Hot Off the Press (Ridgemont University Book 1)

by Meredith Taylor

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,” Justin said as he made his long awaited appearance from the bar, and handed her a cocktail with a miniature paper umbrella hanging over the edge as decoration. A rainbow motif, naturally.

  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. Hey! Points for rhyming!” Olivia giggled at her silly joke, and Simon nodded his head in mock exasperation.

  “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, 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 journalism 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 had 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 Ian 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