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

right.”
    “What’s there to get right? It’s sex, Annie, not rocket science. You just insert tab A into slot B and—”
    “Eww.” Annie nearly dropped the phone when she attempted to cover her ears. “Spare me the Ikea sex instructions, please.”
    “Okay, okay. So what was the question again?”
    Annie hesitated. She shook her head at herself. Asking Jake of all people for advice ... what was I thinking? “You know what? Forget it. It’s not important.”
    “Aww, just when it was getting interesting,” Jake said, his tone teasing.
    Not in the mood for silly jokes, Annie said nothing.
    Metal clinked on the other end of the line. Then Jake cleared his throat. “You’re not just asking because you’re curious about my spectacular adventures in the bedroom, are you? Oh, shit, Annie. Tell me this isn’t about you and Drew.”
    Again, Annie remained silent.
    “So the two of you haven’t ...?” Now it was Jake who couldn’t say the word. “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know the details of my sister’s sex life.”
    That’s the problem. There is no sex life. Her whole life, she had been the one to give advice to her brother. Not that he ever followed it. But still. She swallowed her pride. “I wouldn’t ask you, but I really don’t know how to approach this.”
    Silence filtered through the line, interrupted only by Jake’s breathing. It sounded as if he was close to hyperventilating. “Um, but you’re not ...? I mean, you have ...? You had sex before, right?”
    “Yes,” Annie said, ignoring the heat creeping up her neck. “But this is different.” Her previous experiences really didn’t prepare her for her plans on Valentine’s Day.
    “Why? Because Drew is a woman?”
    “No. Yes. It’s part of it, but ... Before, it never mattered so much.” Sex had never been all that important to her. A part of life that was pleasant, but nothing to get too excited about. She had never wasted much thought on how to please her partner. If sex hadn’t been perfect, so what? Ever-lasting love, butterflies in your stomach, and perfect sex existed only in romance novels. Or so Annie had thought. Until she’d met Drew.
    “Christ, relax, will you? If you put so much pressure on yourself, you’re setting yourself up to fail.”
    “Thank you very much,” Annie said. “That kind of encouragement is exactly what I need to hear.”
    Jake sighed. “Like you said, sex isn’t like assembling furniture. When the time comes, you’ll figure out the mechanics. Don’t worry. I’m sure Drew will tell you exactly what to do to curl her toes.”
    Maybe he was right. Drew would gently guide her, as she had with everything else. “But how do I let Drew know that I want ... you know?” Great. Now I’m back to avoiding the word.
    “Easy,” Jake said. “You just tell her. It’s totally hot when a woman leans over to me during dinner and tells me exactly what she wants to do to me after dessert.”
    Easy? No. Nothing about it was easy. Annie rubbed her face with her free hand as she imagined walking up to Drew and telling her she wanted to have sex. Oh, God. No. “I can’t do that.”
    “If you can’t say it face-to-face, how about a sizzling text message?” Jake asked. “Last time I got one of those, I left a football evening with the boys faster than you can say cunnilingus.”
    Annie wrinkled her nose. What was she supposed to write? Want to get naked and sweaty with me? “No, thanks. I don’t think that’s my style either.”
    “Then lose the accountant look and put on something sexy. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. If you show up in a mini-skirt, stilettos, and sexy underwear, Drew will know what’s up.”
    “I don’t know, Jake.”
    Jake let out a long groan. “God, you women are complicated! You can do my taxes with your eyes closed, but you can’t figure out how to let your girlfriend know you want to sleep with her?”
    A male voice called Jake’s name.
    “I have to