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All Chapters of The Rogue Next Door: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

43 Chapters

Chapter 11

Maya The football players are my last table of the night. Once they leave, I can finally clock out and go home. Unfortunately, they seem to be in absolutely no hurry. I lean against the counter near the register while watching them laugh about something. Andrea walks by and follows my gaze. “They’re still here?” she asks. “Yep,” I sigh. “I swear they’re purposely taking their time just to irritate me.” She raises an eyebrow. “Why would they want to irritate you?” I hesitate, then shrug. “I live next door to them.” Andrea laughs. “Oh… well that explains a lot.” I glance back at the table just as the guys start sliding out of the booth. “Finally,” I mutter. I grab the check and walk over, slipping back into the fake country accent we’re required to use. “Y’all look like you’re about ready to head out. Can I get you anything else besides the check?” “Nah,” Cole says with an easy smile. “Just the check, Maya.” I nod and pull it from my apron. “Here y

Chapter 12

Cole Bree grabs her keys quickly, clearly trying to keep herself together. Before rushing out the door after the ambulance, she turns toward me. “Cole,” she says firmly. “Keep an eye on Maya, okay? Make sure she’s alright.” I nod immediately. “Yeah. I got her.” Bree gives Maya a quick squeeze on the shoulder before hurrying outside. The door closes behind her and the house suddenly feels way too quiet. I glance toward the porch where Jake and Marcus are watching the ambulance lights disappear down the street. “What happened?” Jake asks when I step outside for a second. “They found the roommate unconscious in the bathroom,” I tell them quietly. “Looks like alcohol poisoning.” Jake winces. “Damn.” “Maya’s pretty shaken up,” I add. Marcus nods slowly. “She shouldn’t be alone tonight.” “I know.” We head back inside. And immediately stop. Maya isn’t standing where we left her. She’s in the hallway grabbing a roll of paper towels from the kitchen count

Chapter 13

Maya Sometime in the middle of the night my phone buzzes on the nightstand. It takes a second for me to remember where I am. Cole’s room. The football house. Right. I grab my phone and squint at the screen. Bree: Tessa is going to be okay. Her parents just got here. I’m heading back soon. Relief washes over me so fast my eyes sting. I type back quickly. Thank you. The football guys didn’t want me staying alone so they brought me over here. A moment later Bree replies. I don’t know if I should be relieved you weren’t alone… or jealous you were trapped in a house with five beefcakes. Despite everything, I laugh quietly. I glance toward the door. It’s still dark outside. The clock reads 3:02 a.m. Cole is probably still asleep on the couch downstairs. I consider going down to tell him Piper is okay, but waking him up in the middle of the night just to say that feels wrong. So I set my phone down and fall back asleep. ⸻ When I wake again, pale sunli

Chapter 14

Maya The next few days after the incident with Tessa were… strange. Before all of that happened, the football guys next door mostly just waved if they saw me outside. Now? Now it’s: “Hey Maya.” “How was your day, Maya?” “You doing okay, Maya?” It’s sweet. But also a little weird. The only one who seems to have gone back to normal is Cole. With him it’s back to the usual. “Morning, sweetheart.” Apparently the caring version of Cole “The Rogue” Ryder only shows up during emergencies. Still, he was right about one thing. Piper’s parents pulled her out of school after the alcohol poisoning. Which means Bree and I now have to find a new roommate fast… or we’re stuck paying Piper’s share of the rent. So this morning, on my way to Ethics class, I stopped in the quad and pinned up a notice about the open room. I also posted on the university marketplace page last night. Hopefully someone responds soon. I walk into the lecture hall and take my usual seat.

Chapter 15

MayaAfter Ethics, I have a small break before my literature class, so I stop by the campus coffee shop.Once I grab a latte, I sit down at a small table and text Bree.Maya: Good news! We might have a new housemate.My phone buzzes almost immediately.Bree: Already?? That’s amazing!Maya: 7pm tonight. We’re meeting Logan Hayes to see if he wants the room.There’s a short pause before the next message pops up.Bree: Shut the front door.The hockey player??I smile.Maya: Yes, that one.Another message appears instantly.Bree: Football beefcakes next door AND a hockey god living in our house?I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.I laugh quietly and shake my head.Maya: Calm down. He’s only coming to meet us. Celebrate when he signs the lease.Bree: Fine. But I will absolutely be home at 7.I set my phone down and open my laptop, planning to work on my Ethics paper.I barely get two sentences written before someone steps up to my table.I look up.Savannah Morgan.She’s in one of the s

Chapter 16

Maya At exactly seven o’clock, there’s a knock on the front door. Bree is already halfway there before I can even stand up. “I got it!” she announces. Of course she does. She swings the door open and Logan Hayes is standing there, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed like he does this kind of thing all the time. “Hey,” he says with a smile. “Hi,” Bree replies immediately, leaning against the doorframe like she’s known him for years. “You must be Logan.” “That obvious?” “Well,” she says, waving him inside, “the hockey-player height kind of gives it away.” Logan laughs and steps into the living room. I gesture toward the couch. “Thanks for coming over.” “No problem,” he says. “I appreciate you guys meeting with me.” Bree plops down in the armchair across from him. “So,” she says dramatically, “the big question.” Logan raises an eyebrow. “Okay…” “Do you have a problem living with female housemates?” Logan doesn’t even hesitate. “No.” Bree nods ap

Chapter 17

ColeSaturday means game day.We’re coming off our bye week and today’s game is against one of our biggest rivals.Two hours on a bus.Two hours of game film.Normally I sit in the back with my tablet, studying plays from previous games so I know exactly how their defense moves.Preparation is everything.But today?My concentration is shot.Every time I try to focus on the screen, my mind drifts back to one thing.Logan Hayes moving into Maya’s house.If she wanted another athlete living there, I could’ve found someone on the team looking for a place.But no.It had to be Hayes.The King himself.By the time we reach the stadium, I force myself to shove the thought out of my head.Game mode.Coach gathers us in the locker room.“Men,” he says, pacing in front of us, “we had a week to recover. Today we show them what we’re made of.”The room goes quiet.“This team we’re facing today isn’t easy. But neither are we.”He stops in front of us.“You know why we win games?”Nobody answers.

Chapter 18

MayaIt only takes two days after Logan moves in for the dynamic in our house to completely change.Not in a bad way.Just… different.The biggest difference is the refrigerator.Before Logan moved in, Bree and I mostly survived on coffee, yogurt, and whatever random leftovers we could find during the week.Now?Our fridge is suddenly full of eggs, chicken, protein shakes, and an alarming amount of sports drinks.Apparently hockey players eat like they’re preparing for winter.I’m standing in the kitchen early Saturday morning frosting cupcakes when Logan walks in wearing sweatpants and a hockey hoodie.He stops halfway through the doorway and sniffs the air.“Please tell me those are for breakfast.”I laugh without looking up.“Cupcakes.”“Even better.”He walks over and leans against the counter, eyeing the cooling rack like he’s debating stealing one.“You bake a lot.”“Occupational hazard,” I say. “If I’m stressed, I bake.”“Good coping strategy.”Bree walks into the kitchen right

Chapter 19

ColeI wake up around ten the next morning.Normally after an away game I’d sleep half the day away, but my body is too sore to stay in bed. Every muscle reminds me of the hits I took last night.Winning feels great.The bruises that come with it? Not so much.I drag myself into the shower, letting the hot water loosen the tightness in my shoulders. By the time I finish getting dressed, I remember something else I have to deal with today.Ethics.I hate that class.Usually I skip the study groups because they’re pointless, but this section on The Rhetorics of War and Peace has me completely confused. Professor Harris decided this topic is apparently the most important thing we’ll study all semester.And if I don’t pass?I can’t play.That alone is enough to drag me out of the house.I grab my keys and head outside toward my truck.Just as I step off the porch, I hear a door close.I glance toward the house next door.Maya is walking down her driveway with a backpack slung over one sho

Chapter 20

ColeI take another bite of the biscuit sandwich.And immediately regret it.The biscuit is dry enough that I almost choke.“I swear,” I mutter, grabbing my coffee, “I have no idea how they manage to make biscuits this dry.”Maya laughs beside me.“My grandmother used to make the best homemade biscuits,” she says. “Fluffy, buttery, perfect every single time.”“Used to?”“She still does,” Maya says. “I just can’t recreate them the way she does.”“That’s tragic.”“It really is.”I shake my head.“I’m from Pittsburgh. Food is basically a personality trait there.”“Oh I know,” she says immediately. “The Strip District alone proves that.”That makes me glance over at her.“You’ve been to the Strip?”“Of course,” she says. “My hometown is in Ohio, but it’s not that far from Pittsburgh.”“What town?”“Girard.”I blink.“Seriously?”She nods.“You’ve heard of it?”“Yeah,” I say with a laugh. “It’s near Youngstown. Not that far from Pittsburgh.”“Exactly.”I lean back slightly in the seat.“Th

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