“You did this, right?”

I bound through the door where my friend works at the alumni affairs office at our college. The semester’s already started, which means the office is nearly empty - everyone who wanted one already has their internship lined up.

“Did what?” Jess gives me a sly smile and averts her eyes from mine, throwing her hands into the air. “Okay, you busted me.”

“Jess! What the hell?”

I realized when Ryan told me I got the internship that I’d been in the wrong place the whole time. Everything clicked together. Dirty After Dark. Not the podcast I thought I was interviewing for. And then everything came together. The fake dick in his office, the crude posters. The Howard Stern poster, for goodness’ sake! That wasn’t an office they run a science and nature podcast out of. It was where they run a sex advice podcast.

I didn’t know what to do, so I stuck to my favorite motto - when in doubt, do nothing. I shook his hand and left his office, unsure of what my next step would be. I certainly didn’t want to look unprofessional, so I said nothing.

“I’m sorry!” Jess slides out of her chair and comes over to me. “Maybe it was bad, but at least I got your blood pumping.”

“This is your idea of a funny joke, isn’t it?” I reply, sinking down into one of the chairs in the reception area and throwing my bag down on the floor.

“Well,” Jess says, taking a seat next to me, “yes. This is my idea of a funny joke.”

“What the hell am I going to do? Did you think of that?”

“Relax,” she says. “I scheduled an interview at the science podcast, too. Sorry for sending you all over LA.”

“For no good reason!” I shout.

“It was not for no good reason,” she protests. “You got to meet Ryan, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did get to meet Ryan. And now he’s going to think I’m a total flake.”

That familiarity I had with him wasn’t because I’d met him before; it was because I’d seen his face plastered on the side of busses all over LA.

Ryan Hart, founder and host of sex advice podcast Dirty After Dark. No wonder he’d looked familiar.

“It’s not a big deal. Just tell him you got another offer. This kind of thing happens all the time.”

But I have a bigger problem than that.

I want to see him again.

The idea of working for him seemed like such a bad idea at first, with his devilish smile and sardonic comments, but I was starting to consider it about half-way through the interview.

What better to get me out of my funk than an internship with a sexy boss?

“I don’t know,” I say.

“Look, if you want, I’ll even call his office personally to deliver the bad news. I’ll tell them I’m from the college and we found you another gig. Seriously, this is a normal thing.”

“Wait. What if I actually took the internship?”

“Well,” Jess says, smiling, “you did get it fair and square. You earned it.”

“Maybe I’ll do it. I’m up for a new challenge. Right?”

“Challenge? You mean Ryan isn’t exceptionally easy on the eyes?”

He is, of course. Ryan Hart is exceptionally easy on the eyes, and easy elsewhere, too. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever been instantly attracted to someone like that in, well...ever, actually.

It’s not just his looks, of course, which are smoldering and hot. His confidence is the sexiest thing about him. He’s exacting and decisive. He knows what he wants. I could see it in his eyes. That man doesn’t want anything for long, because once he sees something he wants, he gets it.

“You’re right. It would not be a challenge to work with him in that regard. But it would be a challenge to work with him in other ways, wouldn’t it?” I get up and start pacing back and forth in front of my friend’s desk. “Imagine working with him. No really, close your eyes and think about it. You’re in a recording studio, in a tight space, and he’s dishing out relationship and sex advice live over the air.”

“I thought the show was pre-recorded.”

“Right,” I say, flopping down again. “You’re right. Pre-recorded. At any rate, think about him saying all those dirty things.”

“Like what?” my girlfriend asks. “I thought you’ve never heard the show before.”

“I haven’t! But during the interview he told me all about the sorts of questions he gets.”

“Such as?”

“Such as...how to go about losing your virginity, whether you should actually go through with being in a three-way, girls experimenting with girls. Frankly, the whole thing got a little bit offensive.”

“To be fair, he thought you were on board with all of it.”

“That’s fair,” I say, flopping down next to her.

“So when did you tell him to stop?” she asks.

“Stop?”

“Yeah. When did you tell him you were super uncomfortable and didn’t want to answer any more questions? Was that before or after your panties got wet?”

“Jess!”

“I’m just putting it out there. You didn’t tell him to stop, did you?”

“Okay, no. But I did ask him if he was allowed to ask me personal questions,” I say. “He came right out and asked if I have a boyfriend.”

“And you got the internship anyway? After you challenged his authority?”

“He thinks I’ll be a good addition to the show. He said I looked good on paper but wasn’t sure why I was there interviewing. And that’s what he liked about me.”

I get up and swing my bag over my shoulder. I should have Jess make the call and tell Ryan I can’t accept his offer.

But I felt sexy and wanted like I haven’t in a long time when I was with him. It felt good. And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Ryan’s dirty words since I sat down across from him. His words, his lips, his eyes.

This internship could be just the challenge I need.