TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

The only reason Max never ate in the office cafeteria was because he knew he would only be working there temporarily. So, he decided not to blend in too much and preferred to eat lunch elsewhere. He also felt a little uncomfortable when other employees greeted him just to talk about Lucas.

Fortunately, Max found a Mexican restaurant to his liking. As for the taste, don’t even ask. Max’s consistent visits there were solid evidence that both the food and the service were excellent.

For lunch, Max ordered fajitas. He enjoyed the menu while observing the typical lunchtime bustle; busy and very active.

Ding!

Max reached into his pocket and pulled out his ringing cell phone. He saw Riley on a video call.

“Hello, Mom.”

Max answered the video call and greeted his mother casually. Not out of rudeness, but because Max’s attention was still focused on his fajitas; the grilled slices of meat were truly delicious. He reached for another bite, swallowed a large mouthful, and heard Riley’s voice on the other end.

“You’re going home with Vonda next week. Ask her parents when Vonda can be proposed to and how much they want for the engagement.”

Gulp!

“Uhuk!”

Max was startled. His body lost control. A piece of barbecued meat slid prematurely down his throat and then got stuck.

Max choked. His eyes widened and he gasped for air.

Hastily, Max put his phone down on the table. He grabbed a glass and quickly downed its contents. He tried to dislodge the piece of grilled meat that was making him look awful. Half of it was in his mouth and the other half was already in his throat.

Max coughed. His eyes were red. And his breath was all over the place.

Oh dear!

It took Max a full glass of water to swallow the bite of fajitas he had not yet chewed. How did it taste? Argh! Torturous.

“Mom.”

Max growled, his nose running and his eyes watering. One look and everyone would know how annoyed this guy was right now.

“Next time, Mom, use a signal when you want to say something. Can’t you see I’m eating?” Max asked, showing off his lunch. “If I lose my breath because my throat chokes, then what? You don’t want to have a kid anymore?”

On the phone screen, Riley’s face looked guilty. Her eyes blinked as her lips pursed.

“Um, sorry,” Riley whispered. “I didn’t know you were eating.” The middle-aged woman’s face lifted. “Besides, why did you have fajitas for lunch today? Can’t you eat something else? A salad or a sandwich. Try some salsa. You won’t choke on it.”

Max’s eyes widened dramatically. “Wow! You totally went against my menu choice. Seriously, Mom.”

Riley let out a long sigh. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I was wrong. I apologize. Besides, I really wanted to talk to you about Vonda.”

Thank God he had not resumed eating.

Unconsciously, Max’s eyeballs moved uneasily. He clearly remembered Riley’s words from earlier that had almost taken his breath away.

“Next Friday night, Vonda’s sister is going to engaged,” Riley continued. “Did you know that?”

Max nodded once.

“Well then! Why don’t you come along? You’ll walk her home. Ask her parents when you both can get engaged? How much do they want for the engagement? Just ask everything.”

Max grimaced.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“Mom, this is really sudden,” Max protested. Besides, he couldn’t possibly ask Vonda’s parents those questions, could he?

Riley’s eyes narrowed. “Sudden? What do you mean, sudden? You and Vonda are already together. You’re close. Well, it’s not sudden when you plan to get married. It’s sudden when people who aren’t close suddenly start sending out wedding invitations.”

Oh dear. I think I’ve been eating too much beef lately. My head feels so dizzy.

Riley took a deep breath before continuing, this time with seriousness in her voice.

“Anyway, when you get back from Vonda’s, you better have a report for me. If not, watch out. I’m going to Vonda’s house myself. So, you can get married quickly. If necessary, you’ll get married before her younger sibling does.”

What?!

“Mom…” Max cleared his throat. It seemed that even without the spicy stew, his throat still felt stuffed. It was really hard to talk.

“If Vonda’s parents ask for a billion-dollar dowry, what am I supposed to do? I’d have to save first. We can’t get married fast.”

Riley’s eyeballs rolled dramatically as she flashed a lazy smile. “Save up? Your savings are already considerable, Max. Look! Just sell your new Lamborghini. Easy, right? You can use the rest for a honeymoon in Europe.”

Oh, my God!

Max’s eyes seemed ready to pop out of their sockets. His mouth was hanging open and his voice sounded like he was choking.

“What did you just say?” Max asked incredulously. “Sell my Aventador?” He struggled to breathe. “Don’t you know how long I waited for this car? How long the pre-order took? How long the transaction took? Not to mention how long customs held it up? It’s already equal to the time from when Kitty was born to when Kitty has grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”

“Why are you bringing up Kitty?” Riley muttered, pushing her lips forward. She gave up. “Fine, don’t sell it. Just pawn it for a while.”

“How is a pawn shop going to accept a Lamborghini, Mom!” Max shouted in frustration. “Do you really want to see me in the Guinness World Records as the biggest idiot in all of Oceana or what?”

“Hahaha!”

“Hahaha!”

Laughter suddenly erupted all around Max. It made him realize that he had just screamed without caring about the reality of where he was at that moment.

Oh, God.

Max dramatically closed his eyes. The sudden embarrassment froze his face for a moment. Then he heard Riley’s voice again.

“It’s up to you if you want to sell your Lamborghini or your other cars. The point is … when you get back from Vonda’s tomorrow, you have to tell me about your relationship. Don’t even think about lying to me, Max. Basically, we’re going to have a video call during the engagement event. I need to be sure that you really went.”

Max was astonished, unable to comprehend Riley’s determination.

“Not just show up. But also ask her parents seriously. If you don’t show up, watch out, Max,” Riley continued. “I will take you off the family inheritance list.”

Frustrated, Max replied.

“Do you want me to pick you up, Mom? Let’s go see the family lawyer now.”

Riley frowned. “Huh? What are you planning?”

“Take my name off the inheritance list, Mom. Please!”

*

When the door made its characteristic sound, Vonda immediately rose from her seat to greet Max as he walked in with his shoulders slumped. He looked like a soldier who had just been scolded by his commander.

“Max.”

Max lifted his face and looked at Vonda as she approached with a worried expression. She extended her hand and invited him to sit down.

Vonda quickly inserted a straw into the mineral water on the table. She handed it to Max and let him take a weak sip of the water.

Vonda put the mineral water back on the table and turned her attention to two sheets of tissue. She wiped the sweat from Max’s face.

“Did your mom call you?” Vonda asked carefully.

Max nodded.

“Did she mention my sibling’s engagement?” Vonda asked again.

Again, Max nodded.

“Then…” Vonda felt her heart pound. “… did she talk about us?”

It was not a nod from Max, but a long breath. It was obvious that he lacked the strength to answer Vonda’s question.

“Please, tell me. You didn’t eat burrito, did you? You didn’t choke on the whole burrito, did you?”

Dramatically, Max slowly turned to face Vonda. His face looked completely defeated.

“I didn’t eat any burrito.”

Vonda let out a breath of relief.

“I just had fajitas. Pieces of grilled meat and peppers used to get stuck in my throat. I never thought I could breathe again until now.”

“Oh my God, Max. Next time just have sweet tofu. At least you’ll still be able to breathe when you choke.”

“I don’t really like rice with sweet side dishes, Vonda.”

Vonda shook her head, feeling a little touched by something. “I actually didn’t think that you really like eating at Mexican restaurants.”

“Because the food there is spicy. That’s why I like to eat there.”

“Well, but…”

“Are we seriously talking about my favorite food?”

“Oops!”

Vonda covered her mouth, realizing they had strayed onto an inappropriate topic. They were talking about their relationship, weren’t they?

They both fell silent for a moment. The only sound was the sound of their breathing echoing in the room. At least that was a sign that there was still life there.

“You don’t have to come, Max. I’ll talk to Mom myself.”

Max turned around. Whether he knew it or not, he was holding Vonda’s hand. “I’m coming.”

“W-what?” Vonda blinked. “Well, but… you can’t possibly ask my parents about our engagement or anything like that. We’re…”

Max’s hand tightened around Vonda’s. “We’ll figure it out later. Besides… I think Mom really means it this time. At least when I come to your house, Mom won’t nag me anymore. As for us, I can always bring up the subject if your parents are still busy with Kania’s engagement.”

Max paused.

Is that really the reason, Max?

On the other hand, Vonda seemed to think about Max’s words and realized that there was some truth in what he had said. She smiled.

“Okay then. Besides… it would be advantageous for you to come to the engagement night,” Vonda continued. “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of food at my place. We can take some home later.”

“Huh? Why do I feel like I’m being reduced to just food?”

Vonda just laughed. Although, of course, her laughter was not due to Max’s amusing words. Instead, it was an attempt to cover up something that was making her heart race.

This is just to keep Max from getting scolded by Mom. It’s not because he really wants to meet my parents.

At that moment, Vonda suddenly heard Sarah’s words echoing in her head.

“The problem is our culture, which is easily influenced by emotion.”

*