Tina rolled grudgingly over and groped for the whining phone. Her grasping hand sent a dog-eared paperback from the bedside table before her fingers encircled the receiver.
“Hello,” she mumbled wearily.
“Talk to me,” the caller replied.
“Sorry? What?” she questioned. She began to bristle at the thought of a wrong number waking her from a dead sleep.
“Who are you? Do you know what time it is?”
“It’s late. Or early…depending.”
“Depending on what?” She asked.
“Depending on a lot of things. Where you are. Where I am. What time you normally go to bed. Any number of things at all, actually, but I didn’t call you to talk semantics.”
“What did you call me for then?” Tina was intrigued now. The man’s voice was subtle, deep and soothing…and slightly sensual.
“Tell me something.”
“Tell you what?” She listened intently to the silence, thick and lengthy.
“Tell me something private.” Tina was beginning to feel aroused despite herself. The voice was so calm, and confident. It resonated inside her head. She could feel herself becoming flushed.
“Private? Like what?”
“Something deep and dark. Tell me a secret.” His voice slid in and out of her recollection. It was elusive, slippery and sexual, and it was turning her on.
“A secret? Why should I tell you any thing?” She could hear his breathing, solid and even. The silence stretched into an eternity. She realized quite suddenly that she desired him to answer. She needed it. Was he going to make her beg? Just when she thought she would burst, he whispered throatily into the receiver.
“Because you want to.” His reply made Tina moan, quietly and involuntarily.
“Yes,” she sighed. How did he know? How was he doing this to her? She cradled the receiver on her shoulder as her hands began to run over her tingling skin. Her nipples where hard now and she could feel the familiar slickness between her legs.
“A secret,” the voice demanded. She was trembling at the sound of him. His voice echoed through her burning body, her hands intent on dousing the flames.
“I’m wet,” she breathed.
“That’s no secret. I can hear you breathing hard. I can almost smell you through the phone.” She shivered at his observations. Her hand slowly ran down her stomach, drawing ever closer to the mass of pent up desire she longed to release.
“A secret is what you want,” she managed between moans. “I want to be fucked hard right now. I want you to fuck me hard right now.” He laughed, low and sinister.
“That is no secret either.” Click.
Tina deflated. She tossed away the lifeless receiver. She could not remember the last time she was this aroused, but without his voice, it meant less than nothing. Now she could hear the operator droning from the discarded receiver in the corner.
“If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again…” all saccharine and apathetic. She tossed back the covers and stalked into the bathroom. She splashed her face and the frigid water dislodged the last bit of sleepiness from her eyes. She eyed herself suspiciously in the mirror. What the fuck just happened? A prank call? Certainly not just a heavy breather. He felt familiar, but only on a primal level. His voice spoke to her wanton desires.
She abandoned the idea of sleeping anytime soon and curled up under a heavy blanket on the couch. She clicked the remote and the TV sparked to life. She found some old black and white movie, so bad it was good and some hours later, she fell asleep. She slept fitfully, restlessly, his voice taunting her from the recesses of her memory.
Tina had been late to work the next day. She didn’t hear her alarm from the couch. She rushed in and tossed her coat and purse on the floor of her cubicle, snatching up her headset and clicking on her PC as quickly as possible. It was only a moment before the headset pulsed into her ear. She hesitated, her mind betraying her, flashing back to her last phone conversation. Her finger hovered over the switchboard a moment. She silently scolded herself for letting him get to her this much. She clicked a button and spoke.
“Ross Telecommunications. This is Tina. How may I help you today?” Thankfully, the voice on the line belonged to a little old lady, confused about her long distance bill.
After dozens of calls and several stiff cups of coffee, Tina had all but forgotten last nights call. She took a hurried, half-as-long-as-usual lunch break to make up for her tardiness. Not very hungry, she ate only half a salad and a diet soda, and soon she was back to answering calls again.
Her greeting had become a mantra to her, said with exactly the same cadence and inflection every time, the customers voices were the impetus that dragged her into the here and now. She clicked another button and instinct kicked in.
“Ross Telecommunications. This is Tina. How may I help you today?”
“Hello again.” His voice made her breath catch in her throat. Immediately she could feel the passion welling up inside her.
“Tell me a secret. A real secret or I’ll hang up on you again.” She was confused and excited all at once. This was definitely more than a coincidence.
“I…I can’t,” she stammered. “They monitor the calls…They may be listening.” She waited anxiously, not wanting him to hang up again, but knowing that she should.
“Tell me a secret. They can hear it too.” Tina looked around. Her cubicle hid her from the casual view of most in the office, except for Nadine across the way, and she was embroiled in a heated discussion over long distance rates. With a deep breath, Tina replied.
“I’m not wearing any panties today.” She heard the voice on the other end breathe deep. He gave a slight chuckle.
