HERNAN AND GABRIELA BOOK 1

CHAPTER 3

Why was Adrianna getting so friendly with the Ortiz's? Could there be something with Hector? If so Hector had better watch out, Adrianna Alvarez was his and no one else's. Gina is trying hard to hide how uncomfortable she is around Antonio. They reach, and Aranza says she wants to make a fruit cocktail. Hector looks at Adrianna who jokingly says the cocktail is edible enough. Aranza makes a face and Antonio says that they should taste it because it is good and Aranza is a brat who usually gets her way. Aranza glares at him and asks Gina what fruits they have, and she says grapes, bananas, mangoes, and strawberries. Using those and honey and milk, Aranza makes some and lets it set in the fridge. Aurelio helps her clean up. Gina and Adrianna make some snacks. Everyone agrees Aranza's milkshake is delicious.

Later on Aranza, Adrianna and Antonio leave for home. Carlos and Helena are at home. Helena asks them where they were. The sight before her is uncommon. All three of the children coming from the same place, and together. Adrianna says from a coworker's house, for tea.

The next day at work, during lunch, Horacio Saenz comes to see Gina. They go to the cafeteria. Gina wonders why he is here. What does he want? Gina asks him what he wants. He says he still loves her. Gina tells him he needs to stop being ridiculous. She says that they have nothing in common and that a relationship between them would not work. She says that the spark is just not there. Antonio comes over and sees the unfolding scene. He passes them, and Gina watches him. She cannot explain, her attraction to Antonio. Gina remembers their early childhood before her and Hector's childhood took such a tragic turn. Antonio had not changed.

As a child, he would play pranks, on her and was always just as cheeky, while her brother would pick on Adrianna, almost like the boys had made a pact. She remembers waking up when she was about 7, and Adrianna, who was the first person to see her, asking why her hair was blue. Gina then looks into her mirror and screams. Antonio and Hector (then under his real name Hernan) come and laugh. Helena as usual scolds the children for making a fuss. As she often did, Gina wondered how everyone's lives would have been like had circumstances been different.

Would she still be attracted to Antonio or Hernan to Adrianna?

Horacio says something, and it passes Gina. She apologizes and says she just remembered something from her childhood. Antonio just can't quite figure it out. Yes, he did find Gina attractive, but it was something more than that. There was something about her and Hector that was familiar. What was it? Antonio often thought of that tragic event 16 years ago. How Helena and his father told him and Adrianna, that Hernan and Gabriela went abroad to live with relatives, the long search for the twins, and the declaration, that presumed them dead, after a year, of no proof of them being alive or dead.

Where could the twins be? Did they die in the forest, or since? If they were alive, were they plotting, revenge, would they unleash it on everyone including him, Adrianna, and Aranza? Antonio looks again at Gina. Would she give in to Horacio's pursuits? Antonio could tell there was a history. Where there once was something, couldn't it develop again? He has a feeling Ice princess isn't as uncaring as she seems, and feels something for him. The thought of Horacio having anything to do with Gina made his blood boil.

Meanwhile at the university:

Aranza has been trying to avoid her friends from the club. It still scared her how close she came to being assaulted. The friends had tried to reach out to her again but she had refused to reconnect. She ran into Aurelio again, and they walked together to the cafeteria. Aurelio asked her for her number. She gives it to him. He asked her if they could be friends. Aranza agrees. Aurelio tells her, if she ever needs anything, she could rely on him, Gina and Hector. Aranza thanks him again. He says it is okay because they are friends.

Some days pass, and Aurelio and Aranza, are walking together when they run into some friends of the two guys who were with her in the club. They give Aurelio funny looks, and ignore him, focusing on Aranza. They ask her if she wants to go with them to the club. Aranza says she is okay and has plans. The guys go on. Aurelio looks at Aranza. She asks him what the problem is, and he asks whether she is embarrassed to be seen with him. She says no. Aranza asks him what they are doing during the weekend, and Aurelio looks at her. She is one of a kind, and very insistent, spontaneous, and stubborn. The only other person he knows who is like that was Gina. In fact, come to think of it, they had a lot in common. Aranza tells him not to mind those jerks.

At the office, Hector runs into Adrianna and asks if she is not busy, maybe she could accompany him to the nearby mall. Adrianna agrees. Adrianna goes back to working on the media campaign for the launch, with her colleagues. At the end of the working day, Adrianna leaves with Hector. She asks him, what they are going to do. He smiles and says that it's a surprise. Alejandro watches them, Adrianna has gone on a few dates since they broke up, but it was only with Hector, that he had seen her in that manner. A relaxed, easy calmness. Hector was also the first guy in a long time she had agreed to go out with alone.

They walk and board a bus to the mall. Hector takes her to a bowling alley. Adrianna asks him if the balls will break her fingers. He smiles and says no. He says that there are balls to suit different strengths. Adrianna looks skeptical but agrees anyway. She is surprised at how much fun she has. They later play some video games before Hector takes her to get a cab. He removes money to give her Cab fare but she insists she will pay since he took care of the evening's costs. Adrianna greets him, and He smiles at her. In the Cab, she thinks about the past. She could not remember the last time she had had so much fun.

Adrianna goes back to the past. She misses the twins. Would all their lives be different if the twins had not disappeared? Despite what her Aunt Helena and Carlos said, she was sure the twins were alive, somewhere in the country. There was something about Hector that reminded her of Hernan. She remembered how he would tease her, and play tricks on her before the tragic events of 16 years ago. He would always do something like put toy rats, in her things or toothpaste in her hair and on her face. She asks herself if he was still alive.