BWWM Interracial Romance 5: Love After Halftime by Elena Brown Read Free Book Online

what he and Marlene had shared.
    “Happy?” Brad gasped. “The fuck would I be happy about? I mean, sure, fine, Marlene’s a great gal and all, but… you just got out of a relationship. Now you want back in?”
    Joe chuckled. “I dunno, Brad, it feels like I’ve never been out of a relationship with Merl. It’s like, I’ve never known any other woman.”
    “Come on, man,” Brad groaned. “This can’t be happening. I’ve got two tight, barely legal ladies waiting on us down at the club.”
    Joe chuckled. Despite the sizzling way Brad had sold it, banging some vapid tramp was the last thing he wanted right now. “So great, go,” he said, grabbing Brad’s empty beer bottle out of his hand. “That’s one more chick for you.”
    “They want the package deal, bro,” Brad said, the desperation so thick it smelled like some new cologne fragrance. “It’s both of us or nothing.”
    Joe drifted back inside, expecting Merl at his place at any minute. “Brad, you know that was never going to happen, Marlene or no Marlene.”
    “Since when?” Brad huffed, following him inside. “You were always up for hanging and banging before?”
    “No,” Joe explained, “I was just bored and lonely and you were relentless. It was easier just to go out with you than hear you whine like a bitch about it for four days straight!” He’d meant it as a joke, but it had come out darker than he’d intended. Then again, maybe that was how he really felt.
    “Who’s the bitch?” Brad spat, angrily, waving his large hands. “A guy who just wants to drag his friend out of the dumps, or some bitch who just wants to sit around knitting all night?”
    “Brad,” Joe said, hands up in surrender. “It came out wrong, it’s not that I’m not grateful for what you tried to do, but… that’s just not me.”
    “You’re lying to yourself, bro,” Brad said, grabbing his phone and keys off the marble countertop. “I know you, from way back. You’re just like me, the only difference is, you won’t admit.”
    Joe followed him into the foyer, not sure why he was desperate to prove Brad wrong. “I’m not like you, Brad. I never was. I just couldn’t admit that to myself until now.”
    “Perfect,” Brad sneered, whipping open the door. “Your own personal ‘Oprah’ even has you talking like her now!”
    Joe’s temper flared but, before he could do anything about it, Brad was halfway down the hall, chuckling to himself. Joe slammed the door so hard, the whole wall shook. He fumed, pacing the kitchen, until his cell phone bleated, skittering across the countertop.
    He smiled, softening suddenly. It was from Marlene. “I can’t do this,” read her text, and not another word. And yet, somehow, he knew exactly what she meant. Grabbing his keys, he smiled.
    “Oh yes you can,” he chuckled to himself, riding down the same elevator that Brad was just on. If he sniffed heavily enough, he could still smell the cheap cologne his buddy always wore on the prowl…
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Marlene was just tugging on her robe when the doorbell rang. “What in tarnation?” she murmured, thinking for a fleeting moment that it might be Joe, not taking her “no” for an answer. But she’d only just sent the text! Even a pro quarterback couldn’t run that fast! She slid on her fuzzy red slippers and peered out the keyhole, spotting an array of fresh colored flowers.
    “Yes?” she asked, clutching her robe tight to her throat. The colors shifted and a familiar face appeared, smiling.
    “Let an old fool in, will ya Merl?” begged Tina as Marlene fumbled to unlock the door.
    “Jesus,” Marlene gasped as she found the colors to be a beautiful bouquet almost as big as their bearer. “I thought a clown was knocking on my door.”
    “One is,” Tina said, setting the flowers down and wrapping Marlene in a soft, warm hug. It was impossible for Marlene not to notice that her friend was trembling. “Or, at least, a fool. Can you