TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

Rika stood silently behind the reception desk. Her hands were clasped together while her eyes were narrowed as she looked straight ahead, fixed on the two people who were now entering the lobby.

“It’s like I’m invisible here. They don’t even acknowledge me. Do they think I’m more elusive than a supernatural being? Am I invisible to them?”

Rika huffed as the two people she saw entered the elevator. Only when they turned around inside the elevator did Rika receive a wave from Vonda. It was just a moment before the elevator doors closed.

Rika was really confused. “This is what happens when someone falls in love. They forget the world.”

Meanwhile, inside the elevator, slowly ascending through each floor, Vonda burst out laughing, imagining Rika’s irritated expression from earlier. To be honest, Vonda deliberately did not greet the receptionist. She was afraid that a brief interaction might lead to an unpleasant temptation.

“When I picked you up last Sunday night, she greeted me.”

Vonda looked at Max. “Really?”

Max nodded.

“What did she say?”

Max tried to remember. “Honestly, it was just small talk. Just a friendly gesture, I guess.”

“Rika’s small talk is usually just ‘small’,” Vonda quipped. “It’s better if you don’t get involved with her. Let your life be more peaceful.”

Not long after, the elevator came to a stop. The opening doors signaled their arrival at the desired floor. They both exited and walked to Vonda’s apartment. As they entered, Vonda spoke.

“Wait a minute. Sit down; I’ll change first.”

Max sat down in the living room chair while Vonda went into her room. Left alone, Max decided to check his phone.

Max thought briefly about how important the person who assembled his phone was. If nothing else, the phone could be used to distract from the silence he was currently feeling.

Checking a few incoming messages, Max unintentionally got lost in the activity. Until a few minutes later, when Max’s head was lowered and he was looking at his phone screen, he caught a different sight on the floor. It caused him to shift his focus.

There was a pair of feet over there. As his gaze moved upward, Max’s eyes settled on long calves, not even covered by a thread.

Well… Vonda tended to wear pants around the office rather than knee-length skirts. A wise choice, considering that many would rather look at her legs than her face.

Huh?

Max blinked. He suddenly lifted his head to find Vonda approaching with a distinctly different appearance.

But… her face seems to be pleasant as well.

Vonda smiled at her homey appearance. The shorts and loose t-shirt she wore that afternoon gave her a relaxed look. Her makeup had been removed, replaced by a natural, makeup-free, and casually tied up hair clip on her head. Something Max saw for the first time. Eum maybe, this was the second first for Max.

Remember about the very first first?

Yes, of course, Max replied mentally.

Lost in his own thoughts, Max was almost startled when Vonda spoke. She spoke in an inviting tone.

“Just come into the kitchen.”

Max blinked again. He wanted to say something, but Vonda had already left. So, Max got up as well. He left his bag in the living room as he followed Vonda into the kitchen.

Once there, Max saw Vonda opened the refrigerator door. She took out a clear box and showed it to him.

“Is one box enough or not?”

Max grinned. He pulled out a chair near the kitchen island and sat down. He reflexively took off his jacket and put it on another chair.

“I had a feeling earlier that you were going to give me one box. So, if you don’t want to eat with me, that means you only wanted to fry mine.”

“Eh?” Vonda’s eyes widened, but she chuckled amusedly. “Guests have no manners, huh? Like I’m just here to fry yours.”

“Hahaha!”

Vonda brought out another box. She quickly went to the stove, heated some oil in a pan, then retrieved the forgotten frozen potatoes.

“I didn’t know you had cooking oil,” Max commented shortly after seeing Vonda throw five chicken thighs into the hot oil. “I thought you fried chicken with kerosene or something.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Vonda turned around, leaned against the stove, and grinned. “Kerosene is rare these days. The government suggests using natural gas. As if anyone would fry chicken with gas?”

“Hahaha! That would be something.”

“Ahem.” Vonda looked at the refrigerator. “If you’re thirsty, just grab something from the fridge, okay? I’m not used to entertaining like this. So, you’re going to have to be proactive. If you wait for me to offer you a drink, you might die of thirst first.”

“No wonder,” Max said then. “I’ve been waiting and waiting, you know? Uh… the drinks never came.”

While Vonda laughed, Max did as she suggested. He stood up, rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows-because he was feeling a bit warm-and walked over to the refrigerator. He opened it and examined the contents.

“Ahem… quite extensive,” Max commented, observing every food item in it. “From fruits to vegetables to chicken thighs.”

“I don’t like being hungry. Especially in the middle of the night. Ugh! It’s really agonizing. So, I have to make sure that my food supply is complete. I’m pretty diligent about shopping for ingredients, you know?

Max grinned and took out a bottle of mineral water. He opened the cap and poured the contents into a glass. Then, after taking a red apple from the refrigerator and washing it in the sink, he returned to his seat.

While waiting for Vonda to finish frying and preparing everything, Max engaged her in light conversation. Starting with trivial things.

“How long has that apple been in the fridge?”

Vonda, who was flipping the fried chicken thighs, glanced over. “I think it’s only been a few days. Why?”

“It doesn’t seem fresh anymore.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

Unfortunately, Max’s words did not convince Vonda. It was hard to believe, especially since he actually got up and opened the refrigerator door again. He took a second apple and enjoyed it. After finishing that one, oh… Max took a third apple. And so on until the fifth apple. Or the last apple, to be exact.

About forty minutes later, Max got up and walked over to Vonda. It happened to coincide with her turning off the stove.

“I thought you weren’t cooking because it took so long. I was really hungry.”

“Hungry? With five apples you’ve wolfed down?” Vonda grinned. “That should last me two days.”

“Not quite balanced by the chicken my mom gave me.”

“Wow! The compensatory nature finally came out. Calculator mode is on.”

“Hahaha!”

“Also… It took me a while because I fried a lot. Not to mention the potatoes,” Vonda said as she grabbed a large plate. “Come help me. Don’t just concentrate on eating.”

Max did not object; he even followed Vonda, although he was not really doing anything. He just watched as Vonda arranged all the fried food on two separate plates-one for the chicken thighs and one for the potatoes.

“We can eat while we watch,” Vonda suggested after everything was neatly arranged on the plates. She lifted her face and looked at Max with slightly narrowed eyes. “I have a good movie.”

“Wow!” Max exclaimed, his eyes shining. “You’re such a gracious host.”

Dividing the tasks, Vonda brought a bottle of soda and two glasses, while Max picked up the two different plates. They walked into the living room and it was not long before all the dishes were on the table.

Max could not wait to sit down. He grabbed a tissue and wiped his hands while Vonda went to the TV. She grabbed the remote and asked, “What do you want to watch? A new movie or an old one?”

“I don’t care. I don’t care. The only thing I care about is these foods,” Max replied, causing Vonda to turn and look at him.

Vonda watched as Max picked up a small plate that was already there. He poured some chili sauce on it and dipped a piece of French fry in it. Then the fry disappeared into his mouth.

Chuckling, Vonda, who was actually unsure which movie to choose, ended up playing one at random. She did not have time to think about all the movie titles on Netflix. Eventually, the title “It” appeared on the TV screen.

Vonda put the remote control on the table and sat down next to Max. He watched the TV screen, furrowing his brow as the sound of the movie began to echo.

Vonda wiped her hands and enjoyed the first piece of French fry. She seemed relaxed, but it was a different story for Max, who seemed frozen as he watched the opening scene of the movie.

Max blinked. “What movie is this, Von?”

Vonda reached out and grabbed a piece of chicken thigh. “It.”

“It?” Max turned to her. “What genre?”

Nonchalantly, Vonda answered with ease. “Horror.”

Max’s eyes instantly widened and he exclaimed, “Change it!”

“Huh?”

Max’s face seemed to harden as he spoke. “As if life isn’t scary enough, you want to add horror movies to it?”

Vonda stared blankly for a moment. Then she burst out laughing.

“Are you really scared?”

And Max’s face turned redder than the color of the chili sauce.

Damn it!

*