Page 110 of Loving the Sinner
I nod, and she turns around so I can clasp the necklace around her neck.
“I love it, Wes. Thank you. You didn’t have to spoil me so hard though.” She teases.
“I’ll always spoil you whenever I can, baby. Now eat your seabass before it gets cold.” I give her another quick kiss before we go back to eating our food.
Chapter 52
Elli
Four months later…
Today’s the day Wes has been anxiously waiting for.
Well, I have too, but not because it’s my dream to be touring. My dreams start and end with traveling with Wes and watching his fame grow as more and more people discover his talent.
We had a joint New Years Eve and going away party with all our closest friends and family a few days ago, and it was very bittersweet. I’m excited to follow Wes on this journey, but leaving a group of people who have become family in the last six months is difficult. Everyone has been so supportive and so helpful, it makes my heart burst.
We’re standing outside a big black motorhome that will be our main source of travel for the next eight months, suitcases and duffle bags waiting at our feet to be loaded. Wes spent the entire day yesterday showing me different band t-shirts and asking if they were “stage-worthy.”
It was utterly adorable, if not exasperating.
He moved in in October, just like we planned, so we had to figure out how to fit both of our wardrobes in the single closet in the main bedroom. I told him he could just fold his band t-shirts and put them in a dresser, and he looked at me like I just told him to cut off his pinky finger.
We ended up getting a clothes rackjustfor his band shirts.
I’m surprised he ended up fitting all of them in his duffle bag.
Wes stands beside me, anxiously tapping his foot on the ground. We haven’t met Keely and the rest of the band yet, just their manager, Misha. Misha is an interesting soul. He’s probably in his mid to late forties, has long brown hair that he usually has in a braid down his back, one blue eye and one brown eye, which are usually behind big black rimmed glasses, and his outfits are an eclectic mix of various styles.
Today, for example, he’s wearing black dress pants, a pink linen shirt that’s unbuttoned to the middle of his chest, and black and white checkered vans. He’s always adorned in rings and bracelets and usually has a crystal around his neck.
Not exactly what you picture when you picture the manager for a big band.
But he’s nice, very smart, and clearly knows what he’s doing in the business world, so I guess when you’re that good, you get to dress how you want.
“Ah, here’s Keely and the band now!” Misha says, tipping his head towards the black SUV pulling into the parking lot.
Wesleans into me and whisper-yells, “Do I look okay? Do you think they’ll like me?”
I turn and give him a quick kiss on the lips to calm his nerves, and he instantly releases the tension in his shoulders. “They’re going to love you, babe.”
“Hey hey hey, you must be Wes and Elli!” Keely says, holding out her hand for us to shake.
Keely’s the lead singer, and she writes a majority of the songs for the band. She’s got bright blonde hair cut into a stylish bob, big green eyes, and is much taller than me, probably about five foot nine. She has a lip piercing, a slit shaved into her eyebrow, and three nose piercings- a septum and both nostrils. She’s got black ink covering both of her arms, hands, and her throat.
“Nice to meet you too. Thank you again for this opportunity.” Wes beams as he shakes her hand eagerly.
“Thankyoufor agreeing to come with us. We’re all so stoked to have you with us. Let me introduce you to the rest of the gang.”
Leah, the bassist, is a black woman with long black box braids that have random splashes of color tied in. She’s got so many gold earrings in her ear I don’t know how it doesn’t hurt.
KC, the drummer, is a non-binary white person and they’re covered in colorful tattoos of various landscapes, dinosaurs, and lots of other pictures I can’t quite recognize. They’ve got a buzzcut that’s been bleached, then someone put little hearts in purple dye all over their head.
Mikala, the guitarist, looks like an ordinary white girl with her thick brown hair falling in waves across her shoulders, big brown eyes, and lack of tattoos or piercings. Apparently, she and Keely have been dating for the last two years. Something tells me she’s not as shy and timid as she comes off right now, and I look forward to getting to see her come out of her shell.
“Elli, I’m so excited to have you with us too. I love when partners get to come along.” Keely beams, clapping her hands together excitedly.
“Thanks, I’m glad I could come too. I’m excited to watch Wes live his dream.”
