I clicked the button they’d explained turned on my microphone. “Hey, Maddox, I was wondering if we could shift this conversation over to the personal side.”
“The personal side? Uh oh. Where’s this going?” He smiled, clearly not concerned.
I decided to run with a line of questioning I knew better. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“No, not right now. But I am in the market.”
“Did you hear that, ladies? Maddox Trance is available and looking for the right girl.” I glanced at Jade to make sure she was okay with what I was doing. She seemed relieved, so I continued. “So Maddox, what would this perfect girl be like?”
“Hmm, tough question. I mean what is perfect anyway?”
“And he’s philosophical too.” Wow, I was teasing the guy. What was going on with me?
“If you want philosophical, talk to your boyfriend. I can’t imagine what his pillow talk is like.”
“For those of you who don’t know, Cara’s boyfriend is Chase Denton of Chance of a Lifetime.” Jade was back.
I crossed my legs, trying to get more comfortable. The Chase pillow talk comment had thrown me off. “We’re not talking about Chase right now, Maddox. We’re talking about you. Surely there are certain traits you look for in a partner.”
“She has to be nice. I don’t want a girl who’s going to make fun of anyone else. She also has to be super low-maintenance. Make-up and stuff is a major turn-off.”
“You like the natural look, huh?”
“Exactly.” He adjusted the bill of his Clemson baseball cap. The grin hadn’t left his face since I started my line of questioning.
“Anything else?”
I noticed some annoying red light flashing but ignored it.
He shifted on his stool. “Ideally, she’d like my music.”
“That’s a bonus, although I had no clue Chase was even a musician when we got together.” Clearly, I was getting too comfortable if I was willingly sharing personal information.
“Really?” Maddox sat forward. “He never mentioned that detail.”
“We’ll save that story for when he’s on the air. So blonde or brunette, what’s your preference?”
“Brunette usually.”
Two more lights started flashing, so I looked to Jade for help. She grinned. “Looks like we’ve got some calls, people. That’s a first for this show.” She clicked on one of the buttons. “Hi, you’re on the air.”
“Hi, Maddox. My name’s Virginia.”
“Hi, Virginia.” He smiled.
“I’m a big fan of your Reds album, and well, you’re adorable, so I’d love to go out sometime.”
“Wait, are you asking me out?” Maddox rested his feet on his stool.
“Yes.” The caller giggled.
I glanced at my watch. It wasn’t even five fifteen. Impressive.
“All right, Virginia. I’ll get your info in case Maddox wants to take you up on that.” Jade clicked off on that one and got another. “You’re on the air with Maddox Trance.”
“Hey, Maddox.” It was another girl. “I have a boyfriend, so I’m not offering myself up, but my roommate is a cute brunette who I think you’d like.”
The calls continued, and Maddox and I kept our banter going. It was light, easy, and fun. Jade got into it, and we even managed to squeeze in some music talk. Before we knew it, Maddox was performing.
I turned on my stool so I could watch him. I’d never been a big fan of electronic music, but Maddox had a cool sound. He also sang on top of a heavy bass line and eclectic beats which made it work for me. I just don’t like music without words. I need lyrics to help me connect.
When Maddox finished, I let Jade do the closing. I figured I’d done my part. Hopefully Jade was okay with the direction I’d taken things. She seemed excited by the listener response we got. She put on some music to close out the hour before the next hosts started.
“That was fun, ladies.” Maddox packed up his gear. “I’ll have to tune in to see who else you have on.”
“Thanks so much for coming. I know it was really early.” Jade stood from her stool.