Free Burn For You (Boys of the South) by Marquita Valentine Page A

after classes started our freshman year and he pledged Sigma Tau.
    Honestly, I was a bit relieved when it happened—we’d been together for so long that I had wondered if we were together because we were too lazy to find someone else. There was no drama and no tears when Todd and I broke up.
    But Meagan had taken me to Goodberry’s for milkshakes anyway.
    “What were you shaming her for, then?” a familiar voice asks, and I wish for a hole to open up and swallow me in the parking lot. My new boss just heard my best friend call me sexually inexperienced. 
    My best friend’s eyes go wide and she mouths, “I’m so sorry.” Then she raises her voice.  “Beau, so nice to see you. Here. At the hospital. For no apparent reason.”
    “I’m here for the usual—donations.”
    He came here to give money? I can’t turn around and face him. Instead, I start walking again, leaving Meagan and Beau behind. “Later, Meagan. Mr. Montgomery.”  I smash my lips together, feeling stupid for calling him Mr. Montgomery in front of Meagan. Obviously, they know each other socially, and he’s not that much older than we are.
    “We need to talk, Landry,” Beau calls out, but I keep going.
    Pushing open the door, I toss, “I can’t be late. Text or email me. Kimmie has my contact information,” over my shoulder and speed up my walk. Usually, I take the elevator to the first floor, but with my luck, he would somehow get on it and we’d get stuck together.
    Not the most unpleasant thought, but only if we didn’t know one another. And if he hadn’t overheard Meagan giving me a hard time, I’d totally be on board with it.
    But I do know him. And he did hear.
    I sigh, and then take the stairs.
    ––––––––
    B eau
    I watch Landry disappear inside the hospital before turning my attention back to Meagan. I don’t know her all that well. She doesn’t hang out with Paisley’s crowd, and thank God, I’ve never hooked up with her when I was going through my fuck-you-Paisley stage.
    Yeah, I call them Bro Rules, but really, my rules are just codes I live by. Like never hook-up with your current or former hook-up’s best friend—or sister.  Which is a shame since my rule would have instantly made Landry off-limits and my life a hell of a lot easier.
    Meagan gazes at me, eyes twinkling and smile knowing. “Beau Montgomery.”
    “Meagan Thomas,” I reply, unable to keep my attention on her. I want to go after Landry, to find out what she’s doing and how long she’ll be. We need to talk, about boundaries and rules, and how I won’t put her in a position she won’t enjoy.
    Shit. I have got to stop putting the word position and Landry in the same sentence.
    “Landry isn’t like Paisley, or any other girl you’ve dated,” she says bluntly.
    No, she’s sexually inexperienced. Something that, despite myself, I find sexy as hell. “I don’t plan on dating her.”
    “Plans can always change,” she points out, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t want my best friend to get hurt, because you decide to seduce her.”
    My jaw works. “I don’t plan on seducing her.” A weak defense, I know, but what else can I say to defend myself?
    Meagan makes a noise of disbelief. “I saw how you were looking at her.” She uncrosses her arms and taps her chin. “Then again, every guy looks at her like that.”
    Jealousy surges, stunning me with its intensity. I don’t want any guy but me looking at her, but I sure as hell can’t admit that to Meagan. Or anyone else for that matter. “Does she have a boyfriend?”
    “As her new employer, you can’t ask that.”
    Jealousy gives way to irritation. “I’m not asking her. I’m asking you.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I want to know what I’m—” I swallow. I almost said up against . Like I had competition. “Dealing with. Will he get mad if I take her to Monaco?”
    Meagan smirks. “Still not answering.”
    “Thanks,” I say sarcastically. “Great talking