A Day at a Time

Gerald leads Charlie into the building, typing a code into the pin pad beside the door. Once inside, the only light that greets them is radiating from the idle computer screen of the front desk. Taking her hand in his, he leads her by memory to the recording booth furthest back in the building. He stumbles once on a wire and only turns the lights on once they enter the room, closing the door behind them.

"Gerald, are we suppose to be here?" Charlie whispers, taking in the room around her.

The left side of his face lifts into a small smile as he leads her into a chair, "Shh, quiet. Sit, hang on."

"There's no one hear, whose going to hear us?" Charlie inquires softly.

He laughs, "No one is going to hear us, just chill, yee?"

Charlie rolls her eyes and leans back in her seat, rocking side to side while Gerald is pulling up his latest records or so she assumes. Fluorescent lights hit the light oak flooring, making the room appear bright unaided by the black soundproofing that lines the walls and the black seating that furnishes the room. They both sit in rolling chairs before a large soundboard with multiple monitors that are positioned beneath a large window. Beyond the window lies the empty Soundbooth.

"Okay, close your eyes," Gerald commands from beside her, looking at her expectantly.

"Excuse me?" Charlie asks, gaze meeting his own quickly.

He rolls his eyes, "Would you stop being difficult? Close your eyes."

She follows his direction reluctantly, "Okay?" Gerald shushes at her and a beat fills the room quickly accompanied by the sound if his voice.

Suddenly, she is surrounded by him. Nothing but him and it's peaceful and she wants to feel like this forever. She's no longer worried about her family, money, or work. The music beats through her body, rattling her bones in the best way. She gets lost in the rhythm of his lyrics before it's suddenly gone and her eyes jolt open, meeting Gerald's piercing gaze.

"That good, huh?" He jokes, smirking at her.

"Shut up," Charlie orders, getting up from her seat to straddle him on his own.

"Hmm," Gerald sounds before his mouth becomes occupied with hers. "Just be fucking quiet," Charlie mumbles while she pulls away for a moment, lifting at the end of his t-shirt.

"Wait, wait, wait," Gerald protest, gently pushing Charlie off of his lap. She gives him a rediculous look while he gets up, pressing a few buttons on the soundboard. A beat fills the room again and she grins when he turns around. He grips her hips, softly biting at her neck and leads her backward until they fall clumsily onto the couch.

++++++

"When did they get here?" Charlie hears a voice ask, she groans shuffling around uncomfortably and hoping for the noise to resolve itself.

"Looks like they've been here all night, dude," Another voice sounds followed by a snicker. At the sound of this voice, Charlie is very aware of where she is. She shoots up from her position on the couch swiftly, unwrapping herself from Gerald who lies underneath her, still asleep. She quickly realizes that the only clothing she has on is Gerald's t-shirt, reaching graciously past her hips. When she looks down, she sees Gerald sleeping peacefully nude.

Neither of the guys, one of which is Matty and the other Charlie's never met, seem to be surprised to catch either of them like this. They stand in the entrance of the room, chatting casually amongst themselves.

"Fuck! Some privacy, please?" Charlie exclaims, causing Gerald to wake beneath her. He sits up, nodding over to the men who apologize quickly, making their way out of the room and closing the door behind them.

"Shit, Ger, what the fuck. Why did you let me sleep?" Charlie questions, getting up to pick her clothes from off the floor.

"You looked tired. I thought I'd wake up before anyone got here, shit. I'm sorry, okay? Look it's not that big of a deal." He answers, following her. He paces a hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her but she shrugs it off.

"I don't do this, Gerald. Jesus Christ, would you put clothes on?" Charlie asks, pulling off Gerald's shirt before tossing it to him and replacing it with her own. They continue to dress and Charlie picks up clothing in her fury.

"Oh, don't give me that shit. This isn't the first time we've done this."

"In the studio?" Charlie exclaims.

"That was your idea! I didn't bring you here to fuck." Gerald tries to reason, getting short as well.

There's a brief knock at the door before Matty sticks his head back into the room confirming that everyone is decent. "Hey guys, I hate to interrupt but the rest of the crews here."

"It's fine, I was just leaving," Charlie says, giving Gerald one last look before turning on her heel to exit the room. She makes her way through the studio to the front lot, avoiding the gazes of those around her although no one seems to pay her any attention. She is surprised to hear footsteps jogging behind her as she makes her way to the sidewalk. Gerald grabs her hand, spinning her around which Charlie allows him to do with ease. Her shoulder's slump as she looks at him tiredly.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm doing, you know?" Gerald pleads, "I don't do this. I don't fuck with women I like, okay? I don't want to hurt you. You're my friend, yadada?"

Charlie nods, she doesn't do this either. She's sure she's not the first 'friend' Gerald has hooked up with but she understands in the sense that this really isn't something she thought she'd get involved with. She stuck because she doesn't want to stop and she's really not looking for more but she feels like she should be. She feels too old and responsible to be doing this and she knows it probably won't end well.

"I have to get in there but I'll swing by tonight, yee?" Gerald asks, placing her cheek in the palm of his hand and turning her head so she has to look at him. "Listen, it's no big deal. The guys don't give a shit."