Forbidden Love Ch. 01

Ron, in turn, rolled his eyes and asked "Wil, do you have tickets and backstage passes on you?" as he checked his own pockets.

Wil proceeded to search his green bag and Thalia chimed in with, "Let me return the favor and hold your stuff...I'm kinda curious to see what you have in there.""What I have in my bag isn't very different from yours" said Wil as he took out two small plastic shopping bags, both containing various colors of nail polish, black and blue mascara, dark eye shadows and liquid black eyeliner. He also had a packet of wipes, gum and pink lipgloss. When Thalia looked at him strangely he laughed and said, "Don't ask."

His black Coach sunglasses were the last thing he handed to her when he remembered that he had put the tickets in his Coach purse. She dropped everything back into his green bag which he then swung over his shoulder before handing her and Jenny the concert tickets and backstage passes.

"Thanks" said Thalia as she put them away in her cluttered bag. She had been meaning to get better organized as of late but still hadn't gotten around to it. Her cell phone rang as she was about to clasp her bag shut and she excused herself to go and take the call.

It was her older brother Franco. He was in his final year of school at CalTech studying to be an architect and he called home on a regular basis, to speak with Thalia especially who was his best friend and confidante.

Franco, the middle child, was older than her by three years and was the most quiet of the five Guillermo children. Their father Vincenzo's handsomeness had extended to all four boys generously as did his passion for life and love.

Nicolai, the eldest at twenty-six years old, had recently married his long-time girlfriend Keira Roberts, a pre-school teacher, and they were expecting a child in early Spring. Nicolai was a level-headed thinker and worked alongside their father at ALOE Records, Vincenzo's record company, as a music producer.

Sergio was younger at twenty-four and still trying to find himself. He was a serial dater and saw life as one big party that he was going to enjoy to the fullest. He liked experimenting a lot. Once, Sergio took a crack at acting but soon after realized he was horrible and gave it up. He then attempted to be a writer but found that although he fancied himself a romantic, he was too shallow and his work reflected that.

He was now unemployed and took to haranguing Vincenzo quite regularly as of late for money to go on dinner dates with his newest girlfriend. He also liked to borrow from his father's expensive car collection, requests that were turned down more often than not.

Massimo was the baby of the family at seventeen, two years younger than Thalia, and was at the age where he and every other teenage boy wanted to be a rock star. No one knew where he got the notion in his head that since his dad owned a record company he could instantly become rich and famous without putting in the work.

The truth was that Massimo had no musical talent whatsoever and was a pain in the ears to listen to as evening approached and he rehearsed with his band. Erratically beating pots and pans together would have created a much nicer melody than what Massimo and his 'band' did.

"Hey, Franco. What's up?" she asked, glad to hear his voice after what felt like ages since they last spoke. In actuality, it had only been a week.

"Thalia, when does the convention at your church end? I wanted to drive out and go with you." Thalia groaned as she slapped the palm of her hand against her forehead. It drew curious glances from Wil, Ron and even Jenny.

She had been telling Franco about the convention for the San Diego Faith Deliverance Centre as far back as May when they first announced it at church and he had been unable to attend any of the services held all week. Tonight was the final night and she had forgotten how much she wanted to be there since meeting Wil and Ron.

"It ends tonight" said Thalia and she laughed after noticing that the All-American Rejects song with that title was playing in the background.

Franco got the joke and laughed too. "Then I'll meet you there. I'm looking forward to seeing you, Thalia...I have to tell you something and I don't want you to get mad, okay?"

"Dude, no matter what, I can't get mad at you. I love you way too much" said Thalia. Franco was definitely her favorite brother and he knew all her secrets as she did his. They clicked on a level that she was so grateful for because they were both very open with each other about a lot of things, especially the struggles they faced with their spiritual life as Franco was a Christian as well.

"I don't want to tell you over the phone though. We can talk tonight. You'll see her there anyways. Later, Thalia."

She barely got out "Later, Franco" before he disconnected the call. Something was definitely up with him.

Thalia could hear the enthusiasm in his voice and she couldn't wait to find out what it was all about. Her conversation with Franco had been the deciding factor in how she was going to spend her Saturday night. A rock concert would never take precedence over her being at church and hanging out with her brother.

"Wil, there's been a change of plans. I can't make it tonight" said Thalia as kindly as she could while returning the concert ticket and backstage pass to him.

Jenny had been engrossed in everything Ron was saying to her and it was as if the world had come crashing down when she heard Thalia utter those words. "What?"

"I just remembered tonight's the last night of the convention. Franco's driving in for it too...says he has something important to tell me that he can't over the phone, so..."

"Can't itwait, Thalia? Just come to the concert with me. It'll be fun, I promise!" Jenny's desperate pleas fell on deaf ears as Thalia shook her head no. "As if Jesus is gonna be mad at you for missingone nightof your church's convention.Get real, Thalia!"

"Get over yourself, Jenny. I don't want to fight about this!" said Thalia as she struggled against the urge to slap sense into her friend's head. Thalia knew there would be other conventions but this one in particular spoke to her spirit and encouraged her to live a clean and respectable life. Jenny made that a very difficult thing to do with the constant invitations that she got for parties to which she insisted on bringing her along.

Jenny made it her mission to keep Thalia from becoming what she considered lame and boring so she took her to a lot of socials on campus when she knew full well that her friend would have preferred to stay in bed and curl up with a good book.

"That guy on the phone...is he your boyfriend?" asked Wil softly. He didn't mean to listen in on her private conversation but wasn't certain if he regretted doing it because he overheard her telling that Franco guy that she loved him. It sounded to him like she was already taken and it made Wil feel like an idiot for even flirting with her.

He didn't play games the way Ron did as he was a firm believer that the heart knows what it wants when it comes to true love and that it knows instinctively who the best person is to possess it. Wil liked the thought of there being a girl somewhere in the world that was just meant to be his and only his for as long as he lived.

It seemed foolish to Ron who had somehow hardened his heart to the mere thought of true love. He had tried convincing Wil that, more often than not, falling in love only resulted in heartbreak but Wil refused to see things that way. Ron couldn't help thinking that perhaps the black hair dye had soaked a bit far and made him unreasonable on the subject.

For Wil it didn't matter if she was a fan of German Blood, black or white, none of that made a difference to him. The main concern he had was that she wasn't jailbait. He couldn't handle being carted off to prison because the love of his life was a minor. Ron would probably die from laughing too hard and choking on his 'I told you so'.

Presently, Wil looked really disappointed with his beautiful mouth curved downwards in a frown. Thalia couldn't help thinking, 'He even pouts sexy' and she felt at that moment that Wil always got what he wanted.

Jenny answered his question for her. "Ew, no. Franco's her brother...Thalia doesn't have a boyfriend and whatever hopes she had of getting one, oh I don't know, saytodayjust drowned in the harbor...Ron, will you walk me to the car, please?" Jenny snatched the keys from Thalia's grasp and made a 'humph' sound as she walked away hand in hand with Ron.

He was smart enough to stay out of the confrontation between Jenny and Thalia as he was more interested in getting between Jenny's legs than anything else.

"So you're a Christian? Or do you just really like church?" A grin reached Wil's lips as he spoke to her. He seemed to be in a much lighter mood since learning that she was single.

"Both" replied Thalia after pretending to contemplate her answer. She didn't have to blink when it came to questions like that. She was happiest when in church and that was without a doubt. Psalms 84 flashed into her head just then and she recited the first two verses from the King James Version, so quiet as if to herself but Wil heard it and he was blown away by the passion in her voice and the glow in her eyes.

Thalia's blue-sapphire depths held a smoldering look as she continued with verse ten which spoke of how a day being spent in God's courts would be better than a thousand and preferring to be a doorkeeper in the house of God instead of dwelling in the tents of wickedness. She appeared far away as if she had been transported to another place and time but she couldn't help it. It was one of her favorite passages in Psalms and helped brighten her day when she simply thought of it, lost herself in it.

"At least try and come tonight, Thalia. I really want you to be there...for me, please?" he asked softly with a smile. He looked at her and Thalia almost gave in to his wishes. It was as if he stunned her with that radiant smile of his that was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"I can leave early but I'm not making any promises." She took the pass and ticket from him with her right hand and felt a jolt that she couldn't explain as he held onto her free hand. It was a loose grip but felt very powerful as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand in a gentle caress.

"Can I ask for your number?" He continued with the soothing touch that caused Thalia's breathing to gradually become forced as he applied pressure to points she never knew were so tense.

They exchanged digits, Thalia seeing nothing wrong with that. After putting her phone away he resumed stroking and kneading her hand and Thalia started to feel as if he was trying to persuade her to do what he wanted. "I said no promises, Wil...Jenny and Ron are waiting. Let's go."

Wil decided to take what he could get with Thalia and hope that she showed up tonight. They got to where Thalia had parked her black BMW convertible. It was a wicked fast car that her dad had given to her for her eighteenth birthday. Thalia absolutely adored it, especially the fact that her name had been etched into each headrest with a gold tiara above it. She also liked that the car was an amazing upgrade from the silver Porsche she got for her sweet sixteen.

Vincenzo had flat out refused to tell her how much of an upgrade it really was because he didn't want Thalia protesting for him to take it back and buy something a bit more inexpensive then give the rest of the money away to charity. It was a guilty pleasure at times for her to be driving around in a car that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars when people were starving in Nigeria where her grandmother came from. She tried not to dwell on thoughts like those too much.

Jenny was seated on Ron's lap in the passenger seat when Thalia and Wil showed up. 'If only Marcus could see you now' was the look Thalia shot her friend. Marcus Armstrong was Jenny's on again-off again boyfriend who she treated any which way she felt like because he let her. Marcus was an extremely shy guy who hated confrontations and was madly in love with Jenny who was just looking to have a good time.

The funny thing was that no matter what she did to hurt him, he would take her back as soon as she came knocking. Jenny was a major flirt but she never cheated on Marcus, Thalia knew that much for sure. She was a good girl when it came to being faithful but always put herself in temptation's path.

"Jenny, please forgive my idiot brother for getting so...comfortablewith you. Ron, we're late for rehearsal."

"You say that like it's my fault!" laughed Ron as he exited the car. "Bye, ladies. It was fun...see you tonight, Jenny." He flashed her a beaming red-hot smile that could have melted a thousand icebergs right then. He had gorgeous white teeth and a lip ring that just made him more irresistible.

Wil looked at Thalia right then and she could tell what he was thinking. "Don't push your luck, Wil" said Thalia pointing a finger at him as he backed away, his hands in the air as if he wasn't going to try anything. He mouthed 'bye' as he walked off with Ron, their hair blowing in the sea breeze.

"They're really nice" said Thalia.

"Tell me something I don't know" replied Jenny. She looked at her best friend apologetically right then before she went into Thalia's arms. They literally kissed and made up, incapable of staying mad at each other for more than a few minutes. "I'm buying lunch. How does a steaming plate of Wil Dautch with a side of fries sound?"

"Jenny!" Thalia couldn't help laughing at the visual that created in her head.

"What? You said you were hungry!"