Attractions of
The Heart
by
Cheri Crystal
…offers erotic tales of want, will, and desire. There's nothing as intense as the hunger of a woman on the prowl for the woman of her dreams.
What Reviewers Say
About Cheri Crystal
“The stories are sweet, sexy and quick, much like the interactions between the characters in this collection.”
~Curve Magazine
“…Lobster Box, a funny, charming short story about a Jewish lesbian who finds that someone special through her meddling matchmaker…witty dialogue, humourous prose, and erotic descriptions had me hooked from start to finish.”
~Jane Bled, Author
“[In Lobster Box,] Cheri Crystal mixes some excellent ethnic humor and a little slapstick into this romance to make it one of the best books she’s penned…Each book she writes seems to get better as this author hones her craft to help make it top of the line female eroticism.”
~Dee Dailey, Reviewer for The Romance Studio
“Coming Clean is a fun story with crisp writing…”
~Robyn Glazer, Reviewer
“In addition, the sex scenes are scorching and the ending will make any reader smile from ear to ear. How could any readers not find them- selves enthralled by Ms. Crystal’s writing?”
~Danielle, Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
“Keeping Up With Hornelia…Travel through a budding relationship, the flowering of a couple-in-love who enjoy sex with one another (really enjoy it!), then read about what happens when life starts to get in the way…This story from Cheri Crystal is more than erotica, though. It is founded in reality and is laced with a true love story in its short, entertaining span…Appreciate Cheri Crystal’s way with words!”
~Anna F, Author and Reviewer
“I enjoy the frank sexuality…it’s always fresh and fun.”
~Carsen Taite, Author
Cheri Crystal’s first anthology is written and produced with great spirit… Crystal’s flair is consistent throughout the book. Her tales are varied and slip easily into each sex scene. No shadows in here. It is all good open sex and there is something for everyone including: love stories like “Lobster Box,” fun with toys in “Tina in Toyland,” group sex in “Me Too,” voyeurism in “Dogging,” desire in “Gone Fishing” and much more. I found Attractions of the Heart to be a great value. ~Willis, amazon.com
ATTRACTIONS OF THE HEART
© 2009, 2014 Cheri Crystal. All Rights Reserved.
THIS BOOK CONTAINS EROTIC CONTENT AND ADULT THEMES. READERS MUST BE OVER 18 TO PURCHASE.
Previously published ISBN: 978-1-60054-298-5 ©2009, Golden Crown Literary Winner 2010 for Lesbian Erotica
REPUBLISHED: © January 2014 Cheri Crystal. All Rights Reserved.
THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. NAMES, CHARACTERS, PLACES, AND INCIDENTS ARE THE PRODUCT OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION OR ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD, BUISINESS ESTABLISHMENTS, EVENTS, OR LOCALES IS ENTIRELY COINCIDENTAL.
SCANNING, UPLOADING AND/OR DISTRIBUTION OF THIS BOOK VIA THE INTERNET, PRINT, AUDIO RECORDINGS OR ANY OTHER MEANS WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR/PUBLISHER IS ILLEGAL AND WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.
FIND CHERI CRYSTAL ON THE WEB AT www.chericrystal.com
DEDICATED TO JO
My constant source of inspiration,
love, devotion, encouragement and support.
LOVE YOU
Acknowledgements
I have many people to thank, too many to mention every name without writing a book. In middle school, I had an English teacher who wrote at the top of my composition, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” William Shakespeare. He had me pegged at a very tender age. Thank you, Mr. Walters!
To all the fine authors of lesbian fiction who got me hooked. Thank you! Gratitude seems inadequate for all I’ve gained from my many lists, including the Golden Crown Literary Society who bestowed upon me an award I never expected to receive, but greatly appreciate. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you also to THUD, Facebook, the Virtual Living Room, and countless other lists for listening to my endless posts.
To Ronald L. Donaghe, author and editor, and to Elizabeth Conley, my first editor, who encouraged me to write my own book after they guided me through the world of reviewing LGBT literature.
To Toni Amato, who has taught me so much about writing as a craft and not just a hobby.
To Trish H for detecting typos others have missed. Thanks for your comments, comical at times, but always helpful.
To my family for putting up with me writing all hours of the day and night. I love you more than life and feel truly blessed! Thanks, Mom, for reading my work as many times as I dared to revise it. In loving memory of my dad, who shines down from heaven and has been a huge inspiration to never sit still.
To my wife Jo for being my reason. I love you the most.
And finally, a huge thanks to my readers. Every time you ask for my signature, I get goose bumps.
Table of Contents
Lobster Box
Going Fishing
Best Friends Don’t Fuck
Taking Chances
Does The Butch Come With The Recipe?
Debut
Climbing Rocks
Dogging
Escort
Exercise Dyke
Mile High Dare
Tina In Toyland
Keeping Up With Hornelia
Me, Too
Kumquat, Did You Say?
Trucking
Nightcap
Seeing It Through
LOBSTER BOX
A dietitian and a medical resident are set up on a blind date by a persistent, meddling, mutual friend. Laurie hopes they don’t end up talking diets, but she wouldn’t mind playing doctor. Will the best date ever lead to more than they ever dreamed possible?
Mom always said, “Don’t let boys touch you there,” but she never said anything about girls. Her other favorite saying was, “Why should he buy the cow, when he can get the milk for free?” Well, Ma, she bought the cow!
But let me back up a bit.
I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics, and by the autumn of 1980, I’d landed my first professional job in a skilled nursing facility in the Bronx. Edna Rubenstein, whose greatest joy was playing matchmaker, decided early on that I was to be her next project. I told her I avoided blind dates like the plague, but after she caught me kissing the evening nurse in the med room, she tried to set me up with her son. It was easier once she accepted that I liked girls and he would never be my type.
I refused to allow her to give out my number, but she was relentless in her nagging. Edna had warned me about the evening nurse and then she never let me forget my dreadful mistake. Theresa had been a great kisser, but when I found out she was bi-curious and her big Italian boyfriend had connections to the mob, I backed off pronto. It was true that my love life sucked. I was sick of dating losers and watching TV on a Saturday night with a bag of potato chips and French onion dip for company, but the final straw was a pathetic New Year’s Eve party.
I was the poster child for the lonely hearts club when I snuck out before midnight preferring an old movie to being surrounded by revelers who’d all paired up except for me and a neurotic Woody Allen type. I was doomed. With my tail between my legs, I tiptoed into the medical records office the following Monday, praying Edna wouldn’t notice and give me the third degree. No such luck.
“So, nu? How was the party? Any cute guys, er, girls?”
“Don’t start, Edna, please.” I grabbed the nearest chart and flipped it open, purposely avoiding her sympathe
tic glare.
Aside from distant call bells and the sporadic hum of the copy machine, all was too quiet as she and I worked. My mind wandered and when I looked up, Edna had her worried Jewish mother cap firmly placed atop her lacquered 1950’s hairdo. I knew that look well.
“Okay,” I blurted. “Stop looking at me like that. Maybe you should give that girl my number.”
Edna jumped up so fast she knocked the phone off the desk. She was animated with excitement akin to someone who’d just won the lottery. It was so easy to make her day. At the very least, I’d make one of us happy. Setting me up would be perfect for hours of juicy gossip enjoyment and subsequently, gloating if it worked out. Edna was such a type.
My mind was elsewhere as she talked a mile a minute, ticking off each of her friend’s daughter’s virtues as she dialed a number she knew by heart. “Leslie’s smart, cute, and she’s a nice Jewish doctor.”
The last word got my attention. My parents would plotz to hear I was dating a doctor.
There was no answer, but Edna refused to hang up. “It’ll be a match made in heaven, and I’ll be Cupid.”
“More like Yenta.” I rolled my eyes, but I had to laugh at her persistence.
“Yenta, schmenta. It’s just one date. What could it hurt?” She must have let the phone ring a million times and certainly long enough to allow for second thoughts. I stretched for the receiver, but she was taller and held it out of my reach.
“Maybe we should wait.”
“When’s the last time you got laid?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I couldn’t believe the things that came out of her mouth considering she was such a nice lady.
“It has everything to do with it. You’re miserable and you hardly ever go out. Leslie’s just the girl to change that. I know what I’m talking about.”
“Oh, all right, but if it doesn’t work out, I don’t want you pestering me again. Okay?”
“Of course. I won’t say a word.” She symbolically zipped her lips.
“Uh hmm.” Where had I heard that before?
Edna cupped my chin in her chubby hands. Her wedding ring cut off the circulation of her finger, giving it a purple tinge. She looked like a heart attack waiting to happen. “Such a shana punim. I want you should be happy, that’s all.”
I didn’t want to disappoint and agreed to her plan.
Leslie called on a Tuesday night. I remember it as if it was yesterday. I happened to be in the kitchen by the phone and picked up right away. The caller hesitated. I heard only breathing and was about to hang up.
“Hello, may I please speak to Laurie?”
“That’s me.”
“Oh…hi. Edna Rubenstein gave me your number.”
“Right.”
The pause felt like forever and my patience wore thin. Finally, she said, “Edna tells me you’re a dietitian.” Another pause. “I could use you.”
“Please, don’t tell me you called for a diet.”
“No, but I eat too much junk.”
“Edna said you’re a doctor. You should know better.”
“I don’t have time to plan my meals.”
“That’s what they all say.” The conversation was sounding too much like work. “So, Edna’s a friend of your mom’s? Do you live in Co-op City too?”
“Yes, in the same building, in fact. My parents play cards with Edna and her husband. Where on Long Island are you?”
“Massapequa endearingly known as Matzo-Pizza with the equal numbers of Jews and Italians in the neighborhood. It’s a great mix.”
“That’s funny.”
After a few rounds of “Jewish Geography,” it turned out that Edna was the only person we knew in common.
“Edna ‘Yenta’ Rubenstein is hysterical,” I said.
“You can say that again.”
“She tried to set me up with her son.”
“Me too. She’s doesn’t take no for an answer, I’ll give her that.”
“Yeah. Can you believe she’s worried about my sex life?”
“Mine too. Don’t repeat this, but once when I had the worst cramps, she told me to have two orgasms and call her in the morning. I nearly peed in my pants, but you know, her advice helped.”
“Was that before or after medical school?” I liked her already.
“Before, silly girl, but I may recommend it to my patients.” We were still laughing when she asked, “Are you free Saturday night?”
I wiped a tear from my eye. “Sure. Where should we meet?”
“How about for dinner somewhere near you?”
“It’s a schlep. You sure you don’t mind?”
“I enjoy driving. It breaks the monotony of public transportation.”
“That would be great then.” I gave her directions, and we set the date.
The week was a drag. As much as I hated to admit it, and I purposely didn’t tell Edna, I was looking forward to meeting Leslie. I replayed our first conversation ad nauseum. She sounded sexy, down-to-earth, and we seemed to hit it off on the phone, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. She could look like Frankenstein’s daughter and have Hyde’s personality.
When the day finally arrived, the forecast called for snow and exceptionally frigid temperatures for February. A lesser woman might have cancelled, but Leslie picked me up seven sharp. I was fidgeting in the kitchen until the doorbell rang.
When I opened the door, a brilliant smile lit up her cherubic face. The porch light put lovely highlights in her short, wavy blond hair, which she wore back, showing off her handsome features.
It was a good thing I ran low blood pressures because my heart rate accelerated.
“Come in.” I stood in the vestibule as if glued to the carpet. She handed me her jacket and my gaze naturally wandered down her body. I tried to be inconspicuous, but let’s face it; she made no secret of checking me out too. She had wonderful curves beneath her cream silk blouse and knitted ecru vest and stood at least six inches taller than me. She exuded confidence and seemed comfortable in her skin, but not at all in a condescending manner. Her demeanor was as appealing as her deep set, soft, emerald eyes.
I had my heart set on Chinese food. Lotus Seed was about twenty minutes from my house, but my lousy sense of direction had us driving around for an hour.
“There it is,” I said pointing in the middle of the shopping center on Glen Cove Road. “Exactly where I thought.”
“Yeah, right!” She was good-natured and let me slide.
“Since you had to get your passport stamped, coming over from the Bronx and all, I figured you’d enjoy the scenic route. You should be honored that I gave you the deluxe tour.” I flashed what I hoped was an Academy Award winning smile.
“And you’re the best tour guide, too.”
My cheeks flushed. She had an amazing profile: long eyelashes, a perfect medium sized nose, and rosebud lips. The double chin didn’t detract from her strong good looks in the least. Sure, she could lose about thirty pounds, but who couldn’t? We weren’t exactly getting any younger and it was harder to keep in shape. The last thing I wanted was to be her dietitian, although I wouldn’t mind playing doctor.
“What’s so funny,” she asked, giving me a sideways glance.
“Oh, nothing.” I kept my naughty thoughts to myself. It would be nice to invite her for a brisk walk on the boardwalk at Jones Beach. I made a mental note to suggest it when the weather got a bit warmer, but first, I had to see how sharing a meal went.
Our first date was a blast. She got the biggest kick out of teasing me and took advantage of my gullibility and naïve nature. By the end of the evening, I knew I wanted to get to know her better and to have her teach me city girl tricks. We went back to my house and talked over hot chocolate and Toll House chocolate chip cookies.
“Well, I better get going. I had fun.” With a mere chaste kiss on the lips, I was inexplicably smitten. I didn’t appreciate women who right away went straight for the tonsils.
“I’ll call you,” she said, and left.
Eight days later, while studying for a graduate biochem test, the telephone startled me out of my stupor. I ran to the kitchen to get it and tripped over the top step. I stubbed my toe and yelped.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Laurie? How are you? You sound short of breath. Is everything okay?”
I melted, immediately forgetting my painful toe. I’d given up hope that she’d call. Instantly, the blood surged through my veins, my heart rate soared, and my mouth went dry.
“I’m good. I was in the basement.” I cleared my throat and reached into the fridge for seltzer. I was tempted to add a hefty serving of U-bet chocolate syrup, but I had enough of an endorphin surge just listening to her sexy voice.
We chatted about nothing and everything. Then she asked, “You want to go out next Saturday?”
“Sure, where?”
“Somewhere near you.”
It was instant replay and my heart leaped for joy. “You like roller skating? There’s a rink practically down the block from my house.”
“You sure you can find it?” She teased, and I grinned.
“Yes. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t have the worst sense of direction on the planet.”
“I don’t know everyone on the planet,” she quipped.
“Ha, ha.”
USA Skates was fun. Leslie landed on her butt while showing off, and we laughed until we cried. By the time we got back to her ’78 Corolla, she’d put her arm around my waist and pulled me in for our first real kiss. With my tush up against the cold car door and our goose down jackets between us, I could only imagine her firm breasts and round belly, but her muscular thighs were definitely between mine. With gloved hands, she covered my ears to warm them as our lips melded.
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