The Best Part of Me 2

by A'zayler

  Paradise walked closer to Jerrico and wrapped her arms around his neck, then pecked his lips. “You can love me back. I noticed you didn’t say it to me none of the times I said it to you.”

  “I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

  “Sure, you didn’t. You just don’t love me. I get it. You’re cool. We’ll get there.”

  “I do love you.” He picked her hand up and kissed it. “Let’s eat.”

  “No, let’s make love.”

  Jerrico looked around at the passing cars below them, then at the terrace section, then back to her.

  “Here?”

  “Anywhere.”

  “You sure you don’t want to eat?”

  Paradise walked to him and began to ravish his neck. “I want to eat you.”

  Jerrico did his best to stand strong on his feet. The way her tongue was sliding around his throat was weakening.

  “Come on, I got a place.”

  He pulled her to the door and headed back inside. She followed him obediently through the kitchen and up the stairs to his office. As if he had a door to his open office, as soon as they reached the top step, Paradise was on him. All hands and lips. He kissed and touched her back just as hungrily until she stepped away and began to zip down the front of his pants.

  Jerrico helped her before picking her up in his arms and sitting on the futon near his staircase. Paradise’s lips immediately covered his. Their kiss was magnetic and pulling all of the fight out of him.

  “You have to stop. What if somebody comes up here and sees us?”

  “You care?” she asked against his mouth.

  “Hell yeah, I care. These people work for me.”

  Paradise dropped her head to his neck and bit it. “Fuck them people.”

  Jerrico pondered for a minute before laughing and lifting her up to remove the shorts she’d been wearing. As soon as the small lace of her panties came into view, all caution went to the wind. Once his pants were down to the middle of his thighs, she climbed back onto his lap and covered the head of him with her body.

  “You want it, you put it in.” He gripped one side of her butt.

  Paradise moaned and lowered herself into his lap but bumped into his hardness. Jerrico laughed against her mouth while raising her up with one arm.

  “Slow down, let me get that for you.”

  Her panties were moved to one side, and he was in. The heat and moisture from her body sucked him in deep. So deep that Jerrico had to squeeze her body to keep from drowning.

  “Got damn.” He moaned as she slid her body up and down on his.

  Her long nails clawed at the back of his neck and the sides of his shoulders. The moans seeping from her lips mesmerized Jerrico into a deep trance. He got lost in their moment and never wanted to return. As long as she was just as far out as he was, then he’d die happy.

  “Love you, babe.” She moaned in his ear.

  “I love you too.” He kissed the front of her neck before grabbing it. “I love you too.”

  Jerrico’s eyes closed as he reveled in his current situation. He was literally having sex out in the open. At any moment, one of his employees could walk up his stairs and catch an eye full. All he hoped was that they had enough sense not to do so because he couldn’t stop right then if he wanted to. Paradise was truly living up to her name and taking him there over and over.

  Chapter 5

  Someone Real

  It was the middle of the day, and Goody had been in the same spot since she’d woken up that morning. Behind her computer desk with a notebook and pen, writing away at one of her latest songs. She’d been hearing the melody in her head from the time she left Jerrico’s house the evening before but hadn’t had time to actually put it on paper.

  Being with him was becoming increasingly normal as every day passed. In the back of her mind, she’d contemplated their lives being more like her and Kayson’s, only to realize it was nothing like that. Everything about Jerrico was different than Kayson. From the way he talked, dressed, and carried himself to the way he loved, cherished, and respected her.

  Jerrico’s love was so potent that it made her think more of her own self. No self-doubt, no fear, just pure happiness that she didn’t have to fight for. It had been so long since she’d been completely happy that she found herself becoming fearful as well. What if the feeling that Jerrico gave her didn’t last always? What if he got tired of her or found someone better?

  Those questions had been haunting Goody since the day at his restaurant when she’d told him about Kayson. He’d been alright with it and had even helped her realize that Kayson was acting out of hurt and not anger. Though his perspective gave her a better outlook, it ruffled her as well. How could a man that good want her? She was all battered and bruised, and all he wanted to do was fix her. That was crazy.

  “I’m deeper in love than I’ve ever been,” Goody mumbled while scribbling words on her paper.

  The beat playing from her phone kept her words in tune with the melody as they easily flowed from her pen. With her having an interview with Essence in a couple of hours, she’d decided to get up a little earlier to get her morning writing completed. Marcellus had come over to Jerrico’s house to inform them of their interview time with Essence the night before, and even though she’d agreed to it, Goody wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

  Becoming a public figure hadn’t been her biggest dream and becoming one with her man most definitely was not on her favorites list, but she had to do what she had to do. Marcellus swore up and down that this was it, but only time would tell. All she could think about right then was the entire world being welcomed into her business.

  “Have you decided what you’re going to wear yet?” Jerrico’s voice startled her.

  Goody looked up from her notebook. “What you doing here?”

  Jerrico walked further into her room, making himself at home. He sat on the bed and kicked his shoes off, then tossed his hat to the floor. When he finally looked at her, she was able to see just how stressed he was. His eyebrows frowned, and the middle of his forehead was wrinkled.

  “You don’t want to do this either, do you?” Goody turned in her chair so that she was facing him.

  Jerrico leaned over and dropped his head into his hands. “Is it that obvious?”

  “To me, it is, but it’s probably because I feel the same way.”

  “I don’t mind the world knowing we’re together, it’s just so much that can come along with being in the limelight.”

  Goody exhaled. “Don’t I know it.”

  Jerrico looked at her from his spot on the bed and took another deep breath. His gaze wasn’t intimidating, but he didn’t look like his normally happy self. Goody felt so bad for him because he’d made it perfectly clear from the moment they met that he wasn’t really into the media, and here he was being thrust into it on her behalf.

  “We don’t have to do this if it makes you too uncomfortable. I can just keep grinding and get it another way.”

  Jerrico’s shoulders slumped some. “No, I want to do anything I can to help you.” He stood and walked to where she was. He leaned on the dresser with his arms folded across his chest. “It’s just a few questions. How bad could it really be?”

  Goody shrugged and looked away, not knowing how to answer. She had no clue at that moment or the moments that followed. All she knew was that and Jerrico had left her house, driven to their interview, and they had just entered the building they were set to meet at. Her heart was still beating faster than it ever had. With sweaty palms clasped together, she and Jerrico took the elevator to the fourth floor and got off.

  After looking up and down the hall, Goody pulled him toward the large desk in the middle of the hallway. A black girl with a big, natural puff and yellow glasses smiled up at them.

  “Good morning, Ms. Goody, we’ve been waiting for you.”

  Goody offered her a smile before looking up at Jerrico. He no longer looked stressed. His poker face was on, a
nd his face could kill. Sexy, chocolate skin with beautiful features to match. The red button-down shirt and black slacks were typical Jerrico while the all black mini dress was Goody. They’d decided to coordinate at the last minute, assuming it would give them a look that the magazine was probably hoping for.

  “That’s good to hear. Is there anything that I should be doing while we wait?”

  The girl stood from her desk and walked around it. “Oh, no ma’am, you’re not waiting. You can follow me.”

  As if forming a new habit, Goody looked at Jerrico once again. Not for permission or answers, just comfort. He obviously knew that because a swift kiss came to the side of her head before he pulled her behind him and up the hallway.

  The girl stopped at a large door near a set of stairs and knocked twice. As soon as it opened, another black woman, much older than the last one, smiled and stepped to the side so they could enter.

  “You two are just beautiful. We’ve been waiting.”

  “Hopefully, not too long. We were under the impression that the interview wasn’t until eleven.”

  “It is. You two are just fine. We were all just so excited to see you for ourselves. Pictures are good, but the real thing is always better.” She motioned to the chairs positioned directly in front of her. “Please.”

  Jerrico sat first before pulling Goody down into the chair next to him. Goody’s long legs crossed over each other as she rested one hand in her lap and the other in Jerrico’s. Natural to her but obviously noted by the interviewer. Her smile and the quick pat to the center of her chest told that.

  Goody looked around the nicely decorated room. It was neat, clean, and looked expensive. The all-white decorations made it appear way more upscale than the rest of the building.

  “Before we begin, I’m Grace Towers, and I’m so happy to see and meet you both. I’d also like for you two to know that not everything may be included and that there are no right and wrong answers. Whatever you say is what I’ll write down.” She looked between the two of them with a smile on her face. “Any questions?”

  “What exactly are you all trying to gain from the interview? Will it be personal or platonic? We’d like to be careful about what we share with the world.”

  Grace nodded her understanding. “I completely understand. Love should be private. You have my word that I will not ask anything that doesn’t warrant a respectable answer. If I do happen to ask something that you two choose not to answer, then that too is at your discretion.”

  “Good, thank you,” Goody spoke.

  Grace picked up a small iPad and tapped the screen a few times. “Shall we begin?”

  Goody’s smile brightened. “We shall.”

  “So, tell me, how did you two meet?” Grace’s eyes shifted between the two of them.

  When Jerrico smiled, it was like the lighting in the room grew brighter. Goody had caught a glimpse of it, and she hadn’t even been looking at him. It was just so big and real that she and Grace would have had to be blind not to notice it.

  “Well, I was hired to cater a show she performed at. I’d been watching her all night, so when she came off stage to take a break, I tried to push up on her with some food.” Jerrico laughed and covered his mouth. “She didn’t like me. Wouldn’t even take my food.”

  Goody wore a bashful smile while watching him recall their first encounter. “I didn’t know him. I had no clue who he was, and he just came out of nowhere offering me food. Stranger danger.”

  She giggled with Jerrico and Grace joining.

  “Slim Goody, what made you soften up?”

  “Goody, just Goody. Slim Goody is just her stage name. The rest of the time,” Jerrico looked at her lovingly, “she’s just my Paradise.”

  “To him, I’m Paradise. To everyone else, I’m Goody.”

  “Such a beautiful name,” Grace complimented.

  “For a beautiful person. It’s fitting.” Jerrico winked at Goody.

  Had she not known this side of him, Goody might have assumed that Jerrico was putting on for the reporter, but he wasn’t. He was caring and positive with her at all times. Never once had he made her feel less than the queen she was. Always giving the necessary love and light.

  “Jerrico, you seem like the perfect mate. Goody, is this him all the time?”

  Goody adamantly nodded her head. “Every single minute of the day. He’s always so supportive and encouraging of me. His love and attention for me ironically pushes me to love and attend to myself more. Before him, I harbored a lot of pain. I doubted myself in so many ways and just didn’t see the good in my dreams, but Jerrico has changed that for me.” Goody blinked hard, trying to fan away the rising tears. “It’s different.”

  “Happy tears, I’m assuming?”

  “Happy as hell tears,” Goody returned, making her and Jerrico laugh.

  “Jerrico, it’s no secret that you’re a private person. Always quiet, seldom in the news, how does a man with your energy enter into a relationship with one of the hottest up and coming rappers?”

  “I admit it’s going to be an adjustment. This interview alone us both sweating bullets, but contrary to what the world thinks, Paradise is a private person as well. She has a passion for music, but she could do without the fame. Our energies match. As far as the media goes, we’re going to be our real selves. They’ll get that, and that’s it.”

  Grace gave him a thumbs up. “So, Ms. Goody, tell us about Jerrico. Besides picking up all that happy weight, what’s it like having snagged Atlanta’s top chef?”

  “Filling!” Goody screamed playfully. “Seriously, though, it is filling. I’m always full of food and love. I haven’t lacked in either area since I’ve been with him.”

  “What is it about him that you love the most?”

  Goody leaned into Jerrico and sighed. “The way he loves me. Before I admitted to myself that I loved him back, he was there, loving me, praising me, breathing life back into me, and the only person I can thank for sending me a person like him is God. Not myself, not Jerrico, but God. There was no way I would have actually taken a chance on Jerrico had God not touched my heart.”

  Grace’s love for their love was wide open. She hadn’t stopped smiling since they began their interview. Every so often she would even offer an ‘aww’ or ‘that’s so sweet.’ She was just as hopeless as Goody.

  “I actually think God has a perfect plan and purpose for everything to happen the way he’s designed it to happen. The night I met Goody, I was actually there just to check and make sure everything had been delivered properly. I wasn’t working, nor was I planning to stay. I don’t favor clubs, so I was doing my best to be in and out. But after spotting Paradise, and the little skirt and bra she was wearing, I became intrigued.”

  Goody playfully pushed his chest. “So, it was my bra that got you?”

  Jerrico’s jovial smile took over his face as he held his head down in shame. “That, and your lyrics. She was on stage when I first saw her, and it was like my mind was drawn to her. Even with me never having heard her before, her words spoke to me on a deeper level. I could tell she’ d been through some pain, and the nurturer in me wanted to heal her.”

  “You should have run,” Goody joked.

  “No, I shouldn’t have. Staying was the best decision I’ve ever made.” Jerrico kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hand from her shoulder down the center of her back and rested his open palm on the side of her butt.

  Like they’d been doing all day, Grace’s eyes followed his movement as she tapped away on the iPad screen.

  “The chemistry between the two of you is amazing. So magnetic and real.”

  Jerrico and Goody both smiled but said nothing. There was nothing to say. She was right. It was. Goody knew that as a fact because when it came to Jerrico, there were days when she still felt overwhelmed or immersed in emotions.

  “Goody, you seem so lively while Jerrico is a bit more reserved. Do you think this will become a problem in the future?”
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br />   Goody’s heart got tight. That was pretty much the same thing she’d been wondering for days, and she hated it. Just the thought of not having Jerrico in her life scared her. He’d become such a necessity to her sanity, and there was no way she could return to a life that he wasn’t in.

  “No, we’ll be fine. Our differences balance us out. Where one falls short, the other picks up. This is forever.” Jerrico raised Goody’s hand that he was holding and kissed the back of it.

  The tears she’d been trying to hold in all morning slipped out. She quickly wiped them away and pecked the side of Jerrico’s mouth. He kissed her twice more before looking back to Grace.

  Grace placed her hands in her lap and just looked at the two of them. “It’s been rumored that the love between the two of you happened so fast that it can’t be real, though I totally disagree after watching the two of you today. What do you have to say about that?”

  “I say fuck them,” Goody sassed.

  Jerrico shook his head and smiled. “I don’t care one way or the other. As long as Paradise believes in what I’m giving her, opinions from others don’t matter to me.”

  Grace was still chuckling at Goody when Jerrico answered. “Goody, that was such a harsh response.”

  “I’m harsh. Fuck them people and what they have to say. My life is mine for a reason.”

  Jerrico’s hand patting her thigh stopped Goody from going any further. Grace didn’t know, but he did. Goody would let any and everybody who had something to say about her relationship with Jerrico have a piece of her mind.

  “Excuse her. My baby is as blunt as she can be.”

  “And I don’t fucking play about you,” Goody stated with finality. “No offense to you.” She looked at Grace.

  “None taken. I like the fire.” She pointed her pin between the two of them. “I see how you all work so well. She’s the fire, and you’re the ice. She’s hotheaded while you’re the cool to her storm.”

  “If that’s how you want to put it.” Goody shrugged.

  “That’s exactly it.” Jerrico absentmindedly rubbed Goody’s butt.