Chapter 335: One Awkward Birthday Party
After saying "Happy Birthday," Caroline noticed the unenthusiastic Max beside her. Despite her fake smile, she kicked Max from behind: "Show some energy like you did in Ron's trash palace! Say 'Happy Birthday'!"
"Happy Birthday, Joe~" Max replied half-heartedly and snapped back at Caroline: "Say it again—you're the homewrecker, you came later!"
Manny's head was spinning. He was completely confused by the two attractive young women in front of him. He couldn't even think about his crush anymore, because his mind was completely occupied by Max's... prominent assets.
"I'm not Joe, that's my little brother. I'm Manny. May I know your names, ladies?" Manny's eyes were full of teenage swagger, but fortunately, Gloria noticed in time and pulled him back.
"Manny, go upstairs and keep working on your classmate's jacket," Gloria took the cake box from Caroline.
"Let me help you carry it in, ma'am," Caroline nudged Max with her elbow and they went inside together, placing the box on the table. "There are thirty cupcakes and one birthday cake. Thank you for trusting us with such an important birthday party..."
"Ding-dong!" The doorbell rang again.
Manny, who had just gone upstairs, came running back down. If he climbed the stairs this enthusiastically every day, he'd definitely lose weight fast. Unfortunately, this time, the person outside wasn't who he was hoping for.
"Hi, Manny!" Phil, Ron, and Luke arrived together. Manny shook his head and walked away disappointed.
"Phil, I heard you got arrested. How'd it go?"
"Thank God for Ron. He said a few words to the cops and got me released. Thanks, buddy." Phil happily hugged Ron.
"Don't mention it, we're family. This is what I should do," Ron said with a mischievous grin. "But are you sure this is really okay? Leaving Haley in there for the afternoon?"
Ron thought getting Phil out would be a piece of cake, something he could do with one phone call. But Phil came out and suggested letting Haley stay locked up for a while to teach her a lesson.
Ron readily agreed to this crazy idea, quickly made some arrangements with the cops, and shifted the blame from Phil to Haley.
This father and daughter were truly something else—a perfect example of mutual sabotage!
"Ron?" Ron was chatting with Gloria about the funny story of the bail when a familiar voice interrupted him. Turning around, he met Caroline's incredulous gaze.
"Caroline? Max? What are you doing here?!"
"They're the ones who brought the cake. Do you know them?" Gloria's eyes darted between Ron and the two women, sensing drama.
Of course, Cameron and Mitchell also sensed the drama brewing.
"We know each other."
"We don't."
Ron and Caroline spoke almost simultaneously, while Max watched them both with an amused expression. Actually, she had already talked things through with Caroline when they got home yesterday.
Although Caroline always presented herself as Ron's girlfriend, they both knew in their hearts that their relationship had never been officially defined; it was basically still at the friends-with-benefits level, pretty common these days.
Max was the same; her relationship with Ron was also casual, never taking it any further.
Caroline's anger was simply because she was annoyed at being kept in the dark by Ron and Max for so long; she wasn't really that upset.
On this point, there's a fundamental difference between American dating culture and more traditional approaches. Americans, unless a formal exclusive relationship is established, don't usually get jealous about each other's casual hookups or flings with other people, as long as it's just physical.
Last night, Caroline and Max had argued for a bit, then slept it off and made up.
"Yes, they're both good friends of mine, Gloria. Can I bring two more friends to Joe's birthday party?"
"Of course." Jay agreed with a mixture of envy and nostalgia. Back in his day, he'd been as much of a player as Ron, but his conquests were nowhere near as attractive as Ron's two.
"Beautiful lady, may I have this dance?" On the other side, Caroline had already discreetly turned on the music and gave Ron an OK sign. Ron returned the thumbs-up and walked straight over to Caroline.
"I never promised to get back together with you. I haven't forgiven you yet." Caroline turned her head away, afraid that another glance at Ron's handsome face would make her cave to any request.
Back in high school, Caroline had lost her virginity to Ron, and then forgave him after he "accidentally" slept with Paris Hilton. Finally, she caught him with Max and broke up with him after he asked, "Want to join us?"
God! After all these years, this guy hasn't changed at all. Please send a lightning bolt to strike this jerk down!
But, although Caroline said this, her hand was already outstretched, just waiting for Ron to take it so she could naturally fall into his arms.
However, Ron smiled slightly. "Excuse me, I'm speaking to this lady. Please have some self-respect, miss." Ron turned to Max and invited her again, "Beautiful lady, may I have this dance?"
"Of course!" Max, with a smirk identical to Ron's, readily embraced him and stepped onto the dance floor. Caroline gritted her teeth in frustration.
She had changed her mind. If she could, she wished God would strike both of these jerks down at the same time.
"Is the princess still mad?" Ron whispered in Max's ear as they danced.
"She calmed down when we got home yesterday, but she's still putting on a show. If you had taken her hand just now, I guarantee you'd be getting lucky tonight. How about it? Regretting it now? It's not too late to change your mind."
"No," Ron firmly rejected Max's tempting offer, "I'm absolutely certain that even now, I'll be getting lucky tonight, and it'll be way better than what you just mentioned."
As Ron said this, his eyes were fixed on Max's chest.
"A girl like me wouldn't dare dream of a fairy tale romance."
"No, it's about two princesses—the story of me and two princesses. Hey, Max, I have an idea to win Caroline back. Would you help me out?"
"As long as it's not a threesome, I'm willing to help." Max, however, cleverly avoided the trap.
"Oh, never mind then~~~" Ron sighed in disappointment.
(End of Chapter)
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