Simon held his breath as Ian paused. Was he about to hear that he wasn’t good enough to be editor of the Ridgemont Weekly?
“I’m worried that your articles are a little bit detached, and like you don’t put enough of yourself in them. You seem too guarded when you write. I wanted to give you the chance to do something spontaneous. I really respect the fact that you are so organized and that you do such a great job of getting things done, but I want you to find your own voice, and to write something that shows me who Simon Northbrook really is. I’d like to see you write something personal, and to put yourself into the articles you write for the paper more.”
Simon was flabbergasted. It sounded unprofessional to make his work personal. What was Ian asking for?
Ian stumbled over his feet a bit then, and fell towards Simon who caught him, barely managing to carry his weight. “Woah, sorry about that, Simon. I’m feeling a bit lightheaded. Maybe I should just get off my feet for a few minutes and I’ll feel a bit better.” With that, Ian walked towards his desk where he lay down on the floor next to it, putting his hand over his face.
Simon frowned and asked: “Should I call you a taxi? Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” He walked over and stood over Ian.
“Nah,” Ian said, smiling coyly. “Just a bit of company would be good. Why don’t you come down here and sit next to me.”
Simon was overwhelmed. He didn’t know if it would be appropriate at all to sit down on the floor next to his drunken boss. Especially not with the way he was feeling; his whole body felt magnetized towards Ian, and Ian’s beautiful body was barely contained in Simon’s shirt, which was a few sizes too small for Ian. A small tuft of hair from Ian’s exposed belly was showing as he squirmed on the floor and took his hand away from his face, revealing a dreamy expression. Simon’s impulse was to run. For some reason, without willing himself to do so, he bent down and sat next to Ian.
“There you go, Simon,” Ian whispered, smiling more broadly than before. His soft features were even more striking this close, though his eyes were hardly open from his drunkenness. “It’s nice to have someone so close when I’m feeling like this. Aren’t you a bit drunk too? Don’t you maybe need to lie down as well? There’s space next to me…” Ian put his hand behind Simon’s back and held it there, the heat from Simon’s body radiating to it.
Simon couldn’t believe what was happening. He felt his chest tighten and his breathing was becoming sharper and faster. His mind raced and he knew that he was very likely to have regrets if he stayed any longer. He jumped to his feet, pulling himself away from Ian’s comforting hand. “I have to go, Ian. Sorry. I think I’m feeling… too tired now or something… Sorry.” His words were frantic and he felt an immense feeling of embarrassment.
Ian got to his feet then, the smile gone from his lips, and told Simon that he would get a taxi. He walked out of the office without his files. Simon was left there reeling. What had he done? Why had he been so frightened of being close to Ian?
Simon sat down at his desk, feeling heavy and disappointed in himself. He didn’t quite know how to explain what he was feeling. He had to talk to Olivia to see if she could shed some light on what was happening.
Chapter 4
The wind blowing in his hair, the sound of seagulls ringing in his ears, and the salty smell of the ocean in his nostrils, Simon and Olivia looked silently, head bowed against head, at the beautiful sunset. He could usually count on Olivia to lift his mood, and agreeing to join Justin and her for a trip on the boat was clearly the right choice. Simon felt his tensed up muscles relax, his mind clearing, and he felt light on his feet. It has been a relaxing day, and his body was clearly thanking him for it.
“Where’s my man with my sex on the beach?” Olivia giggled indulgently, and slyly winked at Simon. Justin had been tasked with bringing them drinks.
“Liv, I’m so glad that you and Justin are doing so well. To think, only about a year ago this time he was still under the impression that I wasn’t really gay but secretly still pining after you.”
Olivia let out a hoot of laughter. “I know, right? And now he is on the committee of Ridgemont Rainbow? I’m so proud of my forward-thinking, social justice warrior husband!” Olivia spontaneously broke out into the song “What a Man”.
Simon burst into a hapless heap of giggles as he watched his best friend’s antics. Only Olivia could succeed in making him forget his worries and set his fun side free.
“There she is! My beautiful girl. A drink for you,” he said, and handed her a cocktail with a miniature paper umbrella hanging over the edge as decoration.
Justin gave her a deep smile, bowed down, and kissed her gently on the cheek.
As if struck by a jolt of electricity, Olivia turned to Simon, and almost accusingly asked, “And you? It’s about time we go on double dates, but Mr. Picky here just can’t seem to choose from his ever-so-available and willing contestants!”
Simon blushed a deep crimson red. His sorry excuse for a love life was often the topic of teasing from Olivia and Justin. And while he knew there was no ill intent, it still stung a little bit.
“Aww, you know, Prince Charming must be running late. I think it’s about time my fairy godmother and I have a chat.”
“And who would this mysterious fairy godmother be, if not yours truly? Contestant #1: Trevor, gorgeous deep brown eyes with a killer smile. Verdict: Dismissed. Hair too long. Contestant #2: Migiel, cutest dimples you can find, nicest guy all around. Verdict: Dismissed. He spoke with his mouth full once. Contestant #3: Zane, a stylish dresser, zingers that will have you laughing for days. Verdict? Dismissed. He smiles too much. I sense a pattern here.”
Simon stared down at the deck, shuffled his feet, and sighed because he knew what was coming next.
“But then there is the one to beat them all. The one who gets a golden star on all fronts. One Ian Peters,” Olivia said dramatically.
Justin, a psychology student, who had a calm, reassuring, and wonderfully supportive nature about him, noticed Simon’s discomfort and tried to come to his rescue. “Alright, ladies and gents, time to get this party started! Too much chatting and too little dancing!”
Simon, as he was wont to do, pretended to take a big gulp of his drink, and silently snuck onto the bottom floor to visit the men’s room.
Justin watched him leave, and noticed that despite Simon’s display of guzzling mouthfuls of alcohol, his glass was still quite full.
“Everything okay in Simonville?” he asked Olivia gently.
“Oh babe, do you have to ask? I feel so bad seeing him pine after Ian Peters all the time. I want to be there for him, but I just don’t know what else I can do short of kidnapping Ian, wrapping him in a bow, and hand delivering him to Simon myself!”
Justin chuckled, and touched by his girlfriend’s concern for her best friend, he grabbed her by the waist, and leaned in for a deep, loving kiss.
Simon reemerged from the deck and witnessed the intimate moment shared by Olivia and Justin. Despite his love for his friend, he felt that all-too-familiar stab of loneliness piercing his heart, and he sighed deeply.
“Simon, get over here! This glass of champers isn’t gonna finish itself!” Olivia yelled from across the deck, and Simon sheepishly joined them again.
“We’re so happy to have you with us. And I have no doubt in my mind that soon you’ll be joined by Mr. Right. Maybe even Mr. Peters.” Olivia threw Simon a huge smile, but he felt himself cringing. If there’s one thing he couldn’t stand, it was people pitying him. Despite himself, he returned her grin and told her that he hoped so, too. Olivia’s teasing was usually tolerable, but doing it in front of Justin was still embarrassing for Simon.
“Besides, you need some fun in your life. After hours fun, if you know what I mean,” Olivia said. Simon blushed a deep crimson red and faux punched Olivia in the shoulder, and the two giggled.
“You know, the perfect time to flirt with a handsome, intelligent man is the jour
nalism faculty opening function. I know it might be stuffy, but lots of cute guys from Rainbow will be there.” Simon had been reluctant to go since he wanted to spend the time working on his article about Harry Baleka and to get his studies in order for the year. He thought that the opening function was just an excuse for the Weekly’s staff to get free drinks. Olivia was relentless, and said, “I think the four of us will have a lot of fun.”
“Uh, the four of us? What do you mean, Liv?”
“Alistair Simmons! Tall, blonde, with the cutest baby blues you’ve ever seen!”
Simon smiled. That did sound pretty hot. Olivia served on Ridgemont Rainbow’s committee, the gay student society, a year before as events organizer, and she still had many gay friends. She had been trying to set Simon up with her friends for a while now, but, and Simon knew this was pretty sad, it felt like he would be betraying himself if he went for one of them.
“Zuko will be there, and we need to keep an eye on that sneaky cow Margeaux. Who knows what else she’ll get up to? And besides, you have to play the social game a little bit to advance your writing career. As much as I love reading your work in the Weekly, you’ll need some more contacts in the field to get ahead.”
“Okay, okay, you got me, Liv! I’ll think about it. Jeez.” Simon faked an exasperated sigh and wiped his brow as if exhausted by her.
“You know I’m looking out for my bestie. I want you to be happy, sweets.”
Simon frowned: “You know, now that you mention Zuko, he has been a little bit distant lately. Know if something’s up?”
“Nothing that I know of. I think he’s seeing a cute little redhead twink. He seemed happy the last time I spoke to him.”
“Hmm. It might be my imagination, but I know when something’s up with him, and I’m usually right.”
Just then, Simon’s phone buzzed. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed Ian’s gorgeous face pop up next to a text message.
Hey buddy. Just curious to know if you’re going to the journo opening function?
Simon put his phone back into his pocket. This time, no forced or phony smiles, but a huge grin spread from ear to ear.
“Liv, babe, looks like we have a date.”
Chapter 5
Simon gave his shoes one final wipe down from the cloth he kept in his glove compartment, and gave his reflection in the rearview mirror one last glance. His dark brown hair was smoothly combed in a side parting, not a hair out of place. Simon took pride and care in his appearance, and tonight he had to look his best.
“Jeez, boy beauty, are you done admiring your masterpiece in the mirror? Time to get to the function already!” Olivia yelled from outside of his car, her hand rapping against the passenger door’s window.
Simon grinned, climbed out of the car, and happily hooked his arm into Olivia’s. He entered the town hall, and was greeted by a first-year student, eagerly smiling at him, as she handed him the program for the evening. Simon entered the foyer and admired the formidable statue of Steve Biko, his imposing frame captured in stone as his figure sat in a pose of deep reflection.
The hall didn’t disappoint, and the journalism faculty’s ample cash reserves were proudly put on display, with elaborate floral decorations of white orchids and glittering silver vases lending a tasteful elegance to the evening’s atmosphere. Around fifty attendees were huddled in typically Capetonian cliques, and Simon’s eyes quickly scanned the room, darting to find Ian Peters.
“Hey, do you see Zuko around?” Olivia asked, pulling at his arm.
“What?” Simon was roused from his preoccupied search for Ian.
“Wait, I got this. Let me guess. Ian Peters, right?” Olivia teased, but smiled at him and lightly nudged him in his side with her elbow.
Simon decided to sidestep Olivia’s teasing, as he didn’t feel up to another round of being reminded of what a dismal failure his love life was. Simon was also reminded of Zuko’s absence lately, and he creased his brow.
“He did mention a couple of weeks ago that he would definitely be coming, right? That was your impression as well? I saw him at the rally but he didn’t come and speak to me after.”
“Yep, that’s what I thought as well. Hmmm. Hey, that cutey Jeremy from Rainbow is coming over! Simon, you have to meet him!”
Simon rolled his eyes, but found himself following Olivia’s gaze. Jeremy, a member of the university’s LGBT society, strolled over. Tall, slim, and blonde, Jeremy’s bright, gleaming green eyes glanced over confidently, and he winked at Simon just as he leaned in to hug Olivia. Simon blushed and looked the other way.
“Sweetheart, how have you been? Aren’t you just a picture of gorgeousness?” Olivia gushed. Simon felt a ridiculous twinge of jealousy. He didn’t react well when Olivia was so chummy with other gay guys. He appreciated the special bond that often exists between girls and their gay guy friends, and he found himself at times jealously guarding his territory. Even so, Jeremy was definitely cute, even Simon had to admit that.
“And so, Mr. Clarke Kent, how have you been?” Jeremy all but batted his eyelashes at Simon, and Simon involuntarily blushed at the attention. Was Jeremy really flirting with him, or was he just imagining things?
“Um, I’ve been fine thank you, how about yourself?” Wow, Simon, what riveting repartee you’re creating here. Simon mentally smacked his head.
“Oh, you know, Lois Lane is patiently awaiting the arrival of her Superman, ready to be whisked off her feet and to be flown into the sunlight.”
Simon did a little bit of a double take, but found himself reluctantly admiring Jeremy’s candor and comfort with approaching a guy. Even he knew that Jeremy was flirting with him, and he was attracted to Jeremy...sort of.
“Well, uh, that’s nice.” It took everything Simon had not to punch himself in the gut. Jeremy raised his eyebrows, and he curled his lips in... what, sympathy? Simon felt himself blushing a deep, crimson red. Jeremy turned to Olivia, who herself was shaking her head subtly, but there was just enough motion that Simon could gather that she was feeling sorry for him.
“Liv dear, mind doing me the honor of being my dancing queen?”
“Why Jeremy darling, I would be ever so humbled. Oh, by George, the thrills!” Jeremy threw back his head in laughter, hooked his arm into Olivia’s, and the two skipped happily to the dancefloor. Simon’s flurry of envy grew stronger, and he wondered to himself what kept him back from flirting so openly and comfortably as other people seemed to be able to do.
Simon shook his head vigorously from side to side, raises his shoulders in a shrug, and resolved not to let a failed flirting interaction get to him. He scanned the room, hoping that Ian had finally shown up during his dismal attempt at doing the mating dance, but instead, his eye caught a tall, slim figure, his back turned to him. Simon instantly recognized the rainbow-themed blazer, the afro and the deep burgundy skinny jeans. He walked over eagerly and tapped Zuko on the shoulder.
“Zee, how have you been? It’s been too long!”
Zuko whirled around enthusiastically at the sound of Simon’s voice, and quickly enfolded Simon in a tight hug.
“Hey Simon, it’s good to see you, too!”
Zuko held on to Simon even tighter, and resisted Simon’s reflex to break the hug. Something was wrong.
“Zuko, hey, hold on, are you okay? You seemed to rush off after the rally. Come on, talk to me.”
Zuko finally let go of Simon, his brow folded in a crease, and his eyes clearly distressed. Simon couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but something seemed different about the skin tone of his left eye.
“Hey, hold on Zuko, come a bit closer...hey, what is that?! Zuko, what happened to your eye?”
Zuko and turned away from Simon. While Simon was not always the most adept at flirting, he had always prided himself on being a pretty good friend, and with his arm around Zuko’s shoulder, he steered him outside to the balcony, the gentle summer breeze offering some comfort from the stuffy interior.
“
Zuko, please, come on, talk to me. Who did this to you?”
Zuko, who had always been outspoken, loud and proud - one of the many things that Simon liked about him - quietly bowed his head and said, “Them.”
“Zuko, you’ll have to be a bit more specific than that. Help me out here.”
“Simon, this isn’t exactly cool, man.” Zuko’s temperament changed from quiet and withdrawn to suddenly hostile. “You don’t know what it’s like. Living in that res, constantly being made to feel that you’re not good enough, the hammering on your door by your drunken res mates, shouting at you to go sleep on the street. And that’s not even half of it! And this? This is what you can see, this is what is visible! They know to leave most of the bruises out of sight!”
By now, Zuko’s voice was shaking, his eyes wide with fear and anger, and his arms clenched on Simon’s shoulder, the passion of his speech overwhelming both him and Simon.
“Zee, I had no idea, I’m so sorry. What, what assholes! Complete d-bags! Have you told anyone about this? Does anyone know?”
“No, I haven’t mentioned this to anyone.”
Simon pointed to Zuko’s eye, “Tell me about this assault. What exactly happened?”
“Same thing that has been happening the last two weeks after I moved into that hellhole. They tried to barge into my room. My coward roommate pretended that he didn’t hear, and finally, fed up, I went to confront them. The minute I opened up the door they wrestled me to the ground, I managed to push them off me, and somewhere in the process I got a black eye. I have some bruises as well.” Zuko removed his rainbow blazer, a symbol in such clear contrast to his grim tale, and he lifted up his shirt to reveal bruises and welts spread across his torso.
“Zuko, this is totally not okay. We can’t let them get away with this. There must be something we can do. We can call the police. Talk to management. The Ridgemont Weekly will have a field day with this. We can totally bring these guys to justice!”
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