachers dipped men in bodies of water to baptize them. Some women submerged in the wetness to give birth or to purify themselves. Lather with soap, rinse off. Water was supposed to be good for you inside and out. Detoxify and purify from inside and out.

“Aw, shit, they really fucked her up.” Janiyah heard an inmate in the next stall yelling.

Hot steam enveloped her body and sent vapors in the air. The calming effect had her in an illusion, taking her away from her current situation. She leaned against the tiled wall as she inhaled and exhaled. Janiyah’s eyes felt heavy as she followed death’s cousin into a temporary sleep. Hearing her name and the fact that she was expelling blood from some orifice on her body forced Janiyah to attempt to lift an eyelid. Her ears jumped up like they were leaping from a springboard. Her body tried to straighten up from its current leaning position. Janiyah tried to see the water gathering around her feet. She could feel it; she knew she was getting wet.

Janiyah slowly moved her arm across the wall to grasp the handle so she could turn the water off. Her eyes fluttered faster than a hummingbird could flap its wings. She grabbed the handle and exerted all her strength into turning the handle. It felt like it was taking forever for the waterfall to slowly dissipate. The reach for the towel that was hanging on the hook took more effort than normal. When she could finally hold it, Janiyah brought the dampened rag to her face so she could wipe away the excess water.

“This bitch is just lying there taking up a shower stall.” Another inmate talked about her like the situation personally inconvenienced her.

“Yeah, don’t say nothing to the CO standing at the door until I’m done in here. I don’t want this bitch fucking up my shower time,” another inmate announced.

The two sets of feet squished in their flip-flops as they went in the opposite direction from where Janiyah was standing. She wondered how long they’d been standing there—or if they were responsible for what had happened to her. Her mind was spinning. Janiyah felt like she was stuck, looking at a psychedelic pinwheel that was turning fast enough to make her dizzy. She couldn’t focus on anything.

Janiyah expelled blood and chunks of food from her mouth. She drooled a thick saliva that ran down her chin and dropped into the drain. She shook her head and looked down. A few drops of blood splattered and turned a light pink once they mixed with the unscented lather she used to wash with. Janiyah struggled to stand, yet she was determined to stand up on her own. She put a hand to her face so she could feel if she had any cuts. She was okay with bruises, but if her face was cut up, her career was as good as dead. Nobody would hire a scarred model.

“I can’t be cut up.” Janiyah talked to herself. “God, please don’t let my face be cut up.” Janiyah winced as she gently guided her fingers along her eyes, cheeks, and mouth. Some areas felt soft and tender, so she knew she had swelling, but thankfully, she didn’t feel any open wounds.

Trying to remember what happened caused her head to hurt. The migraine she experienced was worse than the electroshocks she felt when she consumed too much gum with phenylalinine in it.

“Yo, model girl.”

Janiyah felt a pair of hands escorting her out of the stall. The water traveling under the soles of her feet made it slippery and difficult to walk. Soap and urine nestled between her toes as she felt her body being lifted in the air.

“We gotta get you to medical.”

The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t remember who the lady was or wh. . .