"HIGH-CLASS QUEEN / FIRST-BALLOT HALL OF FAMER"
"A love story between RnB superstar Aubrey Mikkel and rap up-and-comer Brayton "Bellows" Carter"

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Brayton Carter known to fans as “Bellows”, but known to those closest to him as Brayton or simply Bee is anything but typical, a former straight-A student and Berklee College of Music alum with an equal love or rap music and classical music among others. Intelligent, energetic, driven and passionate he was always going to excel in whatever path his life led him down, in spite of the hardships put in his way. The recent purchase of a sprawling modern luxury house up in the Hollywood Hills justified his choices and the current path that he’s on with his rap group “Orion”, this is very much where he wanted to be, the view from the balcony looking down into the City as the lights twinkle in the distance like stars in the night sky. The pool out back offering it’s refreshing chill as the primary source of respite from the blazing California sunshine.

This was what he had worked toward and having spent the past few years sharing an apartment with his bandmates and cousins it felt good to drop that first major purchase in order to live out his dreams in real time in the sort of home that even the most ambitious of people would consider unlikely at the very least.

He's stood on his balcony, wearing a dark shirt buttoned from his chest down, trousers and shoes with shimmering earrings and a couple of chains around his neck and a sparkling gold watch on his wrist. He looks down towards the driveway as a dark red BMW pulls up to the garage and out steps Aubrey, he admires her as she exists the car and makes her way up to the front door before letting herself. He blows out his cheeks as he watches her walk inside and quickly turns and heads back to his room, he grabs his phone, keys and wallet from the bed, placing them in his pockets as he heads downstairs and through to the kitchen. He grabs the bottle of Armand De Brignac Champagne from the ice bucket and pours into two glasses as he waits for Aubrey to make her entrance into the kitchen.

The two had been together for some months now after first meeting back in July 2020 and working together on hit single "Playin" putting the collaboration between the two at number one and showcasing the evident chemistry between them both on the track and during the live performance at the FCA's in August 2020. Up until this point they had split their time together between Aubrey’s home in New York and Brayton’s home in California but both lived very much separate lives, with the purchase of this new home it was a celebration of sorts as the two would be spending a lot more time together as they made their relationship official between each other.

Being very new to the industry and the fame that comes with it, it would be easy for the recently turned 22 year-old to fall into the trappings of the celebrity lifestyle and find himself indulging in a world that is set up for excess, a world that takes you away from reality and normality. It’s true that Brayton embraces the luxuries that have come his way following a rapid rise, the cars, the jewellery, the clothing, the house in the hills, the pool and first-class travel. It was all part of his world now, having grown up with hand-me-downs and food stamps, but it’s his humble beginnings that help him keep perspective, at the end of the day, this was all just stuff. He appreciated what he has now, but never took it for granted, after all it was all still very new to him.

While his two bandmates and cousins, a little older than him gravitated towards the lifestyle a little more than him, nightclubs and excessive consumption of alcohol and narcotics, one night stands and booty calls, it didn’t appeal to him. Sure he could party, he could certainly keep up with his boys when it came to drinking and he wasn’t against occasionally taking a little something to bring him up or take him back down. But his attention was always focussed on feeling something more lasting, more real.
In Aubrey, he had found something real, an immediate connection from the very first moment he locked eyes on her. She was a natural beauty that carried herself in such a way, confident without the arrogance, a bona-fide superstar but down to earth. A body that turned heads, the quintessential perfect hourglass figure that she was famed for. She could make you fall in love just as easily as she could make you fall in lust with her. He admired all of that about her, but what drew him in most about her was how big her heart was, just how caring and loving she was and seemingly that’s all she wanted back.

As he makes his way towards her with a glass of champagne in hand as she walks through to the kitchen area, it had been a while since they had last seen each other but this new home signalled an opportunity for them to take things to the next level. Sure, their individual careers would see them be apart for long periods but having a permanent base to call home together would make things easier for them both. He looked at her in awe for a brief moment, her beauty radiating so elegantly with the backdrop of downtown Hollywood through the floor-to-ceiling kitchen windows, he handed her the champagne glass as she complimented his choice, “You know, three weeks apart. We gotta go all out.”
“You look beautiful tonight baby.” He says with a shake of the head as if to suggest that it’s just not fair to look so perfect. He moves closer towards her and places his hands on her hips, bringing her in slightly before pressing his lips against hers. After a couple of moments he breaks the kiss and looks into her eyes, “I’ve missed you, girl” he says with a smile.

Time apart from each other was always going to be part of their relationship given their own individual careers and how they were both ramping up as actively as they were at the moment with Bellows delivering his album with his bandmates in Orion and Aubrey on major work mode recording her own music and preparing for Star Factory’s hugely anticipated return. Any time in the past few months that the couple have spent with each other has been fleeting at best, brief days when they were both able to touch down at home at the same time. However on the current promotional run that they were both on, it had been a few weeks since they had been together. Fate would interject and find both Aubrey and Bellows in New York City for a brief period at the very same time, it was an opportunity to reconnect with one another.

Bellows was putting the final touches to his appearance in the sprawling bedroom mirror in anticipation for Aubrey’s arrival, it had been work mode for the pair for quite some time recently, now it was time for a break from all of that. He had booked a restaurant for later in the evening, he unbuttoned a couple off the top from the white Versace shirt with gold collar trim before he was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone on his bed, he strolled over towards the bed and picked up his phone to see a text from Aubrey, he smiled to himself as he sent her a reply, “Be right there, babe” and he placed his phone in his pocket, exited the room and headed to the private elevator with direct access to his suite, as it was one of the most exclusive and private hotels in the City.

“My baby’s here!” he yells as the elevator door opens and he see’s Aubrey at the reception area, he walks over to her with a swagger and places both hands on her waist and immediately kisses her like he missed her, he was an openly affectionate person and was very much a heart on the sleeve sort of person. “I’ve fuckin’ missed you like crazy, girl” he says as he looks into her beautiful eyes before going in for another kiss, pulling her closer into him with one hand on her thigh and the other now on her waist.