I woke up to the sound of knocking on a door. Not wanting to get up yet, I snuggled back into my pillow to find that it was much firmer than usual. As I hear the door open, I remember that I am not in my own bed, but I am in Cade’s and judging by the firm surface my head is resting on, I ended up cuddling with him in my sleep. As I come to this realization, I can hear Oli, Milo and Ella as they enter the room. 

“Wow, bro.” Oli started loudly as he walked into the room. “Oh, I didn’t realize that she was still asleep. Continuing more quietly, he says, “You didn’t waste any time making a move on her did you.”

“Whatever,” I could hear Cade mumble in response. As he did, I could feel the vibrations from his chest. 

“She’s not asleep any more,” Ella says, pointing out the fact that I am awake. 

Turning my head to face them, I say, “Hey guys, is there a reason you are all here so early in the morning?” 

“Yeah, Oli was starving and this was the longest we were able to delay him.” Milo says with a disappointed look at Oli. 

“It’s not my fault that I get hungry. Besides he’s normally up early to get in a workout and still has breakfast done by now.” Oli replies.

“He’s got a girlfriend now, he’s not going to be waiting on your hand and foot.” Ella says, looking pointedly at Oli. With one last look at the two of us, she ushers Milo and Oli out of the room, saying, “I’ll take care of breakfast today, you two lovebirds can sleep in this morning.”

As they leave I move my head so that I can see his face and find him already looking down at me. “Good morning,” he says. 

“Good morning,” I replied. As I looked up at him, I realized that we were both on his side of the bed which meant that I invaded his space and started cuddling with him last night. Although I should apologize, I didn’t exactly feel regretful that I got to cuddle with him this morning. That being said, I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable so I said, “I’m sorry.”

Before I could even sit up fully, he said, “I like to cuddle so there’s no need for you to worry. I would have suggested it last night, but I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

Realizing that he was okay with cuddling, I immediately settled back in the bed. Laying my head on his chest, I realized that even our legs were intertwined. “I obviously like to cuddle too,” I said before continuing, “How often do they just burst into your room like that?”

“Pretty often. Normally, it is just Oli though. He’s always trying to get me to cook for him.”

“Well he’s going to have some competition because I plan to have you cook for me as often as possible.” I say with a yawn. 

He places a hand on my back and pulls me even closer before saying, “If you’re tired, you can go back to sleep. I know you had a long day yesterday. I don’t mind.’

“Thanks,” I replied. Feeling him rubbing circles on my back, it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep once again. 

This time as I woke up, he was nowhere in sight. The bed was cold where he had been laying before, so I knew that he had been gone for a while. Looking over at the clock I realized that it was almost noon. Although I normally don’t sleep for that long, my body clearly needed the rest and I felt a million times better. Quickly getting ready, I remembered our conversation from last night and decided to put in a little bit of effort to look nice since we had planned a date night at home. 

As I walked downstairs, I could hear everyone’s voices in the kitchen. As I entered the kitchen, I realized that everyone was making their plates for lunch and once again Cade had cooked a wonderful meal. I hadn’t even realized how hungry I was until my stomach was growling as I smelled the food. 

As we all sat down for lunch, we all began to discuss our Christmas plans. 

“Milo and I are leaving tonight so that we can make it to celebrate Christmas with his family. Then, we’ll be stopping by at my parents’ house for the New Year.” Ella says between bites of food. 

Milo simply nods in agreement as he continues eating. 

“I’m going to go see family as well for Christmas,” Oli says while chewing a large mouthful of his lunch. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Ella says with a sigh. Oli nods in response but considering how often I’ve heard her tell him this over the two meals we’ve shared, I suspected that his behavior would not change any time soon. 

“What about you guys?” Milo asks as he looks over at Cade and I. 

Cade looks at me before speaking and he says, “We haven’t talked about it much. She already knows that my family is crazy. But if I do visit them, I’m not going without Lila.”

“Aww how sweet.” Ella says looking at the two of us. 

“I wouldn't mind meeting them. I can handle a little criticism.” I say as I reach over and grab his hand under the table.

The rest of lunch goes by quickly as we get to know each other better and before long, we all went our separate ways. The others went to get packed and Cade and I returned to his office. As he got some work done on his computer, I decided to play some video games while I waited to get some extra practice in. 

Before I knew it, he had already finished his work and walked over to join me. As we played, I decided to ask him more about our Christmas plans. “I know you said that you wouldn’t attend your family Christmas without me. Do you mind telling me why? If not, no pressure.” I say as I maintain focus on the game. 

“Christmas for my family is always awkward and without my brother all of the focus would be on me. They are really intense and I just don’t know how to deal with them alone.” he replied with sadness evident in his voice. “I had always imagined having a happy family who were really close and enjoyed spending the holidays together, but they make every occasion miserable.”

“I’m really sorry about that.” I reply honestly. I could definitely relate to having an awful family. 

“It’s not your fault. Besides, I can't help that I still feel guilty for not wanting to spend time with them. After all, my brother’s not going to be there, so if I don’t go, they won’t have either of their kids at home for Christmas.”

“If you want to be there for them, even if just for a little bit, I don’t mind going with you.” I replied. 

“I wouldn’t want to put you through that. They will be awful to you, like they are to everyone and I don’t want anything they say to hurt you.”

Although I could understand where he’s coming from, it still hurt that he was so confident that his parents wouldn’t approve of me. However, I still wanted to be there for him and if it bothers him not to go, then I will gladly go with him. “You wanted to go, so I will go with you. There is no point in refusing now.” I replied with confidence. 

“Okay,” he says. “But promise me we’ll leave if things get to be too much.”

“I promise.” I reply as I look over at him. 

As our conversation ended. We reached a checkpoint in the game and decided to get some rest. After all, we will have a busy next few days as we plan for this party. I also need to go out and grab gifts and find a nice outfit to make the best impression possible. Although I’m prepared for them to dislike me, I don’t plan to give them more things to criticize about me.