Page 111 of Loving the Sinner
“Awww. You two are so fucking cute! Ugh. Babe, why aren’t we cute like that.” Keely whines, bumping hips with Mikala.
Mikala arches a brow, “Because you’re not a sweet docile kitten, you’re a feral trash cat, my love.”
I giggle at the description, and Keely lets out a loud belly laugh.
“She’s right. We started out our relationship at each other's throats. A real enemies to lovers timeline.”
“Alright kids,” Misha shouts. “It’s time to hit the road. First stop is in Dallas and we’ve got a sound check in t-minus seven hours so it’s time to get a move on!”
The band gets on the bus, and I turn to go with them when I catch a tear falling down Wes’s cheek.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, wiping the tears away.
“I just can’t believe this is actually happening. I can’t believe this is my life now.”
“Well believe it babe, because this is just the beginning.”
He looks down at me and the love and adoration I see there makes my heart kick up a notch. I hope he always looks at me like that.
“Thank you for being with me to follow my dreams.” He whispers.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” I say, meaning it.
He kisses me then, languid and sweet, until Misha calls our names again and tells us we can keep kissing on the bus as long as we’re on it.
“I love you, Westley Ray Jones.”
“I love you too, Elliana Louise Monson.”
Epilogue
Wes
Eight months later…
We’ve been back in San Marco for two weeks now, and I’m already missing the highs of performing night after night.
The tour was everything I could have dreamed of. I signed a record deal with a record company based in Austin so I can continue to put my music out there as a full time gig.
I now have over half a million followers on Instagram, and Elli forced me to make a TikTok where I have over a million. It’s been incredible seeing how far my music reaches, and having mostly positive reactions to it is incredible.
Elli started therapy right before we left for the tour, and she’s made so much progress in the last eight months. She’s worked through a lot of her religious trauma, the falling out with her parents, and we’ve done a few couple sessions so I can learn how to best help her when she’s having a hard time.
When we stopped in Salt Lake, she was able to spend time with Hannah and they talked about their similar beliefs and some of their familiar traumas, and she did the same with Emma in San Diego. I think it was really healing for her to see she’s not alone.
Izzy starts college in two weeks, so she’s moved into the tiny one-bedroom apartment Elli and I were sharing, and the lack of space is getting on everyone’s nerves, so we’ve been looking for a new place.
It’s not an ideal situation to live with Elli’s little sister, especially since we’re still in that lovey-dovey honeymoon stage, but I know Elli feels better knowing she can help Izzy while she starts this new life journey.
She’ll just have to learn to be quieter when she comes.
We’re in downtown San Marcos looking at a quaint three-bedroom apartment that’s close to Ernie’s and Toasted Bean, and has plenty of space for the three of us. The third bedroom would be set up as an office space for Elli to work and for Izzy to do homework, which would make everyone’s lives easier.
The floors are all a dark hardwood and the walls are pristine white. The kitchen has a big island and stainless steel appliances, and the bedrooms are all very spacious. There’s two bathrooms, one in the primary bedroom, and one in the hall, which is nice because then we don’t have to try and share the bathroom.
“What do you think, Wes? Is this our new home?” Elli says, spinning in a circle in the primary bedroom.
I step towards her and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me. “Home is wherever you are, baby. But yeah, I think this place is it. We should really test out how soundproof the walls are though.”
