...I tried not to think about my mystery caller while I was at my show. I told myself it was a fluke, a one-off. I still hoped to hear from him again. I started the show the same way I always did, with a Back of Bourke song. I sang along as I filled out the on-air log, so Kevin could keep track of what went out over the airwaves. I had been busted several times for not playing required things like campus announcements and PSAs, so I tried to be more careful, mostly so he would leave me alone.

The time went by slowly as I stared out the window into the cold night air. The campus was always so peaceful at this time of night. At least on a Wednesday night. The student union was dead, except for the janitors cleaning up. I clicked play on my next song and was nearly scared out of my skin when the phone rang. I pressed the button and picked it up, my fingers crossed. I hadn’t done that since high school when I was in a similar state about a guy named Will.

“WVVE, this is Noah.”

“Hey, great show so far.”

It was him. I actively slowed my heart down and sat back on the stool. “Thanks. Glad you’re still listening.”

“I told you, I never miss it.”

“I know. It’s still so hard to believe.”

“You sound surprised. I thought the whole point of being on the radio was for other people to hear you.”

“Usually. I go a different way.”

“I like the sound of that, Noah.”

The words weren’t provocative on the surface, but the way he said them turned me on. There was no other way to say it. Especially the way he said my name.

“Anyway, did you want to hear something?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure what exactly.”

“That makes it harder for me to narrow it down.”

The guy laughed, the sound warm and infectious. I wanted to hear it all the time.

“That is true. Sorry, if I’m being a pain in the ass.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m sure we can come up with a song. We aim to please here at WVVE.”

“Now, is that a station policy or is it exclusive to you? The pleasing thing, I mean.”

I adjusted the collar of my shirt, as I suddenly felt hot and sweaty. If this guy kept it up, I’d start on fire. “Might just be me. I’d have to check our handbook.”

“Don’t go to any trouble on my account.”

“So, let’s see. About the song. What kind of mood are you in?”

There was a bit of silence on the line, and I held my breath as I wondered what he might come up with.

“Honestly? I’m horny, Noah.”

That certainly wasn’t on the list of possibilities.

“Uh, okay.”

“Do you have any songs good for that feeling?”

I couldn’t resist and added a bit of fuel to the fire. “Well, that depends. Do you want to get rid of the feeling or make it worse?”

“Why would I want to make it worse?”

“Maybe worse isn’t the right word.”

“Really? Then what is?”

I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly desiccated. “How about heighten the feeling?”

“So, do I want release or a tease, is that it?”

Oh holy hell. I didn’t know who this guy was, but he might kill me. “Yeah. Exactly.”

The line crackled with static, and I swear I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.

“Both, ideally. But I think I might be asking too much of one little song.”

“Maybe.”

“Too bad. I was really hoping you could help me out.”

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine him, a stranger, walking into the station and right into the booth. He could press me up against a wall, kiss me hard and take my breath away.

“Well, there might be something I can do.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“Play you a song anyway. It might help a bit. You know, until you think of some other way to fix the problem.”

“Who said it was a problem, Noah?”

Fucking hell. This guy was good. I opened my mouth to respond, but he beat me to it.

“I know what I want to hear.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have “Black Metallic” by Catherine Wheel?”

Did I have it? Of course, I did. It was one of my favorite songs. Moreover, in my opinion, it was sexy as hell.

“I do. I’ll play it for you next.”

“Great. Thanks, Noah. Talk to you next week.”