Friends with benefits. No strings attached. That's what Stella agreed to do with the hockey-playing pretty boy, Brendan Gallagher. That's all she wants and all he needs. Stella is, for once, content with the way her life is going. But, life has a fu...
"Please don't take this the wrong way, because I'm just curious. But you said you don't like relying on people for things. Your roommate said she paid for 75% of the rent, so didn't you technically rely on her for a place to live?" he questioned. It was a fair question.
"I did rely on her. And I hated it," I told him honestly. "When I moved out here, my family was really upset. They cut off all my funds, and I was suddenly all on my own. I was 19, and I couldn't afford to go 50/50 on an apartment in the city. Since Sara was my best friend, she didn't see the problem in letting me only pay one fourth of the rent. It was all I could manage at the time. After I got the job at the salon, I for sure could've handled half the share."
"Then why didn't you?"
"I've been saving my money. Over half of my paychecks went straight into savings for a while. A part of me knew that Sara and I wouldn't live together forever, so I saved my money for when the time came for me to leave. But, I got lucky when I found you. You gave me a safety net, and for that, I can never repay you."
I felt his lips press against my neck.
"Baby, I'd give you the whole world if you let me," he responded, gently kissing my neck again. Those three words were at the tip of my tongue, but I refrained from saying them.
"You're the best," I commented, kissing the top of his head. He smiled into me, and I took the opportunity to grab my phone and snap a picture.
"I saw that," he informed me, leaning up on his good arm. A smirk played on his lips, and I leaned over to kiss him.
I opened my Instagram.
stellamariee
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stellamariee: happy to have this one home❤️tagged bgally.11
"We're the cutest couple on the 'gram," Brendan said, kissing my cheek.
"Damn right we are," I responded with a smile. Comments began to flood in, and I wondered whether I should read them or not.
gohabsgooo11: oh my god this is goals
habsgirl89: can I be you pls
canadiensrock: good to know you got over your obsession with your hair
I rolled my eyes at that one and kept scrolling
bgally.11: wouldn't have wanted to come home to anybody else❤️
I giggled as he kissed my cheek once again.
maxiedrew: you two need to stop being so cute😍
stellamariee: @maxiedrew never😉
"Is Maxie that one girl at the salon? The one you like?"
"Yes she is, I'll have to introduce you two sometime," I told him. I smiled at the thought; my two favorite people in the same place.
After a few minutes of mindless scrolling, I noticed Brendan's breathing had become deep and slow. I gently turned my head down to look at him. He was sound asleep and his mouth was hanging open. My heart melted. Of all the boys in the entirety of the world, this one chose me. He chose me out of all the women I knew he had at his fingertips. I'm not sure if I'll ever understand why, but I did know that I was one lucky girl.
No matter what happened between me and him, I knew that this boy had totally changed my life for the better. And while thinking of that, I slowly drifted off to sleep along with him.
