<div class="floatleft">(http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b502/ehlamjanx/carter2_zps845c5db9.jpg)</div><strong>Character name</strong>: Carter Sagle<br/><strong>Who:</strong>Victoria "Vicky" Tucker<br/><strong>Where:</strong>Studio<br/><strong>When: </strong>June 12, early evening<br/><strong>Warning:</strong>None<br/><hr/>It was a beautiful day.  Carter had finished the early day's work to get the B&B ready, the lawn was mowed, trimmed and the clippings blown away.  He assembled the lounge chairs in a tidy row by the pool and checked the chemical levels in the pool one last time and skimmed a few stray leaves from the surface.  He stacked a fresh set of guest towels into place and the outside was ready for the weekend.  He had enough time to get in a workout after he was finished, using the grounds basketball court to run a few laps and shoot some baskets against imaginary opponents for a bit.  After showering, he'd be able to go make a bit of dinner for he and Vicky.<br/><br/>He had his page that was torn out of his Men's Health magazine on the counter that had a new recipe for Chicken Marsala beside him.  The Men's Health subscription was a gift from Vick and it was a cherished gift at that.  She was a driving force on his personal road to recovery and helped him see he could replace bad habits with good ones.  She was a subtle coach, but managed to show him the value of replacing bad habits with good ones.  He had read each issue of Men's Health from cover to cover and enjoyed the tasty and healthy recipes within.  Carefully cutting peppers into thin slices, he had lowered the healthy concoction in the pan down to a simmer.  The smell of Italian herbs and spices now filled the studio and made his belly grumble in anticipation of a tasty meal.<br/><br/>Vicky was seated, busying herself with final preparations for the guests, at the small table.  Her presence was always a comfort.  She hadn't been his "boss" for very long, but now, rather than freeloading off his life-long friend and his wife, he could earn his keep while he was getting back on his feet.  He was grateful for the job he had.  He owed  Vicky a great deal of gratitude for allowing him to stay here all this time.  Even when the home was becoming a burden on her, she didn't cast him aside.  Even in her pain, she was a gracious friend.  When he finally cleared his alcohol fogged mind, he found her in need of support in coping with her loss.  Helping with renovations and home maintenance was one way to help return the favor of having a place to live.   Now, having a real job after the horrid experience of bankruptcy was one more step back into a good, productive life.<br/><br/>Vicky was a sweet, petite woman.  He could easily see why Roman fell for her as he did.  Her long flowing hair was always just so, she had amazing posture and such a cute, angelic face.  Over time, he had seen her as delicate in ways, but strong in so many others.  They shared a deep friendship and a common cause, lately.  Though, as Roman's widow, she was untouchable.  That's just part of the unwritten code.  Carter recalled the excitement in Vicky's face as he stood beside Roman when they exchanged their vows.  She was bright, innocent and full of life that day.  Roman was a happy man, to say the least, even if he thought they moved along rather quickly.<br/><br/>She called to him as he wiped his hands on the kitchen towel.  The pairing preparation she worked on was finished, and she liked not knowing her "roommate" he knew.  It was a fun game, a little naughty, like playing adult secret Santa with the guests.  In a moment, he'd know<em>his</em>"roommate" too, and considering the guest list, he was mentally wondering how his weekend would be going.  He came over to Vicky and replied with a smile, "Sure thing, boss."  The title of boss was still a little awkward between them, but it was technically accurate.  Just having a job was such a blessing, reporting to a life-coach and friend was even more of a blessing, especially since he hadn't had a 'real' boss since well before his now failed real-estate venture.<br/><br/>He nodded his understanding of the fun task of putting the sheets with the keys into envelopes, each one addressed to the guest.  He read the first, seeing the name "Victoria", his eyes widened just a bit, though he quickly saw it was not "Tucker" that followed.  He placed a key to room 3 within and a sheet describing Katie Webber.  He smiled at the notion that two total strangers would meet in such a manner.  He sealed each envelope in turn, looking for his own name to appear, wondering how Vicky's process might have aligned his own tastes with another's.  He wrote himself as "switchable", so his weekend might find himself with another flexible pairing, or one from either end of the D/s spectrum.  He grew more and more excited, anticipating which name might appear matched with his own.<br/><br/>After pairing two men together in room 5, it left only two other new guests for him to meet.  The third envelope had a Melisa paired with a man named Adrian.  That left one more woman.  He turned the slip over and noticed that Elizabeth was not paired with Carter Sagle, after all.  He stopped cold.<br/><br/>He looked to Vicky for a moment, but she was busy cleaning up supplies on the desk, her back turned to him.  He had a look of despair for a moment.  He knew, mathematically that this was possible, though it was not probable.  He started to speak, "Vicky, I uh..., " but he stopped short.<br/><br/>His mind raced though several thought in a whirlwind of indecision.<em>Was this a mistake?  Was it truly blind?  Absent the same sex pairings, it left a 1 in 3 chance...  Did she know?  <strong>She didn't </strong> Should he...</em>he followed up with, "oh, nevermind."   He betrayed his own instinct, then felt a mix of guilt and delight.<br/><br/>In his mind, he was aflutter as he slipped the door key to room #1 into an envelope for himself, and then another matching key into one for the untouchable "Vicky Tucker".  He swallowed hard then resumed his pleasant demeanor before she could notice his inner thoughts, though they were screaming at him with mixed messages.  He calmed himself finally with a thought that if she was truly adverse to what he just did, she could speak her mind, maybe they'd laugh over it.  Maybe he'd get fired, or maybe...he'd see Vicky look at him with those sweet brown eyes of hers.<br/><br/>He finished sealing the envelopes, thinking deeply on how this might play out.  Wave after wave of emotion washed over as he thought with hesitation about telling her.  He<em>should</em>tell, he thought, and he was just about to.  She looked up at him, and he saw her much differently.  Her petite body and all that she was to him, she was more than a random stranger.  She had a look of anticipation that he should be finished with the simple task, and ready to move to dinner.<br/><br/>He betrayed his train of thought that was heading towards asking her to rematch a few envelopes and said, "Dinner's ready, I hope you're hungry.  This should be a very interesting weekend."