You're the One I Want

Dear Reader:

Welcome to the world of Shane Allison, whose debut novel,
You're The One I Want,
will surely create fans for the talented author. His engaging style of writing and storyteller skills will keep readers on task turning pages to the end.

Meet Bree and Tangela, two best friends, who are competing for the same man although Bree is unaware of Tangela's yearnings for her doctor husband, Kashawn. His twin brother, Deanthony, arrives back in town and has his sights set on his brother's wife, Bree. This mix of feening for another one's lover and the attempt to destroy a marriage makes for scandalous drama.

Throw in others such as the twins' Mama Liz and a stripper, Katiesha, who is used as a pawn to make the love triangles even more twisted, and you have a tale of deception and suspense.

As always, thanks for supporting myself and the Strebor Books family. We strive to bring you the most cutting-edge, out-of-the-box material on the market. You can find me on Facebook
@AuthorZane
or you can email me at
[email protected]
.

Blessings,

Publisher

Strebor Books

www.simonandschuster.com

W
hat the fuck is he doing here?

I thought I was going to lose my shit when I saw Deanthony walk through the door of Mama Liz's house. Deanthony's skin glowed under the living room lights. He was wearing a red durag, a black tank top, and black, baggy jean shorts. A trace of red from his boxers was showing from the waistband. I'm not going to lie, he looked good, but still, what the hell was he doing here? It took everything in me to keep from dropping the cup of punch that Tangela had spiked with vodka when nobody was looking. Suddenly, my heart was pounding like a drum in my chest. I gawked at Deanthony like the devil himself had walked in Mama Liz's house, and as far as I was concerned, the devil was exactly who Deanthony was, a demon spawn. Tangela startled me when she crept up behind me, grazing my arm.

“Girl, did you see who just walked up in here?”

Deanthony looked dead at me as he shook hands, gave dap and half-hugs to friends and family. You would think he was some famous athlete or some shit, the way everybody gathered around him.

“I didn't think he was going to come.”

“He looks good,” Tangela said. “Damn good.”

“You're not helping,” I said, annoyed by Tangela stating the obvious.

I watched Kashawn from the kitchen window where he and Tyrique stood on the deck, nursing on beers.

“Hey, baby, you came,” Mama Liz shouted, damn near knocking me down to get to her son. She wiped her hands dry from dish water on the apron that was draped around her, and gave Deanthony a big, mama bear hug.

“Hey, Mama. Of course I came. It's only my brother's birthday.”

“You look so skinny. What, you don't eat up there in Hollywood Land?”

“I can't believe he's got the balls to show his face here, yet I don't know why I'm surprised.”

“You want me to get rid of him?” Tangela asked.

“No, forget it. It's all good. I don't know why I was stupid enough to think that he wouldn't have the guts to show up for Kashawn's birthday party.”

Everyone but me was happier than flies on shit to see Deanthony, especially since he didn't come around that much. You would think he had just returned from some space mission from Mars the way everyone was hovered around him like he was some golden child they needed to protect. I noticed Yvonne, Kashawn, and Deanthony's cousin staring at me from across the room. I knew right then and there that she must have had something to do with getting Deanthony to show up at the party, just so she could see my reaction. That nosey bitch needed to get herself some business.

“You're going to be all right, girl?” Tangela asked.

“Shit, girl, you know me. Calm, cool, and collected.” I could tell by the look Tangela gave me, she didn't believe a word that tumbled past my lips.

I made my way out to the deck where Kashawn, Tyrique, and friends were talking, drinking, and playing spades. I ran to Kashawn's side like there was some evil thing hungry on my red-bottom, fuchsia Christian Louboutins.

I leaned in and whispered, “Deanthony's here.”

Kashawn gawked at me as if I'd just told him I had six weeks to live.

“He just arrived. He's in the living room with your mama.”

“Where my brother at?” Deanthony hollered.

Always gotta be the ham,
I thought.

He stood in the doorway that divided the deck from the house. The rest of the birthday party guests gathered around him like he was Tallahassee royalty.

Kashawn started toward him. I was scared shitless, not sure what Deanthony was going to say or do. My nerves settled when Kashawn greeted Deanthony with a grizzly bear hug of warmth and affection after three years of being away from the family. I couldn't help but wonder what brought Deanthony back to Tallahassee other than to ring in his thirtieth birthday.

“Man, where the hell have you been?”

“Bro, you know how I do. Still out here on this grind.”

I nervously sipped spiked fruit punch from my red Dixie cup.

“What's up, Bree?” Deanthony asked, looking at me as if nothing happened.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, hugging me. I could feel his hand on my ass and prayed to God that Kashawn hadn't noticed the advance he made.

“You look good, girl, damn!” he said, shouting loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.

My plan was simple: avoid his ass like an STD. I could feel pearls of sweat dripping from the roof of my armpits. I knew damn well that Deanthony didn't have the balls to put what we did on blast at the fish fry birthday party here in front of all his friends and family. I learned the hard way not to put anything past Deanthony's sneaky ass. He might have had Mama Liz, Kashawn, and everybody else fooled, but I knew firsthand what a sinister bastard he could be, especially when he wanted something he couldn't have.

“All right, y'all come on and get it. The food's ready!” Uncle Ray-Ray, Kashawn and Deanthony's uncle, yelled while forking mullet, bream, hushpuppies, and fried oysters in an aluminum pan. The smell of fresh fried fish infiltrated the hot June air. Uncle Ray-Ray was known around Tallahassee for serving up the best of everything when it came down to food. The best fish, the best barbecue, the best banana pudding, the best pork chops, the best chittlins, not to mention being the go-to guy for installing stereo systems.

Everyone started to line up along the table, grabbing paper plates. Tyrique's big ass was the first in line, of course, forking what had to be five pieces of bream and mullet on his plate, followed by a mess of cole slaw and cheese grits. No matter where he was—restaurant, party, fish fry—Tyrique always ate like every meal was his last. I grinned, watching his wife, Ebonya, nudge him, scolding him to save some fish for everyone else. Tyrique had always been kind of this big, dumb jock, teddy bear of a man. Kashawn got him on as an orderly at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

“Baby, you hungry? You want me to fix you a plate?” I asked.

“Um, yeah, baby, would you please? You know what I like.”

“You still eat them fried oysters like that?” Deanthony asked.

“Hell yeah, with some hot sauce. That ain't nothin' but good eatin'.' ”

Kashawn grabbed another beer from the wash basin filled with ice and an assortment of beer and Chek sodas. Deanthony would nonchalantly look off in my direction, smiling, knowing something only he and I knew. If the truth ever came to light, it would kill Kashawn.

After seeing Deanthony, I had lost my appetite. The smell of fish and fried oysters was making me nauseous as I plated the seafood on a paper plate for Kashawn. Shit, I wish I could blame it on fish.
Seeing Deanthony was the real reason behind my queasy stomach. Kashawn and Deanthony sat at one of the patio tables, drinking beer.

“There you go.”

“You're not going to eat anything, baby?” Kashawn asked, roping his arm around my waist, resting his hand on my booty.

I looked over at Deanthony and said, “I'm not really hungry.” With laughter in those big penny-brown eyes of his, he took another swig from a Corona. “I left my cigarettes in the car. I'll be back.”

“You all right?” Kashawn asked.

“Yeah, baby, I'm fine. Stomach bothering me, that's all.”

“It's that cheap Winn-Dixie liquor Tangela put in the punch that's got you sick. I told you about drinking that stuff.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I gave Kashawn a kiss on the forehead. “I'm going to the car to relax.”

“Okay. Feel better.”

“Thank you, baby.”

I ignored Deanthony as I walked off, easing my way through the crowd of guests armed with plates of food.

Tangela made her way over to me, sensing that I was in need of her best friend forever benefits. “Girl, what happened?”

“Come outside. I need a cigarette, bad.”

Tangela's black Mustang was parked behind a row of cars in Mama Liz's pine-needle-strewn driveway.

“I got something better than cigs,” she said, pulling a plastic sandwich bag of weed out of the glove box.

“Damn, bitch, you ride around with this in your car?”

“No, I just brought it today in case my best friend had to sneak out of her man's birthday party to get away from his brother whom she fucked around with.” Tangela laughed, but I didn't find what she said the least bit funny.

“Whatever, bitch. Light that shit up.”

Tangela was a slightly plumper version of me with apple butter-brown skin, hazel eyes that made her look like a vampire, and a weave that flowed luxuriously down her back. The low-cut red blouse she wore barely held in her round, cantaloupe breasts she loved showing off every chance she got. Tangela lit the end of the joint and took a couple of puffs and passed it to me.

“Hold on, let me crack the windows,” she said. “Mama Liz isn't going to run out here cursing and screaming for smoking weed in her yard, is she?”

“Hell, she would probably join in. Kashawn told me she smokes weed herself. Medicinal marijuana, he said. Something about her bad knees or some shit.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Tangela said, taking her joint back. “So I saw you over there with Kashawn and Deanthony. I'm surprised you still keeping it together with him being here.”

“Shit, barely. If I didn't get away from him, I was going to lose it.”