Winter break was almost over. Today was Christmas eve and then next week we would be going back to the dorms for the second semester. I was excited to go back, having Abby, Winston and Adam come last weekend made me realize how much I preferred living with my friends. Although I would miss having Maggie around, I would even miss Kenji's annoying presence even though I would never tell him that. I also miss my friends because when I am alone with my mom I tend to resort to old bad habits. Warner couldn't always be around to take my mind off things.

I was stupid to think all my problems would be gone. As soon as my friends went back to their hometowns for Christmas I was back to the negative thoughts. My mom had spent all week instilling fear in me for Christmas dinner. Of how I couldn't 'pig out' just because it was a holiday.

Holidays were already a trigger because I associated them with food. Not just food but overeating to the point of sickness. This time last year I would've been in bed surrounded by chocolate wrappers.

So, it certainly didn't help me to have my mom in my ear giving unsolicited advice. Including making me wear a tight dress to Warner's parents' Christmas eve party tonight so I wouldn't be tempted to 'eat too much'. To my mom's dismay, Warner had been over almost every day this week and he always came over with one of my favourite Christmas treats. We would study every morning and then do a fun Christmassy activity in the evening. Yesterday we went ice skating, watched Christmas movies and burnt Christmas cookies I refused to eat. It felt nice having all this time with him.

My mom convinced me to throw out the majority of the treats he brought but sometimes Warner would stay and look at me with puppy dog eyes until I tried what he brought. I was convinced he could read my mind or had cameras somewhere. Because when he would ask if I enjoyed the chocolate, he brought he looked at me like he knew it was in the garbage bin or dropped off at Maggie's house.

I loved Christmas and one of my favourite parts of Christmas was stuffing my face full of food, so I was sad to be missing out this year.

You don't have to miss out I heard Warner's voice in my head and rolled my eyes. Great, he has somehow broken into my mind.

"Juliet are you ready?" my mom calls from downstairs. To my dismay, she was also attending Tracey and Matt's fancy Christmas party. That meant she would be keeping an eye on me all night, and not in a normal motherly way where she tries to keep Warner from impregnating me. No, she was more concerned about me grabbing seconds at dinner.

I flatten my dress against me, I wore the one my mom picked out. The tight one that would 'show everything I ate' according to her and motivate me to stay on track. A few months ago, I would've done it without hesitation, but I was starting to have doubts. Doubts if I could do this my whole life. Never enjoy another Christmas because I was too focused on how I looked and what I could eat.

When we arrived at Warner's house I already felt out of place. We were surrounded by Tracey and Matt's rich influential friends. Tesla's, range rovers and other luxury cars surrounded us. I knew my mom noticed as well by the way she clutched the hand brake to park. My mom was a single mom and although she liked to pretend that she was a part of her friend group by joining the expensive yoga classes and buying the expensive juice cleanses she would never truly be part of it. I felt bad for her, that she wanted to fit in so badly she would work multiple jobs and paint herself as something she wasn't. But then I remembered that she took it out on me, and I didn't feel as bad.

"Now these are my friends in there, so be less-" she pauses and looks me over "well you know".

I grimace. "No, I don't know what you mean. Be less me?"

She groans as if I was being a brat. "You know what I mean Juliet. Nights like this mean a lot to me, and a year ago I would've never been able to bring you to something like this. I have a reputation to uphold, and you haven't exactly helped it."

I nod and bite back any sort of remark. I try not to think about how after she realized I didn't look or fit in with her friends she stopped letting me come to these fancy events. I never cared because it meant I got to stay home in my pyjamas but sometimes spending Christmas eve alone because my mom was too embarrassed to have me as her daughter hurt. It hurt enough that not even chocolate and Christmas movies could fix it.

I take in a deep breath. I wasn't alone, Warner was waiting for me inside as well as Kenji. Maggie wouldn't be here because her parents weren't affluent enough, but I was glad she wouldn't have to deal with the snotty rich people.

We walk into the house, and I can't mask my awe. The entire foyer has been transformed into a winter wonderland. There is an open bar right as we walk in and when I keep walking to the grand dining room, I see that it has been transformed as well. Circular formal dining tables were spread across the room, each with three different forks I still couldn't tell the difference between. Snowflakes hung from the ceiling, and I smile up at them in awe. It was beautiful here.

My mom leaves my side immediately to greet her friends and I am already feeling a bit panicky. Maybe I could leave, and nobody would notice?

No. No. Warner was here I just had to find him. Luckily Tracey finds me first and crushes me in her arms. "Oh, there you are! Warner is just running late he had business with his father but he's in his room. Go up and I'm sure he will hurry once he sees that you are here." She releases me, and I give her a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Tracey you look, beautiful" I give her a wink and head upstairs. I hope whatever business it was that Warner wasn't in a bad mood because of it. I hoped he would open up about his dad more, but he hasn't mentioned it since I told him I knew. I didn't want to press him in case he pressed me back about my own issues.

I didn't even knock on his door since I had been here every day this week. My eyes find him immediately, standing in the middle of his room a black dress shirt is undone at his collar, a bowtie slung around his neck. His hair is hung in damp curls from a recent shower and the smell of amber oils filled my senses. His eyes drag down from my feet up to my dress, and I suddenly feel very vulnerable in the thin material. Then with a predatory smile, they land on my face.

"I know it takes you a long time to make yourself presentable, but this is ridiculous" I grin at him, crossing the room to help him with his tie.

"I like to be late on purpose, you know how I love a grand entrance" he winks at me as I tighten his tie and button up his shirt. Even though my body screams at me to tear it off instead.

"Well, I guess I've ruined that for you because nobody will be looking at you if you walk down the stairs with me." I flick my hair over my shoulder faking confidence. Warner smiles at this. He has told me time and time again that he loves when I am confident.

"Jules, you being confident in yourself makes my dick hard. Careful or we won't make it downstairs." He whispers in my ear, and I step away because there is truth to his statement. If he kisses me I won't want to go back to the party.

We walk downstairs hand and hand I smile down at Warner's wrist. Tied around it is my ribbon, which he went back for the night of our movie night while I was sleeping. I have no idea how he found it, or how long he looked for it but it makes me smile every time I saw him wearing it.

I thought we would be going into the foyer to mingle but Warner leads me to the kitchen where a range of chefs and caterers were busy around the food.

"Warner, we are in everyone's way" I complain, trying to dodge a server who walks by with champagne.

He stops in front of a chocolate cake and looks at it with pride gleaming in his eyes, "I made this cake all by myself and you're going to try it. And before you say you won't it's rude if you don't try it, and if you say no, you will hurt my feelings."

"I will try it later; I can't ruin my dinner I- "

My eyes bulge as he shoves a spoon full of cake into my open mouth. "I finally found the perfect way to shut you up."

I would be mad, but the cake is delicious, so delicious I let out an illicit-sounding moan at the taste of it. Warner's body stiffens at the moan but quickly his face turns to satisfaction. "I told you it was good." He smiles. Then he creeps closer pressing my body against the counter, his arms on either side of me. "Doesn't taste as good as you though" he whispers in my ear.

I turn my head and walk back to the party to avoid showing him how red my face is, but he chuckles to himself anyways. He doesn't let me get far, wrapping his arm around my waist as we walk in together to our seats. I am lucky that Tracey put my name at the same table as Warner and Kenji because I wouldn't last five minutes alone with my mom and her friends without them.

I look around the room in awe again before I sit down, I love Christmas and I had never been to a party like this so I wanted to soak it all in while I still could. Warner stops still, looking at me as I take in the room.

"You are so beautiful, Jules," he smiles at me, a smile so sweet and genuine I almost melt at the sight of it.

I turn to him in surprise, forgetting he was waiting for me to sit, glancing to where his hand was gripping the top of my seat to pull it out. I sit down "My mom did a good job, didn't she?"

She was the one who did my hair, makeup and picked my dress. I had no choice in any of the three so if he liked the look, it was all her.

His smile is radiant as he sits down next to me and takes my hands in his. "No, No this is all you." His eyes run over my face, snagging on my lips. It is still a wonder to me how his eyes can make me feel so much with just one look.

I get nervous at the compliment and see there is a glass of champagne already poured for me. My mom hates when I 'waste my calories on liquids' so I chug the entire glass in one go before she joins our table.

"Woah there Juliet this isn't a frat party" Kenji laughs sitting down at the chair to my right, but I don't stop there, I grab Warner's glass since he doesn't drink and chug that as well. I will need the alcohol to withstand my mother.

I can sense Warner's gaze on my face without even looking over "Are you okay?" he whispers in my ear so Kenji can't hear. "Yes, just stressed about being around my mom and her friends." I see them coming over and desperately look for more champagne, but Kenji holds his glass out of reach.

My mom reaches the table and sends me a polite smile as if I was some acquaintance and not her daughter. I know it's because she has her two best friends sitting at the table with us, both of whom have made comments on my appearance for years.

"Hello Warner" she practically purrs, and I vomit a bit in my mouth. I can see Kenji trying not to laugh and it doesn't help.

"Hello, Ms. Brooks" he nods at her, and his hand lands on my thigh giving it a squeeze.

"Hi, I'm Kenji Juliet's friend," Kenji says to my mom's friends to break the awkward silence.

"Juliet, how much are you paying these two to be your friend? I'll double it" My mom's friend smiles wickedly at me and my mom giggles at her side.

"It's probably out of your price range" I take a sip of water and wish it was vodka.

"Oh, they're just joking around Juliet. I mean you have to admit the idea that such handsome men would choose you as their company might stun some people" My mom smiles at me like she gave me a compliment and I sink into my chair.

Warner and Kenji both stiffen on either side of me and I see Warner begin to open his mouth to defend me or say something not so nice to the women at our table. I squeeze his thigh and give him a look that tells him to say nothing. He frowns but closes his mouth, I can still see the tension in his body though.

Thankfully Tracey joins our table without Warner's dad, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. After Tracey is sitting my mom and her friends keep their catty comments to themselves. That is until the food starts coming out.

The servers bring out the first course and I can feel my mom's eyes burning into me. I picked the same appetizer she did to please her and even try to eat as slow as possible like she taught me. Everything is going fine until the main course is brought out.

"Juliet and I can split the main" my mom tells the server as if I was a little kid who needs their mom to speak for them. I clench my fork as tightly as possible to avoid throwing it at her face.

Warner has a similar expression on his face and even though I told him not to say anything his big mouth opens "I think Juliet can speak for herself when it comes to how much she can eat."

My mom looks shocked that someone would actually call her out for her toxic behaviour but chooses to ignore Warner's comment. I am brought half a serving and I can feel the anger radiating off of Warner to my left. So much so that I place my hand on his thigh and it is my turn to give him a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay this is just how she is" I whisper.

"It's not okay. None of this is okay." He grunts louder than necessary. Luckily Kenji is conversing with the entire table so nobody notices the tension. Warner gets up and I see him talking to our server pointing at me, but when he comes back and I question him about it he says nothing.

Desert is finally brought out and I could cry tears of joy that this was almost over. Warner and I had plans to change into pyjamas and watch Christmas movies in his home theatre after this dreadful dinner and it was the only thing getting me through.

However, I am brought a giant piece of chocolate cake, the cake Warner made himself and my mom cannot hide the horror on her face. Warner smiles at her shock. A part of me is excited that it is an excuse to eat chocolate cake which is something I would never let myself do. But the other part of me thinks of what my mom said about how whatever I eat will show in my dress and I frown.

"That's not what I ordered her." My mom frowns and looks down at her fruit plate, the same one I was supposed to get.

"That's weird there must have been a mix up" Warner smiles sweetly at her.

I glance at the giant piece of cake and remember how good it tasted earlier. A few bites won't hurt, right? I take my fork and dig in, grabbing a perfect ratio of icing and cake. It was just as good as I remembered, I missed cake so much.

Before I can take my second bite my mom frowns at me "Are you really going to eat all that?"

I drop my fork, so the second bite doesn't make it to my mouth. I feel Warner's entire body stiffen next to me. Even Kenji who had been calm all night stops mid-conversation with Tracey to glare at my mom.

"Jessica it is Christmas of course she is going to eat the cake. Even if it wasn't, everyone always has room for cake." Tracey speaks up and I was glad it was her and not either guy sitting next to me. I don't think they would be so sweet about it.

My mom shuts up, not wanting to make a scene in front of her friends and I smile to myself. I wouldn't always have people around me to defend me, but it was nice to have them for this moment. I make sure to give my mom a huge smile the next time I take a bite of cake, showing off my teeth that are covered with chocolate. Kenji snickers at my side at the display so I give him the same chocolaty smile.

When the dinner is finally over, Warner practically pulls me away from the table without saying goodbye to anyone but Kenji and his mom.

"I can't let you be around that woman for another minute longer, God I knew she was bad Jules, but I didn't know it was this bad."

"It's fine I'm used to it."

"No, it's not fine, I'm serious. The next break from school we have I don't want you stuck in a house with her, you can stay with me or Abby or Maggie. Anyone but her."

Nobody had ever noticed how my mom treated me. Hearing someone confirm just how toxic she is has lifted a weight I didn't know was even on my shoulders.

"Thank you for noticing and caring. Nobody has ever tried to help me before. My own mom doesn't care enough to get me help" My voice catches and I press my lips together.

"I'm sorry baby," he whispers, "It's my fault I took so long to do something about it."

"No." I'm shaking my head. "It's not your fault –"

He touches his nose to mine. Leans into my neck. Wraps a piece of my hair around his fingers and I can't breathe. "It is. I knew there was something off about the way she spoke to you. I just never knew it was this bad. But now that I know I am not letting her hurt you anymore."

"Does that mean we can ditch this party, change into pyjamas, and watch the grinch?" I ask him, giving him my very best puppy dog eyes.

"I thought you would never ask" he bends down waiting for me and I jump up on him for a piggyback. I hoped the chocolate cake didn't make me too heavy. He runs up the stairs with me on his back, both of us giggling like children.

When we reach his room, he tosses me on his bed and the humour on his face turns into something else when he sees me laying on his bed. My dress had ridden up my thigh from the piggyback and from the way his eyes drift down, I know he notices.

"We should invite Kenji to movie night." I get off the bed and stand up straightening my dress, my voice comes out squeakier than I would've liked.

"Maybe later, I'm currently busy enjoying the view."

I shift in discomfort, managing a hasty laugh. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" his tongue sweeps out to lick his bottom lip.

"Like that. It's making me self-conscious." I try to pull my dress down a little, but he reaches over and stills my hand, his palm covering my knuckles.

"Jules." There's an intensity in his eyes that wasn't there before. "What do you think I see when I look at you?"

A chunky girl in a too-tight dress. You can see the chocolate cake I ate earlier.

I let my mom get into my head tonight. More than usual

"I'm not sure," I lie, awkwardly placing a palm over my stomach. He frowns down at me when he sees.

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, inside and out. You're everything I want in a woman," he says seriously, both hands now exploring my body. "I won't stop looking at you 'like that'" he mocks my voice, "because that's just the effect you have on me...what can I say? You have me pussy whipped."

I laugh at the reference and my entire body loosens.

Before I can respond, he grabs my hand and presses it directly onto his crotch. There's no mistaking his arousal. "Feel how hard I am?" he groans softly "That's all you, just having you the girl of my dreams in my room. No woman has ever had such an intense effect on me." His eyes lifted and sought mine, heated and dark, "Just you Jules. And I want more of it."

Thankfully I don't have time to mutter a lame 'you're the guy of my dreams too' response because he presses a kiss on my lips and tugs my dress over my head. When my dress pools to the floor at my feet, my breath hitches.

The lights in his room are on and bright and he can see every flaw and imperfection on my body. But the way Warner looks at me makes me forget for a second, forget to be shy. Because in front of Warner, I feel entirely beautiful.