TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

Max felt immensely grateful when the car he was driving was finally parked safely in front of Vonda’s apartment building. Considering how he had driven earlier; he had briefly thought that he might end up in the hospital instead of Vonda’s unit.

But here Max was, right outside Vonda’s apartment door. He rang the doorbell repeatedly as he spoke into the intercom.

“Vonda, I know you’re in there. Open the door, Von. We need to talk.”

Max pushed the doorbell again. But there was still no sign of the door being opened by its owner.

Damn it!

Max growled and pressed the doorbell again.

“Open the door, Von. We need to talk.”

Still the same. The door remained stubbornly closed. Max’s patience began to wear thin, and for the umpteenth time he pressed the doorbell angrily. This time he spoke with the utmost seriousness and a hint of threat.

“I promise you, Von. I won’t leave until you open this door. If you don’t believe me, go ahead. I’m deadly serious. If necessary, I’ll make a scene here. Let security catch me and I’ll tell them it’s all because of you. So, if you don’t want me to make a scene, I suggest that you…”

Creak!

Suddenly, the door in front of Max opened and his long speech stopped abruptly in mid-air.

Vonda appeared. Her face was half-downcast, her eyes averting Max’s gaze.

Max’s half-panic vanished. He breathed a sigh of relief, although a moment later he felt very anxious.

Vonda’s appearance was a mess. Her hair looked disheveled and she was still wearing the dress from earlier.

Guilt weighed on Max. He would not be wrong to suspect that he was partly responsible for what had happened to Vonda that night.

“You finally opened the door.”

Holding the door, Vonda nodded quietly. “Yes. Instead of you making a scene, I might as well open the door. I don’t want you making a mess. My life is chaotic enough as it is.”

Whether Vonda meant it as a jab or not, the statement sounded like a dig in Max’s ears. It only strengthened his resolve.

“I’m sorry for the mess tonight, Von. I-”

“It’s okay,” Vonda interrupted Max, nodding her head repeatedly, though she still avoided looking into the man’s eyes. “It’s called chaos for a reason. No one plans for chaos. So, it’s nobody’s fault. Besides… my life is often a mess.”

Max swallowed hard. “Vonda, I-”

“Besides, if anything was wrong before, it was probably me. If I hadn’t lost my temper like that, everything wouldn’t have gone haywire.”

“It’s not like that, but-”

“But I was really stupid back then. Didn’t think it through and ended up making things worse.”

“Nothing went wrong, Von. There was just-”

“Just what? Do you and Giselle have any other problems?”

Max blinked. He fell silent as Vonda’s question reached his auditory senses.

Vonda’s face suddenly lifted, bringing her two eyeballs into line with Max’s gaze. Those eyes appeared… red. Max wouldn’t be wrong in guessing that those eyes had already used up their supply of tears due to earlier events.

“Vonda.”

Max’s sigh made Vonda realize that she had unconsciously raised her face. Vonda tried to calm herself as she tried to read Max’s thoughts from his gaze.

This caused Vonda to unconsciously wipe her cheeks. There were no tears, just a cold sensation from the dried tears.

Vonda took a deep breath and smiled.

“I … was really emotional, Max. It’s just… it didn’t really mean anything. Just calm down. I-”

This time it was Max who cut Vonda off. If he had let Vonda cut him off before, now it was the other way around.

Max could not hold out any longer. Not because Vonda had mentioned Giselle’s name. No, that was not it. But there was a fatal sentence that Vonda had just spoken.

It was so fatal that it forced Max to speak up. Without warning, he immediately cupped both of Vonda’s cheeks. It made her stare because in the next second Max had cut off her words with a peck on the lips.

Vonda’s hands immediately shot up. They grabbed Max’s chest and squeezed his suit jacket. Her chest deflated and she froze. She let Max kiss her so passionately.

When Max pulled away, Vonda was silent. Max’s face looked so upset.

“Is this the only way I can get you to shut up for a minute, Von?” Max asked hoarsely. “Can you give me a chance to talk?”

Vonda blinked twice. “I-I can…”

Max let out a breath, trying to be patient and keeping his hands on Vonda’s cheeks.

“In that case, listen to what I have to say, okay?”

Stiffly, Vonda answered Max’s request with a nod of her head. But at least Max felt a little relieved.

Max stared intensely into Vonda’s eyes, trying to tell her everything.

“First,” Max said quietly. “I hate to hear you say ‘it didn’t mean anything’.” Max paused for a moment to catch his breath. “Please, Von. How can you say ‘it didn’t mean anything’ when you feel the opposite?”

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“Do you have any idea what it does to my self-esteem when you say ‘it didn’t mean anything,’ especially after we’ve had a night that we both know… meant a lot?”

Max took a deep breath, creating a momentary pause to calm his emotions.

“And now… again? After saying something like that in front of everyone… you say ‘it didn’t mean anything’?”

Vonda bit her lower lip, winced, but remained the same. She was trying to control her own upset.

“Max, I…”

“Second… I also hate hearing you talk about me and Giselle. Don’t you realize it’s really inappropriate? Come on, Von. Don’t you know that what I’m hoping for right now is you and me?”

Vonda blinked once. The movement caused two tears to roll from the corners of her eyes. Especially because in the next moment Max said something that Vonda had probably never expected. Words that sounded so full of emotion and seriousness.

“Because the third thing is… I love you, Vonda.”

It felt as if Vonda’s legs suddenly went weak. Like she could not breathe. Like a thousand emotions were swirling around her, making her dizzy.

“You… you don’t…”

But Max did not want to hear any form of doubt from the girl. So, before Vonda could voice her disbelief, Max pulled at Vonda’s face again. He landed on her lips and kissed her again.

Shock was the best word to describe Vonda’s feelings when Max uttered that sacred word. She seemed suddenly confused by what she heard.

Love?

Vonda questioned the meaning of the word. But once again, Max silenced her lips before she could voice her question. She did not allow herself to utter a single word.

Vonda questioned the meaning of the word. But Max silenced her lips again before she could finish her question. He did not allow her to utter a single word.

However, Vonda was strangely not at all surprised by this one kiss. Instead, she welcomed it. Receiving the soulful touch with no less tenderness. She put her arms around Max’s neck and returned it with all her heart.

Max realized that Vonda’s acceptance would always leave him wanting more. So don’t be surprised if one of Max’s hands moves in the next second. It came down slowly and grabbed Vonda’s waist. Pulling her body against his. Almost lifting Vonda’s body. Even her feet almost floated above the ground. Vonda clung to him even tighter.

Max stepped up. He quickly got them both into the unit and pushed the door shut with one foot. Amazingly, Max did all this without breaking their passionate kiss.

“I love you, Vonda.”

That was the next thing Max said as their kiss broke. Just as he saw Vonda’s eyes slowly open and their gazes meet.

There were different emotions that Max found in those clear eyes. There was emotion, disbelief, hope, and everything that made Max feel like his throat was choked by a thousand feelings of happiness.

Vonda held her breath for a moment. Her face seemed to harden as she tried to hold back the flood of emotions that had suddenly erupted in her chest. But she was too emotional to hold back her tears.

“Max.”

With great difficulty, Vonda managed to whisper the boy’s name.

“At one point with you, it really gave me hope. But I was afraid it wouldn’t be reciprocated. In the end, it was the only option I had. I convinced myself that it all ‘didn’t mean anything.'”

A very simple reason. Sometimes hope can backfire. Either an encouragement or the opposite. The fear that hope is just hope. In the end, it was better to choose to imagine nothing than to feel like you were being floated by empty hopes, and Max clearly knew that.

“I know, Von.” Max nodded. “Sometimes I feel the same way.”

Max’s words were not just words of comfort. He did not mean to make light of Vonda’s situation, but he really felt exactly what she was feeling.

“I also feel claustrophobic knowing that Giselle is still expecting you,” Vonda continued, shaking her head repeatedly. “I don’t like you being with her. I don’t like it, Max.”

“Oh my God! I don’t like it either, Von.”

Vonda knew then that she could not hold on any longer. So she let her tears fall as hard as she could as she continued to say.

“Because what I like is Vonda and Max. Right?”

Max smiled broadly. He chuckled once, but unconsciously his tears fell as well.

“Sounds like a good match, right?”

“Yes.” Vonda nodded through her tears. She could barely see Max’s face. “This is …..”

But Vonda couldn’t finish her sentence. She could only take a deep breath, wipe away her tears, and then look deeply into Max’s eyes. She realized that this was the face that would accompany her days now. A face she hoped would continue to be with her in the days to come. Vonda decided to say something else that she hadn’t had a chance to say.

“I love you too, Max.”

The answer left Max stunned. He didn’t say anything because he was captivated by the sparkle in Vonda’s eyes. In the end, all Max could offer was a smile, a form of happiness he could not put into words. A happiness that was fully felt by Vonda as well.

*

Finding someone who loves us as much as we love them is truly heartwarming. Equally heartwarming is the realization that they are still there when we open our eyes in the morning. That face. That smile. Even that morning greeting. It’s undeniably heartwarming.

“Good morning.”

For a moment, you might just be in awe. Realizing that there will always be those little things that make you love them. Just like Vonda, who was happy to hear Max’s raspy voice that morning.

Oops!

Maybe that happiness was also because Max then pulled Vonda into his arms. So that Vonda could feel Max’s gentle touch on her back. And that clearly made Vonda’s happiness level skyrocket that morning. Well… especially after the chaos of the night before.

Speaking of chaos, the chaos of the failed party continued into another chaos. This one took place in Vonda’s room, and um… it’s pretty easy to guess what kind of chaos happened next.

“So, what do you think about getting married soon? In a month? In two months? Or maybe in three months?”

Vonda put her sandwich on the plate. She tilted her head, trying to keep the contents of her mouth from spitting out the urge to laugh.

“Why are you laughing?” Max asked as he finished the last of his breakfast. “I’m serious.”

“Oh, my goodness, Max. Are you in such a hurry to get married?”

Max quickly finished his glass of water before answering. “Why not?” Max replied. “Look, mentally and financially, I’m in the marriage zone.”

Oh! Mom would be so happy if she knew I was quoting her words.

But Max made sure Riley didn’t find out. He didn’t want to feed his mother’s pride any more.

“You feel the same way, don’t you?”

Vonda swallowed her bite. “Ah! So, you’re really ready to propose?”

Max nodded decisively. “Absolutely ready. I’ll bring Mom and Dad over to your place. To ask when your parents are ready to give their daughter to me.”

Uh…

“So, what do you think?” Max asked again. “Do you want to marry me?”

To this question, Vonda nodded confidently and without shame. Although there was one thing that made her comment.

“All my life I’ve never imagined being proposed to like this. In the kitchen, during breakfast, before even taking a shower. You’re not very romantic, Max.”

Max laughed. “Maybe I should have proposed in front of a bunch of people? Make a love confession in the middle of a crowd? Like that?”

“Not necessarily like that, but…”

Vonda’s words hung in the air. Something came to her mind when she heard Max’s words.

In front of many people. In the middle of a crowd.

“Oh, my God!”

Vonda gasped. Suddenly, she covered her mouth with a look of shock on her face. Max panicked.

“What’s wrong?” Max asked. “What’s happening, Von?”

Allowing Max to grab her upper arms, Vonda looked at him in horror. “Speaking of being in front of a lot of people and in the middle of a crowd… I suddenly remembered what happened last night, Max.”

“Last night?” Max was confused. “What do you mean?”

Vonda’s eyes widened in genuine horror. It was then she realized.

“Last night… it wasn’t like I was the one making a love confession to you, was it?”

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Laughter erupted. Max burst out laughing, while Vonda suddenly turned grumpy. Oh, of course, Vonda could guess how adept Oceanan netizens were at spreading videos until they became viral content. Vonda yelled.

“Max! Let’s get married next week!”

At that moment, Max’s laughter grew louder. He was almost unable to speak.

“Forget it! Because someone didn’t want to get married fast!”

“Max!” Vonda shouted as she tried to grab Max’s hand.

But Max skillfully dodged her and ran away from the kitchen island, with Vonda chasing after him.

“I don’t want to! I want to save money for a big wedding.”

“Enough! Just sell the Lamborghini!”

“Hahaha! Really? Aren’t you attached to it?”

“Max, are you serious?”

“Hahaha! Earlier, it seemed like someone didn’t want to get married fast.”

“Now I want to get married fast, Max.”

“Hahaha! Anxious to get married.”

“That’s right!”

“Afraid the video will go viral?” Max asked, coming to a stop across the living room.

Vonda, who managed to catch up to Max five seconds later, stopped running as well. Trying to control her heavy breathing, Vonda shook her head.

“No.”

Crouching down, Max asked playfully, “Then… why do you want to marry me so fast?”

“Because…” Vonda’s lips moved slowly to form a smile as she continued, “I don’t want what happened last night to happen again. Let people know that you belong to me. If we get married… there shouldn’t be any other girls hoping to have you, right?”

Max smiled. The amused look disappeared in an instant, replaced by a look full of love.

“If that’s your answer… so, be it,” Max said as he took a step closer to Vonda. “Next week? Who’s afraid?”

Vonda let her body sink into Max’s embrace. Feeling warmth and peace. Feelings that Max also felt.

Feelings they both secretly prayed would always be there to color their hopes for the future. In the form of the household they longed for.

A happy household. A household that, although tears would surely be shed, they would choose to stay together. Until those tears were replaced by laughter, because that’s how love works.

*