Page 109 of Loving the Sinner
We talk about how Keely and the Kissers announced me as their opener for the tour and how my follower count on Instagram grew from 10k to 25k in the last week. I’ve been trying to post more songs, without spoiling my setlist, and the engagement has been crazy. People love Keely and the Kissers, and now apparently, people love me.
The waiter, Lyle, comes to grab our drink order and Elli orders a pear blossom cocktail and I order a cream soda, and grab an order of bacon wrapped shrimp as an appetizer.
There’s a live band playing in the corner, so we sit and listen to the music while we wait for our drinks and appetizer, and when that comes out, we order our main dishes. Elli orders the miso glazed sea bass and I order the pan roasted chicken. The waiter tells us that it should be about a twenty minute wait for our food.
I debate if I should just ask her now or if I should wait until dessert like I planned.
I’m just going to do it. I go to grab the jewelry box out of my pocket, but just as I have it in my grasp, the lead singer of the band grabs our attention.
“Well folks, it looks like we have an up-and-coming star here with us tonight. If you’re a fan of Keely and the Kissers then you know all about their new opener, Wes Jones. He’s here tonight, maybe we can convince him to come play us a song!”
I shake my head and wave my hands, looking at Elli with an apologetic smile.
“Go, babe. You’re famous now. Give the people what they want.” Elli says, her eyes twinkling with pride.
Pride forme.
“One song, baby. I promise.” I scoot out of the booth and give her a quick kiss, a new plan forming in my mind.
I take the guitarist’s acoustic guitar and settle on the stool they have in front of the microphone.
“Howdy folks. As he said, I’m Wes Jones. I’m very lucky to have been offered a spot on tour with Keely and the Kissers. But I’m even luckier to be here tonight with a special lady. She’s the sunshine that broke through my clouded mind, my love, my muse. This is the song that brought me back from my writer’s block, all thanks to her. This isLove Bug.”
I strum the guitar, the opening cords a familiar vibration under my fingertips. I usually refuse to play on anything but Dolly, but this guitar is nice, so I have no problem getting into the rhythm.
As I sing, the adrenaline of a performance courses through my veins, and I never let my eyes stray from Elli, who’s recording on her phone, but her eyes never leave mine.
After I strum the final chord, I let the applause die down before I say a quick thank you to the band and the crowd,and head back to our table. Elli pops up out of her seat and wraps me in a big hug.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, Wes. You never cease to amaze me with your talent. I’m so lucky to be by your side to witness your success, and I can’t wait to see you perform night after night.” She gushes.
“Thank you, baby. I have something I want to-”
“Your food, sir, miss.” Lyle interrupts, looking apologetic.
We sit, this time on the same side of the booth because I want to be as close to Elli as possible.
“What were you saying before Lyle brought our food?” Elli asks, slicing into her sea bass.
“I want to ask you something. Something important.”
Elli pauses with the bite to her mouth before she gently sets her utensils down and turns to me, motioning me to continue.
I take a deep breath and pull out the blue pentagon shaped jewelry box and set it on the table, then take out a little black velvet bag and set it next to it. Elli’s eyes go wide with shock, surprise, and a little apprehension before she pulls her gaze away to look at me.
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” I say carefully. “Well, kind of.” I open the box and reveal two signet rings. A silver one with an “E” and a gold one with a “W.”
“This isn’t a marriage proposal, since I think that would be a little fast. And, selfishly, I don’t want to plan a wedding while we’re on tour. But itisa promise.” I take out the “W” ring and hold it out in front of her.
“This is a placeholder until I can put an engagement ring on your finger and make you mine forever. It’s a promise to love you unconditionally. A promise to be by each other’s sides through the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. A promise that you’re it for me, Elliana Louise Monson. If you slip this ring on your finger, you’re mine. For good. You’ll just get an upgrade to a prettier ring later on.”
Elli’s eyes glisten with unshed tears, before she grabs the “E” ring. “If you wear this it means you’re mine, too. No matter how many bras or panties get thrown at you on stage, you come home to me. I’ll wear your initial proudly, Westley Ray Jones, because you’re it for me too.”
I let out the breath I was holding and slip the ring on her left hand, satisfaction and possession filling my soul the way it looks on her finger. She slips the one in her hand on mine. We seal our promises with a kiss before I remember the other gift I have for her.
“This is more a reminder of how we started.” I say, slipping out the necklace and holding it up so she can see the gold pendant engraved with a ladybug, but instead of dots on its back it has hearts.
Elli giggles, “It’s a love bug!”
