Obsessive Behavior Saga

by D. Brown-Newton

Genres: African American Urban

Synopsis

Kindrah has secretly been in love with her best friend, Amari, for a long time, even though both of them are involved with other people. Until now, she has kept her feelings a secret, but when she finds out that Amari is going to be a father with a person she has never liked, Kindrah is no longer willing to love him from the sidelines. She wants him, and she is willing to do whatever to have him.
All hell breaks loose when Amari’s girlfriend, Tanisha, finds out that her suspicions about Kindrah are correct. New York is known as the Big Apple, but is it big enough for both Kindrah and Tanisha once war is declared? Will Amari decide to be with either, or will a new woman in his life steal his attention?

Get ready for a tale of lies, deceit, and murder that takes place among the women who have some kind of sick infatuation with Amari. It turns into a deadly game of fatal attraction mixed with obsessive behavior at its best. Sit back and enjoy this ride, and find out who will be the last woman standing as they fight to become the only one in Amari’s life.

Release date: January 31, 2017

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 400

Sample

Amari called me and said he just wanted to hear my voice, being that he hadn’t spoken to me all day. I wished I could tell him how I felt about him, but I knew I would be going against everything I believed in. I felt that no woman should pursue a man who was already involved with someone else. Amari and I shared a special friendship. We hung out together, we called each other all the time, and we gave each other advice pertaining to the relationships that we were in. I fell in love with him without even trying, if that makes any sense. I knew he had feelings for me as well, but I didn’t know if he felt the same way I felt.

Anyway, let me stop daydreaming and get back to work, I thought. I hadn’t done anything since his call.

I left work at 6 p.m. and went to the gym for about an hour. As soon as I made it home, I called Amari to see what he had planned for the evening. He said he and his father were going to catch a movie and asked if I wanted to join them. I didn’t have any plans, so I accepted.

After I got out of the shower and before getting dressed, I called Raj to let him know I would be going out with Amari and his dad. He didn’t sound too pleased, but what he failed to realize was that he was always working. I really hated coming home to an empty house. We didn’t live together, but it would feel good to have him spend the night with me at least twice a week. Shit, we barely saw each other because I worked days and he worked evenings. I knew he felt some kind of way about my friendship with Amari, but he never stressed me because he knew Amari and I were friends when I met him.

One day I was picking Amari up from work because his car was at the shop, and I saw this fine chocolate brotha in front of his building. When I say fine, I mean fine as shit. He was six foot one with a dark brown complexion and light brown eyes. I knew I was looking cute in my Juicy Couture shorts that hugged my hips just right, so I stepped out of the car even though I didn’t have a reason to. Once he saw me, it was a wrap. We exchanged numbers, and we’d been together for two years now. He never voiced his dislike of my friendship with Amari, but even if he did, I wouldn’t stop being friends with Amari. We had a pact that no matter who we got involved with, we would not let them come between our friendship.

Now, Amari’s girlfriend, Tanisha, had a very big problem with our relationship. She did all types of petty bullshit with her insecure ass. I told him to leave that childish little girl alone and find him a real woman. What I really wanted to tell him was he should find someone like his best friend—me.

Kindrah parked her car in the garage and came in because we had to wait on my dad, who was driving us to the theatre. I heard a car and thought my dad was pulling up outside, but when I opened the door, I saw it was Tanisha.

Here we go. I was praying I didn’t have to get into an argument with this girl.

“Hey, babe.” She greeted me and gave me a kiss. We were good until she saw Kindrah come out of the house.

“Why the fuck is she here?” she asked, clearly irritated.

“Tanisha, please don’t start. I told you I was going to the movies with my dad tonight,” I said, hoping she would just go in the house.

“Yes, you did, but you failed to mention that Kindrah would be going.”

Kindrah just shook her head. She knew Tanisha was about to show her ass, but she didn’t say anything because we went through this all the time.

It was not just Tanisha; it was like no one could accept or believe that we were just friends because of how close we were.

“Look, Tanisha, you can either come with us or go in the house with all that bullshit. And why the fuck is your ass home early anyway?”

“First off, don’t worry about why the fuck I’m home early. And if you wanted me to go, you would have invited me, so don’t stand here and fucking act as if you want me to go. Every time I turn around, you’re in this bitch’s face and using your fucking father so that I think it’s nothing, but I’m getting sick of this bullshit.”

Kindrah gave me a look that said, Get her before I do.

“Tanisha, take your ass in the house. Believe what the fuck you want to believe,” I said, letting her know that the conversation was over.

She ran up the steps and slammed the door. My dad was just pulling into the driveway. How fucking convenient. If his ass would have been there twenty minutes earlier, I wouldn’t have had to deal with that crazy broad. I loved her, but she was fucking tripping all the time. I was pissed off and embarrassed at the same time. She always showed out in front of our neighbors.

When I got home from the movies, Raj was in the living room watching ESPN. I could tell he had been drinking. I walked into the bedroom and started undressing. He walked in the room, stared at me for about a second, then grabbed me from behind and started kissing my neck. He was asking me if I had a good time while continuing to kiss me. I really wasn’t in the mood. Anytime I went out with Amari, I liked to come home and think about him. Just the thought of him gave me a tingling sensation between my legs.

Raj must have thought I was responding to him because he finished undressing me. He began caressing my now erect nipples as he sucked on them nice and slow. As he laid me down on the bed, he began to slowly make his way down my body, kissing every inch until he reached between my legs. Don’t get me wrong, Raj had it going on when it came to making love, but my mind was on the real love of my life.

I closed my eyes and made love to Amari. I know it was wrong to sleep with Raj while thinking of another man, but my love for Raj was physical, while Amari had my mind, body, and soul. It killed me knowing he belonged to someone else.

Don’t look at it as me stringing Raj along, because I was not. In the beginning of our relationship, he was involved with someone, but he lied to me and told me that he wasn’t. He only broke up with the female after we made it official. By the time I found out the truth, it was too late; I was already feeling him. But now, between his work schedule and spending time with his daughter, he hadn’t really been giving me the attention that I craved—not to mention the fact that I always caught him lying about everything.

Raj was asleep, something he always did right after sex. There was no, “Do you want something to drink?” or, “Do you need a washcloth?” There damn sure was no cuddling. Just straight to sleep. I had gotten up to go in the bathroom to shower when my phone chirped, telling me I had a text message. I smiled at his name on the screen. It read:

Hey. Just wanted to say thanks for hanging out with me and my old man. LOL. And I apologize for Tanisha being disrespectful, and I appreciate how you handled it. I know you said nothing on the strength of me. She was really out of line, and the situation could have gotten out of hand. Again, thanks for being you.

I closed the phone without responding because my feelings were now all over the place. Oh, how I loved me some him.

Karen called to ask if I wanted to go to the club. She was starting to get on my nerves. Every weekend she called, asking me to go out. I knew she was only doing what best friends do, but after losing the love of my life, I really didn’t have the strength to go out and start meeting men, let alone date anyone.

“Listen here, chica. I will be at your house at exactly eleven p.m., and you better be ready to go. I’m tired of you going to work and then coming home sulking. Trey is gone. I understand how you’re feeling, but Me-Me, it’s been almost eight months. Come on, baby girl, it’s time for you to get out of this funk. I’m not saying go out and fuck the first man you see. I’m not even saying go out and meet anyone. Just come out and hang with the girls. We miss you.”

I held the phone in my hand, all teary-eyed, but I agreed to go out.

I showered and decided that I wasn’t going to get all dressed up. The less attention I received, the better. I wore some black spandex with an open-back red halter top. I slid into my four-inch heels that I had picked up from Baker’s the day before. Once Karen, Stephanie, and Tisha got to my house, we were ready to go.

All eyes were on us as we walked into the club. We all looked good, and Stephanie’s homeboy, Kevin, got us VIP status, so that was a plus. The waitress came by with a bottle of Coconut Cîroc and some Absolut, compliments of Kevin. I wasn’t much of a drinker, so I sipped on my drink, thinking about my baby Trey. I missed him so much. Steph and Trina were on the dance floor, doing what they did best, looking for their next sleeping partners.

As I looked across the room, I noticed a group of guys from my job. I recognized Raj, Vince, Amari, and a couple of other familiar faces. It must have been some type of birthday party for one of the guys because I never saw Raj and Amari really hang like that. I knew Amari and Raj’s girl, Kindrah, were cool, but that’s about it. Raj always made small talk whenever I would see him at work, but I was always in a somber mood, so I really didn’t give anyone the time of day. I just did my job and went home.

The guys were now posted up two tables down from where I was sitting. Raj noticed me and walked over, starting to make small talk again. He seemed nervous. I smiled to myself, thinking, How cute. I didn’t know if it was because I was sipping, but he was actually handsome. I never really noticed before. He sat with me for the rest of the evening, and we talked about everything but work. I really enjoyed his company. I felt safe with him, knowing he had a girlfriend.

His cell went off, and when I heard him saying that he was still at the party and “Your boy Amari is here too,” I knew he was speaking to his girl. I felt a pang of jealousy, but I choked it up real fast. He ended the call, told me he had to go, and that he would see me at work.

It had been a stressful day at work. My supervisor had been getting on my nerves lately with petty bullshit, probably because she was not getting any dick at home. I wanted to tell her, “Don’t come to work taking that shit out on me; I’m not the one! I do my work on time, so leave me the fuck alone.” However, once I started thinking about what I had to look forward to that night, her pettiness didn’t even matter. Tanisha was giving Amari a birthday party, and I couldn’t wait to see him again.

I had been noticing a change in Raj. He seemed more distant than before, and he hadn’t been calling or texting me as much as he used to. He also started dressing different and wearing cologne, which shocked the hell out of me. I’d bought him so many bottles over the years, and he had never touched one, talking about he didn’t like wearing it, so I stopped buying them. He hadn’t even been staying the night anymore, but it was all good. He only came over this night because I invited him to go with me to Amari’s birthday party.

We arrived at the party a little after 10 p.m. Tanisha had gone all out. The place was a beautiful, intimate club located near the water. If you looked out of the bay windows, the light that illuminated the water gave it a romantic setting. The club was decorated with a gold-and-black theme. It was breathtaking, and the music was on point.

Amari was sitting at a table with a drink in his hand, talking to his dad, and Tanisha was sitting with him. I walked over, and he stood up to hug me, kissing me on the cheek. I wished him a happy birthday and said hello to Tanisha and his dad. Raj gave Amari dap, and I sat down while Raj left to go to the bar to get us drinks.

I really wasn’t feeling watching this bitch sitting all up in Amari’s lap and kissing on him, so I turned to the dance floor. While trying to avoid that scene, I noticed Raj at the bar, talking to some bitch. He was smiling and being a little too comfortable with this bitch.

When he came back to the table, I asked him who he was talking to at the bar, and he said it was his coworker, Meesha. I let it go with a roll of my eyes because I wasn’t trying to get into it with him on Amari’s night. We got on the dance floor and started getting our dance on. Amari came and cut in, so now he and I were dancing. I was getting turned on. He smelled so good. We danced to one last song and headed over to the table because Tanisha had an announcement to make. I saw Raj dancing with his coworker, Meesha, who he had been all smiles with minutes earlier. I gave him a look as if to say it was okay, but I was pissed.

The DJ made another announcement for everyone to take their seats. I took a seat, waiting to see what announcement this chick had to make. She was so extra.

“I just want to thank everyone for coming out and celebrating Amari’s birthday with us.” Everyone clapped. Tanisha proceeded to walk over to him, standing in front of him while holding his hands. She continued. “Amari, words can’t explain how much you mean to me. We have had our ups and downs, but nothing, and I do mean nothing, will ever come between us. I love you, babe. Happy birthday.”

I kind of felt that her speech was directed to me as she kissed him on the lips and handed him a gift bag. When he opened the bag and pulled out his gift, it made me feel lightheaded, as if I was going to faint. It got so hot, and the room felt like it was spinning. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I heard all of the clapping and people saying congrats. I looked over just to be sure, and sure enough, he was holding up a pair of baby booties.

As he got up to hug and kiss her, he told her she had given him the best birthday present ever. I needed to get some air before I showed my true feelings. I told Raj that I was ready to go because I wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t know if he picked up on why I needed to leave, but I really didn’t care as long as he got me out of there.

I was up early that morning. I was meeting Meeka at the grocery store to get what I needed for the get-together that night. Amari was still in the bed when I left. I just hoped he didn’t think he was sleeping in. I needed him to make the shrimp pasta and the guacamole bowl that he was good at making. I loved it, so I knew everyone else would love it, too. I wanted him to make the lemon pepper wings and the hot wings, but Meeka was going to make them. She was a hell of a cook, too. This wasn’t a dinner, so I was making sure I had all types of sides that go with drinking. I was making barbecue wings, fried chicken, and three homemade dips. I ordered mozzarella sticks, a vegetable platter, and a banging-ass order of macaroni salad from my favorite restaurant, because they made it best.

Meeka got what she needed, and she went her way. I drove to the liquor store to get some wine. I knew Amari had some issues with alcohol, so I wasn’t buying any hard liquor. I told everyone to bring their own brown bag. My boo and I were only sipping on this wine. Knowing Amari, he wasn’t going to touch the stuff. He would be in the backyard with his herbal medicine.

When I got back to the house, I was surprised to see Amari up and making his way around the kitchen. His eyes looked as if he had made his trip to the backyard already. All I could do was laugh at how silly he was looking.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“You Mr. Amari. Your ass was in the backyard, wasn’t you?”

“Babe, I cook better when my mind’s right. You know that, because I cooked a few times in the bedroom after a visit to the backyard.”

“Yeah, babe, you puts it down,” I said as I hit him on the ass and kept it moving to put my groceries away.

Our little get-together was in full effect, and we were having a good time. We started up a spades game. Amari and I were dominating until his cousin, Rah, and Meeka beat us. Rah kept trying to get Meeka’s digits. I wanted to tell . . .