TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

Somehow, about half an hour later, this happened. Max was sitting in Vonda’s living room, holding her in his arms. He was still trying to calm her emotional turmoil, with one hand constantly running soothing strokes down her back.

Smiling slightly, Max felt a mixture of emotions. There was a sense of tenderness and amusement. So, it was not surprising that Max chuckled a few moments later.

Vonda stopped sobbing. She lifted her face to look at Max and pout.

“You’re laughing? I’m here crying and you’re laughing, Max? Seriously.”

Max looked away, trying to hold back his laughter. But he could not help it. Finally, he spoke with a tone of amusement.

“I had no idea you could be so melodramatic, Von. Seriously, I never expected it. I mean, crying over something like that? How can I not find that funny?”

Max’s words made Vonda pout even more. “Even though I may look like this, my heart is actually gentle, you know. Just like any girl’s heart. What girl wouldn’t be touched if she were in my position?”

Max grinned, and Vonda playfully pinched his stomach, not too hard.

“You’re annoying, you know that? I told you, and yet this is how you react.”

Max looked at Vonda’s pouting face. The tip of her nose was red, there were traces of tears on her cheeks, and her eyes still looked slightly moist.

Exhaling once, Max stood up. He asked a question.

“Would you like something to drink? I’ll get it for you to make you feel better. What would you like?”

Still holding her pout, Vonda began her answer with a fake sigh. “Tsk tsk tsk! Just like you, the owner of this device.”

Max put his hands on his hips and laughed. “Well, I’ve been waiting for a while and you haven’t taken the initiative to offer me a drink. My throat is parched.”

“You’re such a character,” Vonda muttered playfully. “Okay, I’ll take you up on your offer. Um… I have some juice in the fridge. How about that? You can take whatever you want. Check in the back and take whatever you want.”

Max bent his body slightly, mimicking the posture of a medieval British royal servant. He spoke in a formal tone.

“Yes, my lady.”

As Vonda chuckled, Max grinned and stood up. He walked to the kitchen and indeed found a carton of juice in the refrigerator, just as Vonda had mentioned. Mango juice to be exact.

Max was not sure what the rules were about drinking juice at night, but he prepared a glass of the orange-colored drink anyway. As for himself, he simply chose water for the sake of convenience.

As he was about to close the refrigerator door, something caught Max’s attention. It brought a meaningful grin to his face.

In the living room, Vonda pulled some tissues off the table to wipe away her tear stains and calm herself. She reached for the gift box that contained the dress Riley had given her earlier and peered inside with a smile before setting it aside.

The sound of Max’s footsteps made Vonda look up. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she saw the tray Max was carrying while he had an innocent grin on his face.

“When I was closing the fridge earlier,” Max said as he approached Vonda, “I felt like I heard a call. Something like, ‘Max, aren’t you going to eat me? I taste so good!'”

Vonda burst out laughing. “Hahaha!”

“That’s why I brought these cupcakes,” Max continued, setting the tray on the table.

Vonda looked at the cupcakes in front of them. Max had thoughtfully prepared two plates of cupcakes for her. However, Vonda could clearly see that one plate had more cupcakes than the other-a ratio of one to three.

Max grinned. “Boys always eat more, by the way.”

“Of course. Boys always eat more. Especially since we had dessert earlier, that piece of cake.”

“Oh, my goodness. You’re right!”

Vonda chuckled softly. She decided to take a sip of the mango juice before reaching for her cupcake, starting with a small forkful.

“I bought these cupcakes a few days ago when I was chatting with Sarah. It’s a good thing you picked them up. Otherwise, I might have forgotten that I bought cupcakes yesterday.”

Speaking of her conversation with Sarah, Vonda actually lost her appetite for cupcakes because of the topic of their conversation. So, she decided to buy a box of cupcakes to take home.

With its luxurious layers of chocolate cream and decorated with cherry pieces, Vonda thought she would enjoy the cupcake over the weekend. And she was not wrong. After all, she did enjoy the cupcake over the weekend, didn’t she? Specifically, on a Sunday night with Max.

“So, it looks like my weekend schedule for the next month is already starting to fill up,” Vonda said, taking a deep breath. “For attending people’s happy occasions.”

Max took a big bite and chewed quickly, swallowing enthusiastically.

“My mom must have talked to you about Via’s sister’s engagement party, right?”

“That’s why your mom gave me the dress,” Vonda replied, nodding. “But it’s not just the engagement party. It’s also Kania’s engagement party.”

Vonda’s tongue slipped between her lips to catch the sweet cream residue left on her upper lip.

“Ah, yes, your sister’s engagement.” Max nodded. “Will you be attending Via’s sister’s party?”

Asking this question, Max stared at Vonda without blinking. His gaze was fixed on her, observing her comfort as she pulled her legs up onto the sofa and sat in an almost cross-legged position.

Vonda seemed to forget that she was wearing a knee-length dress. A slight movement of her legs might expose the dress and reveal her smooth skin.

The possibility made Max take a hasty deep breath and decide to focus on the cake on his plate.

“Of course, I’ll be there. Besides, your mother gave me this beautiful dress. It would be a shame not to wear it.”

Another big bite and Max’s cupcake was gone, leaving an empty plate. He set the empty plate on the table and switched to his glass of water, drinking it all.

“Just the food and just the dress,” Max commented. “What else?”

Vonda’s head lifted in a spontaneous burst of laughter that she could not contain at Max’s question. Fortunately, she had already put her plate on the table, so her laughter did not make a mess of cake crumbs on the sofa.

“If food alone can make me happy, why bother thinking about anything else, right?” Vonda asked, lowering her face again. “And when I think about it, I’ve been laughing a lot lately.”

Max seemed to agree, watching her closely.

“But it’s better to laugh a lot than to cry a lot, isn’t it?” Vonda continued. “If little things can bring happiness, why not just enjoy them?”

“Uh… like this?” Max asked, looking at the remains of their food and drink on the table. Empty glasses and her two empty cupcake plates.NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.

“Just like that,” Vonda nodded in agreement. “I just noticed it too. It may seem trivial. Just chatting and snacking. But don’t you find it quite pleasant?”

Max did not answer the question verbally. He simply smiled; his gaze fixed on Vonda’s laughing face.

Max noticed the feminine line of Vonda’s exposed neck more often than usual when she unconsciously lifted her head. He also noticed when she put a hand to her mouth and when she closed her eyes.

The next moment, when Vonda’s eyes opened again, her laughter immediately stopped, frozen more out of embarrassment when she realized that Max had been silently watching her laugh all by herself. It made her feel uncomfortable.

“W-w-why are you looking at me like that?”

Max blinked rhythmically once before giving Vonda a quick nod.

“Max,” Vonda whispered, her eyes narrowing. “Why?”

Max’s lips curled at two different corners to form a crooked smile. He exhaled first.

“Not really. I just think I’ve realized something, too.”

Vonda blinked once. “What?”

“I think seeing you laugh is ‘just about’ something, too.”

“Is it?”

Only that word escaped Vonda’s lips. Max’s gaze had erased all the ticklish and exuberant remnants of her laughter in an instant. Replaced by an unfamiliar aura that surrounded her so quickly. As if it had trapped her in a sensation that was difficult to describe in words.

Max stared straight into Vonda’s eyes. Without blinking, his expression made Vonda’s body tingle without warning. It made it hard for her to breathe.

Swallowing hard, Vonda gripped the sofa and tried to find her voice.

“Max,” Vonda murmured hoarsely. “Don’t look at me like that.”

In front of her, Max’s demeanor wasn’t much different from Vonda’s. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with a resigned expression.

“Believe me, Von. I’ve tried.”

His honesty made Vonda feel a sudden flush in her body. It made her feel restless with a surge of passion. Then the warmth came unexpectedly. Like a spark in the dry grass. Igniting into a fierce blaze in the blink of an eye. Igniting two ordinary breaths into fervent ones.

Then they both moved simultaneously, meeting in a sweet kiss. Like an unspoken oath, promising that they would navigate a long night together.

*