Chapter 4

Sergio

Ever since what happened the night of their first date, they had spent quite a lot of time together- meeting every morning for coffee and then having long meaningful conversations at night. Both were glad that they had developed a special kind of friendship. During the weekends, they would take long walks along the streets of Madrid for fresh air, then end up at Raquel's house to watch whatever show is on the television, which would again end up with them ignoring the TV and just proceed to talk about whatever topic comes up.

It was the third weekend that Sergio had fallen asleep on the couch and had spent the night at the Murillos' household. He shifted from his position, feeling an ache on his back, and carefully rolled over. Somehow sensing that someone is staring at him, he slowly opened his eyes and saw a figure standing right in front of him. He abruptly sat up straight and instinctively looked for his glasses.

"Careful." A voice said with a chuckle.

As he put on his glasses, his vision was foggy for a moment but then focused on the figure in front of him. It was Raquel with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Are you awake now?" she teased.

"You scared me." he said in a groggy voice, still quite disoriented from waking up.

"Uhm, you might wanna cover your…" he looked up at her and saw that she was blushing. He followed the direction of what she was pointing at and his eyes landed on his crotch- his obviously awake crotch. Feeling the heat reach his face, he immediately grabbed a pillow to cover himself. He looked at Raquel once more and saw that she was looking far away from him while pretending to sip her coffee. He wanted to evaporate into thin air.

"Breakfast is ready!" Marivi shouted from the kitchen.

"Oh, thank goodness" he thought, thankful for the distraction.

"Come on. I'll make you coffee." Raquel said, and then walked inside the kitchen to sit on the dining table. He calmed himself down and soon followed her. The kitchen was filled with the smell of pancakes and coffee and as he entered, a small smile formed on his lips. He couldn't believe how homely this was.

"Good morning." He shyly greeted the Murillo women and sat down to eat his pancakes.

"Why do you keep sleeping on the couch? Raquel's bed is big enough for the both of you." Marivi nonchalantly said, which earned a death-stare from her daughter. Meanwhile, the question caught him off-guard that he choked on the coffee he was drinking, making him cough roughly.

"Are you okay?" Raquel whispered to him. "Do you want me to get you some water?" she offered, obviously concerned. He shook his head and tried to put himself together thinking he should definitely stop embarrassing himself in front of the Murillo women.

"Mama, turn on your filter, please." Raquel said to her mother, who only shrugged her shoulders and let out a soft chuckle.

Raquel

Breakfast was lovely if she minus the times her mother managed to mortify both her and Sergio. She couldn't possibly ponder how natural everything feels- Sergio spending the night, eating breakfast with them, having a conversation with her and her mother like they've known each other for the longest time. She couldn't help but smile at the domesticity of it all. Yet there's this fear of getting attached with him that kept on buggering her at the end of each day they spend together. What if this is once again a start of something horrifying like what happened with Alberto? What if this is something too good to be true? Her thoughts were interrupted when her mother uttered a question.

"Tell me again why you haven't slept with that man yet?" her mother bluntly asked.

"Aaaand the filter's off." she said and looked over her shoulder to check if Sergio, who is currently washing the dishes, heard her mother. "We're just friends." she stated as a matter of a fact.

Her mother snorted and said, "Right. Friends my beautiful ass." Raquel threw her mother a sharp look and shook her head. Sometimes she doesn't know how her mother could be so straightforward.

"I'm serious. We're taking it slow. Mostly me."

"Oh cariño." Her mother lovingly caressed her cheek. "You know what, I take it back. Slow is good."

"Thank you." She smiled then looked at the man who was now drying his hands with a towel. He met her eyes and gave her a sweet smile, which she gladly returned. He was now walking towards the table and before taking a seat, touched her on the shoulder.

"Very well, I'm going back to my room now. I'll leave you two then." Her mother said while she waved her hand, and then kissed her on the forehead before exiting the kitchen.

Sergio was sitting from across the table with his second cup of coffee.

"Did you have a good sleep?" he asked, knowing that her nightmares haven't fully disappeared yet.

"I did. These past few weeks I've been sleeping so soundly thanks to you." She replied sincerely.

Sergio has a way of making her feel safe. She found his presence so calming and his words reassuring. Somehow he has offered a kind of support system that she didn't realize she needed to accept. And she badly wants to show him how much she cares for him too; she just didn't know how and if she's ready enough. She often thought about the possibility that she's already fallen in love with this incredibly affectionate man but then she would find herself tearing up, because in reality, she still couldn't see the line that separates love with pain, depression, and fear. And she aches for the day that she could totally abolish the terror, the angst from deep within her heart, so she could be the woman whom Sergio deserves.

She heard him cleared his throat, breaking the silence between them.

"So uhm, my brother will be hosting dinner next Saturday. He asked me if you could come."

"Really?" she asked, a little bit surprised.

"Yes. Some of our friends are going to be there too."

"Oh."

"It's okay if you don't want to come. I'll just tell him you have plans." He said, sensing her hesitation.

"No, I want to come."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Besides, I cannot miss the opportunity to hear embarrassing stories about you." She said with a smirk.

When Sergio left that afternoon, she prepped herself for a lunch date with her childhood best friend who just got back in town and whom she would be meeting at Hanoi. Hanoi simply became her favorite place ever since she first set foot at the café. She wore a cream-colored sundress with floral patterns and let the natural waves of her hair flow. She put on light make-up to brighten up her face. Deciding that she's already good to go, she knocked on her mother's door to bid goodbye and promised that she would be back before dinnertime, and then drove to Hanoi.

She pushed the door open and looked around for her friend with whom she figured wasn't there yet. She walked towards the bar counter and sat on her stool and waited for Denver to turn around, who was busy operating the cappuccino machine. As Hanoi became a very special place for her, so was the lad who was always behind the counter. She had gotten close with Denver throughout the days and somehow considered him a good and trusted friend. When he finally turned around, his serious and focused face turned into a wide smile.

"Inspectora!" he happily greeted and Raquel gave him a playful salute. "You didn't tell me you were coming. Is the professor coming too?" he added.

"No no. I'm actually here to meet a dear friend."

"Oooh! Any chance that this friend is a young single lady who is as beautiful as you?" he playfully asked with his eyebrows moving up and down.

"You be the judge when she gets here." She answered with a giggle.

And right on cue, the bell on the doorway chimed, which made both of them look at its direction. A tall and petite young woman entered, whose blonde curly hair is enormously gorgeous. Upon seeing Raquel, the woman shrieked with joy and waved at her excitedly. Raquel waved back and stood up from her seat to welcome her dearest friend.

"Raquel! Oh it's so good to finally see you!" she said and gave her friend a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you too, Monica!" she hugged back and said, "I missed you a lot!"

"I missed you a lot too. Let's take a seat now shall we?" Monica suggested.

"Wait, I'd like you to meet someone first." Raquel said and took her friend's hand. As they made their way to Denver, she couldn't help but laugh at the young lad's reaction. He was awfully struck by Monica's beauty and he didn't bother to even hide it on his face.

"Mon, I'd like you to meet Denver. His father owns this shop and he runs it." she said sounding like a proud sister. "Denver, this is Monica. My childhood and best friend."

The two shook hands and exchanged a "nice to meet you" greeting.

"We'll have two coffees, bud. Thank you!" Raquel said and excitedly pulled Monica's hand to have a seat on the couch by the window.

The best friends spent their time exchanging stories and new experiences they managed to earn. Raquel left out the details as to why she broke up with Alberto, deciding that it would be a conversation for another time, and instead told her everything about Sergio.

"Well he seems to be a nice guy and obviously you're smitten with him so I don't get why you're not together." Monica commented.

"It's complicated, Mon. I'm complicated." She sadly acknowledged.

"Hey. The complicated ones are the ones worth fighting for." Monica assured her.

"Thank you, Mon. That means so much to me." She smiled appreciatively.

"Now. Tell me about Denver. Is he single?"

Raquel laughed at Monica's evident interest at Denver. She could already see what's about to ensue and to be honest, she felt excited. There's nothing more thrilling and delightful than two of her most beloved friends getting to know each other- that would maybe, if not definitely, would evolve into a dashing relationship.

"Very." she replied with a wink.

"Good." Monica replied which earned a gasp from her and then laughed. Clearly, it's good to have her friend back.