Hero {Brendan Gallagher}

3 - Lover Lover

"Brendan, I can't stay the night again," I told him for the thirtieth time. He refused to let go of me, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around my torso.

"But babe," he whined, drawing out the 'a.'

"My roommate is coming home early," I said, rolling over to face him.

"So?"

"She's going to wonder where I'm at," I replied. He groaned and buried his head into my neck. I should have insisted to leave, but instead I gave into him and wrapped my arms around his neck. We laid there in silence for what felt like an eternity.

"Does this mean you're staying?" he questioned, turning his face so he can look at me. I sighed, but nodded and wrapped my arms tighter around him. I felt him smile into my neck before he began to press kisses up my neck and onto my jawline.

I assumed that he probably wanted to have sex again, but he proved me wrong by just simply turning so I was laying flat on his chest. He continued his path of kisses, leading all the way up to my earlobe.

"Goodnight, Stella," he whispered, sending chills shooting up my spine. I couldn't stop thinking about how wrong this was, but at the same time, I found myself falling asleep to the rhythm of his breathing.

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When I woke up, there was a sticky note attached to the pillow.

I saw on your phone reminders that you've got the day off, so I didn't want to wake you up. I had to go to practice, but I'll be back around noon, if you're even still here by then. If not, I'll see you soon. - B.G.

I smiled to myself and folded up his note, pushing it into the pocket of my jeans as I put them on. Part of me wanted to stay and make him lunch and just hang out with him. But the other part of me told me that I needed to go home.

I sighed heavily as the apartment door closed behind me. I didn't want to leave, but I knew I had to. I quickly paced down the hallway, hoping to get out of the building before Brendan got back.

When I got home, Sarah was just sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine. She shot up from her relaxed position as soon as she realized I was there.

"Where in the hell have you been?" she questioned, her eyes wide. I could tell that she was more worried than she was angry, which was a huge relief. You never really know with Sarah.

"I stayed with Maxie last night," I lied, tossing my keys into the bowl on the coffee table.

"And you didn't even think to text me?" she questioned me further, her eyes still looking like they're about to pop out of her skull.

"We were having fun, I'm sorry," I apologized with a shrug. Sarah just rolled her eyes at me before pulling me into a hug.

"Is that a Gallagher shirt?" she asked, leaning back and holding me at arm's length. "He's mine, back off." She laughed before letting me go.

I knew she was only kidding, but I felt a pang of guiltiness rip through me. I just wished I could talk to her and explain everything, but I didn't think she would ever understand. Especially considering the way I met Brendan in the first place.

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I sat at the bar alone, sipping on some cheap mixed drink that tasted like absolute shit. There was a huge group of men who were mingling around and seemed to be having an overall good time.

Meanwhile, I was thankful to have been away from Sarah for a little while. We had been fighting recently, our morals clashing more than they ever had before.

She said that drinking excessively was such an awful thing to do. First off, I didn't drink excessively. Second, wasn't there a story in the Bible that talked about wine? Wasn't that all they drank anyways? I didn't understand her logic, and she was shoving it down my throat.

I was snapped out of my inner rant when someone said my name. I turned to see an extremely cute guy sitting next to me. How did this guy know my name? And why wasn't he even looking at me?

"What?" I asked him, my eyebrows pulling together in confusion. He turned to face me, his look of confusion matching my own.

"What?" he repeated, looking me up and down. I was so confused until the bartender sat down a Stella Artois. He had said the beer, not my name.

"Oh, I thought you said my name," I explained, gesturing to the gold-rimmed glass. The guy looked at his glass and turned back to me, beginning to laugh.

"What a beautiful name, Stella," he said, expertly enunciating my two-syllable name. I felt my cheeks begin to flush, and the guy reached over to push a few stray pieces of hair behind my hair.

"Your cheeks are certainly clashing with that blue hair," he commented, taking a drink of his beer. I laughed, and I noticed him looking down at the drink in front of me. He immediately waved over the bartender. "Can the pretty lady get a Strawberry Splash?"

The bartender nodded and headed off to make the drink.

"You didn't have to do that," I told the guy. He shrugged.

"Sure I did. You don't just meet a pretty girl in a bar and not buy her a drink or two," he told me, a smirk forming on his lips. "I'm Brendan by the way."

"Very nice to meet you, Brendan," I replied, smiling back at him. Good lord, this guy was so freaking handsome. The bartender slid my drink to me, and I glanced down at it before looking back at Brendan.

"Try it. If you could tolerate that shitty drink before, you'll like this one," he insisted, pushing the glass closer to me. I picked it up and took a small, hesitant sip. The drink was sweet, and fruity, but I could taste the punch of alcohol in it. I turned back to Brendan, my eyes wide.

"Holy shit, that's amazing," I told him with a huge smile. He grinned at me, and he placed his hand on my knee.

"I may just be a hockey player, but I know my stuff," he said, throwing in a subtle wink. My heart was instantly in a puddle, and that mixed with the alcohol's increasing effects wasn't helping.

He sat next to me for the rest of the night, getting me refills whenever I needed. His hand seemed to be glued to my knee, but I liked it.

"It's getting late," I told him over the thump of the music that kept getting turned up more and more as the night went on. His hand magically came unglued, sliding up my leg and to my upper thigh.

"Why don't we get out of here?" he asked, leaning his head closer and pressing a kiss to my cheek. I couldn't think straight between the many drinks, the way he was gazing at me with those blue eyes, and the hand that was riding higher and higher on my leg.

I grinned at him, and I decided I would play his game. I slid my hand up his thigh, close enough to feel that he was hard.

"You really want me, huh?" I questioned with a smirk, beginning to gain my confidence with this guy. He just smirked before he slid his hand all the way up, his palm flat against me. I gasped, which caused a cocky smirk in response.

"You really want me, huh?" he mocked me, raising one of his eyebrows. I slowly blinked at him before doing the same thing he had just done to me. I moved my hand so it was flat against him. He let out a small moan. "Let's go."

"What's the magic word?" I teased. His face twisted as I pressed just a little bit harder against him. I was a little bit surprised when he didn't imitate me like he did the last time I teased him.

"Let's go, please," he said through clenched teeth. I dropped my hand away from him, and allowed him to lead me out of the bar and into the beginning of our no strings attached relationship.

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Hopefully you guys noticed that last part there was a flashback! How is everyone liking this story so far?