Connected Hearts - Four Lesbian Romance Stories by Jae, Joan Arling, Rj Nolan

returned to the cozy bed-and-breakfast where she had booked a room.
    That was where the problems started. They had shared some heated kisses, but Annie had no experiences beyond that. At least not with women.
    Annie knew Drew wouldn’t make the first move even though she was the more experienced one. From the moment they had first gotten together twelve weeks ago, Drew had always made sure not to pressure Annie when it came to their physical relationship. She had let Annie initiate their first real kiss, and now it would have to be Annie who introduced lovemaking into their relationship.
    She sighed. Sometimes, having a considerate girlfriend was a pain in the ass.
    Half an hour later, Annie was still staring at a blank page. She threw the stress ball against the wall and watched it ricochet across the room. “Argh!” The more she thought about her seduction plans, the more she started to panic. She wanted the first time between her and Drew to be perfect, a night that neither of them would ever forget. Valentine’s Day seemed ideal for that, so she had convinced Drew not to prepare any Valentine’s surprises and let her plan a romantic evening instead. On paper, everything looked good. But no matter how much she planned, it wouldn’t change her own inadequacy. Drew deserves a lover who knows what she’s doing, not just the bumbling attentions of a nervous nerd.
    She closed her notebook, stood, and started to pace through her bedroom.
    If only she knew how to make that first move, then maybe everything else would fall into place.
    Too bad she didn’t have a best friend she could call for advice. Drew was her best friend, but she couldn’t ask her about this.
    Maybe Jake would know. She stopped pacing. Yes. Her brother was the quintessential ladies’ man, a Casanova who had seduced so many women that he would have needed a spreadsheet to keep track. If anyone knew how to let Drew know she was ready for more, it would be Jake.
    She reached for the phone and speed-dialed his cell, hoping he wouldn’t make fun of her.
    “Yeah?” Jake sounded out of breath.
    Annie frowned. “Hi. It’s me. Annie. Am I catching you at a bad time?”
    “No, I’m just halfway up the rock-climbing wall right now.”
    “You picked up your phone while you’re hanging from a rock-climbing wall?” Annie rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’ll make it quick, then.” Her cheeks were already glowing with embarrassment, so she didn’t want to prolong this conversation anyway. “What would a woman need to do to ... um ... seduce you?”
    “Walk up to me and strip,” Jake said without hesitation. “Why? Know anyone who’s interested?”
    Annie groaned. Obviously, Jake wasn’t a good point of reference. Seducing Drew would need to be a little more subtle. “No.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Forget the question. Let’s say ... let’s say you’ve been with a woman for a while. And everything’s going great, but you haven’t had ... you know.”
    A whirring and then a thumping sound indicated that Jake was back on the ground. He chuckled. “Sex, Annie. You’re thirty years old, and you still can’t say sex?”
    “Of course I can say it.” Saying it wasn’t the problem, though. Annie gritted her teeth. Maybe calling Jake hadn’t been such a bright idea, but for Drew’s sake, she was determined to get some information out of him. “Sex. There. I said it. S-E-X. Happy now?”
    Jake laughed. “Yep. Okay, so me and my imaginary girlfriend haven’t been doing the horizontal mambo. Why not? She’s not ugly as sin, is she?”
    “No! She’s beautiful.” Most people didn’t consider Drew a conventional beauty. Her nose and jaw were a bit too strong and her build too stocky, but Annie considered every inch of her attractive.
    “Then why wait?” Jake asked.
    “Well, because ... because ...” Annie dropped onto her desk chair and huffed out a breath. “Because it isn’t just a one-night stand, and you want to get it