Page 80 of Loving the Sinner
“I miss them too. We need to hang out with them again when we get back. Ooo, maybe an ‘end of summer’ pool party? Do you think Matt would be up for that?”
“That sounds good baby. I’ll ask him. Now, what do we need to do to get ready for tomorrow?” I ask, trying to get off the topic of parties and the group. I know Elli gets distracted by tasks so hopefully organizing the final details of the trip will help her.
Sure enough, she gets right down to business. We pack up the snacks and drinks into coolers and a box and put them in the back of her car after filling that up with gas so we have a full tank. I’m spending the night here so we can leave at the ass crack of dawn, so our suitcases are waiting by the door so we can pack last minute toiletries.
“I think other than grabbing a coffee before we leave town, we’re all set to go.” She says as she settles in beside me.
“Are you going to be okay when we get there? We can cancel now if you want.” I don’t care if we’d lose money. Her wellbeing is more important.
“I’ll be okay. Thank you for being worried. I love you, Wes.”
“I love you too, Elli.”
And with that, we turn off the light to get some zzz’s in before our long ass car ride.
Chapter 38
Elli
The next morning at the ass crack of dawn, we load up the rest of our luggage, lock up my apartment and head out. We stop at the Espresso Express for coffee before making the eleven hour journey to today’s destination: Albuquerque, New Mexico.
We don’t talk a lot, I’m still raw from my conversation with my mom yesterday, and Wes seems nervous even if he’s saying he’s not.
My phone pings three hours into our journey and I see it’s a text from my mom.
Mom:Spencer wants you to be there at his luncheon. We’ll see you on Sunday.
I huff out a disbelieving laugh, and Wes looks over from the driver’s side with a questioning look on his face.
“Mom just texted me that she’ll see me Sunday because Spencer wants me there.” I lean my head back against the headrest and take a deep breath. “It’s like she doesn’t even care, or realize how hurtful she was yesterday.”
Wes’s hand that’s sitting on my thigh squeezes gently. “I’m sorry baby. At least Spencer wants you there, right?”
“Yeah…” I trail off, thinking now about Wes and how he’s acting. “Are you okay? You seem a bit off. If you’re nervous, I get it, and I’d like to talk through your anxieties.”
Wes takes a long, deep breath before squeezing my thigh again. “I have some… news. That I wanted to talk to you about yesterday, but then things happened with your mom and I didn’t want to make things worse…”
Oh god, please don’t be breaking up with me when we’re a fourth of the way through our long ass road trip.
But that wouldn’t make sense. Why would he still come if he was breaking up with me?
“Okay…” I say, trying to still my racing heart.
“Have you ever heard of the band Keely and the Kissers?” Wes asks.
“I think I’ve heard one or two of their songs.”
“They’re getting really popular. So popular that they’re going on tour next year, starting in January. And they’ve asked me to go. With them. On the tour.”
My chest aches with pride and a bit of anxiety at the revelation. I’m speechless.
My boyfriend is going ontour?
Myboyfriend is going on tour?
My boyfriendis going ontour!
“Wes, oh mygod.That is amazing!” I grab his hand from my thigh and shake our arms in a cheer, but when I look over at him, he’s only got a half smile on his face. Like he’s trying not to be too happy about thislife changingnews. “Why don’t you seem excited?”
