I woke up feeling energized. Not just because after ending the call with Zee, I used my own toys on myself, though that was a part of it, but because I had a fun idea. I just hoped that Zee would be up for it. When I went to the sex toy shop all those weeks ago, it had a very cool product that I didn't need. Well, I didn't need it at the time, but maybe I could use it now? It was called a We-Vibe, and if I had read correctly, it was a rechargeable toy that could be paired to my phone, and then I could give the toy to Zee, and I could control it from anywhere in the world while she had it inserted within her sweet pussy.

I liked the idea of that. I just wished it would let me taste her from that distance!

One of the joys of pleasuring Zee was that I knew that me topping her wasn't something she was used to, and I loved giving her new experiences and being in control. Yeah, at some point I'd let her take charge, but for now I wanted to give her another way to let me keep her happy while setting the pace for us.

With me not working the week after the attack, and minimizing my driving, I did some research online and picked out a pair of toys that I liked so Zee could use one on me too. I picked the We-Vibe Chorus that would stimulate from within and on the clit simultaneously and had a feeling it would work quite well! Intrigued, Harlow did the same thing after seeing it, thinking it might be a good idea to help reconnect her and Khloe too, since they could still use it even on other continents. I thought it was a good idea, even if I was getting bad vibes from Khloe's actions.

But on Friday, Harlow had to leave, which I knew was coming and still hated. It was odd, because she had renewed optimism that things might work out, while I had resigned myself to being alone with the girls again. Even the girls were sad, because having Harlow there meant more fun, and everyone liked that.

On the weekend, I was feeling up to going out again, and that meant it was time to furnish the downstairs room for Zee. Now, yes, I could have asked for her input on this. But in my mind, there were only three possible outcomes, only the one where she moved in, and our relationship fizzled, would mean that she would live there for the long term. If she moved out for another job or because we never worked out, then I would want my choices there. Likewise, if things went well for us, then there would be a good chance that she'd be moving into the master bedroom with me by the time the summer rolled around so I would want it decorated to my liking then too. Obviously, I didn't think option one would happen. Or, I very much hoped it didn't.

Besides, she'd commented several times about liking the décor in the house already, so I had a feeling that she would like what I did there with my own design flair. Jashanna and Gracie were all for that, even more so when I told them I would let them run off on their own for a shopping date while I did my own shopping. I'd already told them I would let them do that, but after the Elliot situation, this was the first time we'd had a chance to actually get out of the house for that. I dropped them off at the big outdoor Wiregrass shopping mall, and then I drove a little further down the road to the same furniture store that we'd bought all of Jashanna's bedroom stuff at.

It wasn't as easy this time. Jashanna had seen what she wanted right away, but I had to find something that I thought Zee would like, but also would fit my own personal taste as well. I really wanted her to love it though, even if it was just a temporary place for her to stay. The current room was pretty much untouched from when I'd bought it, with plain white walls and no furniture or curtains. There were blinds, but that was just a standard option on all the windows for saving a little energy by keeping the Florida sun from turning the house into an oven. But I could fix that.

Much like Jashanna's room, I was envisioning a new paint color, and then matching curtains to go with new bedding. At long last, I had a final two, either of which would look good down there. One was a cherry set with a sleigh style headboard and footboard. The other was a darker walnut, with iron posts along the headboard with the wooden frame. Either would look amazing, and I could pick paints that would accent whichever I decided to go with. But when I closed my eyes to imagine the room, the image I got was of Zee naked on cream colored sheets and handcuffed to the iron posts of the walnut headboard with eyes pleading for a release with my head between her legs.

Yep, I went with that one. Honestly, I wanted it up in my room!

It was a smoother process this time, once I'd finally made my choice. That is, because I'd just bought Jashanna's furniture there and I was already in the system. It didn't hurt that I was paying in cash too, so there was no hassle dealing with financing or any of that. The only hold up was that once I was almost done, I had a sudden idea, and added an optional standing wardrobe and second bureau to the order. It might not be usable now, but if I moved Zee up to the master bedroom, we could take the new furniture up, and it would give us enough clothes storage for both of us.

And yes, my imagination reminded me that the handcuff options were obviously better so moving it made sense if she joined me.

When it was all wrapped up, and the delivery was scheduled for the following week, I sent pictures to Gracie and Jashanna to see what they thought. I left Hollie in the dark, and I thought she might like the surprise when she got back at Thanksgiving. They both loved it, and I headed back over in their direction to do some shopping of my own since I still needed paint, bedding, and new curtains for the room.

The bedding and curtains were easy, as I got the cream colored ones that I'd already envisioned, including a comfy giant quilt that would be perfect for snuggling under in the relatively cooler months that were almost upon us. I settled on a light gold paint, which would be a nice complement to both the bedding and the furniture, and I was suddenly desperate to see everything in place. No, even more so, I was wanting to show it to Zee. I wanted to see her eyes light up when she saw where she was going to be staying.

Shit! No! I hadn't even told her she could, and I had put the cart way before the horse. But if the room was a good selling point, that would help her make the decision, right? Fuck, I was losing my mind. Have I ever felt like this? About anyone? With Elliot, we'd known each other for so long, it was more comfortable than thrilling, and maybe there had been some short term excitement with others before him, but with Zee it was like she was all I could think about, and I knew that was dangerous. I was supposed to be moving slowly, keeping my heart safe and prioritizing my happiness along with that of my children.

But Zee was making my brain into mush as my heart kept trampling all of the reasoning I tried to use to keep things straight. Yes, yes, make all the jokes about me not being straight that you like, but I was trying to keep my thought process linear until I could get to the finish line. But Zee kept making everything in my brain into a tangled knot that kept me tied to her.

And there was a big part of me that didn't mind that in the least.

The girls had been on their own for over four hours by the time I'd tracked them down, and we sat at an outdoor table there enjoying some lovely tropical smoothies. Gracie and Hollie had always had an allowance, nothing extravagant but enough to enjoy themselves, and I'd done the same thing for Jashanna even before the adoption was official. So, when they each showed up with a few bags, I was hardly shocked. They hadn't spent a lot, but they each had new plushies from Build a Bear, some new clothes for Jashanna, and a new pair of shoes for Gracie. Neither had gone crazy with the money, and I was glad they'd only bought things they actually needed, except for the stuffed animals of course. I knew Jashanna had never been able to replace all of hers, so I wasn't shocked they showed up with a few more.

"So, what new plushies did you get?" I asked. "Is there enough room on your bed?"

To my shock though, the girls just shook their heads. "They're not for us," Jashanna replied. "Zee doesn't have much either, so we got her a few in case she wants them for her new room."

And fuck was I proud of my girls.

"They're for Zee?" I couldn't help but feel a swelling in my heart that they would buy something like that, even if it wasn't big, with no request at all.

"Yeah," Gracie told me with a grin. "You got her a new bedroom set, but we thought this would help it feel more like a home, you know? She doesn't have anything else."

She had a point. There was no artwork on the walls, and her only clothes would be going back and forth with her to school. I hadn't even thought that far ahead, but I guess with Jashanna just having gone through something similar, it made sense that they did. "You two are wonderful, and I bet Zee will love it. But you still didn't show me what you got."

Jashanna held her box up. "I got her a little kitty. We already have Kama and Swiftie, but you can never have enough."

Gracie was next, holding her box up too. "And I got her a rainbow chameleon. We're in Florida, so she needed something like a lesbian lizard."

I couldn't help but giggle. Our current kitties love lizards. Well, they loved trying to swipe their paws at them through the windows and sliding glass doors when the lizards were on them, so I could see this pair working out well. "That's perfect, thanks so much. I think she'll love the warm welcome."

"Hey, we have to keep our stepmom happy!" Gracie said with a smirk.

"No getting ahead of things!" I complained. "Seriously, I'm glad you like her, and I like her too, but we have a long way to go before we can even think of anything like that. I don't want to have any added pressure right now. It's too early, and we still need to figure things out."

"Come on mom, you know she could be the one!" Jashanna chided. "Let it happen."

"I'm not denying that. I'm just saying that you can't force something like that. I don't think you realize how lucky you are with each other. If you weren't already in love, who would you want to be with? Can you think of anyone else that would be an easy choice?"

They exchanged a glance, and then frowned. "I can't think of anyone," admitted Gracie.

"Same." Jashanna agreed. "It's always been Gracie for me. I knew that a long time ago."

"Right. And maybe Zee and I can get that lucky, but I can't say that yet. We've spent very little time together, and while she might move into the cellar and stay there, she might end up just working with me and moving on too."

"Don't say that! You'll jinx it!" Jashanna yelped.

"I'm sorry! I'm just trying to be realistic. Believe me, I really do hope that it works out, but I also have to remember that we really don't know anything about each other. If it were up to me, we'd fall in love and you would both still think she was a great person, and so would Hollie. But there is no way to know that yet. I will do my best to make that happen though, okay?"

"Okay!"