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

up, daring Marlene to judge her.
    Marlene beamed instead. “Good for you, Tina.” She was excited for her friend. Not only would a diversion would be good for her, it would be good for all of them. Thanks to his friend Brad, Joe had had more than his share of “diversions” since the divorce. But Tina had remained alone, separated, the dutiful ex-wife, pining away in her empty mansion. No wonder she’d called Marlene all those hateful names when she’d learned that they finally slept together.
    “Well,” said Tina uncertainly, as if she wasn’t quite as confident as she seemed about the prospect. “We’ll see. It’s just a dinner date, for now, but… fingers crossed.”
    “Let me know how it goes,” Marlene said, opening the door for her friend. “And I really hope it goes well, Tina. You… you deserve some happiness after this last year, right?”
    Tina nodded, her eyes moist. “We both do,” she insisted, hugging Marlene tight. “We both do…”
    Her words echoed in Marlene’s head long after she shut the door and turned, admiring the flowers Tina had brought. “Yes we do,” she muttered to herself, smiling for the first time since their fight. “Yes we most certainly do!”
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Joe should have seen the black Mercedes when he pulled up to Marlene’s building, but he’d been so preoccupied with finding a space, he didn’t put together that it was Tina’s until they both stood, face to face, on the steps outside Marlene’s lobby doors.
    “Tina!”
    “Joe!”
    They stood awkwardly before falling into a familiar, if forced, embrace. “How have you been?” Joe asked, sincerely. He’d been meaning to check in with her and, in all the hubbub lately, had simply forgotten.
    Then again, his ex-wife didn’t always make it easy. Tonight, though, seemed the exception.
    “Really good,” she said, rather than her usual doom and gloom.
    Surprised, Joe couldn’t help but ask, “Yeah?”
    She blushed, slightly, avoiding his eyes. “Yeah, I’m… on my way to a date right now.”
    “No shit?” Joe blurted.
    “What?” she asked, eyes narrow and lean, the Tina Joe knew and once upon a time, loved. “You don’t seem to be hurting in the date department, Joe.”
    He held up his hands in surrender. “No, I sincerely meant… no shit, as in… Never mind. I can’t explain myself to you, Tina. I never could.”
    “You never tried, Joe,” she fumed, standing and tapping her feet. “I can’t believe this. The first piece of good news I’ve had since you dumped me and you can’t even be happy for me.”
    “I am happy, Tina, Jesus, and for the record… you dumped me, remember?”
    “How could I forget?” she barked, voice growing shill in the night. “That little oversight cost me more in the divorce than you’ll ever know.”
    Joe sighed. He hadn’t come for this. He’d come here for Marlene, dammit! Not his shrew of an ex! “Tina, anything you need, you know you’ll never want for.”
    She softened, then, not about the money, he figured, but the offer. “Joe, I know, I just… I miss you, I suppose. And seeing you here, knowing how close you and Marlene have gotten…”
    “No closer than ever,” he said, hoping she couldn’t see the blush rising to his cheeks.
    She did; of course she did. “Sure thing, Joe,” she said, patting his arm. “Sure thing. Enjoy your night, and I’ll be sure to fill you in on all the details of my date.”
    “Please don’t,” he said, and they both chuckled. Well, he thought, watching her drive away and reaching for the door to Marlene’s lobby, at least it ended on a positive note.
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Marlene heard the bell ringing and sighed, tugging her robe tight around her favorite sleep T-shirt. Her fuzzy red slippers only added to the “real housewife” look as she peeked through the keyhole to see Joe, dashing as ever, his crooked smile disarming her at a moment’s notice.
    “Go away,” she groaned, even