Since Obstruction is one of the areas that I am tasked with teaching and training almost every year...I feel compelled to chime in here.....
Some very good stuff about OBS has been posted already. It sounds like you are well on your way to learning and understanding what OBS is. Mike (IRISHMAFIA) made one really good point that I want to re-emphasize:
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The only line an umpire needs to draw is whether the runner is attempting to reach a base safely or charging a defender in an effort to draw an OBS call.
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The baserunner does have a right to run anywhere they want to, however, they do not have the right to run into a fielder to "draw" an obstruction call.
The more games you do, the better you will get at recognizing sneaky player moves and ruling on them accordingly. When I'm teaching obstruction, one of the things that I tell umpires is to give the benefit of the doubt to the baserunner. A fielder without the ball or not in the process of fielding a batted ball needs to be out of the way.
The play you described was textbook obstruction and your partner was correct in calling it.