TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

Both Vonda and Max, who was not directly addressed, stopped abruptly. They turned to see several people approaching Vonda. Quickly counting in his mind, Max realized that three women and two men were walking toward them.

“You’ve finally arrived,” Vonda said with a sweet smile. “I didn’t think you’d make it.”

Max took a small step back so Vonda could greet her friends. It did not take long for those casual greetings to turn into hearty laughter.

It was unclear how long it took Vonda and her friends to catch up, until one of them took Vonda’s hand and gave Max a meaningful look. Naturally, Max felt uncomfortable under the gaze of five pairs of eyes staring at him with implied meaning.

“Who’s this?”

Of course, Max knew he was the subject of discussion. Taking the initiative, he approached and extended his hand for a handshake. He introduced himself and was warmly received.

“Max. Maxwell Hernandez.”

As they introduced themselves, Max tried to remember the names of Vonda’s friends. There was Marie Walker, Rose Collins, Grace Anderson, Samuel Carter, and Michael Smith.

After the brief introductions, it was not unusual for Vonda and Max to face follow-up questions. They were the kind of questions that old friends tend to ask out of sudden curiosity.

“New boyfriend, huh?” Marie asked frankly. “Or is this one more than just a friend?”

“There’s going to be another party, isn’t there?” teased Grace.

Meanwhile, Michael shook his head. “There’s no way that guy is Vonda’s boyfriend. He’s way too good for her.”

“Hahaha!”

In the midst of the laughter that erupted, it was Max’s laughter that made Vonda purse her lips. She looked at Max with a playful sneer.

“It wasn’t me who said that,” Max quickly defended. “It was your friends.”

With a quick scoff, Vonda clarified her friends’ misunderstanding.

“Don’t worry, Michael. Max is definitely not my boyfriend.”

This time Rose teased. “Already engaged, huh?”

“Not even a boyfriend,” Vonda replied. “Let alone engaged. Um… he’s just a friend who happened to be free on a Sunday night.” Vonda’s eyes looked at Max. “You know what that means, don’t you? This handsome guy is single. In other words, even if he’s supposed to be better looking than me, it doesn’t matter. Our status is the same.”

Laughter erupted, especially from Max, who could only shake his head in amazement at Vonda’s relaxed response. Their conversation continued as they enjoyed the main course that was being served.

Seated at a round table with six friends, their meal was punctuated by light conversation and bursts of laughter. When Max finally finished his meal, he excused himself to go to the restroom. At that moment, Samuel shifted in his chair and approached Vonda, who was still eating.

“Um… your boy friend,” Samuel began, getting an immediate response from Vonda. “Have you known him long?”

Deciding to take a sip, Vonda replied after putting her glass back on the table.

“Um… I haven’t known him very long. It’s been less than a month, I guess.”

Samuel furrowed his brow. “Less than a month and he’s already accompanying you to an event like this?”

Samuel’s question was met with a nervous chuckle from Vonda. She could clearly sense Samuel’s surprise. To be honest, Vonda felt the same confusion. It seemed illogical-having only met a few weeks ago and already being invited to an event like a wedding reception. But as Vonda thought about it, a realization dawned.

Could my relationship with Max ever be considered logical? From our first meeting, to the way we were introduced, to the events that followed, not a single thing fits into the category of being reasonable. Inviting him to a wedding might make more sense than waking up to be called my future daughter-in-law by his mother.

Vonda took a deep breath.

“Well, yes,” Vonda said then. “It’s not just express delivery expeditions that have the ‘super fast express’ category. He and I are even beyond that.”

Samuel fell silent, listening to Vonda’s ramblings.

“Um… what’s going on?”

Samuel held out his hand, this time taking a sip from his glass before answering Vonda’s question.

“Nothing, really. It’s just that I feel like his face is familiar to me.”

“Familiar?”

Samuel’s head nodded once. “That’s why I asked if you’ve known him for a while. It seems he was once engaged to my cousin of nephew’s sister-in-law’s friend.”

Crash!

Vonda was stunned as she looked at Samuel, who had resumed drinking from his glass, while she wore a blank expression that revealed her confusion.

Samuel turned to her. “What’s wrong?”

Vonda blinked once. “Just thinking. Cousin of nephew’s sister-in-law’s friend? Repeat that. Why do we live in such a complicated kinship system?”

Laughter erupted from Samuel’s lips. Meanwhile, Vonda decided to simply reach for her drink glass, saving her energy from pondering the status of the girl Samuel was discussing.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Huh? It’s a girl, right?

“Eh?”

It was as if something new had dawned on Vonda besides the complex kinship system. Something that made her put down her glass.

“Engagement?”

Samuel, who had initially averted his gaze from Vonda to the stage to enjoy the singing of a guest, was forced to turn his attention back to her. He answered with a brief nod.

“That was in the past. Don’t worry about it. Besides, I just wanted to check. Is he really the Max I know? Besides, I don’t think he knows me. I mean, I only vaguely remember now because we only met at his engagement party before.”

“Seriously?” Vonda asked.

“Yeah. That was a long time ago.” Samuel seemed silent for a moment, lost in thought. “I think it was over five years ago. They were only engaged for three or four months.”

Vonda blinked quickly. “They didn’t get married?”

“Oh my, Von.” Samuel rolled his eyes lazily. “If they got married, there’s no way he’d be here with you. That would mean their relationship had failed. Wait…” Samuel narrowed his eyes. “You’re not jealous of the past, are you?”

“Huh?”

“Because if you are,” Samuel continued, “it’s just a number that adds up to your age. Not your maturity.”

“Who said I was jealous of the past?” Vonda exclaimed. “I was just curious. Besides, he never told me about it.”

“Why would anyone talk about a bad past? Especially if his ex is already married to someone else, right?”

Vonda nodded. “Oh.”

“Although I’ve heard their marriage isn’t happy. They’ve been through several court mediations.”

“Oh,” Vonda whispered again.

Samuel chuckled. “Relax. That’s all in the past. Now he’s with you in the future, right?”

“Eh?” Vonda’s expression suddenly turned to horror. “He might not have a future if he’s with me.”

“Hahaha! Always self-conscious,” Samuel said amusedly. “That’s what I like about you.”

Vonda pretended to flip her hair. “Don’t tease me, okay? It won’t work.”

Perhaps their banter would have continued if Max had not returned a few seconds later. Seeing Max, Samuel pulled his chair back. He reestablished the distance he had eroded earlier.

“Don’t you think it would be better if you came here alone?” Max asked as he sat down.

Vonda looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been watching, and it seems that your friend Samuel likes you,” Max whispered in Vonda’s ear.

“Come on!” Vonda chuckled briefly and threw out a question. “By the way… do you know two things in this world that are quite amusing?”

A sudden change of subject, Max thought.

But Max did not hesitate to answer the question. Not with an answer, but with a question of his own.

“What?”

In response to Max’s question, Vonda cast a look with a mysterious glow. As mysterious as the answer she had whispered in Max’s ear earlier.

“Jealousy of the past and jealousy of things that don’t exist.”

*