I felt at home more than I ever had in the past as I dug my hand into the fresh bag of popcorn. The comedy Emma had picked was a flick of a bunch of old men performing cheap goofs. 

Though it was expected, it didn't fail in making me double over in laughter the entire time. 

"Why do you try to make each other jealous?" Emma asked out of the blue.

I tore my eyes from the screen taken aback by the sudden question. 

"What?" 

She shrugged. "You're quite the catch. He's a handsome guy. I don't see the issue."

I crinkled my nose as she grabbed a handful of Sour Patches from another bowl. 

"There's no issue," I began, "it's just.... you don't have a problem with... his tattoos and piercings?" 

For the first time, I really heard her break down and cackle her heart out. 

"It's not like it changes his complexion or anatomy. Do you have a problem with them?"

I shook my head. 

"No- I love them. I'm only asking because Charlie and Elouise had a hatred for them. They engrained it in my head that it was something grotesque. I was only trying to get your opinion on it." 

Emma cleared her throat. 

"Kristina. Elouise and Charlie, they are what we call jealous hypocrites. They're just bullies. Hero is a great man I can already tell. Plus, he's a cutie pie." 

"That's the thing." I breathed. "He's too good looking for his own good. Whenever we walk together on the street, I can feel girls' eyes on him. And with his past..."

"Hold on!" Emma interrupted, holding up both her hands. "Why are we talking about his past?" 

"Well," I said, taking a deep breath. "He used to be... a major player. And not that long ago." 

I definitely wouldn't be telling her about how when we met, he proposed we have meaningless sex.

She scrunched her brows together. 

"Don't you think it's a bit unfair to judge him like that? I mean... what's the worst thing he could have done?" 

I paused to think about what I really wanted to share. 

"It's not what he's done. It's more about the things around our relationship that effect it. First, tension is always high when we talk about his therapy. He had a lot of stuff happen to him at a young age and I think it haunts him to this day. Second... tonight... he kissed someone..." 

At this, Emma's eyes went wide. 

"How could he do that?" 

I flushed already feeling guilty. 

"I threw some stuff in his face about his childhood. Let's just say he had a family member that did unspeakable things to him when he was ten. To be completely honest, mom, I went on a date to upset him. He did the same. I can't exactly blame him for the kiss." 

When she rose an eyebrow I continued. 

"A few weeks ago, I kissed someone too. Well... sort of. My boss came into my office and planted one on me. And I let him. I did eventually pull away, but not fast enough to respect my boyfriend."
 
Emma leaned back against the couch, overwhelmed by my honesty. 

"Kristina. Oh my. Your boss-? I mean, is that even legal? Does Hero know?" 

I sighed in defeat. 

"No. I haven't told him. It's been eating away at me for awhile now."

She rested a hand on  my shoulder. 

"The best thing you can do at this point is to be honest. About everything. That way you can make things even and start from scratch."
 
I nodded immediately going in for a hug.

Later when I had left for the apartment, I wasn't sure what was waiting for me. My mothers words rang consistently through my mind, sounding more true than ever. 

Hero and I had definitely had our trials and errors and would have many more to come.

Despite all our jealousy issues, we needed to work on our future and how we could strengthen our bond.

The first thing I needed to do was be honest. 

I knew that in itself was going to cause a fight. 

Upon entering the front door, I saw Hero pacing across the living room. When he caught sight of me, he approached, still full of anger. 

"Where have you been?" He demanded. 

I sighed. "With my mother- real mother. Sorry that I couldn't stand to see you make out with Kylie." 

He glowered. "You're really going to throw that at me?"
 
I laughed. "You're the one who did it! Just face up to what you did and move on." 

Hero waved his hands around in exasperation. 

"You pushed me to do that. You went out with Luke because you assumed something was going on with me and Diedre. Why do girls do this and make up these ridiculous stories in their head?" 

I closed my eyes, heading over to the couch. 

"It's not very ridiculous. You admitted to me that even when we met you were still sleeping with her. So sue me. On another note, yes, I did go on a date with someone I knew irked you but I never kissed them." 

Hero knelt at my side, grabbing onto me. 

"I was so fucking pissed at you. I knew Kylie was the one girl that would get under your skin and then you told her about my abuse... in front of every single stranger in that restaurant. Why would you do that?" 

I sucked in a sharp breath. 

"I felt cornered Hero. It was like Kylie had something over me and... I don't know. I just lost control. And then when you kissed her...." 

Without warning, Hero buried his face into my chest. 

"I fucked up. We need to stop hurting each other. What can we do, baby?" 

I sniffled. "We can start by being honest." 

This caused Hero to look up. His eyes were already bloodshot and his nose was running. 

"I thought we already were?" 

I pursed my lips. 

"Hero... there's something you should know. There's a lot more Cole and I have done besides purchasing a car." 

At this, he jumped to his feet, backing away from me.

"What the fuck? You slept with him?" 

"What? No!" I gasped. "I would never stoop that low. I love you too much. It was after we got the car. He came into my office and... well, he kissed me. I tried to pull away but-"

I didn't get to say the rest of my sentence before Hero went into an explosion of fury. He growled like a complete maniac, making his way for the door. 

I already knew what he was up to. 

I rushed for the door as well, blocking his path. 

"No, Hero!" 

"Out of my damn way!" He screamed. "I'm going to fuck him up!"
 
"I know!" I exclaimed, cradling his face. "I know that's what you want to do but please forget about him. He doesn't matter. That's why I've been ignoring him."

Hero slammed his fists against the door above my head, nearly denting it. 

"It's not good enough. I need to bash his head in." 

I dropped head, resting it against his chest. 

"I confessed to Emma first. I agreed that I should come clean. That's all I wanted to do. You're angry. So am I. Let's make love and deal with this." 

At my response, Hero recoiled. 

"What?" 

"I mean it," I replied. "I know you need to vent some of your frustration. I want you to fuck the holy hell out me so bad we won't remember what we were fighting about."

He didn't seem to buy into my pleading for the longest time until it seemed I'd driven him into weakness.

Hero narrowed his eyes. "And if we regret it?"
 
I took ahold of his shirt.
 
"Just shut up and take me."