All Chapters of The Rogue Next Door: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Maya The sound of running water pulls me out of sleep. For a few seconds, I have no idea where I am. The room feels unfamiliar. The ceiling isn’t mine. The blankets smell different. Then everything comes rushing back at once. The Ethics paper. The ridiculous party taking over my house. The conversation in Cole’s room. The kisses. And somehow ending up spending the night in the football house. More specifically… In Cole Ryder’s bed. My eyes drift toward the other side of the mattress. Empty. A strange little disappointment settles in my chest before I can stop it. Which is ridiculous. The entire reason I agreed to stay here was because I trusted him. And he proved I was right to. He didn’t push. Didn’t pressure. Didn’t try anything. At some point during the night we’d both fallen asleep like normal people. No games. No flirting. Just sleep. Which somehow feels more dangerous than the kisses. Because it’s easy to dismiss a kiss as chemistry. It’s harder to di

Maya By the time I get back to the house that evening, I’ve spent most of the day preparing for an argument. Honestly, I think I’ve earned one. The more I thought about last night, the more irritated I became. Not because people had fun. Not because Logan had friends over. But because somewhere along the way, my home had stopped feeling like my home. When I’d walked through the front door that morning, I’d barely recognized the place. There had been empty beer bottles balanced on tables. Pizza boxes stacked on the counter. People sleeping in places people definitely shouldn’t be sleeping. And not one of them had been someone I actually invited. I couldn’t stop thinking about how uncomfortable I’d felt standing there. How I’d looked around and realized I didn’t even want to stay. I had literally slept next door because I felt safer in the football house than I did in my own bedroom. That wasn’t okay. Which was why this conversation was happening. Whether Logan liked it

Maya I don’t know what’s happening between me and Cole. That’s the problem. If he were just the football player everyone talks about, this would be easy. I’d know exactly where I stood. I’d know exactly how this ended. But every time I think I’ve figured him out, he does something that completely ruins the image I have of him. The Rogue is supposed to be confident. Cocky. Untouchable. The guy who never cares too much. The guy who always has one foot out the door. But that’s not the version of Cole I’ve been seeing lately. Not when he sat with me in the hospital waiting room after Tessa. Not when he helped me move my things. Not when he stayed up helping me brainstorm an Ethics paper at eleven o’clock at night. And definitely not when he opened up about his family. I glance over at him. He’s sitting beside me on the bed, one knee drawn up, staring down at his hands. Quiet. Thoughtful. Nothing like the guy people think they know. “You know,” I say softly, breaking the

Maya I don’t know what just happened. One minute I was sitting in a Chinese buffet across from Logan, trying to convince myself that everything was perfectly normal. That dinner was just dinner. That Logan was just my housemate. That Cole showing up at our table didn’t matter. That the way my stomach dropped when I saw him walk through those doors was nothing. Just a coincidence. Just bad timing. Just Cole being Cole. The next minute? I’m standing in the middle of O’Jays with my heart trying to punch its way out of my chest while half the football team pretends not to stare at me. And somehow, despite every sensible thought I’ve had over the last few weeks, I just kissed Cole Ryder. In public. In front of everyone. Like I’d completely lost my mind. Maybe I had. His hands are still resting on my waist when we finally pull apart. They’re warm. Steady. Comforting. Which is dangerous because nothing about Cole Ryder should feel comforting. He studies me for a second,

Maya I shouldn’t have kissed him. That’s the first thought that hits me the second Logan walks out of the bar. The second the door swings shut behind him. The second his presence disappears but somehow leaves all the tension behind. I stare down at my drink and let out a slow breath. Because what just happened? That wasn’t part of any plan. Not that I had a plan. At some point, my life stopped following plans altogether. Maybe it happened when Logan moved into my house. Maybe it happened when Cole Ryder decided annoying me was his new favorite hobby. Maybe it happened the first time he kissed me. Either way, somewhere along the line, everything got messy. And now I’m standing in a crowded bar trying to figure out how I went from avoiding athletes to being caught between two of them. “Hey.” Cole’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. It’s quieter now. Less teasing. More careful. I don’t look at him immediately. Because that’s part of the problem. Every time I look at h