Summary:

Gabriela has a dream about Bruno that gets her all bothered.

-o-o-

Written in Gabriela's POV.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

I'm restless. I'm dreaming again, but this time it's different. What kind of dream is this?

I recognize the surroundings as the river where Bruno and I first met. I'm sitting by the edge of the water, watching my reflection when someone splashes me. It's Bruno.

"Mi vida, come join me for a swim." He calls out to me. "Or are you just going to leave me hanging here?"

My mouth opens as he rises from the water, and I immediately look away, a blush forming on my cheeks. He doesn't have a shirt on. Mierda. What is going on?

Bruno chuckles at my reaction. "Why are you embarrassed? It's just me." I say something, but I can't hear my voice. I just hear his. "Maybe I need to convince you to join me."

He walks over, dripping wet, and kisses me. Strangely I don't find myself annoyed that he's dripping water all over my clothes. I protest when he pulls away from me, smirking. My eyes wander towards his bare torso. His chest has a light spattering of hair, all the way down to his navel. He isn't muscular, but he's lean, maybe a little bit defined. I gulp. He's hot. He laughs as he pulls me to the water. "Mi vida, you're staring at me intently. Are you liking what you see? Because I'm loving what's in front of me."

The water's up to my chest at this point. Bruno whispers something in my ear and I flush red. He starts nuzzling his face against my neck, his stubble tickling me, but doing something to my senses. I become hyper-aware of everything he's doing.

Am I turned on? He answers the question for me. "Gabriela, querida, with the way you're clinging to me, you look like you want more." Bruno's eyes turn dark and I feel a fluttering between my legs. Yep, I'm turned on, all right. "I can see the lust in your eyes, mi vida."

He leans in to kiss me again. I melt against him, my mouth parting and he claims it. He lifts me with ease in the water, and I wrap my legs around his waist. Bruno hisses, biting back a moan, and starts showering me with so many words of adoration at what I'm doing. I'm trailing kisses down his jaw, and I feel him squeeze my backside.

"Mi vida, mi cielo, ay te amo…"

My body flares up to life. My breath hitches. Bruno's eyes are hungry and I'm…

*Thud*

I roll off the bed and jolt awake, my sheets crumpled up around me. My breathing is labored like I've just run a marathon. Dios mio. I yelp in surprise when someone knocks on my door.

"Gabriela? It's me, Lucía. Lo siento, I didn't mean to frighten you…" Lucía whispers through the door. I try to compose myself before answering the door. "Lucía! Buenos dias...um...you're here early." She blinks at me, concern coloring her face. "Um, it's already past eight." I turn to look at the alarm clock on my table. Oh no. I overslept.

Lucía continues, trying hard not to fuss. "I was downstairs in the kitchen with Julián and Papá Mauricio when we heard a loud thud from your room, so I thought to check. Are you okay?"

I nod furiously, hoping she doesn't notice how flustered I am. "Yes...yes! Perfectly fine. I just...um...rolled off the bed by accident."

Lucía relaxes. "Oh, that's a relief. You're not hurt, are you? We can go get something from Julieta if you are…"

"No, no, nothing broken. There's no need to worry, Lucía, thank you."

She nods and turns back down towards the stairs. "Oh right, Gabriela, I forgot to mention…someone's waiting for you downstairs."

I start to sweat and try to hide my panic. He's here. "Um…who is it?" I pretend that I have no clue who's waiting for me, but the fluttering feeling that's still lingering in me does. Lucía seems to not notice my reaction. "Bruno Madrigal. Maybe he has a vision for you?" She shrugs as she continues downstairs. "He's been waiting for a while."

"O-okay. I'll be down in a bit." I close the door and slap my cheeks, trying to calm myself down. I open my bedroom door as quietly as I can and I rush off to the bathroom to splash myself with cold water.

I stare at myself in the mirror. My face is flushed. Get a grip, Gabriela. He's waiting downstairs. I return to my room and try to get changed as quickly as I can, but my hands are shaking. I manage to put on my dress when there's another knock on my door. I freeze when I hear his voice. "Um, Gabriela? Señor Mauricio said that I could just…go upstairs to pick you up since you were taking a while and…"

I open the door too quickly. Bruno blinks at me and takes in my frazzled state. "Is…everything…?"

Hijo de puta. I'm not sure if it's because of the lighting, but he's even better than I imagined. My mind races back to the dream last night.

"Gabriela? ¿Querida?" Bruno calls me again, and I snap back to reality. He's looking into my room and notices the sheet that's on the floor. "Did you fall out of bed?"

"I'M FINE!" I say a little loudly and it surprises him. My heart's beating fast. I'm so glad that he doesn't have mind-reading abilities like I do because I don't know what I'll do if he finds out that I had a dirty dream about him.

"Okay…?" Bruno says a little warily. "Um…should I just…go…?" I grab his hand and shake my head. "No, no, cariño. I'm fine, I promise." Bruno observes me, unconvinced but lets it go. "If you say so. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." I let him lead me down the stairs. Julián smirks when he sees me. "Well, that's an interesting development." Bruno and I look confused for a moment before we realize we're holding hands…and no one in my family knows about what happened last night. We part immediately, but it's too late. "Hm. Took you long enough," Julián says to Bruno. "I thought I'd have to be the one to give away the secret if nothing still happened."

"What?" I glance at Bruno. "What the hell is my brother talking about?"

"Ay, hermana, remember when I went to confront Bruno under the guise of getting a vision?" Bruno covers his face with his hands as Julián recounts the memory. "He admitted that he was in love with you."

I blink. "So my brother knew you had feelings for me?" Bruno gives a sheepish smile. "It slipped then…and I was…waiting for the right time..."

I glare at my brother. "Tonto, you know I could have easily read either of your minds if I wanted to and I would've known immediately."

Julián shrugs. "Oh, so you finally told him about your gift." He smirks, unfazed. "But you didn't."

"I said I could've!"

"Why are you two bickering so early in the morning?" Papá walks in, his arms crossed. Uh oh. He raises an eyebrow at me. "Elitta, are you not going to properly introduce me to your novio?"

I blush. "Um…" Bruno takes the lead and offers his hand out. "I'm so sorry, Señor Mauricio. I know I have been waiting here since earlier, but I never mentioned anything about my new relationship with your daughter." Papá eyes Bruno from the top of his head to his feet, sizing him up. He's a whole lot taller than Bruno, so it didn't take long. He clears his throat and shakes Bruno's hand. "Well, all is forgiven, though I do need to clarify a few things for you since you're now seeing my daughter as your novia, not just a friend."

I'm holding my breath. Bruno is calm. "I completely understand, Señor."

Papá chuckles. "Well. I guess mi amor was right about you."

"Wha-what?" I finally found my voice. "You're okay with me dating Bruno?"

"Gabriela, mija, I may not be comfortable with my daughter finally dating again, but you've chosen a fine young man. Also…anyone with two eyes could see how he looked at you back then. I'm surprised it took this long." He pats Bruno's shoulder. "Just don't try anything funny or make her cry…because you'll answer to me."

Bruno freezes.

"¡Pá!" I sputter. I grab Bruno's hand and drag him out the door. "Bruno and I should get going now, I promised Julieta and Pepa I'll come over today. I think they've been waiting for me for far too long."

"Don't be too late," Papá's laughing so hard. I am relieved but it's not helping much right now, especially since I keep thinking about that dream. "¡Adiós! I'll see you all later."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Took you long enough!" Pepa rolls her eyes at me when Bruno and I arrive. As soon as we stepped into Casa Madrigal, Casita whisked us into the garden. "We're almost finished with breakfast."

I realize I left the house without eating anything and my stomach grumbles. Bruno takes notice. "Sorry, we were interrogated by Señor Mauricio." He pulls a chair for me at the table and motions me to sit. I hesitate for a moment. No one at the table bats an eyelash at me and continues with their meal. I realize that they're already treating me like family, having breakfast with them, even if I don't have the Madrigal surname. Yet. I shiver at the thought and hope my cheeks aren't burning red. I take my seat. "What would you like, mi vida?" Bruno leans closer and whispers in my ear. It's too reminiscent of Dream Bruno. I get goosebumps.

"...oh boy, I need more coffee," Pepa grumbles as Félix pours her another cup. "You two sure are lovey-dovey this morning."

"Ay, just let them be, mi amor." Félix rubs circles on Pepa's hand. "They're adorable."

"Thanks, I guess?" Bruno shrugs. My mind is still processing. "I'll…just get you whatever, then? And coffee. You look like you need coffee." He rushes off, leaving me at the mercy of the rest of the Madrigal family.

I laugh nervously. "Buenos dias."

Someone tugs my sleeve, catching my attention. It's Dolores, who's sitting to my right. She has a huge grin. "Señorita Gabriela! Since our Tío Bruno your novio now…does that mean my primas and I can call you Tía Gabriela?"

"Um…" I make an awkward smile and nod. Dolores immediately squeals, surprising her mother who's seated across from me.

"Dolores, I thought you're already calling her that behind her back?" Pepa teases her daughter, which made her squeak in nervousness.

"I don't!" Isabela offers. "I've always called her Señorita Gabriela, but Dolores does make sense…" She starts growing flowers on her hair, from excitement, maybe. "It's so sweet, it's just like the love story Tío tells us, right prima?"

Julieta's eyes widen. "Wait. Your Tío Bruno tells you love stories?" Isabela and Dolores exchange nervous glances. Luisa saves them. "It's more like a fairy tale, Mamá, like a princess being saved by her prince and lives happily ever after."

All the adults at the table glance over to Mamá Alma. She shrugs as she lifts her cup to her lips. "Brunito is the most sensitive out of you three, Julieta and Pepa. I'm not surprised he's able to craft stories like that."

"I'm plenty sensitive!" Pepa says as Bruno returns with a plate of food. He places it in front of me. "What are they talking about?" He asks me. I shrug and he blinks. "Wait, I forgot your coffee."

"I'm oka…and he leaves me again," I mumble. Félix chuckles. "Get used to it, Gabriela. Bruno is the type of man that'll treat you like a princess." He raises his eyebrow. "If there's anything that he has picked up from being around me and Agustín, it's treating the women in our lives right."

Bruno arrives right on cue, setting down a cup of coffee next to me. "Sorry. Here's your coffee." I notice he didn't get anything for himself. "Wait…Bruno, aren't you…going to eat with me?" I blink at him. I can feel everyone's eyes on us both.

"Oh, no. I don't usually eat a lot in the mornings because…you know…not much time from all those vision appointments."

I shake my head at him. The plate in front of me is overflowing. He got me everything. "Come on, let's share this. You've given me a lot." Bruno's about to protest when I stuff his mouth with a pandemono. "Eat."

"...why does this remind me of Julieta feeding me?" Agustín comments. Bruno stares at the family, eyes wide. Julieta laughs. "Because it is something I do daily with you, amor."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Glossary of terms (in order of appearance in-text):

Adiós - bye